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These are the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies you’ll ever make. With simple ingredients you already have, you can make soft and chewy cookies that will become your absolute favorite. I’ve been making this exact recipe for over 10 years and it never fails and always gets rave reviews.
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies That Work
- Brown Sugar > White: More moisture equals soft centers plus caramel notes.
- Use Melted Butter for a fudgy center.
- Measured Flour: Properly spooned and leveled to prevent overspreading.
- No mixer required to prevent over-aeration.
- Bake timing: Pull when edges are set and centers look pale/puffy (they’ll set as they cool).
- I promise they’re better than the Toll House Cookie recipe!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
- I use unsalted butter in all my cookie recipes, unless otherwise specified. I like being able to control the amount of salt added. (If using unsalted butter, reduce added salt by 1/4 teaspoon.)
- I use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar, but there is more brown than white. The brown sugar and melted butter combine to a toffee-like flavor and keep the cookies soft.
- All-purpose flour is important for cookies – it helps create the structure and softness you expect. Too much and the cookie will be dense, too little and they will spread.
- Chocolate Chips vs Chocolate Chunks – use your favorite milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips – chocolate chunks work too.
BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe
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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 a large bowl (stirring by hand is recommended but you can use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer). Add granulated and brown sugars and stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- Stir in baking soda and salt, then slowly mix in flour and stir just until the batter is smooth and comes together. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl during stirring. 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 30 minutes. The longer you chill them the better the flavor!
- 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.
Notes
- Makes 22-24 (2-tablespoon) cookies or about 36 (1-tablespoon) size.
- Double or triple this cookie recipe to make even more cookies.
- Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to two months.
- 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.
- Bake 1 tablespoon cookie dough balls for 8-12 minutes.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Freeze 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 or bag 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 lose 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 the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
- Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container or gallon size bag after they’ve cooled. Thaw on the counter or heat on 50% power in the microwave for the best chocolate chip cookie anytime you want.
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Best Chocolate Chip Cookies step-by-step
1. When the butter and sugars are mixed together they won’t be fluffy and creamed because the butter is melted. The mixture should look dark, thick, a little grainy with a bit of butter separated on top.
2. Once the cookie dough is mixed it will be thick but somewhat thinner than regular cookie dough made with softened butter. It will be scoop-able but looser.
3. You do not need to space the cookies to chill the dough; separate to 2-inches apart before baking. You know cookies are done baking when they just loose their glossy sheen and are light golden around the edges.
FAQ about Chocolate Chip Cookies
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!
Cookies turn out flat if they’re not chilled properly or if the ingredients are changed or not measured properly. Use real butter and don’t skip the chilling step.
Cookies turn out cakey if they have too much flour, so be sure not to pack it. Also don’t over mix and make sure to heat in the center of the oven.
The longer you chill chocolate chip cookie dough, the better it tastes. If they’ve been in the fridge for that long, press lightly with the palm of your hand get them started flattening.
It’s always best to bake on the center rack. If you’re baking two pans at once, I recommend rotating the pans halfway through baking for evenness.
This is a really good base recipe! It is now my go-to recipe for any chip cookies! I had partial bags of chips so I used milk, semi sweet mini and sea salt caramel chips- amazing!The cooking times needed are a few minutes longer than standard recipes so a little patience is all you need. After the usual 8 minutes they hadn’t spread yet. I found the best time in my oven was 13 minutes to perfection. They spread beautifully and stayed perfectly chewy. I took them to work and they disappeared in no time.
Cookies didn’t spread but were good. I think if I try this recipe I will not chill it. I think that caused the spreading problem for me.
A+ wesome !!! Came out perfect. Best recipe i have used
Will not be keeping this recipe…these were not the best cookie recipe as stated in the title. Too salty…not sweet…did not flatten like the picture shows. Takes too long to make them
These really are amazing! I followed the recipe exactly( I used white chips) and they were perfect!
I bake a lot. Make these!
Perfect. Flattened them just a bit before baking as I was making fairly large cookies. They looked a little cakey (puffy) when I took them out, but a minute or two into cooling the dough sank around the chips and looked much liked the photos adjacent to recipe. Thanks for posting this. I used chips I like as to avoid disappointment. Lol – really, people, if someone gives you a choice don’t pick something you don’t care for and then complain. Choice of chips in a chocolate chip cookie recipe is a big deal – don’t be cheap unless you’re sure about what you are buying. Happy cooking er…..baking.
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