The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and chewy on the inside and a little crisp on the outside. This cookie recipe will become your new favorite; they are fast and easy to make – you don’t even need a mixer!

Looking for more cookie recipes? Try my Soft Sugar Cookies, Mrs. Fields Oatmeal Cookies, or Chocolate Mint Cookies!

A plate of warm chocolate chip cookies.

What makes them perfect:

  • Soft and chewy: The melted butter, extra egg yolk and brown sugar help these cookies stay soft and chewy for days!
  • EASY: This only takes minutes to prep, and you don’t even need a mixer!

How to make Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Melt butter.  Melt the butter for about 45 seconds in the microwave. You want it mostly, but not completely melted. Stir with a spoon until it’s completely melted and allow the butter to cool completely.

Mix wet ingredients. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter, until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until combined.

A clear glass mixing bowl with melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Mix dry ingredients: Flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

A wooden mixing bowl with flour, baking soda and salt.

Combine.  Stir together wet and dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix the batter.  Stir in chocolate chips. (If your cookie batter is beaten too much, the cookies will be more dense).

Chocolate chip cookie dough in a mixing bowl, ready to be scooped.

Bake.  Scoop the cookie dough and place it on a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 8-14 minutes (depending on their size) or until they’ve lost their sheen on top and are just set. The cookies continue to cook and will harden as they cool on the baking sheet so don’t over-bake them.

Six baked chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet.

Tips for the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies:

  • Use melted butter.  Unlike most cookie recipes, these chocolate chip cookies are made with melted butter, instead of softened or room temperature butter, which makes them extra chewy (and the extra egg yolk helps make them thick, instead of flat).
  • Add an extra egg yolk.  Eggs also help with that chewy texture, but rather than using a whole extra egg, this cookie recipe calls for one extra egg yolk. This helps with the thick and chewy texture and helps the chocolate chip cookies to stay soft for days longer than regular cookies.
  • More brown sugar than granulated sugar. Moisture content in cookies helps to make them chewy, and that is why this recipe contains more brown sugar than granulated white sugar. Brown sugar has molasses in it, making the sugar more moist, which will lead to a chewier chocolate chip cookie.

Recipe Variations:

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: The cookie dough can be made 1-3 days ahead, stored in the refrigerator. Baked cookies are best enjoyed the same day, or frozen if enjoying another day.

To Freeze: Scoop cookie dough on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer cookie dough to freezer safe container or bag. Thaw before baking dough. Baked cookies can be frozen after cooling completely. Freeze in an air-tight freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months.

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Recipe

A plate of warm chocolate chip cookies.
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 12 minutes
Total 27 minutes
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Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.
  • Melt the butter for about 45 seconds in the microwave, until it’s almost completely melted. Remove and stir it, allowing any remaining butter to melt. Allow the butter to cool until it’s almost room temperature, but still a liquid.
  • Add melted butter and both sugars to a mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir combined. 
  • In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. 
  • Stir the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and begin to mix. Add chocolate chips, stirring just until combined. The dough will be soft. You can refrigerate it at this point for 30 minutes or up to 2 days (or freeze for longer).
  • Scoop dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-14 minutes (depending on size) or until set on top. Cool for 10-15 minutes on a baking sheet before moving to a wire cooling rack.

Notes

To Make Ahead: The cookie dough can be made 1-3 days ahead, stored in the refrigerator. Baked cookies are best enjoyed the same day, or frozen if enjoying another day.
To Freeze: Scoop cookie dough on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer cookie dough to freezer safe container or bag. Thaw before baking dough. Baked cookies can be frozen after cooling completely. Freeze in an air-tight freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Check out my Mrs. Field’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute gluten-free flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 208kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 128mgPotassium: 91mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 190IUCalcium: 19mgIron: 1.3mg

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Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

I originally shared this recipe Feb. 2015. Updated May 2018 and September 2021.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. this is my go to chip cookie recipe as well as my favorite recipe site, thank you so much for this. but i like to use all brown sugar and half chocolate chips and half peanutbutter chips…i guess i can tell you my secret lol…and maple extract instead of vanilla.

  2. 5 stars
    MAKE THESE 🍪🍪TODAY❣️ I’ve never made cookies from scratch before these. Made them for my nephew’s first day of school, as a surprise. We are ALL gushing over their classic, crispy and chewy deliciousness! I had no flour so I subbed half bisquick mix and half blended oats, omitting the baking soda and salt. Worked deliciously ❤️🍪

  3. 5 stars
    I love these cookies, they are chewy but hard at the same time, I’m a tween and I love baking, it was so easy, I am totally making this again!

  4. So sad. Based on the posts I had high hopes for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Mine were very flat and a bit greasy. I weighed my flour rather than scooping into a cup. I used 258 grams. Do you know how many grams YOUR flour measures? I refrigerated for 45 minutes before scooping and baking.

    1. Interesting. The recipe calls for 2 cups and 2 tablespoons flour, not grams. Who uses grams? But if YOU really wanted to use grams, you should have used 266 grams. I always find it amazing when people don’t follow a review and then criticize it. I followed it and my cookies turned out perfect, soft and chewy and a bit crispy on the edges.

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