These loaded chocolate chip cookies are big, thick, and packed with two kinds of chocolate, buttery toffee, and crunchy pecans. With chewy centers, crisp edges, and plenty of chocolate in every bite, they’re everything you want from an over-the-top bakery-style cookie.
There’s a time and place for a classic chocolate chip cookie, but sometimes you want to go all in. These loaded chocolate chip cookies start with a brown sugar-rich dough and pile on the good stuff: chopped dark chocolate, milk chocolate chips, toffee bits, and pecans.
They’re generously sized, with crisp, golden edges and thick, chewy centers. Shaping the dough into tall, rustic mounds gives the cookies those wonderfully craggy, rippled tops that make them look like they came straight from a bakery case.
Why You’ll Love These Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies
- So much good stuff in every bite. Two kinds of chocolate, toffee, and pecans give you a mix of melty, crunchy, chewy, and buttery in every cookie.
- Big bakery-style texture. These are substantial cookies with crisp edges, soft and chewy centers, and those irresistible wrinkly, craggy tops.
- Sweet, salty, and balanced. Darker chocolate and pecans keep the milk chocolate and toffee from making the cookies overly sweet, while a little flaky salt on top brings everything together.
- Made for mixing things up. The combination in the recipe is my favorite, but the dough is a great starting point for experimenting with other chocolates, nuts, and add-ins. I’ll share some of my favorite combinations below.
Key Ingredients
- Butter – Use softened butter that’s still slightly cool, not fully room temperature. It should give when pressed but still hold its shape and shouldn’t look shiny or greasy. Starting with cooler butter helps control the spread so the cookies stay nice and thick.
- Brown sugar – A generous amount of brown sugar gives these cookies their deep caramel flavor, chewy centers, and wonderfully crinkly texture. There’s just enough granulated sugar to help with spreading and crisping the edges.
- Egg + egg yolk – The extra yolk adds richness and helps create that soft, chewy bakery-style center without adding more liquid from another whole egg.
- Chocolate – Using both roughly chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate and milk chocolate chips gives you the best of both worlds. The chopped chocolate melts into irregular pockets and puddles, while the chips hold their shape and give you chocolate throughout.
- Toffee bits – These add little pockets of buttery caramel flavor and a bit of chew and crunch.
- Pecans – Pecans balance all that chocolate and toffee with nutty flavor and crunch. Toasting them first is optional, but it will bring out even more flavor. See my tips for how to toast pecans if you need a refresher.
How to Make Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make the dough. Whisk the dry ingredients separately, then beat the butter with both sugars until creamy. You only need 2 to 3 minutes here; over-whipping can incorporate more air than we want for these dense, chewy cookies. Mix in the egg, yolk, and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients. Stop when everything is just combined, or even when you can still see a few small streaks of flour.
Load them up. Fold in both chocolates, the toffee, and the pecans. Mixing these in by hand helps avoid overworking the dough and makes it easier to distribute all those add-ins evenly.
Shape them tall and rustic. Portion about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie, but don’t roll the dough into smooth balls. Shape each portion into a tall, rough mound. For even more dramatic ripples and cracks, break the mound in half and press the pieces back together with the broken sides facing up. Those imperfect surfaces are exactly what we want here.
Chill the dough. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for at least an hour so the butter firms back up and the dough spreads more slowly in the oven. In a warm kitchen, give them longer.
Bake until the edges are set. Give these big cookies plenty of room on the pan and bake one pan at a time. They’re ready when the edges are golden and set but the centers still look slightly underdone. That little bit of restraint is what gives you chewy centers once the cookies cool.
Finish them while they’re warm. If you want that extra-loaded bakery look, press a few pieces of chocolate into the tops and sprinkle with flaky salt right after the cookies come out of the oven. Then let them sit on the pan for 10 minutes. The centers are still setting during that time, so moving them immediately is asking for cookie casualties.
Tips for Success
- Start with cool, softened butter. This is probably the biggest one. The butter should be soft enough to mix easily but still feel slightly cool and hold its shape. If it’s very soft, shiny, or greasy, it’s too warm and can cause the cookies to spread too much.
- Don’t over-mix the dough. Once you add the flour, mix only until it’s mostly incorporated, then finish combining everything as you fold in the add-ins. This helps keep the cookies tender instead of tough.
- Think tall, not round. Resist the instinct to roll the dough into tidy balls. Tall, rough mounds encourage thicker cookies and give you those craggy, rippled tops. If you want even more texture, use the break-and-reassemble trick described above.
- Give the dough enough time to chill. An hour is the minimum, but temperature matters more than the clock. If your kitchen is warm or the dough still feels quite soft, chill it longer. I usually give it at least 2 hours during the summer.
- Don’t over-bake. Take the cookies out when the edges look browned and set but the centers still appear a little underdone. They’ll continue to set during their 10-minute rest on the baking sheet, giving you crisp edges without sacrificing those thick, chewy centers.
- Save some chocolate for the tops. Pressing a few pieces of chopped chocolate into the cookies immediately after baking gives them that extra-loaded bakery look — and ensures nobody has to wonder where the chocolate is.
- Finish with flaky salt. You don’t need much. A small sprinkle balances the milk chocolate and toffee and makes all those flavors pop.
Make Them Your Own
The combination of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, toffee, and pecans is my favorite, but this dough is made for experimenting. Aim for about 3 cups of add-ins total, and try to keep at least one kind of chocolate in the mix.
Ways to Customize Your Loaded Cookies:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter: Semisweet chocolate + peanut butter chips + chopped peanuts
- Chocolate Pretzel: Semisweet chocolate + milk chocolate + broken pretzels + toffee
- Nutty White Chocolate: Peanut butter chips + white chocolate + chopped macadamias
- Cherry Chocolate: Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate + dried cherries + pistachios
- Chocolate Candy: Semisweet chocolate + M&Ms + toffee + pretzels
How to Store
Room temperature: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Once completely cooled, you can also freeze the baked cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Freezing the dough: Shape the dough as directed, then freeze the portions on a lined baking sheet until firm. Transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. While I don’t normally recommend thawing cookie dough before baking, I do with this dough because of their size and intended texture.
Serving: For that fresh-from-the-oven experience, warm a cookie briefly in the microwave before serving. The chocolate gets melty again and the center softens right up.
Your Next Chocolate Chip Cookie Adventure
These cookies have a little bit of everything: crisp edges, thick and chewy centers, melty chocolate, buttery toffee, crunchy pecans, and just enough salt to bring it all together. And while I’m partial to the combination in the recipe, once you have the dough down, there are plenty of delicious cookie adventures ahead. Let me know your favorite flavor combos!
Serve them while the chocolate is still a little melty, tuck them into a cookie box, or keep a stash of dough in the freezer for whenever a serious chocolate chip cookie craving hits. And if you want all those loaded-cookie flavors in an easy bar format, try my loaded chocolate chip cookie bars next.
More Bakery-Style Cookies
Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool (NOT room temperature)
- 1 cup (200 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 ounces (170 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (or a mix), roughly chopped
- ¾ cup (128 g) milk chocolate chips
- ½ cup (70 g) toffee bits
- ¾ cup (about 80 g) chopped pecans, optionally toasted
- plus more chocolate and flaky salt for topping
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined and creamy (2-3 minutes). Don’t over-whip.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined or a few small streaks of flour remain.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate, chocolate chips, toffee bits, and pecans.
- Scoop the dough into large portions using about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Keep the dough mounded, tall, and rustic rather than rolling it smooth.
- Place the scooped dough onto a lined baking sheet (or plate) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Place the cookies about 3 inches apart on the prepared pans (5-6 cookies per pan). Bake one pan at a time for 14 to 17 minutes, or until the edges are browned and set while the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Immediately after baking, add a few more chocolate pieces to each cookie and sprinkle with flaky salt if you like.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Notes
- Butter: The butter should be softened but still slightly cool. It should give when pressed but still hold its shape and shouldn’t look shiny or greasy.
- Chocolate: Use semisweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, or a combination. Roughly chopping it creates irregular pieces that melt into pockets throughout the cookies.
- Pecans: Toasting the pecans is optional but adds deeper nutty flavor.
- For bakery-style tops: Keep the portions tall and rough rather than rolling them smooth. For extra craggy tops, split each mound and press the halves back together with the broken sides facing up.
- Chilling: Chill the shaped dough for at least 1 hour. If your kitchen is warm or the dough still feels soft, give it longer; I usually chill it for at least 2 hours in summer.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.
