These pan banging chocolate chip cookies are the loudest, most fun cookies I make all year. Halfway through baking, you lift the pan and let it drop right on the oven rack, and every bang pushes the puffed cookie down into these crinkly rippled rings. You end up with edges that crunch like toffee, a soft and gooey center, and streaks of melty bittersweet chocolate running through every bite. They’re big, buttery, a little dramatic, and the cookie I want on repeat once the weather turns and football is on.
If you try out this recipe, I’d love to see it! Leave a comment with a star rating below and tag @twigandberrykitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #twigandberrykitchen
If you try out this recipe, I’d love to see it! Leave a comment with a star rating below and tag @Twigandberrykitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #TwigandBerryKitchen
Ingredients You’ll Need
(Full ingredient list with exact measurements is in the recipe card below.)
For the Cookies
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar (light or dark)
- Egg
- Pure vanilla extract
- Bittersweet chocolate bar (about 60% cacao)
Equipment You’ll Need
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Half sheet pans
- Aluminum foil
- Digital kitchen scale
- Large cookie scoop
- Wire cooling rack
How to make Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Line sheet pans with foil and heat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Cream the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Mix in the dry ingredients, then fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Scoop large dough balls and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Bake one pan at a time, banging the pan every 2 minutes once the cookies puff.
- Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tips for making this recipe
How to store
- Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To freeze baked cookies, layer them between parchment in a freezer bag for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature. You can also freeze the scooped dough balls for up to 3 months and bake straight from the freezer, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
FAQ’s
Why do you bang the pan? Lifting and dropping the pan knocks the air out of the puffed center, which pushes the dough outward into rings. Each bang adds another ripple, giving you crisp edges and a dense, gooey middle.
Will the pan bang damage my oven? You’re only lifting one side of the pan a few inches and letting it drop onto the rack, so it’s a firm tap, not a slam. A sturdy aluminum sheet pan handles it easily.
Can I use chocolate chips instead of a chopped bar? You can, but chips are made to hold their shape, so you won’t get the melty streaks and puddles. A chopped bar is what gives these cookies their look.
Can I make the cookies smaller? Yes. For 2 ounce balls, start the first bang around 6 minutes and bake about 12 to 14 minutes total. You’ll get smaller ripples, but they’re still delicious.
Light or dark brown sugar? Either works. There’s not much brown sugar in this recipe, so dark brown just adds a slightly deeper caramel note.
Can I bake two pans at once? I don’t recommend it. The cookies need even heat to puff, and you need easy access to bang the pan, so one pan at a time on the middle rack gives the best ripples.
Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups 256g all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks / 227g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups 302g granulated sugar
- ¼ cup 55g packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces 170g bittersweet chocolate, about 60% cacao, chopped into coarse pieces, bits and shards
Instructions
- Prep the pans. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 half sheet pans with aluminum foil, dull side up.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter on medium until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the granulated and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Beat in the egg and vanilla on low until combined, scraping down the bowl.
- Add the flour and chocolate. Mix in the flour mixture on low just until combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate by hand.
- Scoop and freeze. Portion the dough into 3 ounce balls (about 85g or a heaping 1/3 cup). Place 4 balls on each prepared pan, spaced well apart. Freeze the pan for 15 minutes before baking.
- Bake and bang. Bake one pan at a time until the cookies have puffed up in the center, about 8 minutes. Lift one side of the pan about 4 inches and let it drop onto the oven rack so the puffed centers fall. Bake 2 minutes more, until they puff again, and repeat the lift and drop.
- Keep going. Repeat every 2 minutes, 2 or 3 more times, until ridges form around the edges and the centers look just set, 16 to 18 minutes total.
- Cool. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to the rack. Repeat with the remaining dough.
