Mom's Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The chocolate chunk cookie that earns the bakery-sized scoops, packed with eighteen ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chunks and six ounces of pecans. The dough barely holds the mix-ins, which is the whole point.

The half-butter, half-margarine ratio isn’t a compromise. Butter brings flavor and crisp edges, margarine has a higher melting point that keeps the cookies from spreading too thin in the oven. Together they yield bakery-style cookies with crackled tops and chewy middles.

Press the dough balls down lightly before baking. The cookies don’t spread as much as you’d expect, and the press helps them flatten into wide discs.

Pro Tips

• Use real chocolate chunks chopped from a bar, not chips, the irregular shapes melt into pools and pockets you can’t get from chips
• Toast the pecans for ten minutes before chopping, raw nuts in a chocolate cookie taste flat
• Don’t pull the cookies before 15 minutes, undercooked centers won’t set when cooled and turn raw-doughy
• Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring, the structure firms as the heat dissipates

Variations

• Swap pecans for walnuts or skip nuts entirely for a classic chocolate chunk cookie
• Add ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt to the dough or sprinkle on top before baking for sweet-salty balance
• Use bittersweet (70%) chocolate for a less sweet, more cocoa-forward flavor