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!
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.
Mix dry ingredients: Flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
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).
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.
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:
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Check out my Mrs. Field's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute gluten free flour.
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
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
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. 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
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.
I originally shared this recipe Feb. 2015. Updated May 2018 and September 2021.
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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!?