This is my secret ingredient for the gooiest chocolate chip cookies

Helena Busiakiewicz

Published: April 17, 2026 at 1:58 PM

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Cookies are undergoing a boom in popularity, with all kinds of luxe variations popping up in bakeries across the UK. This has inspired us at the Good Food test kitchen to undertake our own cookie experimentation. Read on to discover food content producer Helena's top ingredient hack for the perfect taste and gooey texture

At Good Food HQ, we are all rather partial to a chocolate chip cookie. But what constitutes the perfect version of this ever popular bake is down to widely varying individual preference. While some team members insist on striking that subtle balance of sweet and savoury with the addition of ingredients such as miso, salted caramel and, dare we say it, brie, others are more purist; preferring a basic soft-centred cookie loaded with chocolate chips.

With an explosion of cookie brands appearing across the capital especially, we are noticing a big variation in shapes and sizes, too – from thick and cakey to flat, chewy and almost saucer-like. Whatever your preference, here are a few of Helena's tips below on how to tailor yours to achieve your personal cookie perfection.

For more inspiration, check out our collection of cookie recipes and also read more tips for perfect chewy cookies from Blondies' Kitchen.

1. My ultimate ingredient hack: The 'soul' of a cookie is in the choice of butter

Admittedly, butter is far from a new ingredient, but the exact type you use and how you prepare it makes the world of a difference:

Browned butter adds a deeper, nuttier flavour and richness.
Salted butter can enhance taste further, while unsalted may lead to a slightly cakier result due to higher water content.
After testing several batches, my personal preference is to use browned salted butter for that perfect balance of sweet caramel and salty notes.

2. Salt is your friend

Salt is so important in baking. When I was at cookery school, my tutor said to me ‘salt makes things taste like themselves’ and that has really stuck with me. Without salt, cookies don’t sing, they just become cloyingly sweet. I like to use a combination of salted butter and a good ½ tsp salt (or white miso) to really balance the flavours.

3.Choose your chocolate for texture, not just taste

Chocolate chips, chunks and buttons behave very differently in the oven. Chips hold their shape (more uniform bites), while chunks melt into gooey pockets that create contrast. If you want those bakery-style molten bits, go for chunks over chips.

4. The type of sugar you use impacts cookie flavour and texture

Sugar isn’t just sweetness—it also controls the structure of your bakes.

More brown sugar = softer, chewier, richer cookies
More white sugar = crisper edges
Overall: A 70/30 brown-to-white ratio is a strong default for soft cookies.

Bonus tip: Something I learned from food writer Sohla El-Waylly is that you can use icing sugar in your cookies. This gives a smoother, more tender, melt-in-the-mouth texture (less gritty than granulated sugar).

5. Go easy on raising agents

Too much baking powder or soda makes cookies cakey and puffed. Using less (even just a small amount of bicarb) keeps them dense and chewy with the right spread. I stick to just bicarb in my cookies, it needs a little lift but not too much.

6. Shape and handle your dough to control the final look and texture

How you form and handle your cookies changes both appearance and bite. A popular technique involves 'banging' the tray mid-bake to create flat cookies with rippled, crinkly edges. Others prefer to shape the dough tightly into rolled balls to give thicker, more uniform cookies (these can be neatened with a cutter after baking for picture-perfect rounds). When testing, I found that I liked to shape into a round ball, but then keep the top a bit craggy to see all your chocolate/nut/whatever additions you like, shine through.

Get more brilliant baking inspiration...

More chocolate chip cookie recipes
Our best baking recipes
Top 10 most popular cake recipes
15 best baking hacks you need to know
Biscuit recipes

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