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Home Cookies

Famous Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies (crunchy 2 weeks!)

By:Nagi
Published:26 Jun '20Updated:13 Jan '23
263 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This is a copycat of Australia’s most famous chocolate chip cookie – Byron Bay Milk Choc Chunk Cookies. They’re big, crunchy, buttery and generous on the chocolate! At $3.50 for a single biscuit, they aren’t cheap – so save a ton by making them yourself!

BONUS: They stay 100% crunchy for 2 whole weeks! (Possibly longer – I caved).

Plate of Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies – Byron Bay Copycat!

Australia’s most famous cookie are Byron Bay Cookies. They come in all sorts of flavours, and three of the most popular ones are White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies, Triple Chocolate Fudge and the chocolate chip cookies.

They’re sold at cafes all across Australia, and they are without a doubt the most well known cookie brand. While sometimes you find them individually packaged and sold at grocery stores for around $2.50 each, most cafes will charge $3.50 to $4 for a single cookie.

Which means a dozen of them cost $42…. or you can make them at home for around $7!!

These chocolate chip cookies stay 100% crunchy for 2 whole weeks!

Showing inside of Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

What they taste like

These cookies are crunchy but it’s a soft, buttery crunch – sort of like Shortbread Cookies, except not as sandy/crumbly. The mouthfeel is what’s quite unique about these thick cookies – most crispy cookies this thick are noticeably rougher and drier (rice flour is the secret ingredient here that specifically achieves this).

There’s generous chunks of chocolate littered throughout, and the really great thing is that they stay 100% crunchy just like they’re freshly made for up to 2 weeks!!! (Probably longer, I just couldn’t hold out any longer).

Stack of Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients for Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here’s what you need to make these cookies. The ingredients are basically a replica of the ingredients disclosed on the Byron Bay Cookie packets, with minor tweaks to achieve the same mouthfeel and flavour using ingredients available to home cooks (eg. things like cultured dextrose, emulsifiers and soy lecithin that normal folk like us can’t get).

Ingredients in Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just a note on a few ingredients:

  • Rice flour – this is the secret ingredient to give these crunchy cookies a sort of “velvety” mouthfeel which is unique to Byron Bay Cookies and one of the reasons people love them so much. You can substitute with more flour – the cookies still work out perfectly but the mouthfeel is “rougher” (still extremely delicious and this is what I use if I don’t have rice flour). Cornflour/cornstarch also works but the texture becomes more crumbly like Shortbread but the mouthfeel is drier than shortbread;

  • Yolks – we use 2 egg yolks in these cookies to give them richness.

    Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection;

  • Softened butter – you need softened butter for these cookies so they whip up creamy and smooth. If you’re like me and always forget to leave it out to soften, or if it’s so cold that it just never softens even if you leave it out all night, you’ll love this trick: microwave a jug of water for 3 minutes, then remove and put in a plate of diced butter and just leave it. The residual heat softens the butter perfectly. Never try microwaving butter to soften it – it doesn’t soften evenly, you will always end up with melted pockets which will affect the success of the recipe;

  • Brown and white sugar – each of these bring something different to the cookie. White makes them crispy while the brown sugar adds flavour and adds softness to the crunch; and

  • Chocolate – Byron Bay calls their chocolate chip cook “Milk Choc Chunk Cookies”, being that they’re made with a darkish milk chocolate. Good quality milk chocolate for baking isn’t readily availably, so I’ve taken the liberty of using dark chocolate instead. If anything, it makes them even BETTER with a more intense chocolate flavour! Use chips or chunks if you prefer.


How to make Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

And here’s how to make them – pretty standard really. We need the chill time to make the cookies sliceable and also to stop them from inflating when they bake (yep, tried to shortcut it and ended up with sumo cookies).

Cookie emergency? No beater?

No worries! Make these super easy Chocolate Chip Cookies instead (they’re soft and chewy, no chill time).👍🏼

How to make Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies
Close up of Byron Bay Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ahh, it’s a good moment when you pull them out of the oven.

I know, I know, you want to grab one right away while it’s hot and the chocolate is all melty and glistening but WAIT!! We have to let them cool on the tray so they become nice and crunchy. It’s worth it!!

Use the cooling time to think about the people in your life who will be lucky enough to put one in their gob. Think very carefully – there are only 12 of them, which makes them exponentially more valuable than most cookies that make a couple of dozen in a single batch. These are very, very special Chocolate Chip Cookies! 😉 – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Byron Bay Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author: Nagi
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Chilling: 1 hr 30 mins
Baking, Cookies
Australia, Western
4.97 from 79 votes
Servings12 BIG cookies!
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. This is a copycat of Australia's most famous Chocolate Chip Cookies – the Byron Bay Milk Choc Chunk Cookies! Just like the real deal, these are big, crunchy, buttery and loaded with a generous amount of chocolate. See reader feedback on the White Chocolate Macadamia which uses the same cookie dough! Good quality milk chocolate for baking is hard to come by, so we're using dark chocolate here – but if anything, it intensifies the chocolate experience!
Cookie emergency? No beater? No worries! Make these fast & easy Chocolate Chip Cookies instead (they're soft and chewy, no chill time).

Ingredients

  • 175g / 12 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter , softened (6.2 oz, Note 1 – softening tip!)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar (light or normal, not dark)
  • 1/3 cup white sugar , caster / superfine
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 egg yolks , at room temperature (Note 6 for using leftover whites)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract/essence
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup rice flour (sub with plain/all purpose flour, Note 2)
  • 1 1/2 cups flour , plain/all purpose
  • 200g / 7 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate block , chopped into pretty small pieces (Note 3)

Instructions

  • Place butter, salt and both sugars in a bowl. Beat on speed 5 for 1 minute until it’s soft, creamy and fluffy.
  • Add yolks and vanilla – beat for 1 minute until well incorporated.
  • Add baking powder, rice flour and half the plain flour. Beat until you can’t see flour anymore, then add remaining flour and beat again until incorporated.
  • Mixture will be fairly clump and thick, but if you press between your fingers, it should stick together (rather than being dry and crumbly).
  • Use a wooden spoon to stir chocolate through.
  • Tip out onto a work surface then press together into a 22cm / 9″ log. Wrap in cling wrap or paper, twisting to seal the ends.
  • Refrigerate 1.5 – 2 hours (Note 4).

Baking:

  • Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
  • Line 2 trays with baking/parchment paper. Put one shelf in the middle of the oven, and the other underneath.
  • Remove from fridge, unwrap.
  • Use a serrated knife to slice into 1.75cm / 2/3" thick slices. Saw carefully through choc chunks. If it falls apart on edges, just press if back together, no big deal. Place 6 on each tray.
  • Bake 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 170°C/340°F (150°C fan), switch trays (Note 5)
  • Bake for a further 15 minutes until surface is light golden and edges are a bit golden.
  • Remove from oven and cool completely on trays – this makes them crunchy.
  • STORAGE: Keeps for at least 2 weeks in an airtight container – they stay 100% crunchy, just like they’re freshly made.

Recipe Notes:

SMALLER COOKIES – 30 cm/12″ log = 30 cookies x 1cm / 2/5″ thick slices. 10 minutes at high temp, then around 8 minutes at the low temp (switch trays). They expand slightly (see photo in post) so leave at least 1″ / 2.5cm between each cookie.
1. Butter – you want the butter to be soft so it’s easily to whip and become fluffy. Don’t let it be on the verge of melting though – that’s too soft, no good for cookies.
BUTTER SOFTENING TIP – if it’s too cold for the butter to soften by leaving it out on the counter, or you forgot (as I always do), then use this trick:
  • cut into 1 cm cubes (or for US sticks, slice 1/3″ thick) and place in single layer on small plate
  • place 2 cups water in a microwave proof jug or bowl. Microwave on high for 2 – 3 minutes until just before boiling
  • working quickly, remove jug, put plate in microwave and shut door, DO NOT TURN MICROWAVE ON! Leave for 10 minutes – the residual heat in the microwave will soften the butter perfectly!
  • if still not soft enough (eg cut too big, microwave has lower power), then just repeat (but for round 2, check after a few minutes)
Do not try microwaving the butter – even the greatest experts run a high risk of pockets of melted butter = cookies won’t work!😩
2. Rice flour – this gives the cookies a slightly more “velvety” mouthfeel even though they are crunchy cookies, which is a distinct feature of the Byron Bay Cookies. Find it in Asian stores and the flour aisle of grocery stores (small box). Also used in Shortbread Cookies (for same reason). Sub with normal flour – cookies are still terrific, texture is just not quite as velvety (but 100% still fantastic – in fact, I made a batch for a friend with no rice flour just a few days ago).
Note: If you use the McKenzie’s brand (Australia) the rice flour isn’t ground as finely as flour so you may notice a faint grit in the cookies. Though actually, most normal people don’t notice it! For this reason, I prefer using Asian brands as they don’t have this problem. However, the faint grit really is a minor, minor thing and it’s 100% worth it for the texture benefit you get in the cookie!
3. Chocolate – use any baking chocolate here ie chocolate sold in the baking aisle, intended for cooking. Eating chocolate doesn’t hold up in the oven – goes a funny texture. Choc blocks are better quality, but chips will be fine too!
4. Chilling dough – this is to make it sliceable, and to stop the cookies from inflating in the oven. If you forget about the dough and it stays in the fridge for way longer, it gets rock hard so leave it out for 20 minutes or so before slicing.
5. Switch trays for even cooking – move the bottom tray up to the middle shelf, and the tray on the middle shelf down to the bottom shelf.
6. Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.
7. An original recipe, my copycat of the Byron Bay Cookies by reference to the ingredients on the packet. It’s as close as I can get – pretty close!
8. Nutrition per cookie:

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 337cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 38g (13%)Protein: 4g (8%)Fat: 19g (29%)Saturated Fat: 11g (69%)Cholesterol: 65mg (22%)Sodium: 31mg (1%)Potassium: 152mg (4%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 18g (20%)Vitamin A: 416IU (8%)Calcium: 34mg (3%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: choc chunk cookies, Chocolate chip cookies
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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263 Comments

  1. Daphbychoc says

    December 18, 2022 at 10:00 pm

    4 stars
    First recipe I’ve tried from this website. I substituted with gluten free flour and it came out really light and has a crisp texture. Used Whittakers dark chocolate and it held well. Yummy…won’t last long in my family!

    Reply
  2. bridget says

    November 9, 2022 at 3:06 am

    5 stars
    I loved this recipe! Really delicious little cookies.

    Reply
  3. Blitzo says

    October 20, 2022 at 3:24 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, your always deserve my 5 star rate.. I think this is my second time to leave s comment.

    Reply
  4. jas says

    October 13, 2022 at 10:06 pm

    Hi Nagi. My daughter decided to make these cookies for the school bake sale. She reckons this is a “Quality” recipe. Here comes the question: What do you recommend she needs to do to either incorporate (like you do with the chock chip) SMARTIES or put them on top before baking? Thanks in advance. X

    Reply
  5. Blitzo says

    October 5, 2022 at 11:31 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, your Chocolate chip cookies are crunchy and so yummy. Followed the recipe and did not change a thing. Turned out perfect. I think its my second time to leave a comment.

    Reply
  6. B says

    September 25, 2022 at 6:59 pm

    Made these tonight – used Countdown FreeFrom gluten free flour as it has rice flour in it

    Reply
  7. claire says

    September 21, 2022 at 2:13 am

    Superbe recette, c’est la recette que je cherche depuis longtemps ; mais j’ai un problème, pourriez vous me donner l’équivalence des poids des ingrédients de français.
    merci beaucoup.

    Reply
  8. Blitzo says

    September 17, 2022 at 11:34 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi girl, These chocolate chip cookies are amazing and so yummy. Followed the recipe and did not change a thing. Turned out delicious.

    Reply
  9. Taysia says

    September 15, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    This is one of the only recipetin recipes I’ve made that I wasn’t the hugest fan of. Mine came out very shortbready so I’m also willing to just assume that they weren’t as good because I messed something up and with that said, I still ate a few of these so couldn’t have been too bad lol I wonder what it was that I might have gotten wrong. Always irks me so much when baking doesn’t work out right and I have no clue what went wrong to learn from it.

    Reply
    • Georgina says

      November 1, 2022 at 5:28 pm

      Byron Bay Cookies are typically a lot more shortbread-like than regular cookies so it sounds like you nailed it!

      Reply
  10. Lorraine says

    August 17, 2022 at 11:05 pm

    Hi Nagi, if I have my oven set to fan forced, do I still need to rotate the trays please? These sound so good that I don’t want to stuff them up!
    How are you going with finalising everything for your book? Can’t wait for it to come out in time to give my closest friends a copy for Christmas.😊

    Reply
  11. Leah says

    August 16, 2022 at 2:50 pm

    5 stars
    I have now made the white choc macadamia ones and these choc chunk ones. They are both divine! I used a natural sweetener in the white choc ones, so these ones taste a bit sweeter as I used castor sugar.
    I struggle with my electric beaters when mixing the ingredients, as the stuff flies out the bowl everywhere. I am only a novice here lol. I need a splatter shield for beaters. Is that even a thing?

    Reply
  12. Char says

    August 14, 2022 at 2:14 am

    5 stars
    These are delightful!! Didn’t know what I was trying because I have never had the original and my general preference is a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. They do stay crispy for at least a day – that’s how long they lasted in my house, haha. I will be adding to my holiday baking list. Great recipe, thank you!

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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