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
Hi, can I half the recipe. Will there be any issue with ingredients or I can just use them all half of what mentioned here.
Thanks
Yes, you can just cut all of the ingredients in half. If you do, you can also reduce the dough chilling to just one hour.
Hi Danielle, this cookie recipe taste amazing. Usually they cookies I made goes too flat and crunchy so I am really happy with the results. I didn’t get the chewy part of the cookies, just feels a bit more soft than chewy. Have I done something wrong? I didn’t have large eggs so I put in a extra yolk. Do you think that might be the reason why it’s not chewy?
Hi, Mandy! They may have affected it the cookies a bit because should be kind of chewy too. If you’re wanting a chewier texture, you can replace some of the flour with bread flour.
Hi Danielle
I tried this recipe but my dough didn’t get flat when I baked it in the oven.
I don’t know what I did wrong, do you have any ideas?
Hi, Wenny! Did you make sure to spoon and level your flour? If you scoop it into the measuring cup, it can become packed and you can end up with too much, which will prevent the cookies from spreading.
How many calories per cookie?
I’m not sure about the nutritional information, but you can plug everything into an online calculator to get an estimate.
How long and at what temperature should I bake them if in high alttitude? thanks!! love these!
I’m not familiar with high altitude baking, so I’m not quite sure. King Arthur Flour has a great guide on their site though for adjusting recipes for high altitude that some readers have found helpful!
What do I do if I don’t have baking soda?
Hi, Hailey! There’s really not a good substitute for the baking soda in this recipe. I recommend using it to ensure that the cookies turn out right.
How long can we keep them in the refrigerator max?
It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Hi, at the moment I have jumbo eggs and what would that equal to 2 large eggs as the recipe asks for?
Hi, Ivette! It’s really hard to say. Do you have a scale that you can weigh the eggs with? One large egg weighs 50 grams without the shell. You could measure out one or two jumbo eggs, beat them, then measure out 100 grams (to equal 2 large eggs).
I don’t have a scale. So is there another way.
It’s really hard to say as I’ve only used large eggs and I’m not sure how much your eggs weigh. I’d really recommend using large eggs if you can.
One of the worst cookie recipes I’ve ever tried, sadly. The cookies spread so flat, and the edges baked incredibly fast leaving the edges burnt and the middles doughy. I bake/cook frequently and made sure to chill and measure properly… was really looking forward to them based on the photos!
Sorry the cookies didn’t turn out well for you, Maggie. I’ve made these dozens of times and never had issues with them spreading or burning. Did you double check the measurements and make sure you added the correct amount of flour and oats?
Hi Maggie! I’ve found that cookie sheets matter with this recipe! I used an air bake pan and that exact thing happened. But they do great on a standard, good quality cookie sheet. I hope you can make it work because this recipe is worth it!
Love your chewy cookie recipe. Will make again soon.
If I want to make a less sweet batch, which sugar should be reduced?
Thank you!
I would probably reduce the brown sugar slightly.
Do you know how many calories each cookie would have ?
I’m not sure about the nutritional information, but you can plug everything into an online calculator to get an estimate.
Love these cookies, none better.
Healthwise questions:
1-can any other flour be used, e.g. Almond flour
2-I used Splenda instead of sugar, cup measured not grams.
The last batch I made following your recipe, I did use Splenda measured by 1/2 cup. My cookies came out very tasty but you couldn’t pick them up without them falling apart.
What did I do wrong??
Made this same recipe before and it came out great, not so greaqt this time.
I haven’t tested these with almond flour, so I’m honestly not sure. If the only change you made the last time was the Splenda, it’s likely the reason they were falling apart.
DO YOU EVER PUT PECANS OR ANY NUTS IN THE DOUGH?
Yes, you can swap out some of the chocolate chips (about 1 cup) for chopped pecans or walnuts.
Hi Danielle!! Love all your recipes. I made these cookies last week and while they tasted absolutely amazing and we’re gone within a day, the granulated sugar was too coarse for liking and didn’t seem to be fully dissolved. We could feel it while chewing. I was wondering if I could replace it with confectioners sugar the next time I bake. Would that affect the spread or consistency if the dough in any way?
I wouldn’t recommend confectioners sugar as the cookies won’t spread and they’ll be much softer. You can try a finer sugar or cream the butter and sugars together a bit longer and see if that helps.
I don’t think I’ve ever gone back and commented on a recipe but I had to after making these. Hands down, the BEST cookies I have ever made! I’ve never made cookies that weren’t hard by that night. These are so soft and chewy and delicious. Amazing recipe! Can’t wait to try some more of yours 🙂
Hi! Can I keep the cookies inside the fridge after baking them? Will it dry up the cookie/ change the texture of it?
You can, it won’t affect the texture but they will be colder and harder if you don’t let them come to room temperature first. You can store them at room temperature too.
Your recipe was the cookie I came craving! Thanks, God bless, and stay safe America! your all loved, and nothing is more comforting then these chocolate chip cookies!
Love this recipe! Can this recipe be doubled with no issues? TIA!
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would be okay!
I cannot find brown sugar at this time. What can I use to substitute?
Do you have any molasses? You can add 1 tablespoon of molasses to 1 cup of sugar and mix it together to make brown sugar.
Can you freeze the dough? By the way, it took me a while to find this again-the last batch really was “the best chocolate cookies”. Making them and it’s just me. I’d like to make a few here and there.
Thanks!
Yes, absolutely! You can line a baking sheet with parchment paper, scoop the cookie dough into balls, and freeze them. Once they’re frozen you can store them in a freezer bag/container. You can thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or bake from frozen for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Hi, I’m trying your recipe for the first time. Is the brown sugar packed or loose?
Thanks!
It’s packed.
Hi Danielle! This recipe was such a hit, everyone absolutely adored it. I was wondering, how would I turn these into double chocolate chip cookies? Would replacing two tablespoons of flour with cocoa powder do the trick?
You would need more cocoa powder than that. I do have a double chocolate chip cookie recipe here though. Hope that helps!
oh, I didn’t know that! thanks so much x
Love this cookie recipe! The only bad thing I will have to say is that it feels like forever waiting for the butter and eggs to get to room temperature and for the dough to chill, ha! Have made this multiple times already and everyone loves it. Thank you so much!
Hello I just made your smooth chocolate chips cookies it’s chilling on the fridge now
Hope you enjoyed the cookies!
Did you use an electric mixer to mix in the flour and dry ingredients or did you do it by hand?
I use an electric mixer to mix in the dry ingredients.
It was absolutely amazing. The recipe works so well. I just baked two batches for a family reunion and everyone loved them.
I made these a few days ago and they were AMAZING! So much so, that my 29 year old daughter (who is expecting her first child in August) could not get enough of them! I had a hard time keeping her out of them long enough to actually let any cool (and for others to enjoy a few!). She has never been a lover of sweets before. However, I have gotten numerous requests from her to bake another batch… So, I’ve got my eggs and butter out, and as soon as they are room temp I will be making more!
Thank you for this recipe. It is now our families favorite chocolate chip recipe too.
This is by far the best cookie recipe I have ever tried! I am in love!!! It delicious ? thank you for spreading such joy in the form of a cookie!
Hello! I LOVE this recipe but I do have a couple of questions:
Can I use this recipe to make a flat cookie sheet pan of chocolate chip cookie bars? My husband and I love them this way too.
What would you suggest cooking time when doing this?
Yes, absolutely! I’m not quite sure how long it would need to bake, maybe 20-25 minutes.
I absolutely LOVE this recipe (so does everyone else I know)
I make these very often due to my family and friends asking for more constantly. With the current times, these are such a comforting treat and I suggest everyone should try them, thank you so much for sharing this recipe
I used the recipe! So awesome!!!!!
Baked these and LOVED them! I am not a baker, at all, but these came out perfectly! They are the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever baked or bought; even better than the expensive gourmet cookies I’ve had.
I cooked the recipe exactly as written, except I used raw sugar instead of granulated sugar. I made sure I thoroughly mixed the sugars and butter.
I keep the cookie dough in the fridge and only cook a few at a time. They come out perfectly every, single time: soft, chewy deliciousness.