Copycat CHIP Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

The CHIP cookies seem to be a takeoff of the Levain Bakery cookies in NYC. I adapted my chocolate chunk cookie recipe into one that tastes pretty close to the ones made by the CHIP cookie delivery company (I tested my version against some I baked up using the CHIP frozen cookie dough I purchased and had a hard time telling the difference between the two). I kept going back and forth between using dark or light brown sugar, but testers thought light brown tasted closer to the CHIP ones. They use the Guittard brand of milk chocolate chips; do not substitute if you really want them to taste like the ones you get from CHIP.

These are my basic ingredients for one half of a batch of dough (I reduced the batch sizes during testing mode). I had tried dark and light brown sugars in my tests. Although I used regular Gold Medal flour in some tests, high protein flour, like King Arthur, is important when baking at high altitudes (I live at about 5250 feet).

I noted the ingredients in the CHIP frozen dough to adapt my own recipe into various combinations. I changed the type of sugar, the amount of leavening, etc. to come up with a cookie that tasted the closest to CHIP.

When dividing the weight of the dough by the number of cookies in the CHIP bag (frozen dough), I figured that each hunk of dough weighed 6 ounces. When weighing the CHIP dough, the hunks are more like 5.5 ounces in weight.

I formed the dough into a ball and then…

…pull the dough ball apart into two equal halves.

Rotate the halves 90 degrees and with the jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base while forming the dough into a column about 2 1/4” tall and about 2” in diameter, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface on top.

The CHIP frozen cookie dough chunks weigh about 5.5 ounces and are approximately 2 1/4” tall.

And the measured just under 2 inches wide at the base.

My frozen dough and the CHIP dough for Test #1.

These are my first four tests that I placed into the freezer until I was ready to bake.

The first four tests spread more than the CHIP original milk chocolate chip cookies (to be fair, I measured these into 6 ounce hunks of dough and later found the CHIP frozen dough hunks averaged about 5.5 ounces). The amount of spread could also be due to the amounts of flour, sugar, butter, and leavening I tried.

My husband had fun during the initial tests.

I wanted to see if the cookies ended up as tall as the CHIP version (yellow toothpicks).

I baked up one of each four of my first tests AND one from CHIP. I cute each cookie up into 6 pieces.

I gave my husband and other relatives their own sample plate. Test #2 using light brown sugar and equal amounts of baking soda and baking powder. I ended up doing 9 tests before getting a version my family member liked the best.

Copycat CHIP Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, set out until 60°F

1 cup light brown sugar                                                                                      

1/2 cup white sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature (cold if butter/sugar mixture gets too warm)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sea salt (add less if you use salted butter)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (11.5 ounce) package Guittard milk chocolate chips (see NOTES)

FOR THE DOUGH:

Take your butter from the refrigerator and cut it into 1/4-inch pieces. The temperature of the cold butter should get to around 60°F after 10 minutes in a 70°F kitchen; get your other ingredients ready during this time. In a stand mixer, beat the butter on low and then on medium for about 1 minute. Add the sugars and beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy; this can take about five minutes. You want the mixture to register at about 67°F (you never want the creaming mixture to get above 70°F as warm butter will not retain any air which can cause your cookies to collapse). Add the eggs, one at a time—beating about 1 minute each; scraping the sides of the bowl between eggs. I will use at least one egg straight from the refrigerator if my temperature gets too high while beating the butter and sugar. Add the dry ingredients and vanilla mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips until combined (do not overmix). Lightly flour your hands. Weigh out 5 1/2 ounce chunks of dough and roll each one into a ball. To get cookies with a bumpy texture (like the “chip” branded ones), hold each dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and with the jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base while forming the dough into a column about 2 1/4” tall and about 2” in diameter, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface on top. Place each piece of dough on a parchment or wax paper-lined pan (jagged sides up) and freeze for about 30 minutes. You can then transfer the frozen chunks of dough to a resealable bag until ready to bake. Makes about 7 to 8 large cookies.

FOR BAKING FROZEN DOUGH:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 390°F (using an oven thermometer to ensure correct oven temperature is helpful). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place no more than 4 chunks of frozen dough, jagged sides up, evenly spaced, on your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown (start checking after 10 minutes). Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies sit on the hot pan for 10 additional minutes (to continue cooking). Place the cookies on a cooling rack until they set up a little more.

NOTES:

CHIP uses the Guittard brand of milk chocolate chips; do not substitute if you really want them to taste like the ones you get from CHIP. If you want a less doughy center, you can bake the frozen dough chunks at 380°F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. I also noticed the bottom of my cookie getting super dark when I only cooked one cookie at a time; if you do this, raise your pan to a higher oven rack and watch closely.