Very Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These crunchy chocolate chip cookies take the standard cookie everyone knows and add a half cup of crisp rice cereal to the dough. The cereal stays crunchy through the bake, giving each cookie a tooth-shattering snap that contrasts with the chewy butter-and-brown-sugar interior.

Using only an egg yolk instead of a whole egg is a smart move for a crisper cookie. The yolk delivers fat and flavor without the egg white’s water, which would soften the texture and make the cookies puffy instead of flat and crunchy.

Level tablespoons of dough is the right size. Bigger scoops stay soft in the middle, smaller ones turn into crackers. Two inches between cookies is a must, they spread plenty in that hot oven.

Pro Tips

• Cream the butter and brown sugar a full 3 minutes for the lightest texture, even with such a small batch this matters.
• Use mini chocolate chips for better distribution in such a small dough or chop a bar of chocolate into uneven shards for puddly chocolate streaks.
• Pull the cookies at 8 minutes if you like them more chewy, 10 minutes for full crunch all the way through.
• Cool fully on the rack before stacking, the rice cereal needs the cooling-down time to firm up to its full crunchy potential.

Variations

• Sub crushed cornflakes or crispy chow mein noodles for the rice cereal for different crunch profiles.
• Add a half teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for a Mexican-chocolate spin.
• Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before baking for a sparkly, slightly crackled top.