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This is the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and the only one you need, seriously. Over a million people have seen this recipe and it has over 500 5-star reviews! One bowl, no mixer, a soft cookie with crisp edges and tons of gooey chocolate chips – this is the recipe YOU need to make.
Why are these the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies?
THIS chocolate chip cookie recipe is the only one that you need. It’s a soft and chewy cookie, full of chocolate, tons of flavor with the best taste, crisp edges and soft, gooey centers. They’re easy to make with no weird ingredients and you can change up the recipe to make any kind of cookie recipe you want.
Important Ingredients Needed
- Butter – I use unsalted butter in all my cookie recipes, unless otherwise specified. I like being able to control the amount of salt added. But you can also use salted butter, just cut down on the added salt. I use MELTED butter in this recipe to create a rich toffee-like flavor, plus you don’t need a mixer!
- All Purpose Flour – be sure to measure it correctly. All-purpose flour is important for cookies – it helps create the structure and softness you expect. Too much and the cookie will be dense, to little and they will spread. Type of flour is also important – I don’t recommend substituting other flours in this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips vs Chocolate Chunks – use your favorite milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips – chocolate chunks work too. Or chop up a chocolate bar!
How to you make Chocolate Chip Cookies like a pro
- Prepare your ingredients: Melt your butter in a large bowl. You don’t even need to use a mixer unless you want to. Measure your sugars correctly and if you remember, allow your eggs to come to room temperature.
- Mixing Process: Add white sugar and brown sugar to the melted butter and stir until combined. Add a whole egg, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir. It’s important to mix the sugars with the butter first, to allow the sugar to start to dissolve to create that toffee-like flavor. Combine flour into the wet ingredients. Again, you don’t need a mixer unless you want to use one. Stir in chocolate.
- Baking to perfection: Use a cookie scoop to scoop 1- or 2-tablespoon balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a baking mat. Chill the dough at least 30 minutes! Chilling the dough allows the butter to harden so they stay soft in the oven and don’t flatten too much, and it also allows the flavors to come together. Once chilled, space cookies 2-inches apart on baking sheet bake at 350° until they’re just no longer glossy and light golden around the edges.
Freezing Cookie Dough
Scoop the balls of chocolate chip cookie dough onto your cookie sheet, cover with plastic, and freeze the cookie sheet until the dough balls are frozen. Then place them in an airtight container and store in freezer.
How to bake cookies from frozen cookie dough:
- You can bake these directly from frozen as directed. Place them spaced on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat baking mats and bake until they just loose their glossy sheen.
- You can also let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 30 minutes before baking. They’ll turn out perfect!
Storing & Freezing Baked Cookies
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.
- Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container after they’ve cooled.
Tip From Dorothy
Tips For Perfect Cookies Every Time
Secrets to Thick & Chewy Cookies
- Do not skip the chill step! Chilling prevents the cookies from spreading and flattening too much. It also allows the gluten to rest and form which keeps the cookies soft on the inside.
- Melted butter is key to giving this recipe its unparalleled flavor with the brown sugar and helps avoid over mixing (which can affect texture). Brown sugar also keeps the cookie thicker – granulated sugar causes cookies to spread more.
Achieving the Perfect Texture
- Measure the flour correctly! Be sure not to pack your flour. I like to use a spoon to spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off. Too much flour makes a cake-like or dry cookie.
- Be sure not to over bake! These cookies are done as SOON as you notice that the top looks no longer glossy and the bottoms are just slightly golden brown. They’ll settle as they cool and finish cooking; if you wait to take them out until they’re all the way golden they’ll be over baked.
Variations
- You can double this cookie recipe, make the cookies as big or small as you want.
- You can turn them into pan cookies or cookie cakes and add any mix-ins you like. Think of the recipe as a blank canvas.
- Be sure to use the types of chocolate chips you like.
- I also like sprinkling these with sea salt for salted chocolate cookies.
FAQ about Chocolate Chip Cookies
Be sure to chill them: if you bake them too soon after mixing they will spread out because the melted butter needs to firm up before going into the hot oven.
Other reasons cookies spread and flatten: too much baking soda or not enough flour, but don’t worry – this recipe has been tried and tested so many times I know it’s the perfect amount.
They might be TOO cold! If you’ve chilled them longer than an hour or two, or if you’ve frozen the dough, then they might be so cold the heat of the oven can’t catch up. What to do: press them slightly with the palm of your hand before they go into the oven. This helps start them to spread out – but don’t worry they won’t spread too much!
You can freeze cooled cookies or freeze the cookie dough balls before you bake them.
Do not over bake these – they are done as soon as the edges are light golden and the center is no longer glossy.
BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (104g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (255g) chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)
Instructions
- Note: This dough requires chilling.
- Place melted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Add granulated and brown sugars and mix on low speed until the mixture is smooth. Mix in egg and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined.
- Mix in baking soda and salt, then slowly mix in flour and mix just until the batter is smooth and comes together. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl during mixing. Slowly mix in chocolate chips.
- Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Scoop 2 tablespoon balls of dough onto the cookie sheet. Spacing doesn’t matter because you will be chilling the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a second cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove the chilled cookie dough balls from the refrigerator and space them 2-inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake (2 tablespoon sized cookies) for 11-15 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden and the tops are no longer glossy. Let cool on the cookie sheets at least 10 minutes before removing.
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Recipe Notes
- How to freeze: Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to two months.
- Freezing cookie dough: Freeze balls of cookie dough in a single layer. Once frozen you can put them in an airtight bag or container. Bake directly from frozen as directed (allow cookies to thaw on cookie sheet while oven preheats).
- If your cookies don’t seem to be flattening, you can press them lightly before or during baking with the palm of your hand to help them along. This happens sometimes when they are very cold, and it can also happen with different brands of ingredients.
- Try using white chocolate chips or a combination of milk, semi-sweet, and white chocolate chips instead of all one flavor. You can even substitute butterscotch or peanut butter chips, or add your favorite nuts. Just keep the amount of add-ins to 1 1/2 cups.
- Want chewy cookies? Try my BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.
Recipe Nutrition
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Last Updated on March 9, 2024
I have never written any reviews, but had to for this recipe. This is the ultimate best cookie recipe I have come across. I have made many, but keep coming back to this one! It’s my absolute favorite. Thank you for this great, easy, chocolate chip cookie recipe! I love it!
These were just ok. I think I will use this a a basic recipe and adjust it. Needs more salt. Also, after about 8 minutes in the oven I flattened them a little bit with the back of a large spoon and then continued cooking them. Â
These cookies were great! It took a little longer than usual for them to bake – 15min. (I assume it was because they were refrigerated?) I baked them on a stone.  They weren’t flat like most homemade chocolate chip cookies that I’ve made and they tasted great! Loved them. Will be keeping this recipe.Â
The cookies didn’t spread.  Not much flavour. Also I used milk chocolate chips – don’t do that. Lol use semi sweet or even 50% dark chocolate chips!Â
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made !!
This is my 2nd recipe of yours I have tried and it didn’t disappoint. Â I make cookies all the time and have many favorite chocolate cookie recipes. Â This is now one of them. Â This was super easy and so delicious!! Â I can’t rave enough. Â They turned out exactly how described. Â The only hard part was waiting for them to chill:) Â I also liked the amount that it made. Â The cookies didn’t last long, but the recipe is so easy I could whip up another batch in no time. Â I baked 12 the first night and left the other chilled dough balls in a ziplock in the fridge. Â By the next night I only had a few more that I could bake because some of my college kids came home and ate most of the dough balls! Â They raved!! Â LOL!
The cookies come out very chewy with the slightest crunch on the  outside.  Delicious right out of the oven and equally good the next day.  The amount of chocolate is perfect.  More than your average amount of chocolate in every bite, but not enough to make you only taste chocolate.  The rest of the cookie has a delicious buttery/toffee like taste that pairs well with the chocolate.
Can’t wait to try the next recipe of yours. Â I think we have very similar styles of cooking/baking and can’t wait to try the next one:) Â Thank you!!
These were good:) my SO and I agreed they were missing something. Perhaps because it was only a 1/3 cup white sugar to the 1/2 cup brown sugar? Not sure. I mean they are cookies so they’re going to be good:) I followed the recipe to the T but they turned out very puffy. Oh well!:)
These are delicious! I can’t wait to make more.
I made these cookies without chill time and they didn’t spread? But they were SO good I would totally Recommend these to every one. I did half peanut butter chips and now they taste like Reese’s cookies.
These are so good! Just the recipe I was looking for. Have you ever tried freezing the balls and pulling them out to bake?
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