Gordon Ramsay Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s chocolate chip cookies are made with dark chocolate chunks, light brown sugar, butter, and a pinch of sea salt, baked at 400F (200C) for just 8 to 10 minutes. They come out golden at the edges and soft in the middle, which is exactly where you want them.

This recipe is adapted from his Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies in Bread Street Kitchen, where he writes that adding nuts “makes them that little bit healthier, so you can feel less guilty about having another one… and another.” The walnuts are optional here, but his technique and ratios stay unchanged.

The move that matters most: he chops the chocolate by hand instead of using chips. Chopped chunks melt unevenly, so you get pockets of molten chocolate next to solid shards in each bite. Chips melt uniformly and lose that contrast.

FAQs

Why does Ramsay chop chocolate by hand instead of using chips?

Chips are engineered to hold their shape during baking, so they soften but never fully melt. Hand-chopped chunks behave differently because the irregular sizes mean thin shards melt completely while larger pieces stay solid. That contrast of molten and firm chocolate in one cookie is what separates a homemade batch from a bag-mix version.

Why is the oven temperature so high for cookies?

Most cookie recipes call for 350F (175C), but Ramsay bakes at 400F (200C) for only 8 to 10 minutes. The high heat sets the edges fast while the centre stays soft, which is how you get that crisp outside and chewy middle. Pulling them when they still look slightly underdone is the key, because they continue cooking on the hot baking sheet for another minute or two.

Why does he flatten them with a fork instead of leaving them round?

Pressing each ball with a fork ensures even thickness across the cookie, so the edges and centre bake at the same rate. Round balls often end up golden on the outside but raw in the middle because the thick centre takes longer. The fork marks also create slight ridges that brown and crisp, adding texture you don’t get from a smooth surface.

Can you freeze the raw dough instead of baking all 28 at once?

Ramsay specifically addresses this in the headnote. He suggests rolling the dough into a log, wrapping it in cling film, and freezing it for when guests arrive unexpectedly. Slice the frozen log into 1cm rounds and bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the time. This way you always have fresh cookies without the mess of mixing a new batch.

What kind of dark chocolate works best here?

Ramsay specifies dark chocolate but doesn’t name a percentage, so anything between 55% and 70% cocoa solids works well. Higher than 70% can taste bitter against the brown sugar, while milk chocolate melts too soft and makes the cookies greasy. If you enjoy rich chocolate brownies, that same quality dark chocolate bar works perfectly here too.

Why does he use brown sugar instead of white?

Light brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture to the dough and creates that chewy texture that white sugar can’t deliver on its own. The molasses also caramelises faster in the oven, which is why the edges turn golden in just 8 minutes at high heat. If you like that same brown sugar depth in a different format, his blondie recipe uses a similar ratio to build chew without cocoa.