To achieve thin and crisp cookies I’ve discovered melted butter is really crucial. Melted butter helps the cookies to spread out and become flatter with crisp edges.

Another key trick is using more granulated sugar than brown sugar which will also help produce flat, chewy, crunchy cookies.

A touch of corn syrup in this dough aids in browning and caramelization, giving the cookies great flavor and browned crunchy bottoms. If you can’t find corn syrup, you can use golden syrup instead. If you can’t find or don’t want to use either, you can technically leave it out of this recipe. You’ll still have a delicious cookie but the texture won’t quite be as thin and crispy.

Anytime someone tells me they made this recipe and the cookies didn’t come out thin and crispy, I can all but guarantee it was because the flour wasn’t properly measured.

That’s because it’s ALL too easy to accidentally over-measure your flour by compacting too much into the measuring cup. If you’re not already measuring your flour with a kitchen scale, or at the very least using the spoon & level method, I highly highly recommend you read my post on How to Measure Flour asap.

Lastly, a splash of milk added into the dough also helps to create flatter cookies by adding more moisture to the dough so it spreads faster in the oven.

If possible, avoid baking these cookies on nonstick or greased baking sheets. Use unlined metal sheets that have been fitted with parchment paper. The dark nonstick finish of some pans can enhance browning and even cause cookies to burn on the bottom, especially in this particular recipe. Nonstick cooking spray can increase spreading while cookies bake in the oven, which we don’t want in this particular recipe since the dough will spread enough on its own.

Make sure your oven temperature is accurate. An oven thermometer is the best way to do this. If your oven isn’t properly preheated or if it tends to run cold you won’t get crispy cookies.

These cookies are definitely best served soon after baking, that’s when they’ll be the crispiest. They will soften slightly the longer they’re stored. That’s why I recommend freezing this dough so you can have perfectly thin & crispy cookies at a moment’s notice!

I love freezing balls of cookie dough to bake whenever I crave cookies! Check out this post on how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen. These cookies will bake up thin and crispy even straight from the oven! But to ensure that distinct texture you may want to defrost the dough first.

Check out ALL of my chocolate chip cookie recipes and cookie baking science tips & tricks here!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

Recipe by Tessa