Chocolate chip cookies in baker's percentages
A classic chewy chocolate chip cookie written the way bakeries write it: every ingredient as a percentage of the flour. Set how many cookies and how big, and get the grams for butter, both sugars, eggs and chips.
Formula baker's % of total flour
Batch size
Preferment
Water temperature
Use water at 90°F
78 × 3 − (70 + 72 + 2) = 90
This dough has no added water, so use the temperature for the liquids you add (milk, eggs).
Your recipe
| Ingredient | Baker's % | Total formula | Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 100% | 272 g | 272 g |
| Water | 0% | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Salt | 1.8% | 4.9 g | 4.9 g |
| Butter | 80% | 218 g | 218 g |
| Brown sugar | 60% | 163 g | 163 g |
| Sugar | 50% | 136 g | 136 g |
| Eggs (whole) | 36% | 98 g | 98 g |
| Vanilla extract | 1.5% | 4.1 g | 4.1 g |
| Baking soda | 1.8% | 4.9 g | 4.9 g |
| Chocolate chips | 110% | 299 g | 299 g |
| Total | 441.1% | 1,200 g | 1,200 g |
Chocolate chip cookies formula at a glance
Yield 24 cookies (50 g) · 1,200 g dough or batter · 39.8% effective hydration from eggs, milk and butter · about 2 hours start to finish.
| Ingredient | Baker's % |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 100% |
| Water | 0% |
| Salt | 1.8% |
| Butter | 80% |
| Brown sugar | 60% |
| Sugar | 50% |
| Eggs (whole) | 36% |
| Vanilla extract | 1.5% |
| Baking soda | 1.8% |
| Chocolate chips | 110% |
Grams for 12, 24 and 48 cookies (50 g each)
| Ingredient | Baker's % | 12 cookies | 24 cookies | 48 cookies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 100% | 136 g | 272 g | 544 g |
| Water | 0% | 0.0 g | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Salt | 1.8% | 2.4 g | 4.9 g | 9.8 g |
| Butter | 80% | 109 g | 218 g | 435 g |
| Brown sugar | 60% | 82 g | 163 g | 326 g |
| Sugar | 50% | 68 g | 136 g | 272 g |
| Eggs (whole) | 36% | 49 g | 98 g | 196 g |
| Vanilla extract | 1.5% | 2.0 g | 4.1 g | 8.2 g |
| Baking soda | 1.8% | 2.4 g | 4.9 g | 9.8 g |
| Chocolate chips | 110% | 150 g | 299 g | 599 g |
| Total | 441.1% | 600 g | 1,200 g | 2,400 g |
How many cookies by size
The default batch makes 1,200 g of dough. Here is what that batch gives at other portion sizes, with approximate bake times at 350°F (175°C):
| Portion | Size | Cookies per batch | Flour per cookie | Bake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 g | 1 tbsp scoop, 2 in cookie | 59 | 4.5 g | 9–11 min |
| 35 g | #40 scoop, 2½ in | 34 | 7.9 g | 10–12 min |
| 50 g | #24 scoop, 3 in | 23 | 11 g | 11–13 min |
| 85 g | bakery size, 4 in | 14 | 19 g | 13–16 min |
| 115 g | 4 oz thick "stuffed" style | 10 | 26 g | 16–20 min at 375°F |
Why these percentages
Cookies use the same arithmetic as bread: flour is 100% and everything else is a ratio to it. What changes is the balance. A cookie has no added water at all — its moisture comes from the butter (about 16% water) and the eggs (about 75%), which is why the calculator shows 0% hydration but a small effective hydration. Sugar is the real "liquid" here: it melts in the oven and decides how far the cookie spreads.
Read the formula as three levers. Fat at 70–90% gives a tender, rich cookie; below 60% it turns cakey. Total sugar at 100–120% gives crisp edges and a chewy middle; the split matters too — more brown sugar (it holds moisture) makes it chewier, more white sugar makes it crisper and flatter. Eggs at 30–40% bind the dough; extra yolk makes it fudgier. Chips at 90–130% is a matter of taste, and they sit outside the dough's structure, so changing them barely changes the bake.
Leavening is a percentage too, and a small one: 1.5–2% baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar and promotes browning. Salt at 1.5–2% is a little lower than bread's 2% because the chips and sugar dominate.
Method
- Cream. Beat the soft butter with the brown and white sugar for about 2 minutes, until lighter in color but not fluffy.
- Add eggs. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together, add them on low speed just until no dry flour remains, then fold in the chips.
- Rest. Cover and chill the dough at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Rested dough spreads less and browns more evenly.
- Portion. Scoop balls of the weight you set in Batch size onto lined trays, leaving 2–3 inches between them.
- Bake. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly underdone — about 11–13 minutes for 50 g cookies.
Tips
- 50 g balls bake in 11–13 minutes at 350°F
- Chill the dough to control spread
- More brown sugar = chewier
- Weigh the flour: a cup can be 120–150 g
Baker's percentages work for any bake with flour. See baker's percentages explained, or compare all the sweet and pan bakes.
FAQ
What is the baker's percentage for chocolate chip cookies?
A typical chewy cookie is flour 100%, butter 75–85%, brown sugar 55–65%, white sugar 45–55%, eggs 33–40%, chocolate chips 100–130%, baking soda about 2% and salt about 1.8%.
Why does my cookie dough show 0% hydration?
Cookie dough has no added water. Its moisture comes from butter and eggs, which the calculator counts as effective hydration — about 40% for this formula.
How many cookies does one cup of butter make?
One cup (227 g) of butter at 80% means about 284 g of flour, which makes about 1,250 g of dough: 25 cookies of 50 g or 62 small 20 g cookies.