Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
Should I just call this “Ode to the Chocolate Chip Cookie?”
Because who doesn’t love them, really? Unless you’re allergic to chocolate, it could also be the first thing many of us learn to bake, and for good reason: They require simple ingredients, while at the same time being customizable (add nuts, m&m’s, Oreo crumbs, brownie batter..the list goes on!) And they’re always easy to make. The chocolate chip cookie is ubiquitously known as a special treat. So ubiquitous that it’s the cookie emoji in our phones, and of course it’s Cookie Monster’s favorite cookie!
I love making chocolate chip cookies, partly because it brings me back to the basics. Cookies in general are the first things I learned to bake, and also the only thing I choose to mix by hand. Even with my handy-dandy stand and hand mixers, I will always mix cookies with a good, old-fashioned spoon. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as they say.
However, what is currently broken is our oven. The oven itself is fine, but the control panel is not, hooray technology. So unless I want to bake something at 444° and not be able to actually press “Bake,” I had to pursue other avenues to make this classic treat. We recently got an air fryer which we have used to make a few things now, all coming out great and crispy, as they should. While there is one recipe I’m really looking forward to making that I definitely cannot use an air fryer for, I had the passing thought about making cookies in it. And what do you know, I found a few recipes for it from other folks who had similar thoughts.
A few things I learned when trying this recipe:
The original one I found had a lower temperature and shorter cook time, which I think was intentional. This makes the outside nice and crisp, but completely molten on the inside. While I enjoy that for brownies, I would say it’s not my favorite thing for cookies, but to each their own.
I did find and article on King Arthur Baking that suggested a higher temp and longer cook time, which I used for my subsequent batches, and also what I have listed here. This seemed to do the trick. That being said, the middles of these cookies will still be underbaked and forces you to one, wait until they cool to take them out of the air fryer basket, but two, forces you wait even longer for the middle to solidify enough to eat one without burning your face off. I’ll admit, waiting isn’t the worst thing to do with bake goods, but who needs that kind of negativity?
I will say, that the crispness on the outside comes out perfect. This combination can be hard to get sometimes: crisp on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. And once you’re done torturing yourself, I mean, waiting, they actually taste amazing and have a great texture.
Some pros:
Crispness on the outside
Easy clean up
Good for small batches
Cons:
Cook time is quick, but the cooling time makes there be really no difference between using the air fryer and your oven.
Small batches - I have a single basket air fryer, so I could really only make 4 cookies at a time. It would be fine in a pinch, but probably not ideal for a normal sized batch.
Too gooey (unless you wait 20-30 minutes after baking)— this is a total personal preference. As I mentioned, for brownies, I absolutely want it a little molten on the inside, but for cookies, it’s just not my thing.
Experimenting with new kitchen gadgets is always fun, and it’s good to know what you can use them for. But in conclusion, I miss my oven.
Happy baking! Or is it frying? Still fuzzy on that.
-S
Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 tbs all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract/maple syrup?
1 large egg
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Optional - nuts
Method:
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars, beating until smooth and creamy.
Add eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda and half the flour, mixing until combined with the butter mixture.
Add the remaining flour and mix until cookie dough is thick and creamy. Add the chocolate chips and nuts if desired, and mix until evenly distributed.
Line your air fryer basket with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, shape the dough into balls and place in basket on top of parchment paper. Leave an inch or so between each cookie.
Air fry at 320° for 9-10 minutes. When cookies are golden brown, let them set in the basket outside of the fryer for an additional 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool an additional 15-20 minutes before eating.
