Donna Kelce's Cookie Recipe
Servings 38 cookies
Donna Kelce's Chocolate Chip Cookies are a winning recipe that has taken over social media! These homemade cookies are chewy with crispy edges and packed with a mouthwatering flavor of crunchy chopped pecans, sweet white chocolate, milk chocolate chips, and cozy cinnamon. It's no wonder everyone is raving about them!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups salted butter melted
- 1½ cups light brown sugar 338g, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar 220g
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 additional large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour 310g, scooped and shaken, see notes
- 1 cup cake flour 155g scooped and shaken, see notes
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup Ghirardelli white chocolate chips 185g, 6.5oz., plus more for topping
- 1 cup Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips 185g, 6.5oz., plus more for topping
- 1 cup pecan pieces 130g, optional
Instructions
- Melt 1½ cups salted butter in the microwave at 20-second increments (do not overdo it!). Pour the melted butter into a large bowl and cool for 15 to 20 minutes. I found slicing the butter into tablespoons made for a more even melt.
- Add 1½ cups light brown sugar and 1 cup granulated sugar to the butter mixture and mix with a hand mixer for 4 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 1 large egg, 1 additional large egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds.
- Add 2 tablespoons hot water to a small prep bowl with 1 teaspoon baking soda and stir to dissolve. Stir into the butter mixture with a rubber spatula.
- In a separate bowl, add 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup cake flour, 1½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and mix to combine. Add this mixture ½ cup at a time to the bowl, beating on low after each addition just until combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Fold in 1 cup Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and 1 cup Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips, as well as 1 cup pecan pieces, if desired, with a rubber spatula.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the balls (1.5 tablespoons—about 1.1 oz. each) onto a parchment-lined baking pan. Stack the balls two high and chill for 1 hour before covering them with plastic wrap (the dough is soft and any pressure from covering could squish them). Refrigerate them for at least 3 hours, preferably 24.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a fresh baking pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the cookie dough balls on the baking pan, leaving 3 inches between scoops. I recommend baking no more than 8 cookies per 12x17-inch pan. Use two cookie pans to rotate batches, ensuring the pans have cooled before baking the next batch on them.
- Press additional chopped pecans into the tops of the dough before baking. You don't want to do this after, like with the chocolate chips, because we want the pecans to toast and have a better flavor.
- Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through; most of the cookie will be golden (more so on the edges). If baking from frozen, bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Swirl inside a large circular biscuit or cookie cutter or a plastic bowl to reshape them and help make them a little thicken.
- Press additional chocolate chips into the tops of the freshly baked cookies. This gives them a more polished look (and extra chocolate!)
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes after swirling and adding chips before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
During testing, the results yielded thinner, crunchier, and chewier cookies when making these cookies using our standard weighted measurements of 130g per cup of flour (what you get when you spoon and level off a cup with a knife). This may be the preferred texture of some, but it's not my preference.
Anyway, I started thinking about how my mom and mother-in-law (and all the other 90s moms) measure their flour. They scoop into the bag or container with the measuring cup and shake it from side to side to level off the top. This yielded a weighted measurement of about 155g per cup of flour, resulting in a 19% increase in flour in the recipe.
The additional flour resulted in cookies that were a bit thicker, with crisp edges and chewy but soft centers. For me, these were the best and likely more true to the ones Donna makes.
If you are using the spoon and level method, you'll actually want to use 2 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of all purpose and 1 1/4 cup cake flour.
If you like the thinner cookies, use 260g of all-purpose flour and 130g of cake flour with no additional changes to the recipe. It's VERY important that the dough is chilled because it is super soft. You also need to pop your pan in the freezer for 5 minutes before putting the dough on to bake each round, this helps prevent spreading. You want to let them cool on the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before they are set enough to transfer to a wire rack.
- Scooping before chilling - Taking the time for this extra step before chilling means saving a lot of time later and delivering more consistent results.
- Chilling for 3 hours - A delicious cookie you can enjoy the same day you make them. Lighter in color with less caramelization and flavor development than those with a longer chill.
- Fridge chill for 24 hours - My husband's favorite of the test cookies. The sugar felt a bit more crystalized within the cookie, and it was chewier.
- Freezer chill for 24 hours - My personal favorite of the bunch. These cookies were the perfect blend of crispy, chewy, and soft.
Nutrition
Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 240IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg
Find it online: www.sugarandsoul.co/mama-kelces-chocolate-chip-cookies/