White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Soft Centers

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pale vanilla cookies bake into broad rounds with lightly golden edges, soft centers, and irregular pieces of white chocolate across their wrinkled tops. Most of the chopped chocolate goes into the dough; the rest is pressed onto the cookies just after baking so it stays visible.

This creamed-butter dough gets a 30-minute chill to limit excess spread. Take the cookies out when their edges are set but their centers still look soft—they finish setting on the baking sheet.

Yield: About 24 to 26 cookies. Prep: 20 minutes. Chill: 30 minutes. Bake: About 10 to 12 minutes per sheet. Total: About 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, including batch baking.

Ingredients for White Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (270g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted (225g)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (150g)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 ounces chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chunks (225g), divided

Chopped white chocolate gives the cookies irregular pieces on top. White chocolate chips also work, but will look more uniform.

How to Bake White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugars: Beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until creamy and a little lighter. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
3. Finish the dough: Add the dry ingredients and mix just until no dry flour remains. Fold in about 6 ounces of the white chocolate, reserving the remaining 2 ounces for the tops. Avoid beating the dough once the flour is incorporated.
4. Portion and chill: Scoop roughly 2-tablespoon portions of dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firmer. Near the end of the chill, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Line baking sheets with parchment.
5. Bake in batches: Arrange the chilled portions about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined sheet. Bake uncovered, one sheet at a time. Start checking at 9 minutes; expect about 10 to 12 minutes per sheet. Remove the cookies when the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly puffy and soft. Keep dough for later batches chilled, and place it on a cool sheet.
6. Add the chocolate and cool: Immediately press pieces of the reserved white chocolate gently onto the hot tops without flattening the cookies. Leave them on the sheet for about 5 minutes to set, then transfer to a wire rack.

How to Tell When the Cookies Are Done

Look at the edges rather than waiting for the whole cookie to look firm. The edges should be set and lightly browned, while the centers remain pale and soft-looking. The centers firm during the five-minute rest on the hot sheet; baking until they look completely firm can leave the cookies dry or hard.

Why Chill This Dough?

Chilling the scooped, creamed-butter dough helps it spread into broad rounds without becoming too thin. Butter that is too warm or a hot baking sheet can encourage excess spread. Leave about 2 inches between portions during baking, even if you arrange the finished cookies close together for serving.

White Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations

For a separate variation, fold up to 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or up to 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries into the dough with the white chocolate. Leave them out of the plain white chocolate cookies described here.

For a cocoa-based cookie, see these double chocolate cookies with white chips rather than adding cocoa to this dough. For a pale dough with darker chocolate, try these classic chocolate chip cookies with soft centers.

Storing and Freezing

Cool the cookies completely, then store them airtight at room temperature for the best texture within 3 days. Baked cookies can be frozen airtight for up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes.

You can portion and chill the dough ahead of baking or freeze the portions for later. For frozen dough, use the set-edge and soft-center cues rather than assuming the chilled-dough bake time will be exact.

Nutrition

Approximate nutrition per cookie, based on 25 cookies: 200 calories, 2g protein, 11g fat, and 24g carbohydrates. Per 100g: approximately 495 calories, 5g protein, 27g fat, and 59g carbohydrates. Values are estimates and vary with the white chocolate used and the size of each cookie.