Discover the ultimate chocolate chip cookies recipe! Perfectly crispy on the edges, chewy in the center, and loaded with gooey chocolate chips. These cookies are a crowd-pleaser for any occasion. Follow our step-by-step guide to bake the best homemade cookies ever! I’ve been working on this recipe for YEARS, and it has taken many batches to get it just right, but I’m no quitter. So, alas, it is here, and it’s absolute perfection!
Equipment Recommendations
- Stand Mixer with a paddle attachment OR a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon
- A cookie scoop OR the “old school” two spoons method
- Large baking sheet OR stone pan
Ingredients to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Unsalted butter – softened to room temperature
- Brown sugar – light or dark
- Sugar – I prefer raw cane sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cornstarch
- Flour – I use unbleached all purpose
- Chocolate chips or chunks – any type, but I prefer semi-sweet
Instructions for Making Chocolate Chip Cookies
1. Cream the butter and sugar. It’s important to cream the butter and sugar until they have a light and fluffy consistency. This can take upwards of 3-5 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer. Try not to rush through this step because it will pay off, I promise!
2. Add the eggs. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Make sure to mix well after each addition.
3. Add the vanilla and salt. Then mix well.
4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Now, add all of the dry ingredients to the dough and mix until just combined. You don’t want to over mix the dough here!
5. Add the chocolate chips. Add your choice of chocolate to the dough and again, mix until just combined. Taking care to not overmix the cookie dough.
6. Chill the dough. Hands down, this is the hardest part. Nobody likes to wait for cookies, but I promise you…it’s crucial for the final product! I prefer to chill the chocolate chip cookie dough overnight in the refrigerator. But I have chilled it for as little as 1-2 hours and the cookies were still delicious.
That being said, you could chill the dough for up to 48 hours. Which is a great option if you want to make it ahead of time and bake the day of a party, get together or what have you. Just make sure to keep it covered while it’s being refrigerated.
7. Bake the cookies. I like to use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop for portioning out the cookies. I then briefly roll each scoop of cookie dough into a ball. At this size, they take about 11-18 minutes to cook in a 350° oven. It really just depends on how long the chocolate chip cookie dough has been chilled beforehand and how hot your oven runs.
All that’s left to do is enjoy your warm, soft and gooey chocolate chip cookies!
To make these chocolate chip cookies and freeze for later, see “storing uncooked chocolate chip cookies for later” further down in this post.
Common Questions
What is the secret to making good cookies?
In my opinion, the two most important steps that make cookies good are:
- creaming the butter and sugars until they’re light and fluffy.
- chilling the dough for at least an hour in the fridge.
Is it better to melt or soften butter for chocolate chip cookies?
I can’t say that one is better than the other. Using softened butter and creaming it with the sugars in this recipe will produce a soft and chewy cookie that has a good rise. If you used melted butter instead, the result would be a denser, still chewy, but more flat cookie with less rise. My recommendation is to try this recipe both ways and see which you prefer!
Why do my cookies get hard after they cool?
There can be few reasons for this. They could be overcooked (you want to pull them from the oven when they’re slightly under baked), you could have used more white sugar (which produces a crunchier texture than using brown sugar will), or maybe you’ve stored them in an environment where they were exposed to the air for too long. I always recommend storing cookies in an airtight container. Whether that is in tupperware, a ziplock bag, a cookie jar, or my personal preference, a cake stand. All of these options will usually keep cookies at a soft and chewy texture for 3-4 days. They don’t last much longer than that in my house!
What makes a cookie chewy and not cakey?
The short answer, using melted butter instead of creaming the butter. Using melted butter will result in a fudgier, brownie like cookie texture with less rise. Creaming the butter will result in a more cake like texture with more rise. If you want cake like cookies, but also want them to remain soft and chewy, then follow this recipe! You want to slightly under bake them and make sure to store them in an airtight container.
Ingredient Variations
Chocolate chips – I prefer to use semi-sweet chocolate chips in this chocolate chip cookies recipe, but you can absolutely use whatever type your prefer. I’ve used milk chocolate and dark chocolate before. Both yielded delicious results in my opinion. I mean, these are cookies we’re talking about! However, I haven’t tried this recipe with white chocolate or butterscotch chips.
Nuts – I love adding Walnuts to this cookie recipe, but my kids aren’t big fans of them. So, if you’d like to add nuts to this recipe then my recommendation is to give them a rough chop and add them alongside the chocolate chips. Not beforehand. I would start with 1 cup of chopped nuts and see if that’s enough for your liking.
Storing Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store cooked chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Alternatively, you could freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Then bake them as desired in a 350 F oven for 11-18 minutes depending on their size.
Storing Uncooked Chocolate Chip Cookies for Later
To freeze – place dough balls in a single layer on a sheet pan in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then you can place the dough balls into a bag or another airtight container to keep them frozen. The reason for placing them in the freezer on a sheet pan in a single layer to freeze is that it ensures that the dough balls won’t stick to one another. Therefore, you’re able to pull out as many or as little as you want when you want to bake them. Nice, right?!
Tried and liked this recipe? Give it a rating and leave a comment below! Then snap a photo and tag us over on IG @ _jchandelle
Shop this post
- Stand Mixer with paddle attachment
- Cookie scoop
- Large baking sheet or stone pan
This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of these links I may earn a small commission.
Other recipes you might like
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or large mixing bowl
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 whisk for eggs
- 1 wooden spoon to mix with if not using a stand mixer
- 1 cookie scoop or two spoons for portioning cookies
- 1 rubber spatula
- 1 baking sheet lined or greased
Ingredients
- 16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup raw cane sugar or white
- ¾ cup brown sugar light or dark
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2.5 cups flour
- 2 cups chocolate chips
I earn a commission from Instacart from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
- Cream together the room-temperature butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup raw cane sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time. Mix well after each addition. You'll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition of egg as well.2 eggs
- Add the vanilla and salt. Mix Well.2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp salt
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. It will be thick.1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cornstarch, 2.5 cups flour
- Mix in the chocolate chips.2 cups chocolate chips
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for an hour or so,
- Scoop the dough with a cookie scoop or a spoon and shape them into balls.
- Bake for 11-20 minutes (depending on the size of the cookies) on a greased or lined baking sheet in a 350°℉ oven.
If you’re looking for the perfect soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, you have found it! These cookies are so, so delicious. I can’t wait to make them again!