Gideon’s Bakehouse Cookie is nearly half a pound, and this copycat is just as decadent with bakery-style cookies packed with three chocolates and topped with sea salt.
author’s note
The $6 Cookie That Sent Me Straight to My Kitchen!
I’ll never forget the first time I tried a Gideon’s Bakehouse cookie. I was absolutely blown away! I mean, I’ve made a LOT of chocolate chip cookies, but I’d never had anything quite like this one.
The size alone is impressive, but it’s that thick, soft center and ridiculous amount of chocolate that really got me.
I came home determined to recreate it and spent weeks working on a copycat recipe. And I’m so happy with how these turned out!
They’re enormous, packed with chocolate, and have the BEST soft, chewy center. I even added toffee bits to mine, which aren’t in the original but are now one of my favorite parts.
And while these aren’t an exact replica of Gideon’s famous cookies, they’re pretty dang close, and every bit as fun to make (and eat!).
Gideon’s Bakehouse cookie ingredients
You only need a handful of basic baking ingredients, but a few are especially important for getting that thick, bakery-style texture.
| Ingredient | Tips & swaps |
|---|---|
| Butter | Use unsalted butter and let it cool completely after melting. Hot butter can make the cookies spread too much. |
| Light brown sugar | Gives the cookies moisture, sweetness, and that chewy center. This recipe uses only brown sugar! |
| Cake flour & all-purpose flour | Both are important for the texture. I don’t recommend swapping out the cake flour or making a homemade substitute. |
| Vanilla bean paste | My favorite for extra vanilla flavor! You can use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. |
| Chocolate chips | I love milk chocolate chips with semi-sweet mini chips. Use semi-sweet for the larger chips if you prefer a less sweet cookie. I use Guittard or Ghirardelli. |
| English toffee bits | My little addition! They add caramel-like flavor and a bit of crunch. |
How To Make Gideon’s Bakehouse Cookie Recipe
- Mix the toppings: Combine the chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, and toffee bits.
- Dough: Mix butter with sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate.
- Shape: Divide into large dough balls. Press remaining chocolate mixture onto the tops.
- Chill: Refrigerate for 45–60 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Bake: Bake 2–3 cookies at a time, until the edges are lightly golden and centers soft.
- Cool: Gently press the edges inward with a spatula, then let the cookies cool.
Featured Comment
“These are SOOO good… we made the 6 cookies. I definitely think the cake flour is a game changer. Thanks so much for sharing!!”
– Wendy
chelsea’s recipe tip
Gideon’s Bakehouse Cookie Tips
- Measure flour carefully: Spoon and level the flour instead of scooping. Too much flour makes these cookies cakey instead of chewy.
- Use a food scale: Aim for 155 grams per cookie so they bake evenly.
- Keep the bottoms bare: Press chocolate chips onto the tops and sides, not underneath, where they can burn.
- Don’t skip chilling: Cold dough helps the cookies stay thick instead of spreading too much.
- My number one rule: Slightly underbake! Pull them when the edges are set and the centers still look soft. They’ll continue setting as they cool.
- Reshape immediately: Use a metal spatula to gently push the edges inward right after baking for thicker, rounder cookies.
Storage
- Store: This Gideon Bakehouse cookie recipe is best fresh, but they’ll keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Reheat: Microwave for 10–15 seconds to get that soft, melty center back.
- Freeze: I recommend freezing the dough instead of baked cookies! Freeze shaped dough balls in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes as needed.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes:
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Gideon’s Bakehouse Cookie Recipe Copycat
This copycat Gideon’s Bakehouse Cookie is a chocolate lover’s dream—a bakery-style chocolate chip cookie loaded with three types of chocolate and finished with flaky sea salt!
Video
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar tightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt reduce if using table salt or if sensitive to salt
- 1 cup cake flour see note 1
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips semi-sweet or milk chocolate; I like milk chocolate
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup English Toffee Baking Bits
- Flaky sea salt optional, for a salty-sweet treat!
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, and toffee baking bits. Stir to evenly mix. Set aside for now.
- Melt the butter in a very large, microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, let stand to fully cool, about 5–10 minutes. Hot butter will melt the sugar and make the cookies flat/greasy. Once butter has cooled to room temperature, use a whisk or wooden spoon to stir in the light brown sugar. Mix until smooth and integrated. Add the egg and vanilla paste or extract. Stir again until smooth.
- Add in baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Again, stir until smooth. Add the correctly measured (see note 2) cake flour and regular flour and mix until just combined. Dough will be thick! Don’t overmix. Gently stir in 1 and 3/4 cups of chocolate chip mixture until combined.
- Form 6 cookie dough balls. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, pack dough into the cup to get an accurate measurement. Alternatively, weigh the dough on a food scale; each ball should be around 155 grams (5-1/2 ounces). You should get 6 cookie dough balls.
- Press the remaining chocolate chip mixture generously onto the top and sides of the dough balls (but not the bottoms of the cookies where they’ll burn.) It’s okay if you don’t use all the chocolate chips; set aside leftovers to press into the tops of the cookies after baking. Place the chocolate-chip-coated dough balls on a parchment-paper-lined plate or sheet pan, cover, and chill for 45 minutes up to an hour. Or place in an airtight bag/container and chill for 24 hours (Gideon’s chills their dough for 24 hours).
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a pan with a silicone liner or parchment paper; don’t line with foil. Place 2–3 dough balls at a time on a sheet pan, giving the cookies plenty of space to spread. Bake for 15–23 minutes, erring on the side of underbaking to keep them soft and chewy. (I like them right around 16–17 mins.) The cookies will “bake” a little more out of the oven as they set. Visual cues: edges should be slightly browned and tops should not be wet/gooey looking.
- Remove the tray of cookies from the oven and, working quickly, immediately press the edges of each cookie slightly inward with the back of a metal spatula. Press any remaining chocolate chips/toffee bits onto the tops of the cookies. Allow cookies to cool on the tray for 10–15 minutes before using a metal spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack. If you like salty-sweet flavors, add a few flakes of salt on top while the chocolate is still a bit gooey.
Final step! Please let us know how it was by leaving a review.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Cake flour gives the cookies a fluffier, more delicate, and tender crumb. We combine cake flour with all-purpose flour to get the perfect texture. Cake flour is typically found in the baking aisle in the grocery store near other flours. I don’t recommend a substitute or making homemade cake flour—it doesn’t work the same in this recipe.
Note 2: If you pack in too much flour, these cookies will end up more cakey, rather than soft and chewy. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level off the top with the back of a table knife. If you press a measuring cup into a bag/container of flour you’ll pack in a lot more than intended.
Storage: These cookies are best fresh but can last up to a week. Store in an airtight container at room temp once fully cooled. Rewarm in 10–15 second microwave bursts.
Freezing: Instead of freezing baked cookies, freeze the dough! Place dough balls on a sheet pan, freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes until edges are browned and centers are soft.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 983kcal | Carbohydrates: 129g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 519mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 91g | Vitamin A: 1048IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are CRAZY good… we made the 6 cookies but instead of the toffee, I put a mix of milk, semi & dark chocolate chunks on top and they were insane. I definitely think the cake flour is a game changer. Thanks so much for sharing!!
I’m so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Wendy!
LOVE these cookies. Ive made them as is and theyre the best. Im on a time crunch, and can only chill for about 12 hours. Is it still worth it?
Also, i want to make 2 dozen so planning to make a double batch and make them half the size as instructed. Do i need to know any other tips to make that work?
You should be fine with a 12 hour chill time! You can make them smaller for sure just adjust the bake time to be shorter and watch closely to make sure they don’t over bake.
I just tried Gideon’s this past week so I’m excited to see how your recipe matches up! Could you please please please try and do their lemon poppyseed cookie copycat!
YAY!! Can’t wait to hear what you think! I will definitely look into it! 🙂
Made the cookies for the family and they were delicious! Would do without the toffee next time, however. It added a crunch that wasn’t necessary in my opinion 🙂 otherwise everything else was just like Gideon’s bakehouse!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Kari! 🙂
I would have refrigerated the dough before forming balls. My dough wasn’t dense enough. Cookies didn’t come out at thick as I hoped for and a bit over sweet. Still hunting for the perfect Gideons cookie.
Hey Tricia, step number 5 is ALL about chilling the dough! It’s vital to making these the right consistency! Hope you can give them another chance, I think you’ll be blown away!
These are great and delicious! You might’ve mentioned it in the write-up but is that 1200 calorie number per cookie or per batch made?
Hi, did you experiment with the banana bread chocolate chip recipe yet?
Made two batches; one exactly like the recipe listed and another with no toffee chips and only a larger amount of the chocolate chips (Ghirardelli Milk and Semi-sweet). The ones with only the chocolate chips turned out much better and were extremely similar to the Gideon’s cookies. Vanilla paste does make all the difference! Baked only what we could eat in one sitting and kept the others refrigerated till baking. Absolutely awesome chocolate chip cookies! Thank you so very much for the recipe!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
They turned out great! I did refrigerate 24 hours! Definitely am going to make more!! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Beth! 🙂