Paula Deen Paula’s Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Paula Deen Paula's thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies are an easy cookie made with milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and chopped pecans, ready in 25 minutes. Save this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe for potluck tables, church suppers or the holiday table, because it's a simple bake-sale favorite.

Press each scoop flat with a piece of greased wax paper before it goes in the oven, because that is what makes the cookies thin. Skip it and you get puffy, soft cookies instead of crisp, lacy ones.

Paula packs in more pecans than chips because that's how her family likes them, and she also mixes in walnuts and macadamias. Scoop only 9 cookies per sheet so the thin dough has room to spread without running together.

Paula Deen Paula's Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Course: DessertCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

520

kcal

These cookies bake up wide and flat, with crisp, golden edges and a buttery brown sugar flavor. Pecans and two kinds of chocolate chips give every bite some crunch and a little melt.

Ingredients

• 2 cups All-purpose flour
  

• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  

• 1 teaspoon salt
  

• 2 ½ sticks salted butter, at room temp
  

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  

• ¾ cup white sugar
  

• 1 egg
  

• 1 tablespoon vanilla
  

• 3 tablespoons water
  

• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  

• ½ cup white chocolate chips
  

• 2 cups chopped pecans
  

Directions

• Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease your cookie sheets. That way they're ready when the dough is.
• Whisk the dry ingredients: Whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt together in a bowl. Set it aside while you make the dough.
• Cream the butter: Beat 2 1/2 sticks room temperature salted butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Keep going until the mixture is creamy.
• Add the wet ingredients: Add the egg, 3 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon vanilla to the creamed butter. Beat until everything is combined.
• Mix in the flour: Add the flour mixture slowly while the mixer runs on low. Mix just until the dough comes together.
• Stir in the add-ins: Stir in 1 cup milk chocolate chips, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and 2 cups chopped pecans. The dough will be thick with them, which is how Paula likes it.
• Scoop the cookies: Drop level scoops of about 2 to 2 1/4 ounces onto the greased cookie sheet, 9 cookies per sheet. A regular ice cream scoop is the right size.
• Press them flat: Spray a piece of wax or parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray, then lightly press down each cookie. This is what makes them thin.
• Bake the cookies: Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Pull them out once they reach the color you like, since darker cookies turn out crispier.

Tools for this recipe

• OXO medium cookie scoop, Reynolds unbleached parchment paper, Checkered Chef cooling racks, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract, 8 oz. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I use different nuts in these cookies?

Yes, Paula mixes pecans, walnuts and macadamias depending on what she has. Swap them one for one so the dough stays the same thickness.

Why do I press the cookies down before baking?

Pressing the scoops flat with greased paper is what makes these cookies thin and crispy. Without it, the dough bakes up thicker and softer in the middle.

Can I use fewer nuts and more chocolate chips?

You can, because Paula says to adapt the amounts to suit your taste. Her version uses more nuts than chips since that's how her family likes them.

How do I get the cookies extra crispy?

Bake them until they reach a darker golden color, toward the 15-minute end of the range. Let them cool on the pan for a minute so they firm up as they sit.

Why only 9 cookies per sheet?

The pressed dough spreads out thin as it bakes, so each cookie needs space. Crowding the pan makes the edges run together and stay soft.