Crumbl Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Learn how to make Crumbl Copycat Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies with this easy cookie recipe! We’ll use delicious chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of sea salt to get that Crumbl flavor. You’ll love these giant bakery-style chocolate chunk cookies. Next up? Try my Crumbl Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies!
While Crumbl Cookies is known for their rotating flavor menu of over 300 flavors, there are two cookies that have a permanent place on the weekly menu. Milk Chocolate Chip and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk alternate every week on the menu.
Milk Chocolate Chip was Crumbl’s very first cookie creation and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk is a more recent addition to the menu. Both the cookies are giant, very sweet, and packed with chocolate. I did a side-by-side comparison if you are curious which one is tastiest!
I’ve been working on nailing down the perfect base recipe for each of these cookies and I recently published Milk Chocolate Chip. It’s such a good cookie–so thick and filled to the brim with delicious Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate.
I wanted my Semi-Sweet version to be just as special and I think it turned out great!
Let’s Compare: Crumbl’s Version Versus My Version
Flavor: Crumbl’s Cookies often receive the critique that they are “too sweet” or “just sweet” without any flavor behind the sweetness. I think their Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookie is more balanced because it uses semi-sweet chocolate (instead of milk chocolate) and includes sea salt on top.
For my cookie though, I amped up the flavor even more by including a portion of browned butter.
Size: I’ve crafted the recipe so that you will end up with cookies the size of Crumbl’s. Super thick and decadent.
Chocolate: You can use your favorite brand of Semi-Sweet Chunks. I used Belgian Chocolate Chunks from Aldi. Crumbl uses chunks, not bar chocolate, but you could also chop up a bar of semi-sweet chocolate into chunks and use that. I love the addition of “chocolate dust” from chopped chocolate, so I think that would be a delicious swap!
Salt: Don’t forget the salt on top! I use Maldon sea salt here. You want a flaky sea salt, not table salt! Maldon can be purchased via Amazon and I’ve also seen it at Costco. Or, check any high-end grocery store and they ought to have something similar.
Other notes: The Crumbl version is pretty packed with chocolate–honestly, mine might have even more chocolate! I’ve provided some notes for reducing the chocolate if you don’t want so much in your cookies.
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Recipes by a Real Person in a Real Kitchen
In the age of AI-generated content, I like to share how I’ve created and tested my recipes. My recipes have been imagined, hypothesized, taste-tested, and refined by a real human (me!). I only publish recipes I think are awesome.
This recipe was modified from my Crumbl Copycat Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. I wanted the recipe to make several cookies, include browned butter for extra flavor, and be packed with chocolate. Several tests later and I arrived at a cookie I absolutely love! Enjoy!
Ingredients in Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies
A few notes on some of the ingredients used in the cookies:
Unsalted Butter -I always use unsalted American butter in my recipes. We’re going to brown a portion of the butter and use the rest of it just softened.
Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar – using two types of sugar creates the perfect balance between a chewy cookie and a cookie that spreads the correct amount.
Egg – 1 large egg.
Vanilla Extract – use your favorite.
All-Purpose Flour – I use all-purpose flour in my baking. It’s very very important to measure your flour correctly. Never pack flour into a measuring cup. Use a scale for best results.
Cornstarch – for increasing the softness of the cookie. If you don’t have cornstarch, replace with 1 tablespoon of flour.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda – I use both for a cookie that is the perfect amount of soft, yet chewy.
Salt – Regular table salt is used in the cookie dough, but don’t use it for sprinkling on the cookies!
Flaky Sea Salt – This is what we will use for sprinkling on the cookies. I use Maldon Sea Salt.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks – use your favorite brand of chocolate. Crumbl uses pre-made chunks, but you could also cut up a bar of chocolate–you’ll need 10 ounces.
More About the Chocolate and Sea Salt I Used
I used Aldi’s Specially Selected Belgian Chocolate Chunks (semi-sweet) for this recipe. They are pretty good and affordable too. Use your favorite chocolate (or sub in a chopped bar of chocolate). I suggest sticking with a semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
For the sea salt, if you haven’t yet tried sprinkling cookies with a little flaky sea salt, it’s a game changer! The sweet-and-salty combo is perfection. You don’t want to use table salt here though. You want the big flaky pieces of salt salt. I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes and it’s great.
How to Make Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Here’s a summary of how this recipe is made. Find the complete ingredients list and full instructions within the printable recipe card below!
We’ll preheat the oven to 325°F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
Then, brown the butter. You can check out my detailed tutorial if you have never done this before.
A quick summary as follows: Cut the stick of butter in half. Melt butter in a small saucepan, then turn up the heat to medium and stir frequently while the butter bubbles and pops. This bubbling will slow down as the milk solids begin to toast. Watch for tiny bits of brown forming in the pan. When you see this, remove the pan from the heat, stir about 15-20 seconds longer and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Scrape all the brown bits into there as well. Pour in a tablespoon of water and stir—watch out because it will bubble! Allow to cool for ten minutes.
Then we will soften the rest of the butter and cream it together with the butter and sugars. Using just a fork here works fine. Add in the cooled browned butter. Cream until smooth.
Add egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and stir until smooth.
Add all dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir gently until just combined (don’t overmix).
Add the chocolate chunks, reserving roughly a 1/3 cup. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 6 equal balls (each ball will be about 4.3 ounces, or a generous 1/3 cup). Roll dough into balls, flatten to 1” high disks and place 4” apart on cookie sheets. Press in 8-10 more chocolate chunks to the top.
Here’s the dough disks on a baking sheet before I pressed in the additional chocolate:
Bake for about 16-20 minutes or until cookies have spread, puffed, and turned golden on the edges. They should be gooey in the centers, but not raw. You can test the centers with a food thermometer if desired. Aim for 175-180°F.
After removing the cookies from the oven, sprinkle immediately with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
How to Skip the Browned Butter:
If you don’t feel like trying the browned butter, no worries. Follow these instructions instead: Omit the 1 tablespoon of water. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave or on the stove and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Continue with recipe using the plain melted butter in place of the browned butter.
How to Reduce the Chocolate:
These cookies (just like Crumbl’s!) are filled with a LOT of chocolate. If you don’t want so much, I suggest only adding 1 cup of chunks to the dough and then dotting the tops with an additional 8-10 chunks as noted in the recipe.
No Time to Chill?
The dough can be baked immediately, but the cookies will spread quite a bit. For best results, chill the dough, but if you don’t mind the spreading, you can bake right away too.
To Make Ahead
If you want to make the dough in advance, you absolutely can. Prepare the dough and store in the fridge up to two days before baking. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 30-45 minutes to soften slightly before baking.
How to Store & Freeze
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. They are best the first couple of days!
To freeze, wrapped completely cooled cookies in plastic wrap and pack into freezer safe containers. To keep the chocolate chunks perfectly shaped, you can flash freeze the cookies on a baking sheet and then wrap them once frozen solid. Store packaged cookies in the freezer for 1-2 months.
FAQS for Cookies
Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way we hope! If your cookies aren’t perfect, read through these troubleshooting tips to figure out what went wrong.
This problem could be one of two of things. First, the flour may have been measured incorrectly. If too much flour was added, the dough probably felt dry and crumbly. I highly suggest always using a scale when you bake!
Or, the cookies might be overbaked. These cookies should be baked until they are just golden brown on the edges. If you struggle to get perfectly done cookies, bake a tester cookie before you bake the others (noting that a full tray of cookies will need just a bit more time than a single cookie).
This problem is usually caused by a dough that is too warm. Perhaps the butter was too melty or you are working in a very warm kitchen. If the dough seems to sticky and hard to work with, give it an hour or two in the fridge to chill before baking.
Cookies can burn if left in the oven too long of course, but if you have consistent issues with burnt edges and overcooked baked goods, it’s time to invest in an oven thermometer. If the oven temp is off it will negatively affect your baking–and even the best recipes won’t work correctly.
More Giant Bakery Cookie Recipes to Try!
- Key Lime Pie Cookies (Crumbl Copycat)
- Crumbl Copycat Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies (Crumbl Style)
- Crumbl Copycat Wedding Cake Cookies
- Crumbl Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Thanks so much for trying one of my recipes!
Crumbl Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 ounces
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar 3.5 ounces
- 1/3 cup sugar 2.3 ounces
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 7.5 ounces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks (about 10 ounces)
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut the stick of butter in half. Brown half the butter in a small saucepan: Melt butter in a small saucepan, then turn up the heat to medium and stir frequently while the butter bubbles and pops. This bubbling will slow down as the milk solids begin to toast. Watch for tiny bits of brown forming in the pan. When you see this, remove the pan from the heat, stir about 15-20 seconds longer and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Scrape all the brown bits into there as well. Pour in a tablespoon of water and stir—watch out because it will bubble! Allow to cool for ten minutes.
- Soften the other half in the microwave using 5-10 intervals until it’s softened enough to squish with a fork, but not melted.
- Cream together the softened butter and the sugars with a fork. Add in the cooled browned butter from step 1. Cream together until smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and stir until smooth.
- Add all dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir gently with a large spoon (or fold with a large spatula) until just combined (don't overmix).
- Add the chocolate chunks, reserving roughly a 1/3 cup. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into 6 equal balls. Each ball will be about 4.3 ounces each, or a generous 1/3 cup. Roll dough into balls, flatten to 1” high disks and place 4” apart on cookie sheets. Press in 8-10 more chocolate chunks to the top.
- Bake for about 16-20 minutes or until cookies have spread, puffed, and turned golden on the edges. They should be gooey in the centers, but not raw. You can test the centers with a food thermometer if desired. Aim for 175-180°F in the center.
- After removing the cookies from the oven, sprinkle immediately with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
