Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
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
Video Tutorial
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; 2 sticks) 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
Have you ever made a skillet cookie with the dough? Wondering how long you’d need to cook
I haven’t, but it would be fine! I’m not sure on baking time, but I would guess somewhere around 25 to 35 minutes.
Can you make this recipe gluten free?
I haven’t tried it, but a gluten free flour that substitutes 1:1 for all-purpose flour may work.
Can’t wait to make these!! How many cookies does this recipe usually make??
About 38 to 40 cookies.
This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I use! I printed this recipe in 2019 and I have never used another!
I am curious about the cook time….does refrigerating the dough help with the cooking time and browning of the cookie? I have typically skipped this step because I am always making these at the last minute. I have to cook these for at least 15-16 minutes to get them to brown (350* convection). They still come out soft and chewy, though. Thanks for your great recipe and any info you can pass along!
I refrigerate the cookie dough so that the butter has time to firm up and the cookies don’t spread too much.
THE BEST chocolate chip cookies i have ever made! You are DIVINE. Thank you.
Love this recipe!
Turned out perfect!
I’ve made many chocolate chip cookies, but this recipe is so good!! It’s the perfect cookie! Your details of the recipe is very easy to understand, leaving nothing left unanswered! Perfection! I added a few crushed pecans that also added to this great cookie.
Thanks for the recipe!
Followed to a T. Even “spooned” and weighed my flour. Chilled 4 hours. Cookies did not spread and are big pillows. Not chewy yummy goodness’s.
I’m making the rest of the dough and leaving at room temp. Hope they turn out so they are not wasted.
THE Best Cookie ever
Hi I just made these cookies and put in the fridge for an hour instead of 2. Once the 10-12 minutes was up, they actually looked like they melted all over the sheet…it was so odd.
Did you use 2 sticks of butter? And did you double check the amount of flour that you used?
I made these with my 4 year old son and they came out perfect! We used milk chocolate, white chocolate and mini semi sweet chips. He starts pre school in a few weeks and I’m trying to do as many hands on things with him as possible. We’ll definitely be making these again soon!!!
Hi, how about the butter? How do you add the butter? Is it liquid or straight from the fridge? Thank you.
It needs to be softened, the full list of ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card towards the bottom of the post.
I have been using your recipe for a few years now! It’s the best! I’m about to make a batch right now! I also appreciate that you have the measurements in grams 🙂
These are amazing! Thanks for sharing.
I made this recipe for the first time; everyone who tried my cookies fell in love with this recipe. Soon after I tried 2 other recipes out of curiosity and hands down your recipe was the winner. With your recipe people couldn’t stay out of them, the others not so…just another ordinary cookie. I do need to confess, I use butter flavor Crisco in place of butter or half/half when I make chocolate chip cookies.
Thanks for sharing!
Can you use Cake flour if you don’t have All purpose flour?
That would probably be fine, but keep in mind that it will change the texture of the cookies. Cake flour is also lighter than all-purpose flour, so I’d recommend either weighing it or measuring out 3 cups plus 1 tablespoon of cake flour.
I’m not a big chocolate chip cookie fan but my husband is and I made these for him. He said they’re 10/10, although he likes his flat and rather crispy. These came out fluffy, like several others commented. I followed the instructions precisely, spooned and leveled flour and used a brand new box of baking soda. I don’t believe I over mixed the butter/sugar, I used a handheld mixer and the lowest speed setting. I didn’t mind them being cake-like, just want to figure out what happened. I made one batch and left the dough to chill overnight (like few others suggested), maybe this will improve the texture.
Was your butter too cold? Or did you happen to use larger eggs? If you accidentally used baking powder instead of baking soda, that could cause them to be cakey as well.
Thank you for your reply. I used baking soda, regular size eggs but it is possible that my butter wasn’t the right temperature. It wasn’t at room temperature to begin with so I gently microwaved it, but didn’t want it to melt. So it’s possible it wasn’t properly or evenly softened (which could have subsequently resulted in longer mixing time). I’ll try to make some adjustments next time around. Thank you for your feedback and the recipe.
Go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies, love it!!!
These are Cakey cookies.🫤 I like mine chewy and just a little crunchy on the outer area.
They shouldn’t be cakey, did you make sure to spoon and level your flour?
I’ve been using this recipe for a couple years and I do not enjoy cooking or baking, but this recipe is super easy and fast. I love making these cookies and they will be a staple for a long time!
I tried this recipe because it promised cookie with a soft, chewy texture without using shortening. I will keep looking as these cookies 1) were cloyingly sweet, yet somehow flat tasting, 2) did not spread AT ALL, and instead were just lumps of cakey-textured cookie. At this point, I’m just annoyed that I wasted the ingredients.
If the cookies didn’t spread, it’s likely that something was missed. Did you make sure to use two sticks of butter, spoon and level your flour, and use large eggs? If so, did you make any adjustments to the recipe (like reducing the amount of sugar, etc.)? I’ve never had any issues with these cookies not spreading in the oven.
I wish I knew the approximate calorie count per cookie.. I didn’t see it listed. But absolutely looovvee these cookies. I’ve been using grams instead of cups for measuring and it just works easier for me. Especially when it comes to the flour when you can so easily over or under pack four. So happy to have this so thank you!
These are amazing! My go to recipe. These are the only ones I make. I have made these several times. Always a hit!
Can I make this cookies eggless?
I’d recommend following my eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe here.
I just made these and WOW!! the taste was excellent…I am very impressed with this recipe. I am not the best cookie baker….I try but for some reason they just don’t turn out, but these did. Glad I found you on Pinterest. I’ll be using your site for my baking needs!!!
Thanks,
Kyra
This recipe is absolutely amazing!!! Turned out perfect first try. I’ll be using this recipe forever now. Thank you!