I haven’t had any cookies other than homemade for quite some time now, but I make the exception for Panera’s chocolate chip cookies. They are huge and too hard to pass up, especially when the kid at the register asks me if I would like to add one to my order for 99 cents! They are my weakness along with the adult grilled cheese sandwich and the creamy tomato soup!
What did we ever do before Pinterest?? Seriously, I have collected some gems in the past year that I would probably not find if not for the convenient and genius site that is Pinterest! I just stumbled upon this recipe last night and made them today. These are the biggest cookies I have made to date, but there is really no way around the 1/4 cup serving 😉
(some complimentary cookie close-ups!)
Verdict: Wow – perfection! I will make these again. I baked off six – for quality control sake, of course 😉 Slightly crispy edges and chewy middles with plenty of sticky, sweet flavor from the dark brown sugar. One is more than enough for this lady! 😉 Thanks for reading, enjoy!
*TIP: If you’re like me and you only buy light brown sugar, you can add one tablespoon of molasses per one cup of packed light brown sugar. Not to worry if you only have white sugar on hand; add 1/4 cup of molasses to one cup of white sugar.
*TIP: I use a disher to portion out the dough onto my cookie sheet, and then I use a fork to scrape the dome off the tops of each to flatten. They bake up as pictured – thanks to all the commenters! I hope this helps.
Copycat Panera Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – adapted from The Pinning Mama
- 1 c butter, softened
- 1/2 c shortening
- 1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (541 grams)
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 – 12 ounce bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions –
- Mix butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt and mix together.
- Mix dry ingredients slowly into wet ingredients and blend well.
- If the dough is crumbly, stir in water 1 teaspoon at a time until it just holds together. The dough should not be sticky.
- Add in chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
- Using ¼ cup measure, scoop out dough and form into a ball. Continue until all dough is balled. Approx 24 cookies.
- Place dough in the freezer for 2 hours or up to 3 months.
- Place frozen cookie onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 min.
- Let cool 2 minutes.
Mom-Makes... 
I tried these last night but they didn’t spread… any suggestions?
I flatten my dough out before I freeze them, and they seem to spread just enough. It’s hard to say what the reason is for your cookies not spreading because there are so many factors to consider…even the use of a dark or light baking sheet, or if your baking soda wasn’t fresh. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
My didnt spread either. Wish I read the comments before I froze mine into balls.
How much do you flatten before you freeze them?
I scoop each cookie with my 1/4 cup disher, then I flatten the tops by scraping the dome off the top with a fork. I hope this makes sense!:)
Is shortening Cisco or margarine?
Yes, Crisco is vegetable shortening 🙂
Delicious! Probably the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever made. Awesome texture, but they were thick and puffy (not cakey though). Not complaining but they looked nothing like the picture. My teenage son was a bit disappointed because we picked this recipe only because It was supposed to be a Panera copycat. He’s eaten a lot of those cookies and says these are nothing like them. I’ve never had one so I can’t comment there. With all that said, however, we loved this recipe and will make these again and again!
Hi the reason the cookies didnt flatten for you is because of the cornstarch. You see baking powder itself contains cornstarch and it helps to leaven what your baking such as muffins. Cornstarch is a thickener. BUT cornstarch and baking powder AND baking soda are NOT interchangeable. Leave out the cornstarch for your next batch as baking soda leavens AND flattens. You still might want to flatten the cookie slightly before baking because baking soda reacts quickly to the acid in brown sugar by releasing carbon dioxide as soon as the two meet in the mixing bowl which means bake em up quickly because it loses its effectiveness fast. Hope Ive helped. Thank you for the recipe. Panera employees told me they use alot of butter, shortening and eggs to make them rich. Btw, shortening helps cookies retain their “structure” in the oven and that effects lack of flattening too.
Help…. when I baked them they stayed in the ball shape, after 15 minutes I had to flatten them with the back of the spatula and then keep baking another 5 minutes. They taste good but are very hard and crunchy. Any advise on how to make them melt into the round flat cookie?
I just read all the other comments! Should have done that first 😁 I will defrost a bit and try flattening them before I bake them
I skipped the freezing step due to lack of time to prepare but mine came out pretty cakey and puffy. Tasty, but not at all like the chewy Panera cookies. Tasted great though.
I agree with the comments, the directions say to leave it in a ball for the freezer, perhaps you could edit the recipe to help everyone that doesn’t check the comments before baking. I almost didn’t, but i felt like they wouldn’t flatten out enough so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a step. Which I didn’t but it should be added as a step. Can’t wait to try them!