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
Filed Under
I made these cookies a few times and my kids love them. I have used a lot of different chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years and I have to say, this recipe is the best!
They are soooo good.
Thank you!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Made these for my sweetie for valentines day. He loved them and just used a spatula for mixing as I didn’t have a paddle attachment. Wonder if I could have use a beater attachment?
Hi Margie, I think you could make the whisk attachments work at low speed; you would 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
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it many times now. I split it into 3 so I can add other ingredients like walnuts and cranberries. My whole family loves them. I have made many of your recipes and just love them all. Thank you!
You’re welcome and so glad to hear that, Amanda. Thanks for your great feedback!
Hello! The butter and sugar formed like clumps, making it hard to cream. The butter was removed from the freezer for 30 minutes. Could it be that it needed more time to soften?
Hi Hiba, it souns like your butter needed more time to soften. It needs about 1 1/2 hours out of the fridge and even longer out of the freezer to soften.
These were very soft ! For some reason they didn’t flatten but were dome shaped .. still soft though
Hi Anna, I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavor! I recommend checking the tips in this part of the recipe: Why did my Cookies not Flatten? 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 it 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.
Didn’t know about fluffing before scooping , thanks !
Hi Natasha, love your recipes. Can I use this recipe for a pizza pan cookie
Hi Pat, it’s hard to say without trying that myself, so I can’t advise. If you happen to test that, I would love to know how you like it.
I sure will, I make my kids and grandkids one every year for Valentines Day. The recipe I use I don’t like any more. Going to try yours and thank you for replying. Have a blessed day!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Pat! It isn’t this recipe so great.
These are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I was a little worried about using an icecream scoop because that’s way bigger than I normally make cookies but they turned out fantastic. I took them out just like you said when they were just beginning to brown on the bottom and looked underbred on top and they were amazing! I think I’ve always overcooked my cookies in the past. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Yay, love it! Thank you so much for your great comments and feedback, Sandra. We appreciate you sharing that with us.
They tasted good, however, they didn’t flatten out. They increased in size though. Were also a little bit dry. Maybe I didn’t beat butter with sugars long enough, or my baking soda gone bad. I will try again next time
Hi Yulia, make sure to check out our troubleshooting sections where we go over common issues and what causes them.
I am super excited to make these cookies for my friend’s birthday. I am thinking of halving the recipe and making 13 cookies, instead.
Does it work if I halve all the ingredients & bake a smaller batch?
Thanks so much for your amazing recipes. 😃
That should work too, Sarah. If you click on the serving size in the recipe card, you can slide it up or down to scale the recipe ingredient lists. I hope that helps!
Hello! I had a problem last time creaming the butter and sugar. They formed like small chunks and got stuck in the whisk, making it hard to cream. Why do you think that happened? The butter was removed from the freezer half an hour before using. Thank you!
Hi Hiba, since it was removed from the freezer and not the fridge, it may need more time to soften. It sounds like it wasn’t soft enough.
Made these today! They are fab! Big ,chewy, tasty . Perfect companion for milk or as an ice creme sandwich!!
Love it! Thanks for sharing, Kim. I appreciate your great review.
These cookies are absolutely delicious! I follow your blog but also spend tons of time on Tasty. I recently had an insatiable urge to stuff some chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter. I used this recipe for the dough. Then mixed 2 cups peanut butter with 1 cup powdered sugar. I used the small trigger release scoop to make balls, & after froze them on a baking tray lined with nonstick foil. Once nice & frozen, (30 mins or so), I used the medium scoop for the dough. Scooped the dough, flattened it slightly, plopped a frozen peanut butter ball on top then molded the dough around it; as if it were play dough. Then baked for 25 mins. They were done closer to 24 1/2 mins, but apparently oven times won’t do that 🤷🏼♀️. Anyways I had two peanut butter balls leftover that I gave to my dogs & enough dough to give a committed baker a nice treat; it wasn’t enough to make a stuffed cookie. Try out this modification, & let me know what you think. Thank you for the inspiration!!
Wow that sounds so delicious!! Thank you for sharing!
I think the recipe is a good one but my cookies came out cake like and I think I added to much flour. I’m going to have to try this recipe again.
Hi Sue, that could be the culprit. I would recommend rewatching the video tutorial and making sure that the ingredients are measured correctly. Here’s a guide on How to Measure Ingredients. I hope that helps.
Hi, can i substitute the chocolate chips for macadamia?
Hi there, I’m sure that would work too!
This recipe is awesome! I’ve used it 3 times and the cookies come out amazing!! It’s now a family favorite and the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I use!! 🙂
That’s just awesome! I’m happy you found a family favorite, Cindy!
These are amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and I think the key is taking them out when the center still looks doughy..this creates the perfect cookie as it cools! Thank you! I love your recipes!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I made these this weekend and they turned out great. I just have a question, On the video you used baking powder & a 1/2 tsp of salt and in the recipe it doesn’t mention baking powder & it says 1 tsp of salt. Which is correct? You get a slight salt taste at the end.
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. The recipe also used 1 tsp of salt. I would recommend following the recipe always as we can update that compared that the video that we cannot edit anymore.
I made these tonight and they came out great! Me and my husband couldn’t stop eating them. I followed the instructions to a T and didn’t dip my measuring cup into the flour and they came out soft, chewy, and delicious. Thanks Natasha!
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your experience making this recipe.
Hi! Could you share the brand of ice cream scooper you use? Myself – and my 2.5 year old – make this recipe once a week. We’ve broken a scooper or two. Natasha’s looks a lot more durable than the ones we’ve come across. Thanks!
Hi Mike, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Hi, I want to try these cookies but couldn’t find all purpose flour anywhere. Can I switch to plain?
Hi Simone, All-purpose flour and plain flour are just different names for the same thing, so that should work. All-purpose is widely used in the US whilst plain is used primarily in the UK and Australia.