Ina’s Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last Updated on September 15, 2022 by Aimee

I made Ina’s Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies and they did not disappoint! That’s Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa fame in case you aren’t familiar 🙂 She’s one of my all-time favorites to watch, so I was excited to attempt another of her recipes. This recipe originates from @sarah_kieffer.

I must admit, I am normally a puffy chocolate chip cookie kind of girl but I mean, who could resist trying these at least once? They are quite spectacular.

This recipe requires a few steps to get those crinkled edges, but the end result was sheer perfection. Crispy on the edges and tender inside. Sweet and salty, they just hit all of the right notes. Let me show you how to make them and I’ll share tips on what I learned during the process.

How to make Ina’s Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

You’ll need just a few ingredients to make this recipe including:

• All Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar
• Room Temperature Butter (IMPORTANT)
• Large Egg (AA)
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Baking Soda
• Salt for the cookies
• Sea Salt for sprinkling
• Bittersweet (or Semi Sweet) Chocolate

PRO TIP #1 – You MUST scoop and freeze the scoops for exactly 15 minutes prior to baking. I placed all of them on a small quarter baking sheet lined with parchment and then into the freezer they go. Set your timer so you don’t forget.

*As I mention a few times in this post, I would have baked the trays separately, so you would want to freeze the dough scoops separately to accommodate this and freeze for no longer than 15 minutes each.

PRO TIP #2 – You must place the now 15 minute chilled scoops far apart on lined baking sheets. They will spread considerably.

PRO TIP #3 – Unless you have a professional convection oven like Ina, I found that mine performed best baking one sheet pan at a time on the middle rack.

Let’s take a look at the process. The first photo shows the cookie baking and puffing up. This is when you’ll put on your oven mitts and GENTLY bang the sheet pan on the counter to deflate the cookie. This is when your first set of crinkles will begin to appear.

We’re not there yet though. Bake for 3 more minutes, then gently bang the pans again, repeating baking and banging every 3 minutes, for 18 to 20 minutes total, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The center will still be soft and lighter in color but the cookies will set as they begin to cool on a rack.

PRO TIP #4 Right when they come out of the oven, sprinkle with the sea salt so that it will stick.

It seems like a lot of work, but just take a look at the end result. Isn’t that one amazing cookie?

Did I mention how giant these Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies end up being? I used a #16 cookie scoop like this one (*affiliate link) that holds 3.4 ounces of batter. NOTE: The Amazon description reads 4 tablespoons which is incorrect, but any scoop close in size will do. No need for exact measures here.

For reference, this recipe with this particular sized scoop yields exactly ten cookies measuring 5″ in diameter.

I just love how thin these are. Again, through trial and error, I did find that baking one sheet at a time yields the best looking crinkles.

Obligatory bite shot. If you’d like to leave out the salt in the cookie it will be plenty salty. Alternately, you could make the cookie without the sea salt topping. The process of making the cookie is what makes this recipe great.

Did you make Ina’s Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought! You can also tag me on Instagram @aimee_stock I’d love to see what you came up with! 🙂

Recipe adapted slightly from this one.

Print Recipe

Ina’s Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ina's Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

FREEZER TIME15 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 10 giant cookies

Calories:

Equipment

• Stand Mixer (or Hand Mixer)
• Lined Sheet Pans

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb Unsalted Butter (8 tbsp) at room temperature
• 3/4 c Sugar
• 2 tbsp Light Brown Sugar lightly packed
• 1 large Egg at room temperature
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 c All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tbsp WARM Water
• 1/2 tsp Table Salt NOTE: In hindsight, I would actually omit this if topping with the flaky sea salt to balance the flavor
• 1/4 c Bitter or Semi Sweet Chocolate chips, or chopped if using a chocolate bar

FOR FINISHING:

• Fleur de sel or sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 and line half sheet pans with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl.
• Next, add the egg, vanilla, and 1 tablespoons of WARM (not hot) water and mix on low speed just enough to incorporate.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and table salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
• Fold in the chocolate by hand.
• I used a #16 cookie scoop (about 3.4 ounces) but you could use a standard ice cream scoop or even a 1/4 c measuring cup and shape them into balls. You may get slightly more (or less) cookies depending on which you choose.
• Arrange the scoops onto a lined baking sheet and freeze for exactly 15 minutes. If you need to bake in batches, do not let any batch freeze for more than the 15 minutes.
• Arrange 4-5 balls of the chilled dough—spaced wide apart (important, they will spread!)—on each of two to three sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies are slightly puffed in the center. They will not be fully cooked. Proceed to next step!
• Remove the pans from the oven and bang them on the stove top, until the center of the cookies deflate.
• Bake for 3 minutes, then bang the pans again, repeating baking and banging every 3 minutes, for 18 to 20 minutes total, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The center should be lighter and softer but cooked though as you would traditional chocolate chip cookies.
• Immediately sprinkle the cookies with sea salt, if desired, and then cool completely on the pans over a cooling rack. Remove only once fully cooled. Enjoy!

Notes

NOTE #1: I found, through trial and error, unless you have a convection oven, these bake best one batch at a time. If baking in batches, do not let any batch freeze for more than the specified 15 minutes.

NOTE #2: In hindsight, I might decrease or leave out the salt IN the cookie if topping with the sea salt. It was just a bit more than I preferred.