Lucky Chocolate Chewies

These cookies live up to their name. They’re chewy, not crisp, with deep brown sugar caramel notes and a doubled-up chocolate hit from cocoa in the dough plus semisweet chips folded in.

The technique is classic creamed cookie. Brown sugar and shortening beat together with a splash of water for moisture, then eggs, then dry ingredients, then chips. Shortening here is the right call. Butter would spread too much in this high-sugar dough and you’d end up with thin crispy cookies instead of the puffy chewy ones the name promises.

The short bake time is essential. 7 to 9 minutes at 375°F (190°C) is the sweet spot. The edges set, the centers stay underdone-looking, and they finish baking from residual heat as they cool. Pull them while the middles still look soft. They firm up perfectly as they sit.

The vanilla glaze is what makes these next-level. A quick powdered sugar, shortening, milk, and vanilla mix drizzled or spread over each cooled cookie pushes them from school-lunch territory into bakery-window territory.

Use foil to cool the cookies. The directions specifically call for it, and it’s because the bottoms set up to a glossy smooth finish on the foil that parchment can’t match.

Pro Tips

• Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Two sheets at once gives uneven cookies as the heat circulates poorly.
• Use Dutch-processed cocoa for the deepest chocolate flavor. Natural cocoa works but the flavor is less rich.
• Wait until the cookies are completely cool before glazing. Warm cookies melt the glaze into a slumped, soaked-in coating instead of a clean drizzle.
• These cookies stay chewy for 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. They get firmer over time but never crispy.

Variations

• Swap semisweet chocolate chips for white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips.
• Add a half cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the dough for crunchy bites.
• Tint the glaze with a few drops of food coloring for holiday or themed cookies.