Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
The famous pan banging chocolate chip cookies are thin and crispy with decadent melted dark chocolate and buttery, crispy edges and a chewy center.
Have you seen these cookies all over the internet? This technique became famous by Sarah Kieffer of the Vanilla Bean Baking Blog and it has caused quite the stir...in the best possible way.
If you have read Modern Honey for very long, you know that I love experimenting with all types of techniques, ingredients, oven temperatures, etc. I love to try it ALL and this pan-banging technique was fascinating. It created buttery, crispy edges and ridiculously decadent chocolate chip cookies.
So what does pan banging mean?
It is a method where bakers bang the baking sheet pan against the oven rack to create a thin cookie with wrinkled, buttery, crinkly edges. It creates a chocolate chip cookie with a crispy edge and a soft, gooey chocolate center.
I started out making this recipe as written but began tweaking it as I made more and more batches. This became the perfect thin chocolate chip cookie recipe!
This recipe calls for butter, a generous amount of sugar (which creates the crispy edges), brown sugar, egg plus one egg yolk, a touch of water, flour, baking soda, salt, and dark chocolate chunks.
There are a few ingredients and techniques that make these pan-banging cookies unique.
How to make the Best Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Here are a few things that set this chocolate chip cookie recipe apart...
- The ratio of sugar to brown sugar. If we take the classic Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe, it calls for ¾ cup of brown sugar and ¾ cup of sugar to 1 cup of butter. This recipe calls for 1 ¼ cup of sugar and ½ cup of brown sugar to 1 cup of butter. This extra granulated sugar ratio creates the beloved buttery, crispy edges. The original recipe only called for ¼ cup of brown sugar and after testing it, I wanted a slightly chewier cookie so I reduced the sugar by ¼ cup and increased the brown sugar by ¼ cup.
- The liquid called for in this chocolate chip cookie recipe is 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 1 Tablespoon of water. The original recipe called for 1 egg and 2 Tablespoons of water. I liked the addition of fat and the structure and the flavor the egg yolk brought to the cookie dough.
- This recipe only calls for 2 cups of flour. The ratio of butter to flour is 1 cup to 2 cups. This is going to create a thin, buttery, flavorful cookie.
- I suggest using chocolate bars instead of chips for this recipe. Here's the deal...chocolate chips are made to keep their shape. They aren't going to fully melt when they hit the oven. I love to use chocolate bars cut into chunks because they melt so beautifully. I use the Trader Joe's Dark Pound Plus Bars. You can also use Guittard semi-sweet baking bars or Guittard semi-sweet baking wafers. Since these cookies are so thin and flat, the chocolate chips may stick up and look a little wonky. You want the chocolate to melt in a thin layer so it is essential to use chocolate bars, not chocolate chips.
- These cookies are large and will expand so you only put 4 on a baking sheet. Sarah suggests lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil as it helps the cookies to expand and spread.
- I weigh each of my cookie dough balls so they are even. You can buy an inexpensive kitchen scale HERE. I would suggest making 3-ounce balls which is just under ⅓ cup.
- Once you roll out the cookie dough balls and place them on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, place the cookies and baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes. If your baking sheet doesn't fit in your freezer, no problem, just put the cookie dough balls in for 15 minutes and then transfer to the baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and then the MAGIC happens! Open the oven and with an oven mitt, lift the side of the baking sheet up about 4-5 inches and carefully let it drop down against the oven rack.
Imagine yourself removing a baking sheet from the oven and banging it on the counter...except you do it in the oven. I do this 3 times. Then you repeat it every 2 minutes until you reach the baking time of about 16 minutes. - Always remember baking times can vary. If your oven runs hot, you may be baking for only 14 minutes.
If it runs slightly cooler, you may be at 17 minutes. Remember the cookies continue to bake once you pull them from the oven so I always veer on the side of underdone rather than overdone. A burned cookie isn't recoverable. - Once you remove it from the oven, bang it one more time on the counter and let them wrinkle and crinkle.
Oh, you are going to love these crispy chocolate chip cookies!! This recipe is adapted from Vanilla Bean Blog. I changed the granulated sugar amount, the brown sugar amount, added an egg yolk, reduced the water amount, increased the chocolate amount, and decreased the cookie size.
Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter (softened)
- 1 ¼ cups Sugar
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 1 large Egg
- 1 large Egg Yolk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 8 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate BARS* (chopped into pieces, some small and large)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Add water, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat for 1 minute longer.
- Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chunks.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (this helps to allow the cookies to spread). Roll each dough into 3-ounce balls (slightly less than ⅓ cup). Place only 4 on a baking sheet to allow for spreading.
- Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. While they are chilling, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of baking time, open the oven and use an oven mitt to lift the side of the baking sheet up about 4 inches and gently let it drop down against the oven rack. I repeat it again and then close the oven. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake 15-17 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden but the centers are still slightly undercooked.
Julie T Katzman
I’m a huge Melissa fan and while the process worked great and the cookies looked great, for me, they were too sweet. I’d make them again but with less sugar and hopefully they still work. It’s really fun to see them get all crinkly after you bang each time.
Sheila
I just pulled 2 batches of these from my double ovens AND …. WOW! JUST WOW!!
They turned out great & I can’t wait to share them with my coworkers!
This was a busy baking task, BUT fun & I followed the recipe to the tee!
My husband even got in on the pan banging & we had a good time!
Thanks for the recipe! 😊
George
Love how crispy the edges on these cookies were! They came out perfect.
Zeba
Grams measurements please
I only need it for flour though
Sabeen Ahmed
Hi!! My cookie turned out more cakey than thin and crispy... but I didn’t have enough granulated sugar so I used more brown sugar. Is that why? Or is it the way I mixed the sugar with butter perhaps?
Zeba
Either yes its because you used more brown sugar, or it could be you measured your flour wrong, thats why its always best to use a scale 🙂
Sabeen Ahmed
Thank you so much Zeba! 🙂
Jacqui
The perfect chocolate chip cookie! Family and I made these for the super bowl and like all her other recipes, it was perfection. Chewy centers and crisp edges.
toni ritchey
I'm confused. you said: The ratio of sugar to brown sugar. If we take the classic Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe, it calls for 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 3/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of butter. This recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar to 1 cup of butter. This extra granulated sugar ratio creates the beloved buttery, crispy edges. The original recipe only called for 1/4 cup of brown sugar and after testing it, I wanted a slightly chewier cookie so I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and increased the brown sugar by 1/4 cup.
but your recipe calls for 1 1/4 c sugar and 1/2 cup brown. you said you reduced the white sugar by 1/4 cup so should white sugar be 1 c and brown 1/2?
Modern Honey
Hi there! I was referencing two different recipes. The first was the Nestle Tollhouse and the second one was the original pan banging cookie recipe. I changed up the sugar amounts from the pan banging one. I can understand why you were confused! 🙂
Meg
I’ve tried A LOT of chocolate chip cookie recipes trying to find “the one”. Well this one has everything I like in a cookie - crispy AND chewy! Perfect blend of ingredients. Although I did not use a chocolate bar I used semi sweet chips since that’s what I had on hand. I may have banged the pan more on the first batch and felt silly doing that. But it worked. I refrigerated the dough as well instead of freezing each pan (small freezer). I banged the remaining sheets only twice during baking and also turned out great. Will definitely be making these again. Thank you!!
Graeme bethune
Do you use salted butter or unsalted?
Bonnie
I made these today as written, and must say that while I appreciate the work that you put into tweaking the original recipe, they were not a hit here. Comments included too greasy, prefer chocolate chips, and too thin. So I guess they aren't for everyone! But it was interesting to use the method. Probably would not make again.
Sue+Love
No, I didn’t use chocolate bars (I chopped chips in my OXO chopper and they worked perfectly).
No, I didn’t repeatedly bang my cookie sheet -once was enough. (For many reasons including noise pollution).
No, I didn’t freeze them, I refrigerated the whole batch of dough overnight and baked the following day, or use foil (used my normal silicone sheet).
Yes, these cookies came out wonderfully flat, with crispy edges and chewy centers as promised. Truly delicious. Moral of the story? I used what I had and what I was comfortable with and the recipe performed! Love the flexibility - a keeper!
Debs
OMG, these cookies are sooo good! I ate one straightaway! You are so right about them spreading! What fun to let the pan bang! Delish dessert cookie. Thank you!
Jamie
How long should the cookies rest when you take them out of the oven?