The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
You’re looking at the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Perfected over a period of 6 years, the flavor and texture are spot on and work every time!
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have been deeply invested in creating the best chocolate chip cookie recipe for over 6 YEARS. And i’m thrilled to say, it is *finally* absolute perfection. These are the best homemade chocolate chip cookies, period. Here’s what makes them so great:
- They will work EVERY SINGLE TIME you bake them. There are no failed attempts here. If you follow this recipe, you can guarantee you will be eating on of the best cookies of your life in a matter of minutes.
- The flavor does NOT quit. And I’ll tell you the secret reason why. These cookies are vanilla-forward. So much so that you might think there is a typo in the recipe. It’s not a typo – the vanilla really pulls out all of the flavor of the brown sugar, butter, egg, chocolate chips, etc and makes these the best chocolate chip cookies.
- They will stay soft and chewy! IMO, these have the best texture of any chocolate chip cookie ever and they will still have that texture the next day. These won’t turn into dry bricks and disappointment when they cool.
- This recipe makes the perfect amount. You’ll end up with a lot of cookies, but not too much. It’s a win-win.
- Finally, they freeze exquisitely well (both baked and as dough!) Which means you can essentially have an instant delightful cookie whenever the fancy strikes. Which, trust me, once you eat these homemade chocolate chip cookies will be all the time.
Ingredients
- Salted butter, softened – I use salted butter, if using unsalted butter add an extra pinch or two of salt to the cookie dough.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract – No, that isn’t a typo for the vanilla. These are a vanilla-forward cookie and it makes them my FAVORITE ever.
- All-purpose flour – I get asked all the time what the best flour for chocolate chip cookies is. The honest truth is that I have tweaked this recipe for years and in reality, simple all-purpose flour works perfectly here.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Favorite chocolate chips – Use whatever chocolate chips are your favorite or what you have on hand. You can even chop up a chocolate bar and use it in this recipe. I like ghirardelli chocolate chips for these because they are so smooth and rich.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture. This will take about 2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until a soft but not sticky dough forms.
- Fold in your favorite chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough out into 1 1/2 tbsp portions (a #40 cookie scoop works great here) and arrange on your cookie sheet. Can use parchment paper, a silicone mat or an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350° F for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies have spread and are just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
Best temp to bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe uses the typical 350° F – this will allow the cookies to spread just slightly but won’t melt the butter too quickly, which would make them thin and crunchy instead of the soft & chewy we’re going for.
How long to bake these cookies
Bake these cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies have spread and are just beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. If we’re being honest, I swear by baking them for 9 minutes and 30 seconds – but that just feels fussy to write in the recipe.
Best Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (167g) salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (123g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (304g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (200g) favorite chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture.3/4 cup (167g) salted butter, softened , 1/2 cup (123g) brown sugar , 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.1 egg, 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until a soft but not sticky dough forms.2 cups (304g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda , 1/2 tsp salt
- Fold in your favorite chocolate chips.1 cup (200g) favorite chocolate chips
- Scoop the dough out into 1 1/2 tbsp portions (a #40 cookie scoop works great here) and arrange on your cookie sheet. Can use parchment paper, a silicone mat or an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350° F for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies have spread and are just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
Video
Nutrition
Storage
If eating freshly baked, these chocolate chip cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you’re choosing to freeze your cookies, they will last for up to 3 months.
How to freeze cookies
I have a post all about how to freeze cookies, but here’s the basics: let your cookies cool completely and then seal in a freezer bag, careful to omit as much air as possible. Label the bag with the type of cookie and date it. Pop in the freezer and use within 3 months!
Can you freeze cookie dough?
Oh, absolutely! I recommend freezing the dough after it has been shaped into balls. For my trademark tips, check out this post on how to freeze cookie dough! But here’s the gist:
- Shape the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet.
- Put the baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour, or until the dough balls are firm.
- Transfer the frozen dough balls to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Voila! They’re ready to freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQs
My first guess is that your baking soda is old! Check the date on it and make sure it hasn’t expired. The longer your baking soda is open, the less effective at giving a rise it will be! Humidity and elevation can also play a role in the height of your cookies. Try adding up to 1/4 cup of flour to the dough and see if that helps.
The best part about these chocolate chip cookie recipe is that it is engineered to yield soft cookies – so science is on your side! Beyond that, make sure that you aren’t overmixing your dough and that you aren’t overbaking them!
I try really hard to give you recipes that don’t need to be chilled before baking – because who has time for that? You do not need to chill this chocolate chip cookie dough prior to baking (and they turn out perfectly!)
I like to use a cookie scoop to make sure all of my cookies are the same size and will bake evenly. I love the shape a cookie scoop gives my cookies, so I usually don’t flatten them. But you definitely can if you’d like!
This may sound counter-intuitive, but make sure you don’t overmix your cookies! This will make sure your dough doesn’t become tough – allowing the rising agent to do its job and yield a fluffy cookie.
Yes! You can. If that’s what you’re looking for, I would recommend giving this recipe a try: chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar.
Yes, but you will still want to make sure that there is a rising agent in dough to give your cookies a nice, fluffy, chewy texture. I have a post all about baking soda substitutes that you might be interested in checking out.
The dough was tasty and I followed the directions exactly but my cookies never spread at all after using the scoop onto the sheet. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Meghan! I recommend always baking a test cookie to make sure they are turning out how you want them to! If your cookies aren’t spreading, you can flatten the dough balls slightly before baking or whack the pan against the counter after baking.
This is hands down the best recipe I’ve encountered that delivers the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie every time!!
My family absolutely love these cookies. The first time I made them I made 5 dozen they were gone in 3 days.
My hubby is cookie fiend, and these are his fav.
Someone help me! I’m new to baking (and admittedly did not read the article leading up to the recipe) but this did not work at all for me! The dough was never doughy – it stayed dry and powdery! I couldn’t spoon or roll them, I had to like pack it into a ball. They didn’t spread at all, stayed in a little bubble the whole time! I ended up smashing them and cooking a bit longer. I’ll say the flavor is amazing but what the heck did I do wrong?? I re-read the recipe 5 times to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
Hi Micki, thanks for reaching out. I recommend making sure your butter is softened before you begin mixing. You will want to cream the butter and sugars together for 2 minutes prior to adding any other ingredients. Then you will add the egg + vanilla, mixing until they are well combined then you finally start adding dry ingredients. Starting your cookie base this way should set you up for success when you add the dry ingredients, so you don’t have dry dough. You can try adding a little less flour to begin with, adding more if the dough seems too wet. Hope this helps!
These really ARE the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I’m in my mid 60s and an avid chocolate chip cookie baker and have been on the search for that perfect cookie and this is it! I don’t bother looking for new recipes, and only make this one, maybe changing up the chips or adding nuts, but the same basic recipe. Super yummy!
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever. and I don’t bake – hardly ever. (pardon the grammar!) Easy and delicious.
Loved it ❤️! It was amazing!!!!!!!! And it tasted so good!👌🏻
I just whipped these up and ate two them! So soft in the middle! Great with my coffee. I made 9 and froze the rest! I also used 72% cocoa chips!
So yummy! I’ve been baking these so much lately that I’ve memorized the whole recipe. My son is allergic to dairy so I use coconut oil in place of the butter and it turns out great every time. (1:1 ratio).
I will say that I’ve decided to use a little less than the one cup of choc chips next time. I have a hard time incorporating the chips into the dough and the last few cookies end up having too many choc chips.