These chocolate chip cookies are extra soft, chewy, and they turn out perfect every time. This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need!
I feel like a homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe is something that everyone should have in their recipe box. Several years ago I spent quite a bit of time working on creating the perfect chocolate chip cookies and after several attempts I finally landed on the perfect recipe.
So today I wanted to share this classic cookie recipe with you again because it’s one that I make all of the time! Not only are these the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll every try, but they’re also:
- Easy to make
- Incredibly soft and chewy
- Full of melted chocolate chips
- Super delicious!
Every single time I make a batch of these cookies, people go crazy for them and ask how to make them. That’s when you know you have a good recipe!
Recipe Ingredients
First things first, you’ll want to gather all of your ingredients for these cookies. Let’s discuss each one and why it’s important to this recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour: The flour is what provides the structure and helps them hold their shape. Just be sure to measure your flour correctly. Too much flour can lead to cookies that won’t spread in the oven.
- Baking Soda & Salt: The baking soda helps give the cookies a little lift and the salt enhances the flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: I prefer to stick with unsalted butter in all of my recipes, since the amount of salt in salted butters can vary quite a bit between different brands. Only have salted butter on hand? Simply reduce the salt in this recipe to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: The brown sugar adds moisture and creates chewy chocolate chip cookies while the granulated sugar helps them spread.
- Eggs & Vanilla Extract: There are two eggs in these cookies to bind everything together plus a little vanilla extract. I also recommend using room temperature eggs as they will disperse more evenly into the dough.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: I find that semi-sweet chocolate chips work best because they’re not too sweet and not too bitter. Feel free to use any kind that you prefer though!
How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you’ve gathered all of your ingredients, it’s time to prepare these easy chocolate chip cookies. Here’s a simple breakdown on how to make the cookie dough and bake the cookies.
- Whisk together your dry ingredients: Whisking the dry ingredients separately will help ensure that the baking soda and salt are evenly dispersed in your dough.
- Beat the butter and sugars together: I like to mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until they’re well combined.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract: It’s best to mix in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. I also suggest stopping to scrape down the sides of your bowl at this point and mix one more time before adding the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients: You only need to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Mix in the chocolate chips: You can either gently fold in the chocolate chips or mix them in on low-speed until they’re fully incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Chill the cookie dough: This will help ensure that your cookies don’t spread too much in the oven. I find that two hours is the perfect amount of time!
- Scoop and bake the cookie dough: I suggest using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop because it creates the perfect cookie. The cookies will also take about 10 to 12 minutes in a 350°F (177°C) oven. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are set and the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool: I prefer to let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 to 10 minutes, since the residual heat helps the cookies finish setting up. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Quick tip: If you want perfectly round cookies, use a spoon to shape the warm cookies once they come out of the oven.
FAQ’s
How do you prevent your cookies from being flat?
If your cookie dough is too warm your cookies may spread more in the oven. If you find that they’re spreading too much, chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator longer. You can also place the balls of cookie dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to speed up the process.
What do I do if my cookies don’t spread in the oven?
Too much flour in your cookie dough can lead to cookies that won’t spread very much. If you find that your cookies aren’t spreading very well, simply press the cookie dough down to flatten them some before baking.
Can you freeze the cookie dough or baked cookies?
Yes! I suggest scooping the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once the cookie dough is frozen, you can store it in a freezer bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake the cookie dough from frozen, add an additional 1 to 2 minutes of baking time.
Baked cookies that have cooled completely will freeze well for up to 3 months too. Simply place the cookies on the counter and thaw to room temperature before serving.
Can I prepare the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it?
Yes, you can! The cookie dough may be covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If it’s too hard to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes and that should make it easier.
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, make sure to stir your flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- If you forget to bring your eggs to room temperature, simply place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Feel free to swap out the semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate or even milk chocolate chips.
More Homemade Cookie Recipes!
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Classic No-Bake Cookies
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups (345 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 12-ounce package (2 cups; 340g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients and continue mixing until just combined, then mix in the chocolate chips on low-speed until fully incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Cover the cookie dough tightly and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Once the dough is almost chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator, using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and drop onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure to leave a little room between each ball of cookie dough.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown and the tops are set. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
The best CCC recipe I’ve used 🙂 friends still rave about them. The cookies turned out soft and a little fudgey (I love to underbake all desserts). Definitely recommend!
Can I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar ???
Yes, that’s fine!
These are soft, buttery, and amazing!!! Best chocolate chip cookies. These are bakery level
Hey.! Can I use flax eggs instead of eggs. ?
I haven’t tried it, but it may work.
can I put the dough in a pan to make.coomkie bars?
Yes, that would be fine! It’s enough for a 9×13 pan. The baking time should be 20 to 30 minutes.
Hi! I used this recipe and the flavor was the best ever! But mine puffed up and didn’t have a gooey center, regardless of baking time, more like a cake like center 🙁 I tried different temperatures but same issue, any recipe modifications you recommend?
Hi, Kate! Are you making sure to spoon and level your flour or weighing it out? Sometimes too much flour can lead to cakey cookies.
My cookie dough with crumbled when I mixed it and even put it in the fridge? What did I do wrong? How can I fix it?
The cookie dough shouldn’t be crumbly at all. Did you double check the measurements for each ingredient? And did you make sure to spoon and level your flour?
Hi. I’m trying to cut down my sugar intake. Is there a way I could reduce the quantity of sugar used and still have great cookies?
I don’t recommend reducing the sugar in this recipe, it will completely change the taste and texture of the cookies.
When freezing extra dough should I form the drops of dough like I would if I was ready to bake of just freeze as one solid chunk?
Hi, Sarina! I recommend forming the cookie dough into balls before you freeze it.
Very good cookies. Thanks for the tips on the flower and the butter and the eggs very helpful.
Love this recipe! I use the mini chips instead of larger ones. They come out soft, chocolatey, and delicious! My children’s fav! They’ll not eat store bought junk, so I make this, and fridge it and bake small batches so they’re soft and fresh!
Do you have any times for a new bakes? I’m getting invested in more backing . I was wondering if there was dos and don”ts?
Hi, Alina! I share a lot of helpful information in my baking basics section. You can find all of my baking basics posts here. I hope that helps!
Would cake flour work in this recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would. It will likely change the texture and look of the cookies if you do use it though.
Could oil be used in place of butter? If so, how much would you recommend?
I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe.
I love this recipe so much, i even make a vegan veraion of it for my son. But while the taste is great, the texture of my cookies always crumbling and the stick to each other whenever i put them in the jar. Any suggestion?
Are you making any adjustments to the recipe? If they’re too soft and crumbling, you can try baking them a little longer and see if that helps.
I’ve been using this recipe for a couple of years now and just had to say I absolutely love it! Everyone always asks when I’m making cookies and during the holidays I make multiple batches and give them away. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I followed the recipe and instructions to the letter and they didn’t come out anything like the pictures. They didn’t spread and were very dry and cakey
Sorry you had trouble with the recipe, Jackie. Did you make sure to spoon and level your flour? If your cookies didn’t spread and they were dry it’s likely that they had too much flour in them.
Ma’am. These cookies were BOMB! I’ve been looking for a new recipe to replace the one that I’ve been using for the past decade and….I think the search is over! Thank you so much for sharing!
The only (minor) thing is that I think they were just a tad heavy on the salt. I’d try reducing that next time. Also, I used dark brown sugar (just because I always do) and I was pleased with that result.
The BEST part about these cookies is that they stay soft! That’s the key right there 🤤
This cookies are delicious! I reduced the sugar to only 2 cups, the only thing is mine stayed like domey, cakey in the middle but I like it also. This is my favorite cookie recipe!
I’m not a huge baker but me and my boyfriend loved these. Also had to back them for more like 15 mins, but every oven is different I suppose
Hi can I use earth balance Or coconut oil instead of butter here?
I haven’t tried either one, so it’s hard to say. Have you had success using earth balance in other cookie recipes? If so, it may be okay to use in this one.
Honestly the best soft and chewy chocolate cookies ever! They never stay long in my house.
I don’t use any salt but instead of unsalted butter I use salted. I also don’t use that much chocolate chips because I had in skor bits !
I also don’t spoon level my flour and I don’t use room temperature eggs and my cookies come out amazing.
Can I not add chocolate Chips
You can leave them out for plain cookies or replace them with something else if you prefer.
I almost feel bad toward my other chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have used so faithfully, but these may be my new go to recipe. I just have to find a way to easily break the news to the other cookies. Lol I followed ingredients closely and baked until the center of the cookie didn’t look wet anymore. The bottoms were lightly golden…perfection! Your time in the kitchen craating this deliciousness was time well spent. Thank you!
what can i use if i dont have parchment paper of silicon?
You can lightly grease a cookie sheet, but keep in mind that this may cause the cookies to spread more as they bake.
I’ve made these like 5 times now, they are simply the best, best best chocolate chip cookies! First of all it makes plenty of cookies, which is great if you’re going through the effort. I sometimes bake the 2nd half the next day. They also have the perfect chewy texture (even better the next day), perfect salt, a lot of chocolate chips, and no difficult ingredients. I once used all brown sugar, once used cold eggs, etc. but I really recommend following the recipe to a T – all the instructions are there for a reason and that’s how you get the best results. I also watch the oven like a hawk to get them out at the perfect time, once the bottoms start to brown and the tops are puffy and set. Thank you! This will be passed down in my family, my kids absolutely love them.
I made these tonight. Good flavor but mine turned out more cakey than chewy. I would prefer more doughy or chewy. I just baked as is though I didn’t put the dough in the fridge and maybe that’s why.
Can you pls make a recipe for a small batch?:)
I actually have a small batch recipe here.
first try at these and they look delicious! cant wait for them to cool down so that I can try one. I added an extra 10 minutes because they didn’t flatten like I thought they would. They might just be super gooey which I am okay with lol Any idea how many calories each cookie is supposed to be?
Did you make sure to spoon and level your flour? That could why they didn’t flatten. I’m not sure about the nutritional information, but you can plug everything into an online calculator to get an estimate.