Dumbfounding Thin & Crispy CC Cookies (Tate's-Style)

These simple chocolate chip cookies are majorly elevated by a secret ingredient. They're crispy-crunchy, but still substantial enough to be taken seriously by a hungry farmer with a sweet tooth. The cookies you see here were made by an 8-year-old. You can do it, too! Refined sugar-free, no leaven.

Filia (my daughter) and I made this batch of cookies in honor of closing on a parcel of land--the last piece to complete our mountain homestead spread. We wanted to bring a tin to the wonderful ladies at the Title company.

After I set out the ingredients, the toddler needed me and I ended up spending awhile getting him down for his nap. In the meantime, Filia stepped to it and made the cookies (and photographed each step). Is she a prodigy or are these cookies simple to make? Both, of course 🙂

This recipe originates from the infamous Toll House cookies, which were created by Ruth Wakefield at her Toll House Inn in 1938. The story goes that she used an ice pick to chip up a chocolate bar, and put that in her cookie. I also like to use a chocolate bar in my cookies, rather than chocolate chips. When I cut it up, I think of Ruth outside with an icepick in a Massachusetts winter.

There's nothing better with a good than a cold glass of milk. For us that's goat's milk, or kefir, or cultured ice cream.

Ingredients

We love a good dessert or sweet treat, but don't like how we feel when we eat processed cane sugar. I chose maple sugar and high-quality butter for this recipe, to keep the sugar hangover under control. Granulated sugar, though, is the key to making the cookie crispy.

Most cookies use some kind of leaven, usually baking powder or baking soda. I left both out of this recipe because 1) they tend to bother my digestion and 2) I wanted these cookies to be flat!

• Butter: It's best at room temperature! I've forgotten plenty of times though; I just cut it up into tablespoons and use it cold. Mixing with your hands can help warm frozen butter. I like to use European salted butter, which has higher butterfat so is richer. Straus and Organic Valley are my go-to brands. 
• Maple Sugar: This is THE secret weapon of this recipe, and it is WORTH IT! It makes the perfect texture for a crispy, crunchy cookie. The flavor is rich and puts these cookies over the edge. I've heard from people with blood sugar issues that they can tolerate these cookies much better than cookies made from cane sugar. (Yes, you can use another granulated sugar instead with the same amount. Increase oven temp by 25 degrees if using cane sugar).
• Flour: Using a low-protein flour does help the cookies stay thin and crispy. But I don't bother with that. I buy a 50-lb bag of organic unbleached white flour and use it for everything, including bread and pastries! I like Central Milling Company's stuff. 
• Vanilla Extract: For years I omitted this, and you absolutely can do that, but it really adds some flavor.
• Chocolate: I like to use the highest quality chocolate bar I can find. Cutting a bar into chunks adds a certain something. I usually opt for a Hu dark chocolate bar. 
• Pecans: Don't forget the nuts. They're extra-awesome if you soak in salt water and dry them out first, but you can throw them in raw, too.

See recipe card for quantities.

What is Maple Sugar?

If you evaporate the liquid from maple syrup, you get maple sugar! It's the old-fashioned version of sugar. Back in the day, the white stuff was considered special for company; for everyday stuff they used maple sugar. Now, it costs a small fortune. I buy a pound or less per month, and my budget keeps me honest about our sugar intake. The best place to purchase it is from Azure Standard.

And note that you can substitute any other type of granulated sugar: cane, sucanat, coconut, date (but really, do yourself a favor and go for the maple sugar!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the butter and maple sugar. Use a fork, a pastry cutter, a handheld blender, or my favorite: your fingers. The idea is to evenly mix the sugar into the butter.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add vanilla extract and 1-2 teaspoons water.

Mix flour and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture in three parts, mixing after the addition of each part.

Fold in the chocolate and nuts, and don't over-mix. At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the dough if you aren't going to bake right away

Use wet hands to make walnut-sized balls of dough and place them on the cookie sheet, a few inches apart. Use your palm to press them down flat about ¼" thick.

Bake for 6-10 minutes. They should be golden around the edges. Remove to a metal drying rack using a spatula, and let cool about 10 minutes, if you can!

Hint: Here are some ways to make sure your cookies come out crisp.

• Be sure to use granulated sugar (not maple syrup or honey).
• Press the cookies down well on the baking sheet.
• Check the cookies after 5 or 6 minutes-- they will burn quickly. They should be sufficiently golden around the edges before taking them out.
• Use a wire rack to cool the cookies for ultimate crispness.

Substitutions

If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.

• Gluten-Free - use your favorite gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose. I like Arnel's, from Azure.
• Caffeine/Chocolate-Free - use carob chips instead, like these unsweetened organic ones from Amazon.
• Nut-Free- the nuts can be left out, and you can optionally add more chocolate.
• Vegan - check out this recipe for vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that are still thin and crispy!
• Maple Sugar- Yes, this is a rare and hard-to-find ingredient! Yes, you can use regular sugar, coconut sugar, or any other granulated sugar. If you use cane sugar, increase oven temp to 375. For other types of unrefined sugar, keep the oven at 350. Just be sure to check the cookies after 5 minutes, and every few minutes thereafter to be sure they don't burn.

Variations

You can switch up the chocolate and the nuts for slight variations on this recipe.

• Fancy Chocolate: some favorite exotic chocolate bars are Endorfin Foods' Extra Dark Nibs & Salt, Sted's Golden Milk bar, or Hu's Hazelnut Butter Dark Chocolate.
• Simple Chocolate: use milk chocolate chips.
• Walnuts are really delicious--just use them instead of pecans.
• Kid-Friendly: For a caffeine-free version, I often use carob chips instead of chocolate. I've yet to meet anyone who can tell the difference.

Equipment

For a long time I made cookies in a glass baking dish, because that was all I had. Then I got a cookie sheet and a wire drying rack and it changed our cookies forever. It also made my Man love me a lot more.

I don't cook on aluminum, so I use this stainless steel baking sheet from Lehman's. They also have this three-tiered drying rack, which I haven't tried myself but looks great.

If you're baking on a glass dish, you'll probably need to bake about 3 minutes longer.

Storage

Unbaked cookie dough can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks, or the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to seal tightly in a plastic bag so it doesn't absorb smells.

Optionally, you can form the cookie dough into a log with a diameter of 1-2". Wrap in freezer paper or plastic wrap. When you want cookies, use a sharp knife to cut rounds ¼"-½" thick and lay on cookie sheet. You'll then want to press these rounds down into thin cookies, as described in the instructions.

Baked cookies do best in a glass cookie jar! I use a jar with a sealing lid: this one, to be exact.

FAQ

Thin & Crispy Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies (Tate's-Style)

Rose

These simple chocolate chip cookies are majorly elevated by a secret ingredient. They're crunchy, but still substantial enough to be taken seriously by a hungry farmer with a sweet tooth. The cookies you see here were made by an 8-year-old. You can do it, too! Refined sugar-free, no leaven.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 2 dozen

Equipment

• 1 baking sheet I use stainless steel

Ingredients

  

Potatoes and apples

• 1 cup butter room temp (2 sticks)
• 1.5 cups maple sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon water
• 2.25 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 ounce chocolate bar roughly chopped (or 1 cup chocolate chips)
• 1 cup pecans roughly chopped

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the butter and maple sugar. Use a fork, a pastry cutter, a handheld blender, or my favorite: your fingers.
• Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add vanilla extract and 1-2 teaspoons water.
• Mix flour and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture in three parts, mixing after the addition of each part.
• Fold in the chocolate and nuts, and don't overmix. At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the dough if you aren't going to bake right away.
• Use wet hands to make walnut-sized balls of dough and place them on the cookie sheet, a few inches apart. Use your palm to press them down flat about ½" thick.
• Bake for 6-10 minutes. They should be golden around the edges. Remove to a metal drying rack using a spatula, and let cool about 10 minutes, if you can!

Notes

Any type of granulated sugar can be used instead of maple sugar. If using a refined sugar (cane sugar), then increase oven temperature to 375.

I use salted butter, but you can alternatively use unsalted butter and add ¼ teaspoons salt.

Keyword cookies