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If you’re a fan of regular cookies, this Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie recipe should be up next on your recipe list. Made with large pockets of chocolate with an extra chocolate layer on the bottom of the cookies, you’ll elevate your palate and feel like a French artisan with these delicious treats.
These cookies are famous for a good reason: they’re big, bold, and absolutely packed with a lot of chocolate flavor. The combo of two flours, high-quality ingredients, and a longer-than-normal chill time makes all the difference.
This isn’t your average chocolate chip cookie situation. We’re talking caramelized edges with a chewy center, and a glossy layer of melted chocolate spread on the bottom for an extra indulgent twist. And don’t skip the coarse salt on top. It takes everything over the top in the best way. Just what you would expect from a professional bakery, but right in your own kitchen. (If giant New York bakery cookies are your thing, my Levain Bakery cookies copycat is the other legend you need to try.)
I made these a few weeks ago to take to my husband’s family get together and they disappeared before anything else. So if that doesn’t sell it to you, then I don’t know what will! For a party spread, they are perfect next to a pan of my fudgy Oreo brownies.
Key Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie recipe New York Times version. Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the detailed ingredient measurements.
- Cake Flour: has a lower protein content which gives the cookie a delicate crumb.
- Bread Flour: contributes chewiness by adding more gluten structure to balance the softness from the cake flour.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: help the cookies rise slightly while baking.
- Fine Sea Salt: balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor. You will want some coarse sea salt as a finishing touch on top.
- Unsalted Butter: adds flavor, moisture, and a chewier texture. Want it nutty? My brown butter chocolate chip cookies brown it first.
- Light Brown Sugar: adds sweetness with a touch of extra moisture.
- Granulated sugar: promotes spreading and gives the cookies crisp edges.
- Large Eggs: bind the dough together and provide structure.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: adds an aromatic note that enhances the flavor of the cookie and the chocolate.
- Bittersweet or Dark Chocolate Discs or Chunks: melt into large gooey pockets of chocolatey goodness and creates the bottom layer. You can either get the discs as they are or use chopped chocolate bars. Just make sure that you are using high quality chocolate! Any leftover chocolate goes straight into my copycat Starbucks mocha sauce.
How to Make Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep the flours and cream the butter. Whisk the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and fine sea salt together in a large bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), add the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- Cream, then add the eggs. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale and airy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract.
- Beat until smooth. Beat well after each egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add the flour and chocolate. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined, then drop in the chocolate pieces.
- Fold. Gently fold the chocolate through the dough until it is evenly distributed.
- Portion and chill. Use a large cookie scoop or ¼ cup measure to portion the dough into 3.5-ounce mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the sheet (or move the dough to an airtight container) and chill for 24 to 72 hours. Pre-portioning helps the cookies bake more evenly and saves time later.
- Bake. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven and space the chilled dough balls out on a lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between each. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Cool completely. Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before adding the chocolate bottoms.
- Melt the chocolate. Gently melt the extra bittersweet or dark chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring in between. Flip each cooled cookie upside down and add a spoonful of melted chocolate.
- Spread, set, and salt. Spread the chocolate into a thin, even layer, then set the cookies chocolate-side down on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate or leave at room temperature until set. Finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top for that sweet-and-salty combo.
Expert Tips
- Use a kitchen scale instead of measuring cups to weigh the ingredients, especially the flours, for better accuracy.
- Pass the flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve as it goes into the wet ingredients to avoid clumping.
- DO NOT skip the overnight chill. The longer chilling time is one of the more unique features of this recipe and is necessary for recreating it accurately.
- Use high-quality ingredients, especially for the butter, chocolate, and vanilla, to make the cookies taste like a professional bakery.
Why do you need to make this copycat Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe?
- They’re larger cookies than what you’re used to, which means more to enjoy 🙂 And if the gooey center is your favorite part, my Crumbl chocolate chip cookie cups are basically all center.
- These cookies are so good, they’ve been featured in multiple magazines like the NY Times.
- The bittersweet chocolate chunks and bottom layer will have you obsessed from the first time you take a bite. Team dark chocolate? You need my Crumbl chocolate cake cookies too.
- They’re literally the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll probably ever have in your life.
Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQs
I haven’t asked Mr. Jacques Torres directly, but I assume he uses both bread and cake flour instead of just all-purpose flour in his chocolate chip cookies because it gives you more control over the total gluten amount. By using two separate flours, one that’s chewier and one that’s less chewy, you can play with the ratio to land on a slightly different total gluten amount than all-purpose flour, which makes for chocolate chip cookies with the perfect chewy texture.
Both cake flour and bread flour for these Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. If not, you can always get them online through Amazon or other providers.
I wouldn’t change it. Chunks of chocolate bars or discs are preferred for Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies because they give bigger, melty pockets and create a more attractive cookie. Plus, chocolate bars don’t have the extra emulsifiers that chocolate chips have, so they give a softer bite and are better for spreading on the base.
I haven’t personally tried a gluten-free version of these Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies, but I think you might be able to make it work as long as you use gluten-free cake flour and gluten-free bread flour.
One of the key features of Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies is their grandiose size. But if you want smaller cookies, you can portion each ball to your desired size. You will have to reduce the baking time, and the exact number depends on the size of your dough balls, so keep an eye on them and pull them once the edges look set. The middles will keep baking as they rest on the pan. You can also bake just one cookie first to get your timing right. And if you only want a few cookies, my small batch chocolate chip cookies and small batch brownies are already sized down.
Yes! Once your Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie dough balls have chilled in the fridge overnight to meld the flavors together, you can place them all in a zip-top bag and store them in the freezer for a couple of months until you’re ready to bake them fresh.
Put leftover Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container. They can stay at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days. To freeze them and prevent freezer burn, wrap the cookies in plastic wrap, either individually or all together.
More Bakery-Style Cookies
If you waited out that chill and baked these Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies, you deserve a medal! Leave a ⭐ star rating and a comment below, and tell me how long you let the dough rest. Happy baking!!
Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour (Minus 2 tablespoons)
- 1 ⅔ cups bread flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ lbs bittersweet or dark chocolate discs or chunks for the dough
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional but so good!)
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate chunks or disks for coating the bottoms
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.2 cups cake flour (Minus 2 tablespoons), 1 ⅔ cups bread flour, 1 ¼ tsp baking soda, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
- In another bowl (or stand mixer), beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla extract, scraping down the sides as needed.2 large eggs, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate discs or chunks.1 ¼ lbs bittersweet or dark chocolate discs or chunks
- Scoop the cookie dough into 3.5 oz portions (about ¼ cup) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the whole tray with plastic wrap or transfer the dough balls to an airtight container, then refrigerate for 24–72 hours. Chilling them already portioned makes baking later so much easier and helps the cookies bake more evenly.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the chilled cookie dough balls on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 15–18 minutes, or until golden around the edges but soft in the center.
- Let cookies cool fully on a wire rack before moving to the next step.
- Melt your extra dark or bittersweet chocolate gently (in a double boiler or microwave in 20-second bursts). Once smooth, flip each cooled cookie upside down and spread a layer of melted chocolate on the bottom.8 oz bittersweet chocolate chunks or disks
- Place the cookies chocolate-side-down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate or let sit at room temp until the chocolate firms up.
- For that salty-sweet finish, hit the tops of the cookies with a pinch of flaky sea salt.Flaky sea salt
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Love this cookie recipe but I noticed it spreads too much! Could I decrease the amount of butter to lessen the spreading?
Keep the butter. A few things to check first: make sure the dough chilled the full 24 hours (this is the big one), that your butter was room temp and not soft or melty when you creamed it, and that you’re baking on room-temperature sheets, not ones still warm from the last batch. If it’s still spreading, try baking at 375°F instead of 350 so the edges set faster. Let me know if that helps! 🙂
This is my second comment! Just want to tell you I have made these a lot for my boyfriend, he loves them but make them allot for his softball buddies too! My go to recipe & will never go back to any others! Thanks again for recipe
I’m so glad that everyone has been enjoying them and thank you so much for giving my recipes a try! It means the world to me 🥲
These taste great! They came out puffy but flattened as they cooled. Do you have any suggestions?
So glad you loved them! Quick note, these aren’t really meant to be a super thick cookie, so a little flattening as they cool is normal. That said, here are a few tricks if you want a thicker result:
1. Right when they come out of the oven, grab a larger cookie cutter, a bowl, or even a wide cup and swirl it around the edge of each cookie. It pushes them back in and gives you a taller, tighter cookie.
2. If yours spread more than mine did, weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale next time. Even small differences in flour can change how much they spread.
3. One thing I learned the hard way: parchment paper vs. silicone mat makes a real difference. Cookies grip a silicone mat more and hold their shape better, while parchment lets them spread a bit more. If you want less spread, try a silicone mat next time.
Hope that helps!
Came out awesome!! Will def be making in place of my usual chocolate chip cookies!!!
So glad you liked them!