Giada De Laurentiis Guarantees Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies With These Chewy Vs Crunchy Baking Rules

Like Giada De Laurentiis, Tasting Table takes chocolate chip cookies very seriously. For a recipe that appears so simple, there is so much nuance. A series of small choices can change the entire consistency and flavor of your recipe — and, in many cases, it's for the better. Take bake time, temperature, and chilling, for example. 

In a video shared on YouTube, Giada De Laurentiis suggested that, for chewy cookies, you should chill the dough and bake it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes. Crunchy cookies, on the other hand, should be baked low and slow; she suggested 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. She goes on to explain that the longer cook time gives the cookies a chance to spread on the sheet. 

There is some truth to De Laurentiis' recommendation — at least for the chewy cookies. When you chill or double chill your cookies, you allow the flour to hydrate, resulting in a chewier cookie. It also gives the gluten a chance to rest and the butter to solidify, helping to yield a chewier cookie. The faster bake time gives it less opportunity to dry out, which helps keep its consistency perfectly gooey.

Giada De Laurentiis has offered countless genius tips that are worth following — many of which she's shared to her TikTok account. But there are also ones that she shared in her cookie video that may not be worth following. For example, she recommended not using parchment paper. Unless you prefer cookies with burnt bottoms or cookies that are fused to the pan, it's important to use a barrier. Thin cookie sheets are some of the worst offenders, and not lining the sheet before putting the cookies on is surely a recipe for disaster. 

Chilling the dough, we've found, also has more benefits than drawbacks — regardless of the texture of cookie you're after. For one, if you overwork your dough, chilling it gives the gluten a chance to relax. As a result, your cookies will come out less rubbery and the dough will be easier to work with. The flavor also improves, as chilling removes some of the moisture and concentrates the flavor. It also controls spread, which is important to prevent your cookies from coming out more like shatteringly crisp cookie bark than actual cookies.