Yummy Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Plain yogurt and honey sneak into these chocolate chip cookies alongside the usual suspects, and the result is a softer, slightly tangier cookie than the classic butter version. The yogurt keeps the crumb tender while the honey adds a floral sweetness that plain sugar can’t match.

This dough uses shortening instead of butter, which changes the game. Shortening melts at a higher temperature than butter, so these cookies spread less and stay puffier during baking. Combined with the moisture from the yogurt, you get a thick, soft cookie rather than a thin, crispy one.

Cream the shortening with both sugars, the egg, yogurt, honey, and vanilla until smooth before adding the dry ingredients. Mixing the flour on low speed just until it disappears prevents a tough cookie. Two cups of chocolate chips in a batch of 60 cookies means you’ll hit chocolate in every single bite.

Pull them at 9-11 minutes when they’re set but only lightly browned. They’ll look slightly underdone on the sheet, and that’s exactly right. The two-minute rest on the hot pan finishes the bake.

Pro Tips

• Use full-fat plain yogurt for best results. Low-fat or flavored yogurts throw off the moisture balance and add unwanted sweetness.
• Chill the dough for 30 minutes if it feels too soft to scoop. Shortening-based doughs can get sticky at room temperature.
• Space cookies 2 inches apart on the sheet. Even though shortening cookies spread less, they still need room.
• Let cookies cool completely before stacking. The honey makes them tacky when warm.

Variations

• Peanut butter chip: Swap chocolate chips for peanut butter chips and add chopped peanuts. The salt from the peanuts plays off the honey beautifully.
• Butterscotch: Use butterscotch chips instead and add a pinch of sea salt on top before baking.
• Toffee crunch: Replace chips with toffee bits for a buttery, caramelized bite in every cookie.