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).
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!
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).
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).
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).👍🏼
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
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:
- 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)
Nutrition Information:
For Cookie Monsters
Life of Dozer
“Everybody” thinks I bundle Dozer up in jumpers just because I’m a crazy dog lady / for my own amusement. And while both these hold true, the main reason is because it holds in his fur and sand which means marginally less littered all over the house.
Honestly, I seriously reckon it reduces sweeping by almost half. You should see how much fluff/sand poofs out when I pull the jumper off him (outside of course!!!)
Can I use nuttelex butter for the Byron Bay chocolate biscuit recipe.
These are the best cookies I’ve ever tasted in my 40+ years on this earth! I can’t tell you how many cookie recipes I’ve made that were advertised as “the best cookies you’ll ever taste” or words to that effect, and to be fair they were all decent enough. THESE ACTUALLY ARE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER (and it’s not even in the title)!!!!!!!!
I used all plain flour. I froze the dough in balls to bake them the next day as it was really late when I started making the batter. I probably could have just kept the dough refrigerated but just incase I didn’t get round to baking them the next day I thought it might be best to freeze them. Don’t know if this had any ill effect on the quality, texture etc. but they were so delicious I honestly don’t care.
Nagi you are a star for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try more of them.
A massive thank you all the way from Ireland!
Oh my Lordy, Nagi!! The kids and I made these a few weeks ago and used all plain flour, but added ‘Rice Flour’ to the shopping list. Today we made them with the rice flour and these are the most drool-worthy biscuits EVER!!! As if these will ever need to be stored for 2 weeks ;-p
Thank you… again!!
Winner!!!! I can’t cook, but want to get better, so I tried these and brought them into work. They were an absolute hit. Thank you!!!!
These were great and easy to make!
I’d make these again without question!
Wahoo, that’s great Jessica! N x
Hi Nagi,
I made these cookies today. They turned out to be really good, especially the texture of the cookies. However, the cookies have a strong “buttery” taste. Is there any way we can change this recipe to get rid of that taste?
Regards,
Tanisha.
Finally got around to making these, excellent and easy to follow recipe, as usual! My hubby prefers a crunchy choc chip biscuit while I like soft, so this works for both of us… I used a ruler to mark out on the top of the log by indenting the knife at 1.75cm intervals and then went along and cut them all at once so I didn’t handle too much and to keep them even. My log had also been in the fridge for more than 4 hrs so was very hard, only took about 10 mins before I was able to slice, probably the harder they are the better they hold their shape too. Only question to ask is “how many should I eat before everyone comes home from work & school”….
Hi Nagi, love your easy to follow recipes. Does reducing the amt of sugar needed make the cookie crumbly? I find it extremely sweet with your stated amount of sugar?
Hi Gwendoline, sorry – the amount of sugar is key to the texture here – N x
Just finished making those and they are AMAZING! They taste like short bread cookies, but better. The only thing I found a bit hard was measuring the size when cutting them, and ended up using a measuring tape halfway through. The cookies that I used the tape for turned out perfect, and the ones that I “estimated” turned out a bit dry. So i think the size is really key in this.
Dear Nagi,
Thanks for your great recipe. I made them today and they were really tasty. The only problem I had was that they were quite sandy. Do you know what I might’ve done wrong? Some people said that I should have kneaded the dough?
Thank you for your help and all your brilliant cooking recipes!
I just made these. Omg! Yummmmmm yum yum. Must find a way to make them vegan because my vegan husband accidentally ate one and said how delicious they were. You can imagine the shock on my face when I saw him almost finish a cookie. I yelled out “they’re not vegan!!” He stopped before the last bite confused. Plus I made them for my 4 year old daughter who said they were the best cookies ever. Thanks Nagi! Can always count on your recipes 🙂
I’m writing this while eating a second of this gorgeously crunchy yummilicious cookies! Made this first time today and oh boy I’m bowled over 🤪 I have been making cookies for past 2 years at home using a recipe from BBC and can say they were not even close to being this delicious. The whole family loves it! Thanks Nagi. This recipe is a God send for me.
I’m so so SO happy you loved them Satyam!! N x
I am Canadian. My family requested a crunchy chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’m so glad I found this recipe. Although for you is 1 cup also 240ml? And I’m also wondering how 1.5 cups flour is 225 grams if 1 cup is 120 grams of flour. Is it due to cup size differences? Either way I followed metric and they turned out fine. Maybe slightly crumbly but a few drops of milk fixed it. Either way everyone loved it. And I’m was craving cookies haha. Thanks again
Hi K, 1 cup of flour is 150grams here as we use a 250ml cup. If you’re ever unsure, use the recipe via weight as that’s the same no matter where you’re located. N x
Hi Nagi,
these are really awesome cookies, thank you for the recipe! With a cup of milk/tea and apple they truly make a delicious snack!
Hi Nagi,
I would like to know if I can put less chocolate and may be add ground almonds to the mixture. Also, mine did not turn out as golden as yours. Is it why it is not that crunchy? Should I cut it thinner next time or bake a little bit longer?
Thank you.
Hi Helen, sounds like your oven may run slightly cool. If you cook slightly longer that should guarantee crunchy cookies for you. You can cut down the chocolate and add nuts, I do in this recipe here: https://discountspot.info/white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies/%3C/a%3E N x
finally made the Byron Bay Chocolate chip cookies yesterday.. SO delicious. all your recipes are 100% and more successful and delicious Nagi. thank you.
Finally, I can made my own Byron Bay cookies. I missed it a lot. Thanks a lot, Nagi 😊.
You’re so welcome Evita!! N x
yummoooo..came out perfect just like the picture and taste was so unexpected as I have never tasted rice cookies atleast in recent memory. May be you can get these from shops but Hey you can’t get them straight out of their oven n eating them just after you have convencied yourself they are cold n crunchy enough. DIVINE freshness smell of butter n chocolate so fresh. Can anything get better !! I used milk chocolate as not a fan of dark so yes it was not intense chocolate affair but just right for me. Butter OMG that’s a lot of it but it tastes so goooood. I agree rice flour is the key so my humble suggestion not to skip it – super cheap in WW. Next I am going to try with white chocolate+macadamias..
tHESE ARE THE BEST COOKIES EVER!!!.Just need to know where I went wrong? Instead of staying thick and round like yours mine spread and flattened out. Definately a C for presentation but an A+++ for flavour
Hi Kerry, sorry you had issues here – was the dough cold from the fridge when you baked it? N x
Hi Nagi, these are great thanks! I have never made cookies before and they worked out fine. My only problem is they were quite scorched on the bottom. I had to scrape the burnt bit off (less than 1mm) as it impacted the taste. Metal baking trays and FF oven. Any thoughts?