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Gourmet Cooking on a College Budget
Elton Brown’s “The Thin” Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sound check. Camera on. Winter officially in session.
Tonight’s episode of Gourmet Cooking on a College Budget is about something important: dessert. Specifically, Elton Brown’s famous “The Thin” chocolate chip cookies—hands down one of the best cookie recipes ever created.
I’ve made these cookies for parties before. Once, I set the tray down on a long table filled with other cookies, walked away for a minute, and when I came back… they were gone. Someone took a single bite, and then the entire tray vanished. That’s the kind of recipe this is.
Dinner is optional. Dessert is not.
Why This Recipe Matters
College-budget cooking isn’t about suffering. It’s about learning how to turn basic ingredients into something that feels luxurious, comforting, and human—especially in winter.
These cookies are:
- thin and crisp around the edges
- slightly chewy in the center
- buttery, balanced, and dangerous
They’re also cheap to make, hard to mess up, and perfect for freezing so you can bake a few at a time when life demands chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ounces milk
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- parchment paper (do not skip this)
Oven: 375°F
Instructions
1. Cream the Butter and Sugars
This step matters more than people think. Cream the butter with both sugars thoroughly. If you’re using higher-quality cane sugar, it takes longer to dissolve, so be patient. Texture starts here.
2. Add the Wet Ingredients
Mix in the egg, vanilla, and milk until smooth.
3. Mix the Dry Ingredients Separately
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Combine
Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Let the Dough Rest
Let the dough sit for 5–10 minutes. This allows the flour to hydrate and improves the final texture.
6. Scoop and Bake
Scoop dough balls about the size of a golf ball onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Leave room for spreading.
Bake for 13–15 minutes, but pull them early—while they still look slightly underdone in the center. They finish cooking on the pan.
7. Cool Before Judging
Let the cookies sit for 10–15 minutes. If you eat them immediately, you’ll think they’re underbaked. They aren’t.
Trust the process.
The Cookie Dough Log (Highly Recommended)
If you’re not baking everything at once:
- Lay out parchment paper
- Shape remaining dough into a log
- Roll it tightly
- Wrap again and refrigerate or freeze
Slice and bake whenever dessert becomes a necessity—which, in winter, is often.
Bonus: What to Do With Leftover Bread
French Toast for Tomorrow
Let thick slices of bread dry out overnight so they don’t turn to mush.
Quick soak in the morning:
- 2 eggs
- splash of milk
- cinnamon
- tiny pinch of salt
Cook in butter. Life improves.
Homemade Croutons
Cube leftover bread, let it dry, then toast in butter with seasoning. This alone separates functional adults from chaos merchants.
Final Notes From the Kitchen
- Parchment paper is essential for this recipe
- Semisweet chocolate chips are better than baking chips
- Winter cooking is survival, but it’s also therapy
Sometimes the most responsible thing you can do is make cookies.
Coming Up Next
Lasagna with homemade noodles is returning—done realistically, without turning your kitchen into a crime scene.
Stay warm. Stay fed. Stay human.
