Hey there. I’ve got a new Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for you.
Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies. I’m not big on picking a favorite anything and I have learned after trying many many chocolate chip cookie recipes that you can have more than one that you love. We’ve always loved our Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, and to this day, they remain my husband’s favorite. My tastes have changed over time and while I still like that cookie, I can’t call it my absolute favorite.
So I’ve tweaked and tested and played around with different ideas and come up with some others that I enjoy as well. For instance, there’s the Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Chip Cookie; I reduced the sugar and amount of chips and added cornstarch as well as a few other changes that I list in the post. It’s a softer, denser cookie. That’s a really good one and easily satisfies a peanut butter cookie craving, but feel free to substitute chocolate chips for the peanut butter chips, and perhaps that will be your winning chocolate chip cookie.
For this recipe, I wanted to shift again. I love chocolate malts. My mother used to take me downtown to a long gone department store, named Higbee’s, when I was young. There was a small alcove on the bottom floor, I think, right next to the escalator that sold the most amazing chocolate malts. They served them in these small glasses that were narrow on the bottom and wider at the top, sort of a cross between a small ale glass and a pilsner.
I remember the glass because it was small and fit easily into my tiny hand, which meant I was not likely to drop it. But the chocolate malt inside was the best chocolate malt I had ever had and was an anticipated treat on our trips downtown to Higbee’s. Suffice to say, I’ve loved chocolate and malt for a long, long time. And yes, even if my warm memory has glorified it, I think that malt and every malt I ever had from that little stand will forever be my favorite.
This cookie is inspired by my love of malt and yet, it’s not a crazy heavy malted flavored cookie. (You can make it “maltier” by crushing up malted milk balls and adding them, but that was not my goal.) What the malt does is two-fold: it adds a lovely bit of mellow flavor to the cookie and the milk starch (like the cornstarch) adds density and softness. At least that’s my theory. I then added just a small amount of cocoa powder. I didn’t want to turn this into a chocolate cookie, but I did want to give the malt some chocolate to hang out with.
You end up with a delicious, dense, soft and weighty cookie. Seriously, when you pick one up, it’s weight might surprise you since it’s heavier than your average blond chocolate chip cookie. The color is deeper and richer from the cocoa and yet, you wouldn’t mistake it for a full on chocolate cookie (which is good, because it’s not.)
I used mostly milk chocolate chips here because I think that’s the way to go with malts, then balanced some of that sweetness with semi-sweet chips. I think mixing up chips in a cookie makes it more interesting and gives more depth of flavor, so mix it up with your cookies. This is also a great strategy when your goal is to use up partial bags of chips you might have in your pantry.
I rarely pick favorites and I’m not going to commit to one today, but I will say that if there were a bunch of different chocolate chip cookies displayed out on a platter and I could only pick one… I would pick up one of these Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies first…
then negotiate seconds later :)
Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups bread flour, or all purpose
- 1/4 cup malted milk powder
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, I used Hershey's
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 extra large eggs
- one 11.5 ounce bag milk chocolate chips, I used Ghiradelli
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, I used Ghiradelli
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, malted milk powder, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla, then add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating one before adding the other.
- Gradually add flour mixture, using lowest speed on mixer or stirring in by hand.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. I used a cookie scoop for this that holds about 2 tablespoons of dough.
- Bake for 13-16 minutes or until light golden brown on edges and you see bits of golden brown on the higher peaks of your cookie on top.
- Cool completely on pans then store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
*Cookies will stay soft for at least three days. I usually leave out some for us to eat, then freeze the rest in freezer bags, separating the cookies with waxed paper.
*I prefer using extra large eggs in my chip cookie recipes, but you can use large.
*I used Carnation Malted Milk Powder since it's widely available. You can usually find it near the chocolate milk mixes or in the baking aisle.
*I like Ghiradelli chips in this recipe, not only for flavor, but I like the fact that the milk and semi sweet chips are different sizes. I list weights for the chips, but use as many or as little as you wish. This is the ratio that works well for me.
The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2015
Lynne
Saturday 13th of November 2021
These have been my go-to cookie recipe for over a year now. They are delicious! I switch the chips around depending upon what’s in my pantry. I’ve never found malted milk powder in my supermarkets, but I’ve been able to order some on Amazon.
Ramona
Sunday 14th of November 2021
This makes me so happy to hear, Lynne! I LOVE these cookies! It's a bummer that your local supermarket doesn't carry malted milk powder. but I'm glad you're able to get it on line.
Julie
Wednesday 20th of July 2016
I made these cookies for the first time last weekend. They are tasty and even better with chopped Whoppers and toasted pecans added to them!
Ramona
Wednesday 20th of July 2016
Oooh! A big YES to chopped Whoppers and toasted pecans!!! I love, love, LOVE toasted pecans in my chocolate chip cookies! My family prefers them without, so when I do add them, it's a special treat. Great additions!
AnneOpinion
Monday 30th of March 2015
Thanks for the recipe! I loved these chocolate chip cookies. I reviewed the recipe on my site. Hope you can check it out here: http://www.anneopinion.com/?recipe=malted-milk-chocolate-chip-cookies Thanks again!!
Ramona
Monday 30th of March 2015
I do love this cookie. I read your review and saw that while you loved the cookie, you were hoping for a stronger malt flavor. I do mention in the post that it is does not have a strong malt flavor. I use the malt for mellowness and texture. I think you might like the addition of chopped malted milk candy to really punctuate that classic malt flavor.
Cyndi B
Thursday 19th of March 2015
I stopped after work to get the bread flour and malted milk powder for these cookies and then came home to make them for work tomorrow. Then, I couldn't get to the recipe and I started to get worried, so while waiting I clicked over to my other favorite blog, Mel's Kichen Cafe. Then it all became clear,you are inundated with visitors! Congratulations on the shout-out from Mel. You deserve it! This is my new favorite blog and I really look forward to your posts and recipes. By the way, the cookies are delicious!
Ramona
Thursday 19th of March 2015
Thanks! It's been a crazy day! I love Mel's blog, too! One of my earliest posts, A Tandy Birthday Cake, uses her Perfect Yellow Cake Recipe as the base. Her recipes always come out delicious and it was so exciting to have her share my blog with her readers. Sorry the site took a bit of time to load today. I had problems getting in, myself :) I'm happy you got through so you could make the recipe and I'm really happy that you like the cookies. Hopefully your co-workers will enjoy them as well. Thanks again for all your great feedback!
Tasbih @ Cleobuttera
Thursday 19th of March 2015
Mmmmm...chocolate malt balls are some of my favorite candies ever and I love how you've translated in these cookies. They look and sound delicious!
Ramona
Thursday 19th of March 2015
I love chocolate malt balls too, but not the "big brand" ones from my childhood...I love candy shop ones that have amazing malt flavor and a thick layer of chocolate. Yum!