Honey-Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies {Honey-Sweetened}
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 cubes) butter (room temperature); 1 cup (12 ounces) raw honey (see note); 2 eggs; 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (see note); 3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose white flour (see note); 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 3 cups (18 ounces) chocolate chips (see note); 1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

by Heatherupdated on April 20, 2022April 16, 202078 Comments

These honey-sweetened chocolate chip cookies have the perfect textured, a delicious flavor, and a generous amount of chocolate.

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I noticed the other day that the main page on my blog is sadly lacking all trace of chocolate and I realized I must work to change that immediately. My efforts were partly out of guilt for misrepresenting reality because there is definitely not a shortage of chocolate consumption going on around here, especially during this time. But mostly my efforts were because you just need these cookies in your life my friends, ASAP.

So here I am with a bit of chocolate heaven for you.

I’ve had a few people tell me how much they’ve enjoyed these big fat chocolate chip cookies I posted for my birthday last year. If you haven’t made them yet, don’t worry I’m giving you another chance. Because today I’m sharing a honey-sweetened version of those amazing chocolate chip cookies.

I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect honey-sweetened chocolate chip cookies for a while now. I’ve tried several recipes that were good, but just not want I was looking for. On a whim I tried subbing honey in those big fat ccc’s (a.k.a. Big Fats, my favorite ccc’s eva). I was actually expecting to be somewhat disappointed, but was totally shocked at how amazing they were.

So are they as good as the original?

I haven’t pitted them side by side yet, but I am not missing the sugar version when I eat these honey-sweetened cookies. And that’s saying a lot for me. I’m super particular about these things especially when it comes to my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

They are so good, my friends. The texture is surprisingly only very slightly cakier than the original recipe which is super unusual considering they are sweetened with honey.

Yes they are by far the best textured honey-sweetened chocolate chip cookie I have ever had.

Oh I just love questions like that, don’t you? It means taste testing is in order. And I am always happy to oblige. 🙂

As you may have noticed, the original recipe is called Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies. And for good reason. They are big and they are fat and messy and absolutely delicious.

But I decided that I wanted to give you options.

We all like options, don’t we?

I won’t tell you how many batches total because I’ve lost count, but this last batch I baked three different sizes: the original big fat (4-ounces), the medium fat (#20 cookie scoop), and the mini (#40 cookie scoop).

And then of course I had to taste each one in the name of science of course.

And here’s the verdict.

They’re all good.

But more of a good thing can be a better thing.

And in this case, it definitely is. The bigger the better. So there you go.

Oh and just as a side note on the original size. If you don’t have a kitchen scale I discovered that a barely heaping 1/3 cup works out to be just the right amount of dough for these. Make sure you grease the cup first before you measure it out.

A quick funny story.

Last week I was making these amazing chocolate chip cookies, carefully weighing them into 4 ounces blobs. Yes I actually do that. Even when I’m not taking pictures. Haha.

Well we found out my oldest son had pneumonia a few days earlier (I shared some of the story in this post). Anyway, at the last minute I ended up having to run him to the doctor right in the middle of making the cookies.

So I left my husband with baking instructions (turns out I had preheated the oven wrong in the process of being flustered) and a batch of weighed out cookies he needed to bake and the rest of the dough to make into cookies.

I wish I had a picture of what I came back to. The first batch (the ones I had weighed out) got overcooked because of my mistake in the oven temp. The second batch were perfectly cooked but wow they were ginormous. How did it happen? Well he just had (and I quote) “just a little bit of dough” left after making the 6 cookies that fit on the baking sheet. So guess what he did? Just added that little bit (which was really 3 4-ounce cookies worth) to the 6 cookies on the baking sheet of course. What came out of the oven were the most delicious monstrosities anyone ever tasted. So yeah, they definitely weren’t winning any beauty contests, but looks are not everything my friends. YUM.

A few baking tips…

Like the original recipe, I’ve only made these with a high powered mixer (I use the cookie dough paddles on my Bosch). It works amazing.

Update (4/20/22): The original recipe I posted used cold butter. I have since discovered that the Bosch cookie paddles do not hold up well mixing cold butter (even if it is sliced). So I am adapting the recipe to use room temperature butter. If you want the texture similar to the original recipe I posted, you can chill the dough after forming the dough balls and before baking (about 30 to 60 minutes).

As I’m sure you can imagine, baking time will vary depending on the size of cookie (and don’t set your oven temperature wrong like me). The honey version of these cookies is slightly darker than the original. I experimented with turning down the oven temperature to compensate but I found that I liked the texture of better at the original temp.

I do still press down the big fat cookies ever so slightly with a damp hand so they cook a little more evenly, but I found that the smaller cookies (#40 and #20 cookie scoop size) didn’t need it.

Can I make these without nuts or less chocolate chips?

Yes. My husband and kid prefer these chocolate chip cookies (and the original Big Fats) without nuts and less chocolate chips (about half that the recipe calls for).

I think the amount of nuts in the recipe is just perfect and adds to the amazing texture of the cookies that I love.

Although they definitely border on luxurious (especially when it comes to the chocolate), I like them exactly as they are.

We’ve found that the no-nut cookies bake up a little better if you don’t flatten them before baking.

In case you want to be particular…

Yes I realize there is some processed sugar in the chocolate chips. We usually go with dark chips because there is less sugar. At this point in my life I’m trying not to fuss too much about those things.

But if you are trying to go 100% sugar free using honey as a sweetener, I’m working on a recipe for homemade honey sweetened chocolate chips that a friend of mine gave me. She let me try them and they are amazing. So I just wanted you to know that they will be coming and I can’t wait to try them in these cookies.

Okay, my friends. I really hope you make these amazing chocolate chip cookies ASAP. They will definitely be made on repeat around here. Thanks for helping us get through quarantine and beyond, my dear amazing ccc’s.

4.34 from 18 votes

Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies {Honey-Sweetened}

The most amazing honey-sweetened chocolate chip cookies ever.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cookies

Keyword Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 14 cookies

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

1 cup (2 cubes) butter room temperature
1 cup (12 ounces) raw honey see note
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract see note
3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose white flour see note
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups (18 ounces) chocolate chips see note
1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (350 degrees convection bake). Line 2 half sheet baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer using cookie paddles, combine softened butter and honey and whip 1-2 minutes until lightened, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Add flour, salt, and baking soda and pulse until just a few streaks of flour remain. Add chocolate chips and nuts and pulse a few more times just until barely mixed.
Scoop giant 4-ounce portions of cookie dough (you can use a greased ⅓ cup measuring cup and fill it slightly heaping). Then roll them gently until they start to form a ball. I like to roll it just barely so the cookie still has some rustic character. Place dough balls onto prepared cookie sheets in 2 columns of 3, allowing for 6 cookies per sheet, evenly spaced. Flatten each ball just slightly with a damp hand. See note for size variations.
Bake each pan in preheated 375 degree oven (350 convection) for 14-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown on edges and slightly crackly on top.
Remove from oven and let cookies rest for 2 to 3 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes

1. As with all honey-sweetened recipes on this blog, I use raw honey that I buy in bulk from a local source. If you use regular honey from the store keep in mind that it is not always the same. Often honey from the store has been watered down or mixed with corn syrup and recipes made with it (especially baked goods) will turn out very different.

2. For best results, use a good quality vanilla extract rather than an imitation vanilla. We love this white Mexican vanilla that you can order on Amazon.

2. I’ve found that the amount of flour needed for this recipe can vary by ¼ cup either way, depending on your elevation. This recipe was created at about 4,000 feet. If you are lower elevation you may want to use up to ¼ cup less flour. If you are higher elevation, you may need up to a ¼ cup more flour. If you are wondering about how the elevation will affect your cookies, always start with the smallest amount of flour from the guidelines above. You can start out by baking 1 cookie as a test. If the cookies spread too much while baking, you need to add a little more flour. If the cookies don’t spread enough, you need to use less flour.

3. I prefer dark chocolate chips in this recipe – Ghirardelli or Guitard brand.

4. The recipe works with no nuts and fewer chocolate chips too (even though I like the recipe as it is–my family prefers half the chocolate chips so that’s what we’ve been making recently). We’ve found that the no-nut version cookies taste better if you don’t flatten the dough balls before baking.

5. This recipe still works with smaller cookies. For medium cookies (I used a #20 cookie scoop) they baked about 11-13 minutes. For mini cookies (a #40 cookie scoop) they baked in about 8-10 minutes.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.