The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies of your life! Soft and chewy and bursting with chocolate goodness, this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe is life changing. Made in one bowl without a mixer, this recipe delivers soft, thick, chewy cookies every single time! Truly the ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie with unmatched flavor and texture! Love easy cookies? Make sure to try my easy No Bake Cookies and Almond Joy Cookies– just 4 ingredients!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve been using this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe for over a decade and have made a few tweaks to it in the past few years that have significantly improved on my original recipe (from almost 10 years ago!)
I think the changes have improved every facet of these cookies from ease of preparation, to flavor and texture.
What Makes This The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?
Sure, I realize that everyone has a slightly different idea of what makes the best chocolate chip cookies, but, in my opinion, this combination of traits makes for a seriously superior chocolate chip cookie recipe:
- No mixer needed. Because we are using melted butter, there is no need for a mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. This easy chocolate chip cookie recipe can be made in a single bowl which is AWESOME!
- Thick, soft, chewy cookies every.single.time!
- Bursting with chocolate in every bite.
- 10 Minutes to make the dough – plus 30 minutes to freeze. It’s quick. It’s easy. The flavor is unmatched.
What Makes These Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies So Chewy?
There are three components to this recipe that make these the ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie:
-
melted butter
- Melting the butter in this chocolate chip cookie recipe ensures the most chewy chocolate chip cookies. When I was updating this recipe, I added a bit more flour to the recipe to counteract the greasiness that can sometimes occur in baked goods that use melted butter. Make sure you let the melted butter cool and become opaque before mixing in the sugars.
-
extra egg yolk
- This recipe calls for one egg and one egg yolk. That extra egg yolk makes the cookies more tender which increases the chewiness factor and binds the dough.
-
2:1 ratio brown sugar to granulated sugar
- I use double the amount of brown sugar than I do of the granulated sugar in these cookies. It gives them undeniable moisture as well as makes the cookies nice and soft for days. It’s also a critical factor in the chewiness of these cookies.
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
These cookies don’t call for anything crazy – just your typical cookie ingredients. It’s the amounts and ratios that help set this recipe apart from others.
- all-purpose flour – keeps the cookie dough together and provides overall structure to the cookies. This revised recipe has additional flour to keep the cookies from spreading and being too greasy.
- baking soda – the leavener in this recipe.
- corn starch – a staple in most of my cookie recipes because of the tenderness and softness it adds to the cookies. It also helps to keep the cookies nice and thick. Creates soft chocolate chip cookies without the pudding mix.
- salt – brings out the all of the flavors in each of the ingredients
- vanilla extract – always use real vanilla extract if you can. Alternatively you could use Vanilla Bean paste which adds amazing flavor to cookies.
- unsalted butter – the butter needs to be melted and then cooled slightly for this recipe. It’s the key ingredient in these extra chewy chocolate chip cookies.
- brown sugar – I use extra brown sugar for increased moisture, chewiness, and softness. Makes the ultimate soft chocolate chip cookies!
- granulated sugar – although I’m a huge fan of brown sugar, you still need granulated sugar in this recipe for spreading, flavor and absorption of other ingredients.
- egg & egg yolk – an extra egg yolk makes the cookies more tender and richer as well.
- chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can substitute milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips or a combination of your favorite baking chips in this recipe. Sometimes we like to use mini chocolate chips and chocolate chunks so there are pockets of chocolate throughout the cookies.
How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
This easy chocolate chip cookie recipe takes less than 10 minutes to pull together. Check this out:
- Combine melted butter and sugars in a bowl. Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Stir in dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop dough into balls and freeze for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Bake and enjoy!
Chilling The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Do I have to??? Yes. You really do. I’ve made these cookies many times without chilling the dough and the cookies are great, but they are SOOOO much better when chilled. Here’s why:
- Chilling the dough allows all those amazing flavors to meld together, creating a cohesive, intensely satisfying flavor.
- When the dough chills, the melted butter turns back into a solid which prevents the cookies from overspreading while baking. If you don’t allow your dough to chill, or don’t chill it long enough, you might notice some spreading that can easily be avoided with the cookie dough is properly chilled.
- Chilling this chocolate chip cookie dough creates a thicker, chewier cookie.
One of the changes I made to this recipe is the chilling method. I originally had the entire batch of dough chilling for an hour (or more) in the fridge. But with age (and the lovely effects of carpal tunnel) I was struggling with scooping the chilled dough. I transitioned over to scooping the dough and forming the dough balls before chilling and that one little step has changed everything.
Additionally, I now recommend freezing the cookie dough for 30 to 60 minutes instead of placing in the fridge. The cookies are much thicker and softer and are the chewiest cookies I’ve ever had.
How To Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Having chocolate chip cookie dough frozen and ready to pop into the oven is one of life’s greatest gifts.
The good news? This recipe already gets you 90% of the way there.
Once you’ve place the dough balls into the freezer, flash freeze them for an hour or so until they are solid. Transfer the frozen cookie dough into a freezer ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months!
I use a quarter sheet pan for freezing the cookie dough and a half sheet pan for baking.
Baking Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Freezer
When you’re ready to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie:
- simply remove the desired number of cookies from the freezer bag
- preheat the oven and place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet or silicone mat
- bake for an additional 1 to 2 minutes longer than stated in the original recipe
You can alternatively let the dough thaw in the fridge for several hours or on the counter for 30 minutes and bake for the normal amount of time.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use a silicone baking mat. When I was reworking this recipe, I made these cookies literally dozens of times and played with everything from the temperature to the surface the cookies were baked on. One thing that kept coming to light was that silicone baking mats help the cookies keep their shape and resist spreading. If you don’t have a silicone baking mat you can of course use parchment but the cookies will spread a bit more.
Don’t forget to decorate. I like to add a few additional chocolate chips to the top of the cookie dough balls either before freezing, before baking, or after baking. Any of these three methods will work. I like the little pop of color on top and it makes the cookies look even more appealing.
Don’t over bake. The cookies are done when the edges are golden. The center may appear very slightly under baked but the cookies will continue baking on the cooking sheet. This keeps the cookies incredibly soft!
Measure the flour correctly. And by this, I mean give the flour a good stir in your canister and then spoon the flour into your measuring cup. Use a flat edge, like a knife, to scrape away any excess flour from the top of your measuring cup.
Variations To Try
- I used semi sweet chocolate chips, but you can substitute milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips or a combination of your favorite baking chips.
- Try fun add ins – like small candies, caramel bits, and pretzels.
- Make the cookies smaller for a crowd. Just reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
- Add in your favorite nuts. Chop up pecans, walnuts or peanuts and add about a half a cup to the cookie dough before chilling.
More Chocolate Chip Cookies To Try
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
The BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled just until opaque
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl for two minutes.
- Whisk in the vanilla extract, egg and egg yolk until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Add the flour, baking soda, corn starch and salt and mix just until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop out cookie dough, about 1/4 cup per cookie, and roll the dough balls in your hands until smooth. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or in the the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Place cookie dough about 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet or a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies are done when the edges are golden and the center looks slightly under baked.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire racks to finish cooling.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Tools Need
Sheet Pans: I use a quarter sheet pan for freezing and a half sheet pan for baking. Silicone Baking Mat Cookie Scoop - I actually use an ice cream scoop like this one to get nice, large cookies.Nutrition
Originally published November 28, 2011.
Aj says
I made these using my vanilla sugar in place of regular sugar and my homemade bourbon vanilla, they really are the best chocolate chip cookies
Douglas Knepp says
Absolutely amazing just like all the other recipes you share! Thank you!
Doug K.
Gigi says
I have made plenty of chocolate chip cookies, but these had to be the BEST I’ve ever made! Pre shaping the dough and placing them in the freezer was a game changer! They turned out perfectly! The inside was chewy and the edges where crispy. I will use this recipe over and over again! Thank you for posting!
Adriane Reeder says
Can we omit the cornstarch if we don’t have any? Would the recipe turn out the same?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can omit for sure. The cornstarch just makes the cookies more tender and helps them stay softer for several days.
Jaymie says
I followed this recipe exactly and my cookies stayed the exact same shape from the ice cream scoop….
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That sounds like too much flour to me. Did you scoop the flour directly from the container? The flour needs to be spooned and leveled in a measuring cup.
Dan says
I have been baking cookies for 18 years, so when i saw your recipe I thought i’d try your mod’s and see what happened. Your science is perfect, the cooling time was exact, they released from the baking matt 5 minutes leaving the oven, This is the way.
Christina says
Made these today and followed your recipe exactly with the exception of removing a tablespoon of sugar and adding An additional tablespoon of flour since we’re at 4000ft elevation. I also used a mix of milk chocolate, semi sweet and extra semi sweet chocolate chips. Totally agree that the flour should be weighed for accuracy. Hands down the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve EVER come across and I’ve been baking since I could reach the oven. My kids & husband also agree that these cookies are the best they’ve ever had! I don’t normally leave reviews but this will be my go to recipe from now on. They remind me of the gourmet cookies you get at the super fancy bakeries. Next time I’ll sprinkle some kosher salt on top.
Tommy Blalock says
Thank you for this recipe. These cookies were really tasty and the texture was amazing. I substituted 1/4 cup ground oats for some of the flour. I’ll definitely be making these again!
Thanks,
Ashly says
These are fantastics! Soft and fluffy. I did add half a pack of vanilla pudding mix in mine, simply because growing up we added it to a lot of our baked goods to give it a touch more flavor. But I don’t think it made or broke the recipe. I’ll be making these again!!!
Brandi says
This is my absolute FAVORITE cookie ever! I cannot bake, but when I follow this recipe, I always get the most delicious cookies!
Ann says
These are incredible. My new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. 💜
Abby says
These are THE BEST cookies ever! I have made them SO many times and every time the praises are endless. I love with a few other girls at college and they have become the most popular request for sweet treats within our friend group. THESE ARE AMAZING!
Kim says
Yum, these are so good! Thank you for the recipe. My kids are loving them 💛
Jules says
The best recipe out there. I like a bit more flavor and a bigger cookie; I added 1/2 tblspn more vanilla and baked a few minutes longer. Thank you for sharing!
CS says
These are the best cookies ever!!! When I made them they were a bit puffier than I expected but still amazing. I have memorized the recipe 🙂