Aged Chocolate Chip Cookies on Sheet Pan
Aged chocolate chip cookies…?

What is this, cheese or something???

For months now, I’ve heard over and over again that aging chocolate chip cookie dough before baking makes a big difference in the resulting cookie.

My first judgement was that this was a gimmick.

I mean, how on earth was I even supposed to find out if it wasn’t?

I can’t leave chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge for 3 days.

It’s too tempting. Me want cookie.

Me want cookie now.

Not in 3 days.

But the time came when I finally had to test this out for myself.

This all started when I came across an article David Leite published in the New York Times in 2008.

Read the article for the nitty gritty details, but in a nutshell, chilling the dough in the fridge for a few days allows the dry ingredients to fully soak up the wet ingredients, which results in a better texture when you bake the cookie, and not to mention, better flavor.

Aging Cookie Dough Before Placing Rolls on Sheet Pan for Baking

So what’s my conclusion?

I went into this as a complete skeptic.

Mainly because like I said, I don’t want there to be a reason to wait 36 hours for cookies.

But I have to say, I think they are a little bit better.

And in hindsight, I shouldn’t be surprised.

I put pasta salad in the fridge to let the flavors meld, and I let yeasted bread doughs age in the fridge to develop a good texture and good flavor.

Is it worth the wait overall? If I have a major cookie craving, maybe not, but if I can plan ahead, it seems like a good idea.

I really didn’t make many changes from the recipe on Leite’s Culinaria, but will say that baking time makes a big difference in the resulting cookie.

This is what the 15 minute cookie looked like (the one my husband prefers) :

Aged Chocolate Chip Cookie on Sheet Pan

And this is what the 20 minute cookie looked like (the one I prefer):

Caramelized and Aged Chocolate Chip Cookie on Sheet Pan

Big difference, you see?

The “underbaked” 15 minute cookie doesn’t allow enough time to set the full texture of the cookie, resulting in a flatter but chewier, denser, and softer cookie.

The 20 minute cookie baked for long enough to set the texture of the cookie and is about twice as thick as the 15 minute cookie. It’s more crumbly, with a crisp exterior but a soft interior, and is much thicker.

The choice is yours! Have fun baking your cookies and share your thoughts with us in the comments section. How do you like your chocolate chip cookies baked? Do you age the dough?