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!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
Filed Under
Am NOT writing to challenge your recipe, you are a much better cook than I will ever be, but was fascinated by your recipe as it was with minor exceptions is the same as the one I have been making for 60+ years which was given to me by my mother. I suspect she got it off of a package of chocolate chips or from the Joy of Cooking some time in the 1940s. The recipe I use calls for only 2 cups of flour, a bit less vanilla and says each cookie should be about 1 and a half tablespoons and not rolled but dropped directly on baking sheet. My depression era mother was always a bit short of the chocolate chips and only used 1 cup which I have increased to almost 2. I did try your recipe and must admit they are good but not sure about the extra cup of flour but suspect after all these years this may be more a matter of familiarity. As for the chocolate chips, I prefer dark chocolate these days but by grandchildren prefer a mix of white and dark chocolate and one also like walnut bits added in. Thanks for the recipes. Will now see if I can make a pumpkin cheesecake that will come out looking as good as yours.
Thank you, Pierre, for sharing this with me! I hope you love the pumping cheesecake!
I just made this cookie recipe tonight. They came out AMAZING! Chocolate chip cookies are my boyfriend’s favorite and he loved these cookies. Very easy to make and the dough is delicious (I had a few nibbles). Only bad thing is my oven is horrible so it took longer than the 10-12 min to bake. I had to babysit my cookies a few more minutes until ready to come out. Adding the extra chocolate chips on the cookie balls is on point and made them extra gooey chocolatey. Yum! Thank you Natasha for an excellent recipe as always! Love you girl!
Hello Amy, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. I hope you will love every recipe that you try!
For your chocolate chip cookies: on your video you say 2 teaspoons of baking powder but on the recipe it says 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Which one should I follow?
We first published this chocolate chip cookie recipe in 2012. We are always working on perfecting our recipes so we modified the recipe with a tad more salt and switched to 1 tsp baking soda. This resulted in a softer, chewier cookie that spread perfectly with or without chilling the dough.
Natasha I really love your cooking. You are amazing. Please guide me is there any difference between baking soda and baking powder or they both are same. In chocolate chip cookies you have used baking soda can I use baking powder instead of soda?
Waiting for your reply
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, which requires an acid and a liquid to become activated and help baked goods rise. Conversely, baking powder includes sodium bicarbonate, as well as an acid. It only needs a liquid to become activated. We first published this chocolate chip cookie recipe in 2012. We are always working on perfecting our recipes so we modified the recipe with a tad more salt and switched to 1 tsp baking soda. This resulted in a softer, chewier cookie that spread perfectly with or without chilling the dough.
I am very interested in trying this recipe, if I want to add nuts, do I have to omit or reduce anything from recipe?
Hello Kathy, I don’t think you have to omit anything from the recipe. If you give it a try, please share with us how it goes.
Do you think I could use Butter Flavored Crisco instead of real butter?
Hi Jill, I have not tested this with Crisco to advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that recipe!
I followed the recipe to the T. I don’t know why my dough did not look like yours. It was way too sticky. I measured the flour the correct way. What could the problem be?! I was looking forward to these cookies. ☹️ I put them in the fridge to see if that would help.
Hi Leslie, you might consider if you substituted any of the ingredients? It’s usually either due to measuring or swapping ingredients. Also, make sure your butter isn’t overly soft or melted.
Hi. I would like to have ingredients in grams please
If you are at the recipe, you may click on “Jump to recipe” and click “Metric” to see the ingredients converted to grams. I hope that helps!
Hi natasha! Your cookies are sooo good!! I just want to know why you add more brown sugar (1cup) than the white sugar which is only 1/2cup? Why not same amount? Will it affect the texture of the cookie if i’ll only add 1/2cup of brown sugar?
Hi Jem, it is to help the cookies get the right color.
Your video for cookies says baking powder the printable one says baking soda which is the right one
Hi Donna, we added a notation in the video for it at that step but there’s no way to refilm that portion in a published video. The written recipe is correct. It is 1 tsp of baking soda. We have tested both and loved the results with baking soda so much more which is why we updated the post. I hope you love these chocolate chip cookies!
Hi Natasha, if I plan to use this recipe but I want to incorporate bananas to it. Should I remove/reduce anything from the ingredients list? I also want to make them into bars, so I might just pour the whole batter into a pan. I saw in some recipes that they add milk.. I trust your recipes, would appreciate your advice
Hi Patrice, I haven’t tested this with a banana to advise.
Hey Natasha,
These are the absolute best cookies I’ve made, and I’ve tried a few from tasty, bon apetit e.t.c. The recipe was simple and came together in no time at all. Also loved the fact that I could bake these straight away and not have to waste time freezing.. they came out gorgeous, soft, chewy and delicoius! Only had dark brown sugar on hand so I subbed the quantities with the granulated sugar so that they don’t darken too much. I also halved the recipe to make about 18 cookies and baked for 15 min. Thank you for this foolproof recipe that will definitely be my go to!
I’m so glad Bessie! Thank you for sharing that amazing review with us!
Natasha, you are the best cook/baker I ever seen…I noticed one thing…On this recipe I watched the video and you said Baking Powder but in recipe it says Baking Soda…I think it should be Baking Soda, Is that right?
Hello Patricia, we first published this chocolate chip cookie recipe in 2012. We are always working on perfecting our recipes so we modified the recipe with a tad more salt and switched to 1 tsp baking soda. This resulted in a softer, chewier cookie that spread perfectly with or without chilling the dough.
I made these cookies for work and they were gone within an hour and I ended up making a double batch they loved them and I definitely will be making these again. Would love some other cookie recipes like peanut butter, snicker-doodle, White chocolate macadamia. I just love your recipes and youtube tutorials.
That’s just awesome! Sounds like you found a new favorite work treat! That’s so great!
These were top notch…loved by all…this will be my go to recipe now.
That’s so awesome Tami! Sounds like you found a new favorite!
It’s superb! My kids love this recipe
I added m&ms and stuffed kitkat in some of my cookies, came out great too. Thanks for this
You’re welcome Cielle! Thank you so much for this great review!
Thank you Natasha for the recipe..i didn’t make the cookies well, i guess i put a little more flour into it..i have a question; i don’t have those mixer paddles, what i have are the regular metal mixers that are often used when mixing with the electric mixer..would that have made a difference? But for sure i will strictly follow your tips on measuring the flour..thank you in advance for your reply.
Antoinette
Hi, adding too much flour would change the consistency of the cookies. I think you could make the whisk attachments work on low speed, you would just want to take it out and use a wooden spoon when adding the chocolate chips. The paddle attachment is better because the mixture is so thick.
We love these cookies, we have made it so many times and they turn out good every time.
That’s just awesome! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I dont know what i did worng with them but they didn’t spread but the taste really good
If your cookies ended up too thick and did not flatten, the usual culprit is too much flour. Be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup.
Also, form cookies with 3 Tbsp of dough. If you make them too large, they will take longer to spread.
Literally my husband’s favourite cookies! He absolutely loves them!
Thank you for this recipe Natasha!
Happy husband -> checked!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles