Of course, you love cookies. But have you tried chocolate cookies that just melt in your mouth? If not, you are missing quite a lot on these delicious snacks.

Over the last 33 years, I have sampled countless recipes of cookies. This has led me to one crucial conclusion, “I love every kind of cookie.” However, some recipes yield better results than others.

This begs the question, what are the features of a perfect gooey cookie? My idea of an ideal cookie revolves around thick, chewy, and slightly undercooked. A hint of caramel flavor will always be a great plus to the overall taste. Just wait until you try them when they are still warm. Trust me, you cannot wait to tell everybody about them.

Now with that in mind, how can you make soft and chewy cookies? On my part, the choice of ingredients always plays a crucial role.

Here’s what you need to know.

• Butter

Three years ago, I realized melted butter increases a cookie’s chewiness. We have to all agree, almost everybody loves butter. Come on! Don’t tell me you don’t enjoy eating it straight off the stick. The better the quality, the more appealing the outcome.

The next time you visit your local grocery, make sure you go for top-notch salted sweet cream butter, if you plan to make those gooey cookies you have always wanted.

Now that you have the right butter how do you achieve results? To make ultra-thick cookies, you use butter that is halfway melted or less. Half melted butter always yields soft and structured cookies.

But how do you achieve it? The last time I attempted this process in the microwave, I ended up with the whole stick melting and getting the dough soggy?

However, if this happens to you, don’t feel bad, we all learn from our mistakes. Using the oven to preheat the butter is the perfect option as it gently melts the outer layer. Remember to leave it in the oven just for 3-5 minutes if you don’t want to be stuck with flat cookies.

• Sugar

Sugar is sugar it doesn’t matter what I use the cookies will still be sweet and chewy, right? WRONG! I had the same notion when I was still a newbie.

Get it from an expert, brown sugar always adds moistness to the cookies while white sugar makes them crispier. Since you want to achieve the perfect gooey cookie, you need more of the former rather than the latter.

Remember, don’t use brown sugar alone as it will make them too soft and moist. The secret lies in the brown-white sugar ratio. For every half cup of brown sugar, add a third a cup of white or granulated sugar.

• The Eggs

Let me first debunk the myth that to make great cookies, you must use whole egg (minus the yolk). Get it from someone who knows, the yolk increases chewiness. Probably, you think that the yolk is gross and annoying. This is just a small price to pay for killer gooey cookies.

Procedure

All the ingredients, check! Now it’s time to convert them into the perfect gooey cookie.

So the first step, I normally combine flour with my partly melted warm butter. Never use hot butter unless you want to be stuck with soggy dough.

Then I add sugar as per the ratios we discussed above and whisk them till they are well-mixed.

I whisk in the eggs + yolk and add vanilla flavor and mix until they are well combined. I normally use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to do so.

Remember, if you are on the right track, the dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. Never overmix if you want to achieve softer cookies.

Then I fold the dough with chocolate chips or nuts. At this point, the dough is soft and creamy.

I always examine the texture and color and it takes a lot of self-control to stop myself from gobbling down the whole bowl of dough.

Now that everything is perfect, it’s chilling time—preferably overnight. Though not mandatory I highly recommend it. The dough is too soft at this point and if you proceed to bake you might end up with flat spreading cookies. Giving the dough time to chill allows the flour to absorbs the liquid, which leads to more thick and less-spreading cookies.

It takes me approximately 11 minutes to bake my cookies. However, it is vital to start checking them after 10 minutes. Please set the time!

Baking cookies any longer than that, will make them crispier and remember we want to achieve the perfect gooey cookie.

My friend Rose says you can also achieve ultimate cookie softness by use of cornstarch, but this is a discussion for another day.