Tate’s Bake Shop Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Clone

If you’ve ever bought a package of Tate’s Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies, you’ve discovered how delicious these thin, buttery, crispy, crunchy chocolate chip cookies are. There’s an undisclosed secret ingredient, because they are so addictive! They are the polar opposite of chewy traditional chocolate chip cookies, and I have a hard time resisting throwing a bag of these cookies in my shopping cart. I can see why these cookies have a “cult” following! Through trial and error, I think I’ve come pretty darn close to replicating these cookies.

Back in the day (2008) when I first start food blogging, we used to get perks from food companies– before “influencers” became the royalty and humble food bloggers, like me, are left with memories of those good times. I digress. In 2009, Tate’s Bake Shop sent me a generous box of their cookies and Sour Cream Coffee Cake. I really liked the bag of their famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. Lo and behold, I was also gifted an autographed copy of Kathleen King’s Cookbook that included the recipe for said cookies.

While the recipe yielded a delicious cookie, it didn’t have that hallmark thin and crispy crunch that Tate’s Bake Shop is famous for. Sigh. I don’t blame the author! Did they kinda/sorta leave out a key ingredient or technique? Or, maybe they have a more commercial oven? Good for them! Still, I didn’t want to give up trying to recreate this addictive cookie. After a few “failed” attempts from other recipes I found, I think I did it!

Purely for research purposes, I bought a few bags of Tate’s Bake Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies at my local supermarket. Not all at once, mind you! What sorcery is this?! I love that crispy, crunch texture. In my final attempt, it was purely by accident that I think I got pretty darn close. I used the original published recipe, but did a few tweaks.

While I’m a faithful baker who loves King Arthur Flour All-Purpose Flour, I bought a bag of Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour (Blue) because it has a lower protein content. My hope was that would yield a lighter and crispier cookie. I also used mini chocolate chip cookies, since that’s what Tate’s uses- and since the cookies would be thin, I figured that was a wiser choice. To the flour, I increased the baking soda a teensy bit more (as I suspected I could taste it in the original cookie).

One other change I made is to use melted butter. My logic was that the cookie would bake thinner and, perhaps, crispier. The ingredients listing on the Tate’s Cookie bag has “cane sugar” as one of the ingredients. I tried that with a past failed attempt, and I didn’t find it was significant. So, I used granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. The melted butter was added, and then I added two eggs and 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

I added the flour, baking soda and salt dry ingredients and gave it a stir. I decided on 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips.

The dough was soft, and I took a taste. Delicious!

I covered the dough with plastic wrap and chilled it for about an hour.

I lined a baking sheet with pre-cut parchment paper and used my #60 Cookie Scoop to measure out 12 cookie doughs. My oven was preheated to 350F. I set the timer for 12 minutes. The cookies flattened and spread nicely. That’s encouraging…

Here is what I learned. At 12 minutes (per the cookbook), the cookies looked thin and baked. Upon tasting, they were chewy. Bummer. They tasted good, but I didn’t get the crispy texture I wanted. I baked the next batch at 14 minutes. Better, but still not crispy enough. The third batch, I baked at 15 minutes. Bingo! (Hold that thought.) I decided to stop right there, and put the remaining batter into the ridge (dinner time was fast approaching).

The next day, I set 12 more scoops of cookie dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I forgot to set the timer! I started to smell the aroma of cookies and raced to the oven. How much time had passed?! Um, 18 minutes! The cookies weren’t burned, as you can see. Once they cooled, I bit into one. CRUNCH! Eureka! Did I crack the code?

TASTING NOTES: Are these a perfect clone? I’d say I came about 95% close. Honestly, the authentic Tate’s Bake Shop Cookies are the best. At today’s prices, they’re about $7.00 a bag for a baker’s dozen. Not bad. However, I like the challenge and convenience of being able to bake thin, crispy and crunchy chocolate chip cookies at home. This recipe yielded almost four dozen cookies! I’m happy with this version, but I’ll keep tweaking and trying to see if I can get an exact replica. In the meantime, my husband likes this version a lot. If you prefer a chewier chocolate chip cookie, try this recipe. If you want an fast and easy chocolate chip cookie fix, try this recipe.