Chunky Rolo Cookies

I first properly fell in love with those huge, chunky cookies on a trip to New York. You know the ones, thick enough that they almost look underbaked in the middle, crisp and golden around the edges, but ridiculously soft and gooey once you break into them.

I came home wanting to recreate that proper New York-style cookie at home, and these Chunky Rolo Cookies absolutely hit the spot.

They’re thick, soft and chewy, with loads of Rolos folded through the dough so you get pockets of melted milk chocolate and gooey caramel running through every cookie. The outside turns beautifully golden while the centre stays soft, exactly how a chunky cookie should be.

And despite looking like something you’d find behind the counter of a fancy bakery, they’re actually incredibly easy to make.

There’s no mixer needed, no complicated techniques and only a handful of everyday baking ingredients. Melt the butter, mix the dough, fold through the Rolos, chill and bake.

The hardest part is waiting for them to cool before ripping one open.

Chunky Rolo Cookies

Thick New York-style cookies with crisp golden edges, soft chewy centres and loads of gooey chocolate caramel Rolos running through them.

Easy to make, seriously indulgent and exactly the sort of cookie you want to eat while it’s still slightly warm.

What makes a New York-style cookie different?

When people talk about New York-style cookies, they’re generally talking about those enormous bakery-style cookies that are much thicker than a traditional homemade cookie.

Instead of being thin, flat and crisp all the way through, they’re deliberately chunky.

The outside gets golden and slightly crisp while the middle stays thick, soft and almost gooey.

That’s exactly what we’re going for here.

The trick isn’t making some wildly complicated cookie dough. It’s getting the ratios, size, temperature and chilling right.

These cookies are divided into just 10 portions, so each dough ball is substantial. They’re then chilled before baking and, importantly, aren’t flattened before going into the oven.

That helps them keep their height.

Why melted butter works so well

A lot of cookie recipes start by creaming softened butter and sugar together.

Not this one.

Here, the butter is melted first and then whisked into the brown and granulated sugars.

Using melted butter helps create that dense, chewy texture we’re after rather than something light and cakey.

It’s also considerably easier.

You don’t need to remember to take your butter out of the fridge hours beforehand, and you don’t need a stand mixer or electric whisk.

Just make sure you give the melted butter a few minutes to cool before adding it to the other ingredients. You don’t want piping hot butter hitting your egg.

Two sugars give you a better cookie

There’s a reason we’re using both soft light brown sugar and granulated sugar.

They do slightly different jobs.

Brown sugar contains more moisture and brings a subtle caramel flavour, helping create that soft, chewy centre.

Granulated sugar helps with spreading and gives you those slightly crisper golden edges.

Together, you get the best of both worlds.

Crisp around the outside.

Soft through the middle.

Exactly what we want.

Why Rolos are perfect for chunky cookies

Rolos are basically designed for this sort of recipe.

You’ve already got milk chocolate and caramel together in one little piece, so when they’re folded through cookie dough and baked, you get pockets of both running through the middle.

Some stay relatively intact.

Others melt into the dough.

And some of that caramel escapes slightly and becomes sticky and almost toffee-like around the edges.

The recipe uses 250g of Rolos, so we’re not messing around either.

Every cookie should have plenty.

Don’t overmix your cookie dough

Once the flour goes in, you don’t need to beat the life out of it.

Mix with a wooden spoon just until a dough forms, then fold through the Rolos.

Overworking flour encourages gluten development, which can make cookies tougher.

We’re after tender, soft centres, so as soon as you can’t see any obvious pockets of dry flour, you’re basically there.

Simple.

Why chilling the cookie dough matters

This is probably the step people will be most tempted to skip.

Don’t.

The cookie dough balls need 30 minutes in the fridge before baking.

Chilling firms up the butter again, which means the cookies don’t immediately collapse and spread across the baking tray when they hit the oven.

That’s particularly important when you’re trying to create thick bakery-style cookies.

If you’ve ever made cookies that came out looking like one enormous pancake, warm dough is often the culprit.

Thirty minutes isn’t long.

Stick them in the fridge, clean the kitchen, make a coffee and resist temptation.

Keep the dough balls chunky

Another really important point, don’t flatten them.

Roll the dough into balls and put them onto your lined baking trays exactly like that.

They’ll naturally spread as they bake.

Starting with a tall ball of chilled dough encourages the cookies to retain more height, giving you those thick centres rather than thin discs.

Make sure you leave plenty of space between them too.

Nobody wants ten individual cookies becoming one enormous Rolo paving slab.

Although, thinking about it, that doesn’t sound completely terrible.

Don’t overbake them

This is probably the biggest secret to a great cookie.

When they come out of the oven, they shouldn’t look completely firm in the middle.

After around 15 minutes at 170°C, you’re looking for golden edges with centres that are still slightly soft.

That’s when you take them out.

They continue cooking from the residual heat of the baking tray, and they’ll firm up considerably as they cool.

If you wait until the middle looks completely baked before taking them out, chances are they’ll be overdone once they’ve cooled.

Trust the process.

Let them cool on the tray

I know.

You’ve got ten warm cookies sitting in front of you with melted caramel coming out of them and I’m asking you not to touch them.

But give them at least 10 minutes.

Fresh from the oven, the centres are extremely soft and the melted caramel is incredibly hot. Leaving the cookies on the tray allows them to finish setting so you can actually pick them up without them collapsing.

After that, transfer them to a cooling rack.

Although eating one while it’s still slightly warm is strongly encouraged.

Can you make the cookie dough ahead?

Absolutely.

This is actually a brilliant recipe to prepare ahead because the dough needs chilling anyway.

You can make the cookie balls the night before, cover them and leave them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.

You could also freeze the individual cookie dough balls.

Once frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag or container and you’ve essentially got homemade ready-to-bake cookies whenever you fancy one.

That’s dangerously useful information.

Making this recipe in the US

These are inspired by the huge cookies I loved in New York, so it only seems right to make them easy for American readers too.

There are a couple of British ingredient names that translate slightly differently in the US.

340g plain flour is approximately 2¾ cups all-purpose flour.

140g unsalted butter is approximately 10 tablespoons unsalted butter.

120g soft light brown sugar is approximately ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar.

60g granulated sugar is approximately ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.

250g Rolos is approximately 9 oz Rolos.

A British medium egg is slightly larger than a US medium egg, so I’d use 1 US large egg here.

Bicarbonate of soda is simply called baking soda in the US.

For the oven, 170°C is approximately 340°F. If your oven doesn’t have that setting, 350°F will work, but start checking the cookies a little earlier.

For baking, I still recommend weighing ingredients in grams if you have kitchen scales. Flour in particular can vary significantly when measured in cups, and baking is one of those occasions where accuracy really does matter.

Ingredients

340g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

140g unsalted butter

120g soft light brown sugar

60g granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 medium egg

250g Rolos

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then leave it to cool for a few minutes.
2. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until well combined.
3. Add the vanilla and egg, then whisk again until smooth.
4. Add the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix with a wooden spoon until a cookie dough forms.
5. Fold through the Rolos, then divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll each one into a ball.
6. Pop the cookie dough balls into the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C.
7. Arrange the chilled cookie dough balls onto lined baking trays, leaving plenty of space between them. Don’t flatten them, keeping them as balls will help give you those thick, chunky centres.
8. Bake for 15 minutes until golden around the edges but still slightly soft in the middle.
9. Leave them on the baking trays for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They’ll firm up as they cool.

Equipment

Large mixing bowl

Saucepan

Whisk

Wooden spoon or spatula

Baking trays

Baking paper

Cooling rack

Kitchen scales

FAQs

Why did my Rolo cookies spread too much?

The most likely reason is that the dough was too warm. Make sure you chill the shaped cookie dough balls for the full 30 minutes before baking. Also, don’t put cookie dough onto a baking tray that’s still warm from a previous batch.

Can I chill the cookie dough for longer than 30 minutes?

Yes. You can leave the shaped dough balls covered in the fridge overnight. If they’re very firm when you come to bake them, you may need to add a minute or two to the baking time.

Can I freeze Rolo cookie dough?

Yes. Freeze the shaped cookie dough balls on a tray, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container once solid. They can then be baked from frozen, although they’ll usually need a few additional minutes in the oven.

Why are my cookies still soft when they come out of the oven?

They’re supposed to be. The edges should look golden and set, but the middle should still feel slightly soft. They’ll continue to firm up on the hot baking tray as they cool.

How do I keep chunky cookies thick?

Chill the dough, don’t flatten the cookie balls and avoid overworking the mixture. Starting with cold, tall balls of dough helps prevent excessive spreading in the oven.

Can I use salted butter instead?

Yes. Salted butter will work, and because there isn’t additional salt in this recipe, you don’t need to make any other major adjustment.

Can I use different chocolate instead of Rolos?

Absolutely. You can use chunks of milk, dark or white chocolate, or swap some of the Rolos for chocolate chips. You’ll obviously lose those gooey caramel pockets that make these particular cookies special.

How should I store homemade Rolo cookies?

Once completely cool, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’re at their best during the first few days.

How do I make leftover cookies gooey again?

A very short blast in the microwave can soften the chocolate and caramel again. Don’t overdo it, particularly because the caramel can become extremely hot.

Can I make smaller cookies with this recipe?

Yes, but you’ll need to reduce the baking time. The recipe is deliberately designed to make 10 large, chunky cookies, so making them smaller will change that thick New York-style texture slightly.

Final thoughts

These Chunky Rolo Cookies are exactly what I wanted to recreate after eating those huge cookies in New York.

Thick, golden around the edges, soft and chewy through the middle, with ridiculous amounts of melted chocolate and gooey caramel running through them.

And they’re surprisingly straightforward to make.

The biggest things to remember are to chill the dough, keep those cookie balls nice and chunky and don’t be tempted to overbake them.

Take them out while the centres still look slightly soft, give them time to set on the tray and then get stuck in while they’re still a little warm.

If a pool of melted Rolo caramel escapes when you break one open, you’ve done it right.