Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (VIDEO)
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies are big, soft, moist and loaded with melty morsels of chocolate. Chocolate chips make everything better, like our chocolate chip banana bread!
Everyone needs a great chocolate chip cookie recipe. This simple and easy recipe turns out perfect every time and the cookies stay soft for days. Read the amazing reviews then try them for yourself.
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Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
There is no match for homemade chocolate chip cookies with soft and warm cookie dough, gooey chocolate chips and the sweetest aroma coming from your oven. It’s just as tantalizing as homemade baked donuts! Whether you’re making Christmas cookies or surprising your kiddos with a sweet after school treat, memories are made with America’s most loved chocolate chip cookies.
Tips for the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Measure ingredients correctly, especially the dry ingredients (spoon flour into the cup and scrape off the top for an accurate measure).
- Butter and eggs should be at room temperature
- Use plenty of chocolate chips – they add moisture and give the cookies good form
- Use a trigger release scoop for equal-sized cookies
- For a prettier cookie, stud the top of each cookie dough ball with a few extra chocolate chips before baking.
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Cookies:
This chocolate chip cookie dough has simple ingredients with pantry staples you probably already have and the cookies can be baked right away (no chilling required).
Which is the Best Chocolate for Cookies?
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (46% – 60% cocoa content) – Chocolate chip cookies are classically made with standard sized semi-sweet chocolate chips, but mini chocolate chips or chocolate “chunks” will also work. Nestle, Toll house, Ghirardelli, Guittard, Kirkland, Hershey’s,… most any brand will work. If you have the option, look for a package that states the cocoa content.
Milk Chocolate chips (10% cocoa)- If you like a very sweet cookie, milk chocolate chips are a good option, just be prepared with your glass of milk!
Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (70% cocoa) – produce a more ‘adult’ cookie – intensely chocolatey and less sweet.
The Secret to Soft Cookies?
Over-baking is the #1 cause of why chocolate chip cookies are hard. So, when are chocolate chip cookies done? The cookies should be removed from the oven when they are just turning golden at the base and the dough still looks a little raw on top. They won’t look done coming out of the oven and you’ll be tempted to keep them in there longer, but please do not over-bake. Removing them at the right time is the secret to soft chocolate chip cookies.
Why do Chocolate Chip Cookies go Flat?
This is usually due to having the wrong balance of ingredients (i.e. not enough flour or too much liquid ingredients) causing them to spread out too much or become cakey. Also, check your leavening and make sure your baking powder is not expired and still active. To test baking powder, place 1 tsp baking powder into a cup and add 1/3 cup hot water – it should fizz and if it doesn’t, replace your baking powder.
Why did my Cookies not Flatten?
If your cookies ended up too thick and did not flatten, the #1 culprit is too much flour. Be sure to measure flour by spooning it into a dry ingredients measuring cup and scraping off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour.
How to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookies:
This cookie dough is freezer friendly and we love freezing half of the cookie dough for another day. To freeze: place cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet or cutting board, cover and freeze for an hour or until solid. Once they are frozen, you can transfer them to a large ziploc bag and freeze up to 3 months. To bake frozen cookie dough: transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and thaw the frozen cookies in the refrigerator for 3 hours over overnight before baking per the recipe instructions.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies:
This is the easiest cookie recipe and comes together quickly. Start with some quick prep: preheat oven to 350 °F and Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar.
- Beat in eggs one at a time then mix in vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt then beat it in thirds into the batter. Fold chocolate chips into cookie dough.
- Scoop even balls of dough and arrange on prepared baking sheets. Bake one cookie sheet at a time.
More Cookie Recipes:
- Snowball Cookies – moist and melt-in-your mouth good
- Italian Cookies (baci di dama) – with a chocolate center
- Russian tea cookies – a buttery walnut filled treat
- Shell cookies – fluffy and laced with meringue
- Finnish Meringue Cookies – the most beautiful cookie
Watch Natasha Make Chocolate Chip Cookies:
I hope this chocolate chip cookie recipe becomes a new favorite for you! These chocolate chip cookies seriously stay soft for days!
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
The BEST soft chocolate chip cookies. Big, moist and loaded chocolate chip cookies. This chocolate chip cookie recipe is wildly popular with kids and adults!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour measured correctly
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz) plus more for the tops
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350˚ F after step 5. Grease cookie sheets.
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Preheat oven to 350˚ F after step 5. Grease cookie sheets. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium/high speed, cream together the 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar until creamy, light and fluffy.
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Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in 2 tsp of vanilla.
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In a separate bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt and beat into the batter in thirds just until incorporated. Fold in 2 cups of chocolate chips.
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Use an ice cream scoop to get even balls of dough, scraping against the side of the bowl to get a flat base. Place scoops of dough onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Mine fit onto 2 cookie sheets and made 21 cookies. Stud tops of cookie balls with a few extra chocolate chips if desired.
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Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 12-15 min at 350˚F, until edges are just turning light golden brown. The tops should still look under-baked. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet 5 min then transfer to a rack to cool.
Recipe Notes
To measure flour correctly, spoon it into a dry ingredients measuring cup and level the top. Do not dip a measuring cup directly into the flour bin or you can compact it and get up to 25% more flour.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
We first published this recipe in 2012 and have improved the recipe to make it even easier (eliminating the need to chill the dough before baking).
Mmmmm soft chocolate chip cookies! 🙂 My children are always REALLY happy when I make these.
natashaskitchen
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha! I just made these and they definitely don’t look like yours. I believe I used the wrong amount of butter. I am in the US and our sticks of butter are 4oz each, so that would be 4 sticks of better? Can you please confirm? Ugh, I have to do it all over again.
Hi Flavia, I am in the US also. Our sticks of butter are 1/2 a cup or 4oz net weight. Per the recipe, “use 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened”. Definitely not 4 sticks, the recipe calls for 2.
Well then they definitely didn’t turn out like yours, I followed the exact recipe. In your picture of ingredients you have 2 – 8oz sticks of butter.
Hi Flavia, without more details, it is difficult to offer troubleshooting advice, but if you haven’t gone through these sections in the post above: “Secrets to soft cookies…, why did my cookies go flat? Why did my cookies not flatten?” I highly recommend doing so to identify what could have gone wrong.
Ok, I’m hallucinating, I could of swore their was 8oz yesterday but it seemed like a lot. I definitely picked the flour in the measuring cup, maybe that was it.
That’s so great, sounds like you found a new favorite!
Hi Natasha! What size of ice cream or cookie scoop did you use? And what brand? I used large cookie scoop as I thought that’s the size you used. Turned out not! The cookies needed longer baking, about 25-28mins and only made 13 cookies out of the recipe. Please advise. Thank you.
Hi Joan, we have this trigger release scoop linked in the recipe. I hope that helps.
These are WAY to sweet for my liking. I think it’s more along the lines of how Americans prefer their desserts to be. Probably won’t make these again if the sugar amounts cannot be cut back on.
Hi Marina, you can adjust the sugar to your taste or use less chocolate chips which also contributes to sweetness.
Marina, I suggest you use 70-90% dark chocolate if you find Natasha’s recipe too sweet. I cut down about 300grams of sugar from the recipe and my cookies were a success. I also don’t like tasting overwhelming sweetness of sugar and what i said above fixed it.
Hi
Can the sugar be reduced without changing the texture consistency ?
Thanks in advance
Hi Ganelle, we have tried reducing sugar and the consistency is just slightly more cake-like which is why we found this amount to be the right balance.
I’m going to make these. They look delicious! However, I prefer Hershey’s dark chocolate chips. How will using those differ from semi sweet chips?
Hi Brenda, dark chocoalte chips have a lower sugar content and will taste slightly more bitter. They can be used if you prefer the more bitter notes of dark chocolate.
Hi Brenda, dark chocolate chips have a lower sugar content and will taste slightly more bitter. They can be used if you prefer the more bitter notes of dark chocolate.
Hi Natasha,
I follow your recipes, easy and quick.
Just a quick question, I am not from the US, we don’t have the butter sticks, can you please advise how much 2 butter sticks are in grams?
Hi Maya, each stick of butter is 113 grams. If you scroll down to the recipe card in my blog post, click “metric” and you will see gram measurements.
Hi Natasha,I just made these and my boyfriend couldn’t wait for them to cool down!! He said these are banging,lol. Thanks for your recipe and tips.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Ann!
These are missing something…not sure what it is, maybe too much or too little of something. They seemed kind of bland tasting and almost cakey instead of chewy. They didn’t spread much at all even though I thought I was careful not to use too much flour.
Hi Sara, the way you described the results (cakey and didn’t spread) is usually indicative of too much flour. I suggest this post on how to measure flour and also be sure to use the same all-purpose flour as other flours can vary in gluten content.
Great recipe! I’ve made these cookies twice and both times they were a hit!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Sonya!
Hi! I made these cookies and I really liked them, love their texture.
I was thinking about making them to bring with me to share with coworkers on my last day at work. Would they still be good the day after having baked them?
Also, I did find them a bit too sweet, could I do less sugar or would that mess up the texture?
Hi Marta! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! That should work. You can refrigerate these for about a week – I wouldn’t go longer than that or they might start getting a little dry, and be sure to cover them to keep the air out.
typically love your recipes…made the shchavel borscht last night…i bake hundreds of cookies…my most recent quest was to find the best choc chip cookie recipe…this is not it…they are so pale looking…not much taste except for the chips…baked one batch and the rest is getting tossed…experimenting with browned butter recipes…their taste is incredible..
Hi Victoria, I’m so glad you like the Shchavel borscht! To achieve a truly soft chocolate chip cookie (without over-baking), the color will be lighter. If you are looking for a darker cookie, you might try a dark brown sugar for richer color. Brown butter does sound tasty! If you come up with something great using browned butter, let me know!
Hi Natasha! It’s me again. The one who enquire a lot about your eclairs which I will be making this Friday for Sunday’s charity drive.
I chanced upon this recipe and thought I’ll make it for the charity too. I made a test run this afternoon. I got 19 ice cream scoops. I baked 5.
My questions are :
1. Both my husband and daughter thought it was a bit too gooey. I baked it for 13 mins, where the edges are slightly browned. According to them, lovers of soft chewy cookie, it needs to hold its shape more. For the cookies break apart way too easily before it reaches the mouth. It’ll be too soft after dunked in milk. What do you suggest I do? Bake it a little longer?
2. The leftovers 14 scoops are happily basking in the fridge. I intend to freeze some. For I want to see if it turns out as good if I freeze them. For the fridged ones, how long can I keep them in there for? 1 week in fridge – too long?
3. As for the baked cookies. How can I store them? Here in Singapore it gets hot and humid. It was 89 Fahrenheit and 75% humidity today!!! I plan to pack the cookies individually with a twist tie.
Looking forward to your gold advise.
Just so you know, I can’t wait to present these 2 beauties, your chocolate chip cookies and eclairs, on the charity day!!! 😀
Hi Aisah, double check the measurements and be sure to measure the dry ingredients correctly. I haven’t had that experience where they are too gooey. They are very very soft as soon as they come out of the oven but once they reach room temperature, they do hold together well and are dunk-able in milk texture. You can refrigerate for about a week – I wouldn’t go longer than that or they might start getting a little dry, and be sure to cover them to keep the air out. We have the opposite problem where it is very dry in Idaho so that might be a judgement call. I imagine they would be fine at room temperature for a day.
Hi Natasha, thank you for your response. What I did was I followed the metric measurements as I’ve used cups before and the cookie was so high up like a mountain. Not your recipe though. So I might try.
Will it help you think if I bake for a little longer? Will it hardened the cookie more you think?
Hi Aisah, baking longer does harden the cookie so if you prefer a firm cookie, you can bake an extra 1-3 minutes.
Thank you very much Natasha! I’ll do that for the ones in the fridge. I have no time to do a trial run again as I’ll be doing a trial run for eclairs today! Now that I have the right nozzles!!!
You’re so welcome!
Tried this recipe today and loved it!!
I have had so many problems with other chocolate chip cookie recipes not turning out, but your cookies have great flavor, perfect texture, and no waiting for chilled dough. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Debbie!
Hi Natasha, so I’ve been having issues with chocolate chip cookies from day one! My cookies never seem to spread out in the oven, they always come out pretty much in the shape that I put them in (although baked through). Unfortunately, your recipe was no exception for that occurence. Any idea as to why it turns out so? By the way, these cookies taste great! And everything besides the fact that they don’t spread is great! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Liana, the most likely culprit is too much flour. When measuring flour, be sure to use dry ingredient measuring cups (that can be leveled at the top) and spoon the flour into the measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you scoop the measuring cup into the flour bin, you can get up to 25% too much flour which would affect how the cookies spread. Here’s our post on measuring that will help with that.
Hi Natasha! I just tweeted you a photo of my cookies that I made on Sunday, 4/28/19, and I just had one today, 4/30/19 here at work and they are still soft! They turned out almost perfect. I think next time I need to take them out of the oven about 45 seconds to a minute sooner. Thanks for this awesome recipe. I cut it in half as I am single and it still turned out great. (I double checked my halves from your video several times, LOL)!
That’s so great! I’m so happy you enjoyed that Melanie!
I love this recipes but my cookies do not flatten out when baked. Why?
Hi Ava, I am always happy to help troubleshoot. The section above titled “Why did my Cookies not Flatten?” should help.
The updated recipe is good but the previous one was better. This one is harder and cake-ier than the previous, and I followed the recipe to a T, even measured flour correctly. I’m glad I saved the previous one! Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes with us!
Hi Natasha! Not leaving a review since I haven’t made them yet. What size measuring spoon do you use? It looks like a 1.5” on the video but I want to make sure. Thanks!
Hi Galya, they are actually 2 1/4″ cookie scoops technically. I have a link to the the size I used in the post. He that helps!
Hi Natasha – I am measuring the ingredients for these cookies and somehow I think the recipe has changed. If I recall when I made these before there was 2 1/4 cups of flour and the directions explicitly indicated to refrigerate the portioned cookies for at least one hour before baking. Has the recipe changed????
Hi Mary, we did change the recipe slightly for more consistent results and there is no more need to refrigerate the cookies before baking. We had quite a few people who weren’t wiling to wait and ended up with flat cookies. Quick tip: just be sure to measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and scraping off the top 🙂
Will this recipe work with almond flour or coconut flour?
Hi Cindy, I honestly haven’t experimented with that so I can’t say for sure or what other substitutions (if any) would need to be made. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes!
Could you give weight measurements for the flour, please? I just think that would be a little easier to measure, and I love to use a scale to measure ingredients accurately!
Hi Alena, we do have the metric weight option available on the print out version. You can find it highlighted in red “US Customary – Metric” I hope that helps!
I’m clearly the odd man out here, but these cookies did not work for me. I’m a pretty good cook and these were not good. All I could taste was flour and they did not spread. For me, I’m going to give up on finding the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie recipe and just stick with the one on the back of the Ghirardelli bag.
Hi Anna, please see the section in the recipe post titled “Why did my Cookies not Flatten?” which should help.
ih my name is Anna a house baker
I bake alot of goodies for my family
and today I’m going to bakeing chocolate chip cookies !
Hi Anna, I hope you love this recipe!
the cookies didn’t spread for some reason I followed the recipe and measured like you recommended. I think its because of the baking powder. because usually cookies call for baking soda.
Hi Inna, I haven’t tested this recipe with baking soda and it most likely won’t work because there is nothing to activate baking soda. Hope this helps :).
I used half baking soda and half baking powder, it spread beautifully 🙂
Natasha I apologize I forgot to rate your chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Aww you’re so nice! Thank you for returning to rate Laurna!!
It is Sunday night and when I saw this chocolate chip cookie recipe I just had to make it. Wow 😮 I just eat my second cookie while looking in the stove waiting for the second batch to finish. I had to make the whole batch because I have plans for these cookies. I will be keeping some for myself and my husband, giving my neighbor some then taken them to our friends because we are invited to dinner. Thank you again Natasha for another fabulous recipe. And I want you to know once again your videos are so helpful and they make me laugh. 👍
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Laurna, Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi Natasha, thank you thank you .. I just finished making your soft chocolate cookie (1/2 of the recipe) … its yum and I follow as you said about measuring the flour … I use to scoop it 🙂
Again thank for sharing the recipe and also, I make your overnight cinnamon rolls and all the Ladies from my church loves it and I told them its your recipe.
God Bless you,
Lily
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). I’m all smiles!
Hi, I’m new to baking and want to try this recipe so much. Should I bake the cookies with top or bottom heat? Thank you for your recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
Hi Petra, set the oven to regular bake mode (conventional oven) and not the convection setting. Our oven has heating elements from above and below that are working together.
I see! I’m trying this very soon. Thank you, Natasha. 🙂
Dear Natasha,
Thank you for sharing your recipe. The cookies are so delicious.
Your detailed instructions in all your recipes, are so helpful.
I have baked all the cookies, so how can I store them in the freezer? And for how many days they last?
Thank you for your support.
Hi Eliane, I’m so happy you are enjoying our blog and recipes! It’s definitely best to read through the recipe before beginning. The great thing about making a big batch of cookies is that you can freeze half of the cookie balls and bake them another day so you only have to bake one cookie sheet :). I’ve done this before and it’s awesome to have cookies when my son requests them without having to go through any kind of process 🙂 We store ours in an air tight container for a few days.
Sure you are right, but I was excited and did bake them all.
Thank you so much.
Should I do 2tsp of baking powder or should I do a mix of baking soda and baking powder? I’ve seen things for both options..
Hi Natasha! These cookies were delicious! If I wanted to make half a batch, do I just take half of all ingredients? Anything I should be aware before I do that? Thanks so much! 🙂
Hi Jessica! Yes, simple halve the recipe and it should turn out!
This recipe called for baking powder? Shouldn’t it be baking Soda? I used powder as per directions and they were like balls of cake.
Hi Carolyn, baking powder is correct. If no other substitutions were made to the recipe, it could be the way in which the flour was measured. Check out my post on how to measure dry ingredients here which should help.
OH my…these are heavenly. I had what I thought was a normal cookie scoop but I guess it was giant. This recipe made 14 GIANT cookies…I had to increase the baking time but they were so yummy. What is the best way to store these Natasha?
Hi Rose! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! We keep our cookies in an airtight container 🙂 They stay soft for days!
I made these cookies for my family this past Sunday and I think there may be a error in the recipes measurements. Mine did not spread out nicely like the video shows they will. Mine stayed the shape of the ice cream scoop. I think it could be the baking powder amount in the recipe.
Hi Deborah, the most likely culprit is too much flour. When measuring flour, be sure to use dry ingredient measuring cups (that can be leveled at the top) and spoon the flour into the measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you scoop the measuring cup into the flour bin, you can get up to 25% too much flour which would affect how the cookies spread.
Hi Natasha. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I had the exact same problem. I did measure the flour just like you recommended, but mine still did not spread out and were kind of crumbly and not moist from the inside. What could’ve went wrong? Thank you
Hi Sahar, I am more than happy to troubleshoot. Was anything else altered in the recipe? Without being this it is hard to say and advise.
Hi Natsha. Nothing altered. I followed the recipe to the letter. I want to try and make these again, but I want to avoid having the same result as I did the first time. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your response 🙂
This is usually due to having the wrong balance of ingredients (i.e. not enough flour or too much liquid ingredients) causing them to spread out too much, not enough, or become cakey. Also, check your leavening and make sure your baking powder is not expired and still active. To test baking powder, place 1 tsp baking powder into a cup and add 1/3 cup hot water – it should fizz and if it doesn’t, replace your baking powder.
Dear Natasha – how do you store thee cookies? In the fridge? plastic ware or glassware – what’s best? Thanks!
Hi Lynn, we store the cookies in a covered container. They stay so soft!
I just made these cookies after seeing a repost on YouTube and THESE ARE AMAZING. My two toddlers keep asking for more. I never had a cookie that taste like this- it’s just perfect! Thank you Natasha, this will be my go to recipe for cookies from now on 💕
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). I’m all smiles!
Yea , we wanted some good yummy cookies, but we got scones…
So so sad!
Did everything you stated and put everything correct like stated.
Hi Lulu, Oh No!! It is difficult to say what could have gone wrong without being there, but I am always happy to help troubleshoot what could have gone wrong. Were any of the ingredients substituted or changed? Were any of the ingredient proportions changed? Also, when measuring flour, make sure you spoon it into the measuring cup and scrape off the top. This is the best way to measure for baking without a kitchen scale. Pushing the measuring cup into the flour bin can get you up to 25% more flour (I have tested this theory). I sure hope that helps
Thank you for sharing your recipe. The cookies look delicious! I will be making them very soon. What brand of butter and vanilla do you use?
I hope you love it Abby! We used Land O’Lakes butter and this vanilla recipe here.
I LOVE the tips on here. You are amazing friend! Thanks for another fail-proof recipe, my kiddo can make the recipe herself , you make them So easy to read! 😉
Aww that’s so great! Thank you for your awesome review, Anna! I love that you have your kiddo involved in the kitchen with you! 🙂
Hi natasha. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, it was sure good,everyone ate very fast. God bless you girl.
That’s so great, Olga! Thank you for sharing that with me! Blessings to you!
OMG OMG! I made this just now, oh so yummy!! And yes I ate one cookie right out of the oven! Lol.. Thank you so much Natasha for sharing your recipes! I love your site because you are so honest with your recipes. More power to you and your family!
That’s so great, Teresa! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Love how easy these were to make and how soft they turned out!
Sounds like you found a new favorite, Steph! Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me!
Nothing better then a homemade chocolate chip cookie.
I completely agree! Thank you for the great review, Becky!
Nothing beats a homemade chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven!
Isn’t that the best!! Thank you for your awesome review, Sommer!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies,hands down! My family loves them so much that I make them every few weeks.
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with us!
These cookies turned out delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Aimee!
Delicious! I have tried several different chocolate chip cookie recipes and yours is the best! They are perfect. Thanks!
Hi Millie! Thank you so much for the amazing review. I am so happy to hear that! What a compliment and that makes my day 🙂
Hi Natasha, I’m just a little bit confused…..in the directions it doesn’t say to refrigerate the dough, but in some of the comments I get the impression that you should refrigerate it. Could you please clarify? Thanks so much.
Hi Tammy, please see the note under the print-friendly recipe. We improved the recipe so there is no need to refrigerate the dough because no one wants to wait for chocolate chip cookies ;). The updated recipe is better than ever with consistent results whether the dough is refrigerated or not.
Thank you so much!
Hi. I love your recipes! Although I’m confused about if the batch needs to be chilled in the fridge before baking. Your instructions & even in your notes all above the recipe don’t state it. Yet in the comments about the flat cookies you replied that it needs to be chilled. Please clarify. Thank you.
Hi Edith, yes absolutely! We updated the recipe because the previous one did require chilling and some people chilled the dough while others didn’t and experienced flat cookies. Now whether you chill it or not, your cookies will be thick, moist and soft. I hope you love this chocolate chip cookies recipe!
I printed off a recipe for soft chocolate chip cookies, except this particular one called for only 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 1/4 cups of flour and only 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. Is this a different recipe?
No, it was not from this link because the amounts are different. I was just wondering if the recipe I used was from an earlier posting and this is your latest. The cookies were actually not too bad, but I will certainly try this recipe. Thank you so much for your reply!
Hi Janet, these are definitely improved. Here is what we updated specifically: Increased brown sugar from 1/2 cup to 1 cup, specified that eggs to be room temp, took the flour from 2 1/4 cups to 3 cups and increased baking powder to 2 tsp. There is no need to refrigerate the cookie balls before baking and they turn out great every time (although you can refrigerate if you want to).
I used almond flour instead of multipurpose flour and all white sugar because my brown sugar was too old to use. They are soooooo yummy!!! Natasha’s recipes are soooo good! I love the video instructions too!!!
Sounds like you found a new favorite, Erica! Thank you for sharing your great review with me!
Truly THE BEST! After being wow’d by Natasha’s baklava, I decided to try out this recipe as well. I brought them to the office this week, and they were a big hit. They stay soft for days, and have the best flavor. Thanks again, Natasha!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
These ARE the best chocolate chip cookies ever!!! They back evenly! I tried many recipes and usually the bottom is too brown and the middle of the cookie is raw. These are big cookies and are perfectly cooked throughout! Thank you for the recipe:-)!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re so welcome!! Thank you for your great feedback!
Mine turned out great. I noticed that the second batch always turns out better than the first one (I mean the second cookie sheet), I don’t know what the reason is but it happens with any cookie recipe I try. We added some m&ms, I wish you could see the face of my 3 year old son! Thank you for the recipe!
That’s so interesting Kseniya! I’m wondering if it has to do with a heated pan from the first round? I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your feedback.
Tried the recipe today. My first time making cookies and it turned out perfect!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Elly! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Was out of baking soda and my “normal” go-to-cookie ingredient (Butter Crisco) so I stumbled upon this recipe….hence the no baking soda, please take in mind my 14 yr. old was wanting to make them and not only make them but double it haha….Oh boy was she in for a work out with all that flour!!! They turned out just like I thought they would having previous cookie failures—cakelike. Good enough to satisfy your sweet tooth but no my recipe—This mama always cooks with Crisco 🙂 Pleasant baking!!
Hi, I am Italian, Please can I have this recipe in Italian? With grammi not cups? Here don’t have cups😢 I desire make that for my sons 😍
We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
These are the BEST cookies! We make these at my house every few weeks. My daughter loves putting the finishing chocolate chips on them. I also add walnuts. I’ve tried it with gluten free flour also and it comes out as delicious. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Dina! Thank you for sharing your great review, that sounds amazing!
I tried these last night, they were delicious! Thanks Natasha!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Lily!
Can you use shortening instead of butter?
Hi, I honestly haven’t tried that substitution so I’m not sure – I do have a strong preference for butter in cookies. If you experiment, let me know how it goes.
I would strongly suggest trying something such as – 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Will make all the difference in this recipe – Making cookies with varying degrees of both soda and powder, I found that baking powder generally produces cake-like cookies that rise higher during baking, producing smoother, shinier tops, while soda yields cookies that are more rough and denser texture. This may explain some of the challenges with the comments – in particular in those ovens that are running hotter and producing “scone-like” cookies.
Excellent suggestion Rob, thanks for sharing with other readers!
Hey Natasha. I followed the recipe to a T but my cookies came out extremely runny in the oven. They all became one big mush and burned. I am in Europe, so I have to work with what I can find and also convert the recipes. Do you know what possibly could have caused this? I am assuming it is something with the baking powder – I am using the spanish equivalent “levadura en polvo”. They come in packs of 15g, but I used only 2 tsp’s as the recipe called for. Should I use more? Thanks! I can’t find chocolate chip cookies anywhere in Spain so I am looking to make my own!!
HI Brook, I am not familiar with “levadura en polvo” but from photos online it doesn’t look like a white powder which is what baking powder looks like. It might not be the same product. If anyone else has any insights into that, please let us know and thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Natasha! “Levadura en polvo” is yeast, the one we use to make bread. Baking powder is what the recipe calls for and in Spanish it is “polvo de hornear”. Hope this helps,
hank you so much for sharing that with me 🙂
Did you perhaps use real butter instead of margarine? That may account for the cookies spreading.
My favorite cookie recipe. Thank you!
Yanyan
My pleasure! I’m glad you love the recipe, thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha
I love all your recipes and made a lot of them.
I have a question: when I chill the cookie balls, do they need to cover with plastic wrap?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Quynh, I do cover them with plastic wrap to keep them fresher and so they do not absorb food smells. I will add that note 🙂
Hi! There’s 13 people in my family so that requires lots of cookie dough to be made (I usually double the recipes). It is possible if I can refrigerate and then scoop and form them into balls? Or they will still be runny? We just don’t have enough room to put cookie sheets inside the frig.. thanks!
Hi Elvira, it is much easier to scoop and form the cookie balls before refrigerating. You can refrigerate them close to each other, even touching if need be to save space. 🙂
I made these today and they are fabulous, just what I was looking for. Your recipe directions were perfect, no problems there…thanks, Natasha!
You’re welcome Daniel! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hi. Can you use whole wheat flour?
Hi Georgia, I honestly haven’t tested that in this recipe so I could only guess. If you experiment before I do, let me know how it goes 🙂
Are you able to provide nutritional information for your recipes?
Hi William, I don’t typically include calorie counts because of the time constraint that I have. I really need to hire some help to do that for me! When I need a quick answer though; I have used Caloriecount.com (their recipe analyzer is free). ps. I’m planning to do a site refresh and looking into having nutritional info included in every post so stay tuned.
Hi I tried these out last night, I didnt have any brown sugar so I just used two teaspoons of black treacle as a molasses substitute and also converted the cups to grams. They came out perfect and I have had to stop my family from eating them all at once! Thankyou for sharing!
You’re welcome Amy! I’m glad to hear the recipe was such a success! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Hello Natasha, so I made these cookies last night… they didint turn out like on your picture… pretty much they turned out like the last few people commented a little dry and scone like on top… When measuring flour I pack flour and push it down into the cup, so I believe that me and the other last few people who the cookies failed to turn out like yours have been using a bit too much flour…after reading your tip I believe it’s true, I think measuring the flour your way would make them turn out softer, because they still taste great just not very soft and stiff. Thank you for your recipes💜
Thank you so much for reporting back. I have a video tutorial coming soon that is super helpful on all things measuring, but in the mean time, I added a note on measuring towards the top which should help 🙂
I followed this recipe exactly as directed and mine were also very dry, inside and out. They did not spread. I thought it was strange to use baking powder instead of baking soda so I think that was the problem.
HI Karen, I haven’t had that same experience. When you measured your flour, did you spoon it into the measuring cup and then scrape off the top for an accurate measure? I have found that if you dunk the measuring cup directly into the flour bin, you can get about 25% more flour because it compacts it. I hope that helps!
Tried these tonight. They did not come out soft. The outside is hard like a scone (like another reviewer said). I followed the recipe exactly. Disappointed since I made these with my son to leave for Santa 🙁 If anyone else wants to make these, I wouldnt leave it in the fridge for an hour. Pretty sure that was the problem. Maybe 20-30 mins would be better.
Oh No!! It is difficult to say what could have gone wrong without being there, but I am always happy to help troubleshoot what could have gone wrong. Were any of the ingredients substituted or changed? Were any of the ingredient proportions changed? Also, when measuring flour, make sure you spoon it into the measuring cup and scrape off the top. This is the best way to measure for baking without a kitchen scale. Pushing the measuring cup into the flour bin can get you up to 25% more flour (I have tested this theory). I sure hope that helps!
Help! Mine seem to be scone like!
They didn’t speak out at all. What did I do?
Sorry. Meant spread out!
Hi Michelle, did you change anything in the proportions of ingredients – make sure the ratios of ingredients are the same or it can affect the texture of the dough.
Can I substitute the light brown sugar for dark brown sugar?
Hi Lily, I haven’t tried that substitution but I think it would work. Your cookies will probably be a little deeper in color with the additional molasses in dark brown sugar.
These cookies are absolutely delicious and super easy to make. I chilled the entire batter before rolling and baking and came out perfectly. The raw batter tastes even better. Well done on an incredible recipe.
From baker in South Africa
Elzaan, thank you for the nice review! 😬
The molasses in the brown sugar of your chocolate chip cookies is acidic requiring the use of baking soda, not baking powder.
Shouldn’t the dough be chilled before portioning?
Hi Tina, I chill after portioning the cookies – you can even freeze the cookie dough balls if you want to store them longer.
The boys and I made these tonight and they were so yummy. Mark added sprinkles to his, so his was the best 😉
I’m glad to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Nataliya!
I am so disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly and my cookies ran together and at 20 mins of baking they are still runny not baked. What could be the reason? 😔
Hi Julie, the #1 cause of that is if the cookies are not refrigerated before they are baked (step #5: “Refrigerate prepared cookie dough balls for at least 1 hour before baking”) If you bake them while the butter is softened, they will turn flat and run together. I hope that helps for next time! Most chocolate chip cookies work best when the dough balls are refrigerated prior to baking.
Hi. I was wondering if it would have been better to use baking soda instead of baking powder to have more control over the gas bubbles that form inside the cookie? And or would it help to use one egg, and maybe one egg white instead of 2 eggs? Just thinking out loud.
Hi Linda, I haven’t experimented that way so I’m not sure but this recipe doesn’t really have an ingredient in it to activate the baking soda unless you activated it with vinegar before adding. I just haven’t tested it so I can’t really make those recommendations.
How much is gonna be 2 1/4 cup of flour in grams? Thank you!
Hi Lina, 1 cup flour is about 120-130 grams. This is about 290 grams floor total.
Your recipe is very similar to the one on the back of Hershey’s Chipits Milk Chocolate Baking Chips. I was a little bummed out when I saw that it required baking powder, baking soda and 2 and 2/3 cups of flour. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong, but it seems whenever I make a cookie recipe that calls for those three ingredients. The cookies taste a bit off.
I’ve made Peanut Butter cookies with just Peanut butter and an egg and they were delicious! Reading about why baking powder and soda is used in cookies, it said Baking soda needs some acid in order to activate and create the carbon dioxide needed to lift the batter, and you want to use only enough soda to neutralize the acid (since leftover soda in the batter tastes gross). I still find that they get too puffy for my liking and that I can taste a bit of the baking powder, baking soda and flour after they are done cooling completely. Any idea why? I’d appreciate any input! Your cookies looked like they turned out fantastic! Not too puffy like mine.
Hi Tasha, maybe it is because you are using a recipe with soda? My recipe does not have baking soda, but only baking powder. Baking powder does not require that acidic ingredient and should be tasteless. Check the ingredients on your baking powder and I would recommend getting one that does not have aluminum – some people have problems with that one and it can affect flavor if you are sensitive to it (not to mention, consuming aluminum is generally a bad idea ;)). I hope that helps!! 🙂
These are the best! This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies-I’ve made them lots of times! I usually use a little less chocolate chips than the recipe calls for(that’s just my personal preference). Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome Syann! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe as much as I do! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review! 🙂
I didn’t have a regular ice cream scoop so I used my 1.5 tablespoon scoop. It made 32 cookies and they are perfect, soft and cake like with a small crunch on the bottom. I also used mini chips because that is what I had on hand.
I’m glad you love the recipe Natalie! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hi! Sorry to bother you, but I am cooking the cookies right now, and I didn’t refrigerate the balls before I baked them, will affect the cookies majorly?
Hi Avery, the cookies are much more likely to flatten and run together if they are not refrigerated before baking. Refrigerating helps them keep their shape and they will be softer if they don’t flatten out as much.
Thank you so much! They did taste like they had wayyy too much brown sugar but I put in the same amount as the recipe said. They did run together and I will definitely start refrigerating dough before I bake it! Thank you again, Natasha!
These cookies are sooooo good! I loved them! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes!
You’re welcome Alena! Thank you for following and sharing your wonderful review!
Omg! It is amazing!!! I love your vanilla cupcake recipe so I know that I would love this chocolate cookies recipe as well, and I’m right! Love it. I didn’t have time to put the dough into the fridge but they turn out sooooo good!!!! My kids and my nieces finished them even they were still in cooling rack -:). Thanks again Natasha.
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing 😀
Hi Natasha,
If I put it in the refrigerator can I leave it in the bowl then scoop the cookies out? I don’t have much room in my refrigerator to do that. I have a Christmas cookie recipe that says I can leave it in the bowl so I’m wondering about this one.
Hi Kara, if you leave it in the bowl for several hours, the dough will become firm and difficult to scoop and roll. You would probably have to soften it a little before rolling the cookies. You could form the balls and place them on plates, touching each other to save space, cover with plastic wra and refrigerate and that should work fine.
I live in high altitude, over 6,000ft. Would I need to make any changes? Also if I wanted the cookies smaller how long would I need to bake them for? Thanks.
Hi Betty, since I don’t live in a high altitude area, I really don’t have any experience with high altitude baking and there’s no way for me to test it. You might do some research on google to see what changes are required for baking cookies in high altitudes. Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! The are sooo good!
My pleasure Katharina! I’m glad you enjoy them!
Use home raised chicken eggs for much better results!!!
YES!!! Home raised chicken eggs are better for any recipe!!
Hey Natasha, in reading the instructions I noticed you write to refrigerate for at least one hour. If I made the dough tonight and refrigerated over night to bake in the morning, would they still turn out as amazing?
Yes, absolutely! That would work great. I would suggest covering them with plastic wrap so they don’t absorb any smells from the fridge but that would work great. I’ve even frozen the dough before and baked from frozen – it takes a little longer to bake but it works well 🙂
How does the baking time change if baking from frozen?
Hi Gayle, it depends on how soft or “done” you like your cookies to be. I would give it an extra 2-4 minutes.
These were delicious and a little different taste and consistency than a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe – it reminded me of a sugar cookie type. My family and I loved them! Thank you for posting this recipe. I will definitely make these again!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you and your family enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha!
Can I line cookie sheet with parchment paper and not grease? Or do they have to be greased? Thank you!
Love your website and recipes!
Hi Anna, if you line with parchment paper, there’s no need to grease the pan. They will come off the paper easily :). It’s the same for silpat.
Hi Natasha! Wanting to make these tonight but realized I only have 1stick of butter in the fridge. Would it still work? I would just need to cut recipe in half? Thank you
Hi Vika, yes you would need to cut the recipe in half, otherwise the rest of the ingredients will overwhelm the 1 stick of butter and you’ll end up with cake-like crumbly cookies.
Natasha ever since I’ve discovered your blog, I feel like I’m in good heaven. Your recipes are super easy to follow with the pictures of every step. That is honestly my favorite part! Thank you so much for taking your time to post these:)
P.s. can you look into making a cinnamon rolls recipe?
You’re welcome! Thank YOU for sharing such an amazing review!! I do in fact have 2 cinnamon roll recipes….use the search tool (cinnamon rolls) on my blog page to find them. 🙂
Amazing recipe, the best cookies recipe I made!
Just mentioning that it worked well and tasted great with only half a cup of sugar too. Which helps me feeling a bit less guilty eating a bunch;)
I love to hear reviews like this! Thank you very much Gabrielle 🙂
I’ve tried to make cookies like this for 15 years.. Tonight, as I was getting out all my ingredients- I discovered I still don’t have any baking soda in the flippin’ house🙄 And the nearest store open after 11pm is 45min away.. Luckily, the cookie gods intervened and I found this recipe that only called for baking powder! These baked up like Mrs. Crocker came by and made them herself..or dare I say, better🤔 Thanks for the ingredient tweaks and tips that made this recipe rockin’👊
LO! I am so glad it worked out for you Ali! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made these according to recipe and they turned out very chalky. What did I do wrong?
Hmm… I haven’t had that experience. Did you substitute anything in the recipe? Did you reread the instructions to see if maybe you mis-measured anything?
Over my years of many failed cookie attempts, I’d say you possibly put too much baking powder or forgot the salt.. I’ve done both more than once, with all kinds of baked goods🙄 If only my attention span was longer and reality tv was less interesting..
i tried your recipe once and I’ve been following it ever since! they taste so good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Looks delicious! About to make these tasty things!! thank u for awesome recipe.
You are welcome Natalie, let me know how they turn out 😁.
Omg yo Natasha made these babies today let them cool to room temperature after that had 1 with my cuppa coffee and mmmmm soooooo yummm and scrumptious soft and pillowy on the inside and golden and crisp on the outside wow definitely gotta make these again thanx tons for posting always hun cheers perfect for a rainy day it’s raining up here in NYC how’s the weather by you
Tzivia, thank you again for another awesome review, I’m all smiles 😬. We have the same kind of weather here so cookies with coffee sound really good right now!
Your very welcome Natasha darlin anytime oh wow so even in Idaho it’s been raining yup ditto u can say that again cookies with coffee or tea what could be better lol
I made these today and they are so yummy! I followed you’re exact recipe and it couldn’t have been any easier. These even impressed my super picky father.
Kerri, thank you for such a nice review, I’m so glad to hear that 😬.
Also another question I don’t have a kitchen aid @ the moment would these work if I use my hand mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon thanx again dear
Yes, that would definitely work just fine 🙂
Wow thanx tons Natasha @ always perfect since I have my dark semi sweet chocolate chips definitely gonna use em and wow another bonus that I can use my hand mixer or make them by hand again thanx so much for your help darlin have a great awesome hot weekend cheers
Mmmmm yummmm these look really way good and yummmm thof I’m a little confused one part of the recipe says semi sweet chocolate chips the other part says milk chocolate chips unfortunately I don’t have milk chocolate chips on hand in have dark semi sweet would it still work in reallyrics would like to make these tomorrow or sometime whenever been craving these scrumptious babies for awhile now girl
Oh goodness I didn’t even realize I had that discrepancy. Thank you for pointing that out! You can use either one but I always buy and use semi-sweet :). Dark semi-sweet would work great 🙂
Doesn’t seem to much different than the Nestle Toll House recipe, other than a small difference in the baking soda ,salt.
Hi Kristine, Most chocolate chip cookies have the same basic ingredients but varying amounts which is what makes each recipe unique. 🙂 I just took a look at their recipe and their cookies also have 1/2 cup extra sugar and half the vanilla.
LOOOOOOOVE IT , so good ! Best cookies so far !!!
Thank you Angelina for such a nice review 😁.
BEST COOKIES EVER !!!
Hi Natasha,
I don’t have a cookie scoop 🙁 should I use a tablespoon instead? Teaspoon? I’m not sure what to use but these look so good and I really want to make them!
Hi Shannon, use a heaping Tablespoon. The amount of dough should be about 1/4 cup.
How do you measure out your flour? I always weight so I was wondering which way you do it so I can try and get close to the right amount of flour
Hi Meshe, for most recipes, I fluff it up with a spoon, spoon the flour into my dry ingredients measuring cup then scrape off the top with the back of a flat butter knife.
I think i need a cookie scoop because i always have a habit of making them bigger and i never end up making the amount it says. Do you have any recommendations for a good cookie scoop that will last and is worth it? Also any recommendations for cookie sheets?
Hi Ana, the one we have is a vintage one by Hamilton Beach but I love the scoops like this one with a trigger to release dough.
Why are people saying this is time consuming? Honestly, the instructions were great, and it was really simple. And, they tasted amazing! Especially with a bit of nutella on it!
Ella, thank you for the nice review, I’m glad you liked them 😀.
Can we cut the recipe. Will there be a difference?
That should still work fine 🙂
Hi,
I love these cookies!! I was wondering if I could make them into Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?? Thank you so much for the recipe.
Lisa
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried that but I think it could work to bake them in a pan and then slice them into bars. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Great cookies, but you cant really taste the chocolate. it is very time consuming if you have kids who are not patient, and i felt like the smaller you made them the better they would taste. they didnt turn out as pretty as the photos, but smelled REALLY GOOD!
Hi Emily, You can definitely add more chocolate chips but keep in mind that adding more chocolate will make them sweeter. Also I’m not sure which you used but I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips as opposed to milk chocolate chips. The semi-sweet chips have a little more intense chocolatey flavor. Also, to get the pretty shape as in the pictures, make sure to refrigerate the dough per the instructions, otherwise they will flatten and spread out when baked. I sure hope that helps for next time! 🙂
You gotta go soft when it comes to chocolate chip cookies! These look amazing!
I absolutely agree and thank you!! 🙂
Once frozen, what are your recommendations for baking? Bake straight from freezer, or let thaw then bake? Thanks!
Kyleigh, I would let them thaw in the fridge first then bake. Let me know how they turn out 😀.