These chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect cookie with a soft and moist center, melty morsels of chocolate, and crisp edges. It’s the only chocolate chip cookie recipe you’ll ever need because it’s classic—not fussy, complicated, or time-consuming.
There’s no need for refrigeration, special tricks, or complex cooking techniques to get the best chocolate cookie. Our foolproof, classic recipe tastes exactly how it should—insanely delicious. After all, it’s the incredible flavor and easy-to-make recipe that keeps traditional desserts like Gingerbread Cookies, Banana Bread, and Baklava so popular for ages!
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Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
My high school used to sell the best chocolate chip cookies at lunchtime. They were soft, thick and irresistible. With this cookie recipe, I sought to recreate that memorable texture and this recipe takes me back to the days when I saved up my quarters for the rare treat of the cafeteria cookie.
There is no match for homemade chocolate chip cookies with chewy and soft texture, gooey chocolate chips, and the sweetest aroma coming from your oven. As America’s most loved cookie, they are perfect for every occasion, whether you’re making Christmas cookies, comforting a neighbor, or surprising your kiddos with a sweet after-school treat.
Just like with Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or Christmas Sugar Cookies, everyone needs a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, so here’s why this one is a keeper:
- The cookies stay soft for days
- Easy, straightforward recipe with tips to make it foolproof!
- No resting/refrigerating time—so you can satisfy your craving immediately
- Pantry staple ingredients
- True to the classic flavor everyone loves
- Stores and freezes well
- Make ahead option to always have dough on hand
Chocolate Chip Cookies Video
In this video, Natasha shows you how easy it is to whip up a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. *Note that we updated the recipe and now use 1 tsp of baking soda because we loved the results even more.
Ingredients:
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe is made with pantry and refrigerator staples—nothing fancy or hard to find here.
- Unsalted butter – room temperature butter creates the best consistency to trap air for a chewy, airy dough with the best texture and rise.
- Granulated sugar – white sugar adds sweetness without adding moisture for the perfect spread
- Brown sugar – molasses keeps the cookie moist, soft, and chewy. Be sure to press the sugar tightly into the cup when measuring
- Eggs – room temperature eggs mix more evenly to bind the dough
- Vanilla extract – store-bought or homemade vanilla extract gives that classic chocolate chip cookie flavor
- All-purpose flour – be sure to measure correctly to get the right amount: fluff with a spoon and then scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Finally, scrape off the top. Be sure not to pat the flour down
- Baking soda – sift to eliminate clumps
- Salt – balances the sweetness of the sugars
- Chocolate chips – we prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate or bittersweet chips for a slightly different taste. See our buying guide below – be sure to use the full amount because they add moisture and give good form to the cookies
Pro Tip:
If you don’t have time to let the butter come to room temperature, try this trick to soften the butter quickly, because it makes a big difference.
How to Buy Chocolate Chips
Chocolate chips come in different varieties. Here’s what to look for:
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips (46%-60% cocoa): the traditional chip for chocolate chip cookies. You can use full-size or mini chips, chunks, or even chopped chocolate. Nestle, Tollhouse, Ghirardelli, Guittard, Kirkland, Hershey’s….they all work!
- Milk chocolate chips (10% cocoa): these make very sweet cookies, so have your glass of milk ready. Try mixing with semi-sweet.
- Bittersweet chocolate chips (70% cocoa): less sweet and intensely chocolatey. These produce a more “adult” cookie.
Substitutions
It’s easy to make these cookies your own. You’ll need 2 cups of mix-ins, so if you’re feeling adventurous, try some of these fun alternatives to chocolate chips:
- Peanut butter chips
- Sprinkles
- Butterscotch chips
- M&M candies
- Macadamia nuts
- Chopped unsalted peanuts
- White vanilla baking chips
- Shredded coconut
- Pretzel pieces – the options are endless!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
It’s so simple to mix up this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe with pantry staples and no refrigeration is needed.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Cream the butter and sugars together for 5 minutes until light and fluffy—this is the most important step to get a chewy cookie. Be sure to beat for the full amount of time!
- Beat eggs into the butter mixture one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and sifted baking soda) in a separate bowl, and then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in thirds. Finally, fold the chocolate chips into the dough. Be sure not to over-mix (this can cause the dough to become tough).
- Roll balls of dough or use a trigger release scoop to scoop 3 Tbsp balls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 12-15 minutes. The tops should still look a bit wet and not browned. We usually bake 1/3 of the cookies at a time and refrigerate or freeze the rest for later, so see our tips below.
- Rest the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 5 days. To warm the cookies, try toasting in a toaster oven or baking at 350 for 2-3 minutes.
Pro Tip:
For a prettier cookie, press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of each cookie dough ball just before baking.
Common Questions
Room temperature butter and eggs, beating the butter and sugars thoroughly, and not over-mixing create the best cookies! No need for fancy techniques, because the best chocolate chip cookies are easy to make!
These homemade chocolate chip cookies spread perfectly without flattening.
Over-baking is the #1 cause of hard cookies, so remove them before they brown, when the edges are just turning golden. The top should still look a bit raw.
Once baked, store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them soft. You can even place a piece of bread in the container to maintain moisture.
Usually, cookies go flat when a recipe doesn’t include enough flour. Be sure to measure the ingredients correctly. Also, check to be sure your baking soda is still fresh by placing 1 tsp baking soda into a cup with a splash of vinegar. It should fizz, but if it doesn’t, replace your baking soda.
This usually means you use too much flour. Be sure to fluff and spoon your flour into a dry ingredient measuring cup, and don’t pat it down. Also, be sure not to make the cookie dough balls too large, or they may take longer than the cooking time to spread in the oven.
Make-Ahead
Our homemade chocolate chip cookie dough is refrigerator and freezer-friendly, so you can always have dough on hand. To make a few days ahead, mix the dough as directed and store:
- To Refrigerate: put dough into an airtight container, or cover rolled dough balls on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and then bake as usual. It may take 1-2 minutes longer if starting with chilled dough.
- To Freeze: Scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and freeze for 1 hour. Then, once the dough balls are frozen, store them in a freezer zip-top bag until ready to bake.
- To Bake: thaw in the refrigerator and bake as directed. You can bake from frozen, but the cookies will take a few more minutes to bake.
You will love these homemade chocolate chips with melty chocolate, a chewy cookie center, and an irresistible aroma. Our easy recipe uses pantry staples without unnecessary techniques! Grab a glass of milk because this will soon become your go-to recipe!
More Cookie Recipes
If you love this chocolate chip cookie recipe, then you won’t want to miss these other delicious cookie recipes.
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Shell Cookies
- Cranberry Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (16 Tbsp), softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly*
- 1 tsp baking soda, sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, (12 oz), divided reserving 1/4 cup for the top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat liner. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar. Beat 5 minutes on medium/high speed until creamy and light, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition, scraping down the bowl as needed, then beat in 2 tsp of vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp of baking soda (sifted to eliminate lumps). Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter in thirds, mixing to incorporate with each addition. Fold in 2 cups of chocolate chips.
- Use an ice cream scoop to get even balls of dough (3 Tbsp each). Place scoops of dough onto lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Mine fit onto 3 cookie sheets and made 26 cookies. Roll balls lightly with your hands then stud tops of cookie balls with reserved chocolate chips. Bake right away or cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 12-15 min at 350˚F (we bake 12 minutes), until edges are just turning golden. The tops should still look under-baked. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet 5 min then transfer to a rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi natasha,
I tried this and baked it for 10-12mins.
The bottom part get brown and crispy but the top part still white color and soft. The inside part still not really baked, i still can taste a bit of raw batter. Hehe…always have jinx when comes with baking especially for first attempt. Not sure this cookies suposed to be all crispy or soft.
They should be soft on the inside since they harden as they cool. Did you make them the same size?
Tips on freezing them ? Do I make them into balls before I freeze them or just have the dough in a ziplock?
Hi Jessica, you can definitely freeze the cookie dough in balls. I usually freeze half of my batch and it’s awesome to have cookies when my son requests them without having to go through any kind of process.
Is it possible for you do recipes like cake in a mug, I think it’ll be easy learning how to do it from you because you provide pictures too. 🙂
Oooh that is how the cupcake originated, right? cake in a cup. 🙂 Is that what you mean?
do the cookies when baking spread out by themselves?
yes, so make sure to leave some space between them 🙂
i just made these! and wow they are so moist and delicious! thanks for the recipe!!
I’m glad you like them Olga, thank you for letting me know :).
Great and easy recipe. Also good if u add half a pack of cream cheese to it. At least I think so but then again, I like everything with cream cheese 🙂
I’m glad you like the recipe :). I should try cream cheese next time.
Hi
I noticed the recipe calls for baking powder instead of soda as in other ccc recipes. How does that affect the cookies? I’ve accidentally added BP into my ccc instead of BS and they failed to spread. They just stayed in balls.
It must have been something else to do with the recipe. I’ve tested this one with both baking powder and soda and the powder seems to rise better.
these cookies were so good.
You’re welcome; I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Thank you for telling us this recipe.
the cookies are amazing the best i ever tried so far thanks.
Natasha just made them half the portion, and that’s def. a keeper my son ate them all lol So happy to have you there for cool recipes and love how you post pictures step by step that really helps for those who don’t bake or cook often 🙂
I love to hear a good report 🙂
Natasha, This is probably a stupid question 🙂 but I wanted to see if I can cut this recipe in half and will it still taste the same? We don’t need that many cookies and I usually like to make only one batch at a time and new one when I’m ready for more 🙂 My son loves chocolate chip cookies and I have been on a hunt for a good one and have tried almost every recipe for cookies on Pintrest but yet to find a good one. Thank You love your recipes 🙂
You can cut the recipe in half. I hope this recipe will be a keeper for you :).
Natasha, I’ve been looking for a chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, tried baking a lot of them, they just don’t come out chewy, do you have any recipes that you know will come out chewy??
Just finished baking these cookies and they are soooooo delicious!!!! The best cookies I’ve ever had!!!!! Thanks Natasha for wonderful recipe 😉 Love your site!
You are very welcome Irina 🙂 That’s quite a few exclamation points :D.
In the recipe it says 1 1/2 tsp baking powder in the instructions for mixing it says baking soda which is it.
Oh sorry it’s baking powder. I’ll update that. Thank you!
Natasha, I have baked these cookies a few times already.
The first time they came out nice and soft. Well… today i made them again, but for some reason the cookies are crunchy rather than soft. Can it happen because i was a little short of brown sugar (had only half a cup), and i added a bit of regular sugar to obtain the desired amout? Does that make sense?
Thank you for your time 🙂
That may have something to do with it, or just turn the oven off 2 minutes earlier.
so good and stay soft for up to a week…
I’m glad that you like them 🙂
Looks so good! Want to make them this week. Can this be made using a electric hand mixer instead of a kitchenaid?
You could definitely use a hand mixer instead. If the batter gets too thick for your hand mixer, just use a spatula to mix the rest of the way.
Hello Natasha, I’ll definitely try your recipe, my girls (12 and 14) make chocolate chip cookies all the times, and they like to try new recipes, just want to give you a little tip: it’s a lot easier and faster to use ice cream scoop and it also make them uniformed 🙂
Thank you for the tip Angelina.
One day i made these cookies and with couple kids over my house they were gone!!thanks for the recipe they were delicious
You’re welcome 😉 yep they are definitely a kid friendly dessert!
My mom Said she can taste the baking soda in cookies? Do you need to fizz it out with anything? Otherwise they are good! I usually bake for 8 mins only, otherwise they get hard.
I’ve never been able to taste the baking soda in these so I’m not sure why that would be.