Can we talk about cookies for a second? I’ve touched on it before… but can you ever talk too much about cookies? I mean maybe– I guess talking about them isn’t necessarily so fun.. it’s more in the eating. Which brings me to my point…. These are my Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have pools of melted chocolate with a perfectly crisp, tender outside and dense, chewy inside.

My Favorite Non-Macro Friendly Legit Buttery Chocolate Chip Cookies

About This Recipe

I LOVE baking and EATING real, delicious, buttery chocolate chip cookies. Ones that crisp up on the edges and brown just enough to really bring out that butter but still leave a gooey chewy middle. I like dark brown sugar and a little extra vanilla and I always want to taste the salt.

These beauties don’t have any protein powder snuck in them or pumpkin or cauliflower to add low-cal volume. No applesauce pretending to be butter (ha- you’re never fooling us) or lonely egg whites missing their way, sexier counterpart. Lighter cookies, pumpkin in particular, like these little guys, have their place for me. But I have zero interest in finding a way to make these classic gems more macro-friendly and I’ll tell you why.

I’ve probably made thousands of cookie balls in my life. More pre-macros… but plenty since. Stop by my house and there’s a ziplock of dough-balls in the freezer. Like these babies… another adaptation of the Jacque Torres recipe. They were probably my single biggest concern with starting macros. But will my nightly pizookie fit???

This is what I’ve found in my macro meets cookie journey:

1. In the beginning of counting, I experimented a lot with “macro-friendly” cookie recipes and for me it just wasn’t worth it. Unless it was filled with cauliflower or pumpkin or something super low calorite that takes up space in the cookie (and makes it a whole different thing) they generally turned out really close in fat and carbs anyway. And then even if they were gross, I’d waste too many macros on them since I’d spent the time and resources. That’s the worst!

2. I’ve precisely entered at least five different legit chocolate chip cookie recipes in MFP. If I weigh a 75g ball of each (I like big cookies) they all ring in within a few fat and carbs of each other. The biggest variable is just if I STUFF them full of chocolate or not. So I stay moderate with the chocolate. BUT this makes it easy if someone brings you cookies, or you pick up your favorite from a bakery. If you can weigh it, you can pretty accurately log it. For example look up “nestle chocolate chip cookie dough g” and you’ll find options with 1 gram serving sizes so you can enter your weight. An average little cookie is maybe 36 grams while a big bakery one probably weighs 80-100 grams. It won’t be perfect of course but it’ll be close if you’ve got your grams logged.

3. If you struggle to hit your protein, maybe it’s worth it to try recipes with protein snuck in. But for me, I’d so much rather eat a delicious cookie done right and add more egg whites to my breakfast or turkey to my sandwich. If I plan ahead I can always eat more food! That’s never been a problem for me. This is why those Lenny cookies will never do it for me. The fat and carbs are pretty comparable to one of these chewy crispy beauties fresh out of the oven! And the added protein is not a selling point for me. That’s a no-brainer.

4. Chocolate chip cookies are still my all time favorite dessert. But I have learned I just really like a big dessert at night to look forward to, and a cookie is gone too fast. These days I always opt for my giant nightly shake. Or my ice-cream topped mighty muffin like this one and this one. I’ll even sometimes log one of these babies for a special afternoon snack. If it’s important to me, I can sacrifice and make it fit! And I do.

So hear me out… One of these chocolate chip cookies is gonna wipe out a good 14 grams of fat and 42 carbs. Which is a lot. BUT if you love cookies like me it’s totally doable. I usually have some snacks planned throughout the day that add up to more than that, so if I know I’m gonna bake a batch and want in on the fun, it just takes the place of those! The trick is all in the planning. That’s the beauty of macros. I don’t feel like I’ve been cut off from this iconic dessert that brings me so much JOY. If so, I’m sure I would have already quite by now. But now I also know exactly what they cost me and sometimes I’d rather have a yummy protein bar as a treat PLUS a bowl of oatmeal… or a giant yogurt bowl… or a sandwich… or just some straggler carbs for when I want to grab some popcorn or chocolate peppermint pretzels throughout the day! And it can be different every day. You just gotta be honest with yourself. Herein lies the beauty of macros.

Waxing poetic because that’s how strongly l feel. About cookies and macros.

For me, still having fresh homemade cookies on occasion is nourishing to my SOUL. So they’ll stick around. To some, it’s a temptation and trigger for sabotage. You do you! But it would make me feel so happy for you if that involves theeeeeeese.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Butter: Feel free to use unsalted– I just always prefer salted butter.
Sugar: You’ll need both granulated sugar and DARK brown sugar. The dark brown sugar is essential for getting the rice, deep molasses taste of these cookies!
Eggs: Make sure your eggs are at room temperature for optimal mixing. If you forget to let your eggs sit out, you can place them in a bowl of water for 10ish minutes.
Vanilla extract: Always an essential ingredient for chocolate chip cookies.
Kosher salt: I always want to taste the salt so I like to use a good teaspoon and a half of good-quality kosher salt. However, if you prefer things less salty, feel free to reduce the amount.
Flour: I used regular all-purpose flour. Make sure to measure your flour with a scale or use the spoon and level method to ensure you don’t add too much flour (will create tough cookies).
Baking soda and baking powder: The combination of the two gives these cookies the perfect texture. Just make sure both are fresh (less than 3 months old). I like to write the date I open a new container/box so I always know how fresh they are.
Good quality chocolate: I’m 100 percent team semi-sweet and/or dark chocolate in my cookies and love to use a mixture of chips and chunks. But use whatever you love! If you’re into milk, though chopping up the pound-plus bar from Trader Joe’s is amazing.

Dietary Adaptations

Gluten-free: Use 1:1 gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour.

Dairy-free: Use dairy-free butter and dairy-free chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life).

How To Make

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugars with the paddle attachment on your mixer until blended. Don’t go crazy.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition
Stir in vanilla and salt.
Whisk dry ingredients together in a separate bowl (or sometimes I just pour them in and whisk the dry top a bit before I turn on the mixer because I’m lazy)
Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients on low speed until ALMOST all combined. You still want to see some flour when you add the chocolate to be sure you’re not over-mixing.
Add chocolate and mix on low till just combined. Remember over-mixing makes a tough cookie!
With a large ¼ cup cookie scoop, (like this one– the size is essential to me for maximum texture perfection!) scoop 6-8 large cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined XL baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes at 350. You want them to be golden brown and crackly. Sprinkle with flake salt when they come out (I love this one). And tap any wonky cookie edges with a spatula while they’re hot to keep them lovely and round. Let them cook for a few minutes and enjoy!
With the remaining dough, scoop rows of cookie dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that you can fit in your freezer. Freeze the balls (uncovered is fine), just until firm enough to transfer to a large ziplock. Now you can bake fresh cookies whenever you want! You can bake from frozen for a few extra minutes, but I do find they spread best if you let them thaw on the cookie sheet before baking.

Helpful Tips

The macros are calculated using 15oz of chocolate, but the truth is I measure with my heart! We probably do closer to at least 3 cups.
If you do small cookies, they only need 8-12 minutes, depending on size (so keep an eye on them!)
We like to keep the dough balls in our freezer and bake a few fresh cookies whenever we want them. But If you have leftover baked cookies, store them in the freezer as well! That rivals a fresh warm cookie for me. Let it rest for 5 minutes so it’s not rock hard but just chewy with nice firm chocolate. So good. You can also bake your leftover frozen cookies at 350 for 5-8 minutes to bring it back to life– fresh, warm and gooey all over again.
When I’m bringing cookies to a party, or gifting cookies to a teacher etc, I ALWAYS bake them and freeze them. Even if I’m baking them the same day! I find it preserves the freshness better than anything. If we’re not eating them literally within about ten minutes of coming out of the oven, I’m freezing them. This way, they transfer beautifully to a party or in a cellophane bag for gifting without breaking/melting/sticking to each other, and by the time anyone is ready to eat them, they’re thawed crispy/chewy perfection. TRUST.

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