The search for a savory chocolate chip cookie started back in the 90s. I know, I’m dating myself. When I was much younger, my friend and I accidentally learned how to make a cookie cake. She and I decided to call it that after placing Nestlé toll house cookie dough too close and it smushed altogether. She would come over constantly wanting to make these monstrosities.

Being a good friend, I didn’t want to admit that I was growing sick of the overly sweet mixture and would just pick at it as she devoured the pan. She ruined me for a long time in regards to chocolate chip cookies. For nearly two decades, I wouldn’t eat a homemade chocolate chip cookie. Just thinking about how sweet they are makes my teeth hurt.

Many years later, bakeries began selling “cookie cakes.” I would chuckle wondering if the person was also a terrible baker and turned their disaster into an overnight sensational success. That’s what I love about baking. One man’s failure can be another’s dream dessert.

Fast forward to the present. I started baking again and conquered amazing things such as meringue, custards, breads, pizzas, pasta and yet…that darn cookie eluded me. It still made my stomach churn from the sheer amount of sugar. In fact, I preferred a sugar cookie as it was less sweet! It was shortly after I started watching baking shows and learning the science behind each ingredient that I decided to conquer my nemesis, the chocolate chip cookie.

Where to start? I found it’s best to always go back to the beginning. I sent my husband to the store to pick up a bag of Nestlé chocolate chips and all the ingredients listed on the back of the bag. And I followed the directions. This was my result:

And I took a bite. It was just as I remembered. My teeth screamed NO! and I spit it out. My husband had no complaints. He ate three. Sent the rest to his students. They adored them. Seriously, I’m beginning to think the only one that doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies.

That’s when I decided to look online for other recipes. After all, baking for yourself can be fun, too. Why not try and search for the savory chocolate chip cookie?

Some were downright disgusting. Those videos you see on Facebook? They are basically the baker’s version of Russian Roulette. We won’t mention the baked hamburger sliders and the look of disappointment on my husband’s face when he bit into one. The dogs were quite happy that day.

Back to the cookies: I had puffy cookies, flat cookies, sweet cookies, bitter cookies. Dozens after dozens went to the happy students and I sighed.

I was going to give up. Then there was a sale! A HUGE sale on Hershey chocolate at the store. I never used Hershey’s brand but why not! I bought a few bags of each flavor. No joke: all these bags were less than ten dollars. It was a mega sale and I wish I could have bought more.

It was then I got smart. I decided to write down what I liked and didn’t like about chocolate chip cookies. And I started to weigh and measure everything. This cookie that once terrorized me taught me how to think for myself. This was the pivotal moment when I began to fully comprehend what goes into making recipes.

While this experiment was taking weeks, a friend asked me to make her a holiday cookie. They attempted one of those terrible cookie recipes they found on social media. The amount of sugar and butter was three times the amount of any typical cookie recipe. No wonder the cookie was a spread out sweet disaster.

Still, having to start from scratch, I watched the video, made the cookie and cringed at how bad they were. The original recipe wanted something like 3 cups worth of sugar! So sweet even the husband didn’t want them this time. Made a few tweaks based on a recipe I had from years ago and it turned out pretty good. Huge hit with the taste testers (students, neighbors and friends.) Yet…I found them too sweet. As usual.

However, an idea was formed! I would take my recent invention and my childhood “We are too poor to be constantly buying brown sugar!” recipe and start subtracting and adding ingredients one a time. I wanted to see what would happen based on all I learned over the past year of watching baking shows.

Now I am the first to admit I made some weird tasting cookies. And my favorite recipe doesn’t even contain butter. I’ll share that one another time.

The one I am about to share is the favorite among 1000s of chocolate chip cookies I’ve made since starting this endeavor. These were stacked up with some super expensive chocolates. It was fun working with various chocolates and seeing how each kind would melt and change the flavor from sweet to nearly bitter. The best part? Even when they aren’t on sale, they aren’t the most expensive brand available, so still affordable for a special treat.

So without further ado: This is my most requested bake. The savory chocolate chip cookie.

Savory Chocolate Chip Cookies

A savory chocolate chip cookie that emphasizes flavor over sweetness.

Print Recipe

Prep Time15 minutes minutes

Cook Time10 minutes minutes

Servings2 dozen

Calories 107.1

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups  (187.5g) flour
• ¾ cup (169.5g) chocolate chips
• ½ cup  (113g) softened butter
• ⅓ cup  (67g) white sugar
• ¼ cup  (56g) brown sugar
• 1 large (50g) egg
• ½ tsp (3g) baking soda
• ½ tsp  (2.5mL) vanilla
• ½ tsp (2.5g) salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F (190C.)
• Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
• In large bowl, beat softened butter and sugars until creamy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture just until blended.  Fold in chocolate chips.
• Drop 1 tbs of batter approximately 2" (5cm) apart on a baking sheet.
• Bake 8 – 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Chilling dough for at least 30 minutes will help prevent them from being flat if you left your butter out too long. If you prefer flat, crispier cookies, bake away. If you like really lofty cookies, chill overnight to develop flavors and let the butter and gluten rest.

For a thinner cookie, reduce temperature to 350F (180C) and bake 10 – 14 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Savory Chocolate Chip Cookies

Serving Size

 

1 cookie

Amount per Serving

Calories

107.1

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

5.9

g

9

%

Saturated Fat

 

3.6

g

23

%

Sodium

 

51.1

mg

2

%

Carbohydrates

 

13.6

g

5

%

Protein

 

0.9

g

2

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.