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  1 cup unsalted cultured butter, cool room temperature

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  3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (I like using half dark brown sugar and half light brown sugar)

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  1/4 cup granulated sugar

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  1 large egg, room temperature

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  1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

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  1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, *See notes below for measuring*

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  3/4 teaspoon baking soda

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  1/2 teaspoon baking powder

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  3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

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  2 teaspoons vanilla powder, optional, but adds tons of flavor!

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  3/4 cup dark chocolate wafers

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  2/3 cup chopped milk chocolate bar

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  1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• **Before you start**, prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. It’s crucial to note that the cookie dough *must be chilled overnight or for a minimum of 6-8 hours* before baking! Attempting to bake them any sooner will result in excessive spreading and a flatter cookie.
• **Cream the butter and sugars.** In your mixing bowl, cream together the cool room temperature unsalted cultured butter, brown sugar (both dark and light if using a blend), and granulated sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is visibly light and fluffy, usually around **3 minutes**. This aerates the butter and sugar, forming tiny air pockets that contribute to the cookie’s tender texture.
  1 cup (226 grams) unsalted cultured butter,
  3/4 cup (150 grams) brown sugar,
  1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• **Mix in the wet ingredients.** Add the large room temperature egg and the vanilla bean paste to the creamed mixture. Mix on low speed until they are just fully incorporated. It’s important not to overmix at this stage; as soon as everything comes together, stop. *Always scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with your rubber spatula if needed* to ensure an even mix.
  1 (50 g) large egg,
  1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• **Mix in the dry ingredients.** In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, optional vanilla powder, and fine sea salt. Gradually add these dry ingredients to your wet mixture. Mix on low speed until *almost combined*, leaving a few streaks of dry flour. Then, gently fold in your chosen chocolate chips – the dark chocolate wafers, chopped milk chocolate bar, and semisweet chocolate chips – until they are just evenly distributed throughout the dough. Avoid overmixing once the flour is added.
  1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp (240 g) all-purpose flour,
  3/4 teaspoon baking soda,
  1/2 teaspoon baking powder,
  3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt,
  2 teaspoons vanilla powder,
  3/4 cup (100 g) dark chocolate wafers,
  2/3 cup (80 g) chopped milk chocolate bar,
  1/4 cup (40 g) semisweet chocolate chips
• **Scoop and chill the dough.** Scoop the cookie dough into six generous **5 oz balls** using a large spring-loaded cookie scoop onto the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet. To achieve that signature bakery-style thickness, mold each dough ball gently so that it is just over **2 inches tall**. *This vertical shaping helps the cookies bake up thick and prevents them from spreading too much.* For those beautiful melty pools of chocolate on top, press a few extra chocolate morsels onto the surface of each scooped dough ball. *For perfect consistency, use a kitchen scale to measure each 5oz portion – it’s roughly a little more than a 1/2 cup of dough.* Cover the tray tightly with plastic wrap and **refrigerate overnight or for at least 6-8 hours**. This extended chill time is absolutely essential for flavor development and ensuring the cookies hold their shape during baking.
• **Bake!** Preheat your oven to **350°F (180°C)**. Place a maximum of 2-3 chilled cookie dough balls on a fresh parchment-lined baking tray (keep the remaining dough in the fridge until ready to bake). Ensure there’s ample space, about **4-5 inches apart**, between each cookie. Bake for **16-18 minutes**, or until the edges are beautifully golden brown but the center still appears soft and slightly underbaked. Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even browning. *This soft, slightly underbaked center is the secret to incredibly soft and gooey cookies!* While the middle might seem raw, the residual heat from the baking sheet will continue to cook the cookies to perfection as they cool. If desired, sprinkle with flaky sea salt immediately out of the oven for an extra layer of flavor and texture. After about 10 minutes on the baking sheet, use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. *Be patient, as they will still be quite fragile and won’t be firm enough to fully pick up for about 30-60 minutes.*
• **Storage:** Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will remain wonderfully soft and delicious for 3-4 days. For that freshly baked gooey experience, you can gently reheat them in the oven (low temperature for a few minutes) or microwave (10-15 seconds).
• **For freezer chill:** If you want to prepare dough in advance, scoop the dough balls as directed and chill them on the baking sheet until firm. Once firm, transfer them to an airtight container or a freezer-safe bag. They can be stored in the freezer for 1-3 months. When ready to bake, transfer the frozen dough balls to the fridge and allow them to defrost for 24 hours before proceeding with the baking instructions.

**Chocolate brand recommendations:** For superior flavor and melt, the number one brand I consistently recommend is Guittard. Other excellent, high-quality brands that will deliver fantastic results include Lindt, Ghirardelli, and Valrhona! You can often find Guittard at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods or conveniently purchase it online. Investing in good chocolate truly makes a difference.

**Butter notes:** I specifically use Kerrygold Cultured Butter (the unsalted version in the silver package) for its higher fat content and rich, buttery flavor. If Kerrygold is unavailable, you can use the salted gold version, but reduce the added salt in the recipe slightly. Other excellent European-style sweet cream butters like Plugra, Danish Creamery, or Vermont Creamery are fantastic substitutes. Kirkland also offers a Grass-Fed butter that shares similar qualities. While you can use standard American butter, you will miss out on some of the nuanced flavor and slightly richer texture that cultured butter provides.

**Cool room temperature butter:** This is a KEY factor for the perfect cookie dough consistency. To ensure your butter is at the ideal temperature, stick a clean thermometer into a stick of butter. The perfect range is between **64-68°F (18-20°C)**. Butter that is too cold won’t cream properly, and butter that is too warm will result in greasy, flat cookies.

**Scoop size:** This recipe was meticulously developed to produce generously sized, truly bakery-style cookies. I have extensively tested baking the dough into smaller 4oz, 3oz, and even 2oz cookies, and the results, while still tasty, simply do not achieve the same thick, soft, and chewy texture or the impressive visual appeal of the larger cookies. I highly, highly recommend adhering to the **5oz size** for the ultimate experience.

**Why chilling the dough is non-negotiable:** The overnight (or 6-8 hour) chilling period isn’t just a suggestion; it’s a vital step for multiple reasons. First, it allows the flour to fully hydrate, preventing a cakey texture and promoting chewiness. Second, it gives the flavors (especially the vanilla and chocolate) time to meld and deepen, resulting in a more complex and delicious cookie. Third, and perhaps most importantly for “bakery style,” the cold butter in the dough takes longer to melt in the oven, meaning the cookies spread less and bake up thicker with those desirable crinkled edges. Don’t skip this step!

**Achieving perfectly round cookies:** For that polished bakery finish, as soon as the cookies come out of the oven and are still hot, use a large round cookie cutter (slightly larger than your baked cookie) or a spatula. Place it around the cookie and gently swirl it to nudge any uneven edges back into a perfect circle. This simple trick makes a huge difference in presentation!

The calorie information provided for the recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.