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Our easy chocolate chip cookie recipe is the BEST and delivers bakery-quality, perfectly thick and chewy cookies with crispy edges.
The Only Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe You'll Ever Need
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe I've been making for decades and it never fails. It's the perfect thickness, chewy and soft, with that slight crisp on the outside that the perfect” chocolate chip cookies should have. Plus you don't even need a mixer–just one bowl and a few pantry staples.
Over time I've learned my favorite way to bake cookies is on convection bake (you can bake multiple pans at once, and I love the crisp texture it yields). If you're oven has convection, I recommend this, or alternately you could bake the cookies at 375 degrees F. It's also essential to chill the dough for 30 minutes. Doing both of these will yield the perfect golden and crisp exterior, with a soft and chewy interior.
Check out my other cookie recipes, like Lace Cookies, Sugar Cookies, S'mores Cookies, Oatmeal Creme Pies, or Biscoff Cookies!
How to make Chocolate Chip Cookies From Scratch:
Make Cookie Dough: Melt the butter then let it cool completely. Combine brown sugar and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl then stir in the melted butter. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla then stir. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt then stir in the cookie dough. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips, be careful not to mix it too much.
Bake: Scoop the cookie dough with a cookie scoop then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F (if you chilled the dough, I recommend baking at 375 F or baking on convection!) for 8-14 minutes, or until they are just set. These homemade chocolate chip cookies will cook more while they cool on the baking sheet, so be careful not to overcook them!
Looking for a fun twist? Try our Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ranger Cookies, Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookies!
Pro Tips:
- Melt Your Butter: Most cookie recipes don't use melted butter, but in this one we do. It gives the cookies an extra chewy texture, and even yummier flavor.
- Extra Egg Yolk: Don't skip this! This helps the cookies stay thick, chewy, and helps that texture too so they will stay soft and chewy for days.
- Brown Sugar: We use more brown sugar than granulated because it has molasses in it, making it more moist. This gives us a cookie that is extra soft and chewy.
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 Tablespoons butter, (1 ½ sticks) melted and cooled until warm
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large + 1 egg yolk egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, (or milk chocolate)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F* (see note about oven temp). 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.12 Tablespoons butter
- 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.1 cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 large + 1 egg yolk egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, and baking soda.2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- 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. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or up to 2 days (or freeze for longer).1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 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
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.
I originally shared this recipe Feb. 2015. Updated May 2018, September 2021 and January 2026.
I am so excited to bake these! However, I want them to be fresh after dinner so I am chilling the dough in the fridge. Won’t be baking for a couple of hours. Will they still turn out the same? Thanks!
Hi McKenzie–they should still be great–they will need a little bit of a longer cooking time.
Yum! I made these today and they are they best looking cookies I have ever made… true story. They look like professional bakery cookies; just the perfect consistency. I followed the recipe and made 24 cookies with it but mine took a LOT longer to bake (25 minutes!). Maybe it’s an altitude thing? I’m at 400ft. Weird. Oh well, still delicious! Thanks!
YUMMY!!! Very easy and so delicious. Thanks!
What is the best way to freeze these? Can the dough be frozen? If so, do you pre-scoop into balls or into a roll and then slice? Or do you bake the cookies and then freeze them?
Hi Jennifer, so I’m lazy and usually just bake the cookies, let them cool, and then freeze them in a freezer ziplock so that they’re ready whenever I want them. If you want them baked fresh you can roll the dough into balls on your cookie sheet, freeze them for a few hours, then place them in a freezer ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake them from frozen for a few extra minutes. Good luck!
I made these tonight & they were absolutely perfect.
My boys loved them!
This is definitely my new go to recipe!
Yummy!!
Chocolate chip cookies are best for me
I want to eat this cookies.
It’s very useful for my girlfriend.
These are the perfect cc cookie! I’ve been looking for a perfect cc recipe – this is it definitely! Great consistency,
I tried these today, and it was pretty good. Very thick looking cookies.
Are you using light brown sugar, or dark brown sugar? I tried with light brown sugar, and they were a little light in color. It still tasted good though ?
Hi Radha, I use light brown sugar 🙂
What if the dough is still all gooey??
Hi Ariel, the dough will be a little sticky..if you feel like it is way to gooey, you can add a little extra flour.
These cookies were, just like the name suggests, absolutely perfect. These are the first cookies I’ve made where the hubby actually prefers the baked cookies to the batter, and after eating these, he said, “Don’t lose this recipe!” They were sweet, with a hint of buttery goodness, and the consistency was perfectly chewy. I actually accidentally used melted butter instead of softened butter, but they still turned out perfectly. Thanks for a great recipe!
Ether recipe says the butter is supposed to be melted correct?
Hi Kate, yes you melt the butter for these cookies 😉
You are supposed to melt the butter for this one so your good!?