Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Seriously, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! It’s super easy and results in perfectly soft, chewy, buttery, and absolutely irresistible chocolate chip cookies! I’ve been on quite a journey to bring you the best chocolate chip cookies. Well, folks, here you have it!
After this week, I decided that my family deserved a little treat, and I was craving cookies. Well, okay… I ALWAYS crave cookies, but all this cabin fever gave me a major craving for them that just wouldn’t go away!
There’s nothing better than the smell of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven, but these soft and chewy cookies are made extra delicious with the addition of melted butter! Follow all of my tips for a crispy-edged, chewy-centered, classic chocolate chip flavored cookie. I’m in LOVE with this chocolate chip cookie recipe, in fact, I truly think it’s the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever tried.
Take my advice and try these cookies asap! They contain simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, and they always get rave reviews. Oh, and there’s no mixer required, so you have no excuse not to bake these up.
Ingredients For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Let’s break it down and talk about all of the essential ingredients that make these chocolate chip cookies the best!
Flour: For best results, use all-purpose flour. No other flour substitution will give you the perfect texture these cookies have.
Butter: I use unsalted butter in all my cookie recipes, so that I can control the amount of salt added. If you use salted butter, leave the added salt out completely. It is VERY important to use melted butter in these cookies. Melted butter, when combined with the sugars, gives these cookies a toffee-like flavor. Plus, it produces the chewiest cookies with the most lovely texture. And because you are using melted butter, you don’t need a mixer.
Sugar: Like these cookies, most chocolate chip cookies have a mix of brown sugar and white granulated sugar. I like to use more brown sugar than white granulated sugar because the moisture in brown sugar makes these cookies extra soft and chewy. White granulated sugar is still important. It’s dry and helps the cookies spread. A little bit of spread is a good thing.
The dark brown sugar can be substituted with light brown sugar. I love using the dark brown sugar, though, for extra flavor because it holds a little more molasses.
Egg + egg yolk: The egg binds the dough and using an extra egg yolk adds richness, soft tenderness, and chewiness.
Steps For Making The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you would like to use an electric mixer to make this recipe, see the notes in the recipe card. These cookies totally work just with a couple of mixing bowls and a spoon, though.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients in two separate mixing bowls.
- Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for at least 1 hour, longer if you have the time.
- Scoop cookies onto a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Bake the cookies at 350ºF for about 9-12 minutes.
- Cool the cookies for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Is Chilling The Dough Required?
Chilling the dough is an important step to make these cookies absolutely perfect. Chilling the cookie dough is essential for several reasons:
- It will allow the butter to solidify again, ensuring your cookies don’t spread too thin.
- Chilled cookie dough makes for a thicker, chewier, softer cookie.
- The flavors will have a chance to develop as it sits.
Cover the cookie dough and chill the dough for at least 1 hour (2-3 hours is even better) and even up to 3-4 days. After chilling, let your cookie dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping out and dropping on the baking sheet.
After chilling, you can roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them in a large sealable baggie. Bake them straight from the freezer, adding an extra minute to the bake time. You can have just one or two cookies whenever you want!
Tips For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Don’t forget to sprinkle on the sea salt! If you’ve never tried this little trick before, I HIGHLY recommend it. The addition of a little sprinkle of sea salt to bring out the sweetness is amazing.
- I recommend using high-quality chocolate chips for this recipe. I recommend brands such as Guittard and Ghirardelli. The chocolate chips from Trader Joe’s are also really good.
- If you want to get the perfect chocolate chip cookies that are crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside, then refrigerate your dough balls for 24-48 hours before baking. Make sure to bring to room temperature before putting in the oven. This will give your cookies the perfect crispy-to-chewy ratio.
- You can make the cookies as big or as small as you like, just be sure to adjust the baking time accordingly. When you remove the cookies from the oven, you want them to be slightly underbaked in the center, but lightly browned around the outside. They still cook when you take them out of the oven.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations
I typically make this recipe as written. It’s SO good! But feel free to change up the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Chocolate: I like to use a combination of milk chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips, but you can use whatever you like best. Try using some white, some milk, some dark. Mini chocolate chips are a great option too and make every bite chocolatey.
- Add-ins: Stir in 1/2 cup of miniature M&M’s, coarsely chopped peanut butter cups or toffee bits to the dough.
- Spices: Try flavoring the dough with a pinch of cinnamon, espresso powder or even ancho chili powder for a cookie with a bit of a kick.
Tools For Making Chocolate Chip Cookies
Measuring Cups & Spoons – I love this set because it has soft, easy-grip handles and stainless steel (great quality). It also includes 1/8 cup, which can be rare, but so convenient.
Baking Sheets – A set of good quality baking sheets are a MUST. The color and material of your pans can greatly impact the way your cookies turn out. These are definitely my favorite pans. I suggest owning a few of them.
Silicone Mats – Using a silicone mat is the best because they grip onto the bottom of your cookies, preventing the cookies from spreading too much. These mats also promote even browning. They’re reusable, dishwasher friendly, and perfect for roasting veggies, meats, fish, potatoes, etc.
Cookie Scoop – Cookie scoops are really convenient. And OXO is my favorite brand.
Cooling Rack – I always allow my baked cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheets, once I remove them from the oven. Then, I transfer them to a cooling rack for even cooling.
These chocolate chip cookies are a personal favorite of mine. I can’t resist these chewy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-edges cookies with their lovely buttery flavor. Make them any time you get a cookie craving! And good luck just eating one!
How To Store Cookies
These cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days (if they last that long!), or frozen in a resealable bag for up to 3 months. Defrost the cookies by letting them sit at room temperature until thawed. If you prefer a warm cookie, you can reheat them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.
Try My Other Favorite Cookie Recipes!
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
If you try this chocolate chip cookie recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled*
- 1 ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar*
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips**
- Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no sugar lumps remain. Mix in the egg and egg yolk. Last, stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Chilling is a must to prevent spreading. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow it to slightly soften at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop dough onto baking sheets with a spoon, ice cream scoop or cookie dough scoop. Press a few more chocolate chips on top of the dough for looks, if desired, and sprinkle sea salt on top.
- Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, depending on the doneness you prefer. You want the cookies to be slightly underbaked in the center, but lightly browned around the outside. They still cook when you take them out of the oven. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh, covered, at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
**Any combination of 1 cup chocolate chips or chunks will work fine.
***If you prefer to use an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients gradually and beat on low-speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
****You can roll dough balls to place on the baking sheets, but I preferred the appearance of the cookies when simply dropped on the cookie sheet without rolling. Photos by Sasha at Eat Love Eats.
Did you make this recipe?
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These cookies are literally the BEST chocolate cookies. I have a hard time finding chocolate chip cookie recipes because I use almond flour and homemade gluten-free flour and the gluten-free recipes always use all-purpose gluten-free flour (which I don’t have). I finally found the right recipe! The cookies always come out chewy and soft. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Yay! So glad that you enjoyed and thanks so much for your comment!
I added walnuts and used dark chocolate chips instead. This really is the best choc cookie recipe. The right amount of chewy to crispy ratio. Delicious!
Wow! These really are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made! The sea salt takes the cookies to another level. My go-to cookie recipe now!
Easy recipe, delicious results! I’ll be saving this as I’m sure I’ll make many, many more batches in the future!
My husband took one bite of these cookies and said it was the best chocolate chip cookie he’s ever had. The texture is amazing and it’s the perfect balance of sweet with a hint of salt. This will be my go to cookie recipe.
Everyone at home loved it! So delicious and so easy to make them! Thank you for the recipe!
The chocolate chip cookie was so good! My family loved these. thank you so much!
This chocolate chip cookie recipe was amazing. It certainly is the best!
Absolutely delicious! Family scarfing them down!
No vanilla extract?
2 teaspoons. You must have overlooked that ingredient. It’s listed after the egg and egg yolk.
I am desperate for some good cookies right about now. Thank you so much these look incredible. I want to reach out and grab one!
Good morning,
Can these be made with gluten free flour?
Thank you.
I think that would work just fine, but they may have a slightly different texture. I’ve had good success baking with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour. Let us know, if you give it a try!
Thank you. I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 as well. I appreciate your quick response so I can make these today. 🙂