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
My new go to for chocolate chip cookies . they were so good puffy and delicious.
Great to hear that you found your new go-to recipe, Dana!
I have made it twice already, and I loved it! Especially because how simple it is, so, I can only thank you! But, there is a small problem, I recently got on a diet, so, I can’t eat a lot of calories. But I love this cookies, and I want to as many as I can within the limits of my diet, so I checked the amount of calories in this recipe, and it said 248 calories, which I think does not refer to a single cookie, since that would be way too much for just one. So, I would like to know how many cookies, or cookie grams it would be to reach those 248 calories. Basically, I would love to know the seeing size for those 248 calories. Thanks again for the amazing recipe!
Hi Oliver, I’m so glad you love this recipe. I get about 26 cookies out of this recipe, the nutrition facts listed are correct, and the serving size is 1 cookie. I use an ice cream scoop to get even balls of dough about 3 Tbsp each, but I did not weigh this in grams to see how much it would be.
Anybody think 1 teaspoon of salt is to much? It was too salty.
Hi Olga, we found that this amount gives it a nice balance. You could use less if you’d like. Also, we used fine sea salt to ensure it dissolves in the batter, larger crystals may not dissolve as well. Be sure to use unsalted butter as well. I hope this helps.
I have been baking for over 50 years and these were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. They turned out exactly like the picture. Soft and chewy an absolutely delicious.
That’s great, Sharon. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m happy you enjoyed these cookies! They really are delicious and so perfect each time.
Made these tonight and they were a complete fail. Not even edible.
Hi Mica, sorry to hear that; what a bummer. I haven’t had that happen. Make sure to add the ingredients to the mixing bowl in the order they are listed and use the correct temperature of ingredients which will help.
Best recipe I have found yet and makes lots as I use a smaller cookie scoop. One tiny tweak I do as I used to use a different recipe that replaced 1 t flour per cup with 1 t cornstarch. I did it with these and they stay soft for days with no altering taste. Just thought I’d pass that along because these are the best.
Thank for sharing that with us, that helps a lot!
These cookies taste so so so so good! I make them myself multiple of times. Everyone who I share them with compliment me how good they taste. Wonderful recipe, Thank you Natasha!
You’re most welcome, Anna. It’s so nice that you share them with others too!
I’m a little confused here. The video says two teaspoons of baking powder and the recipe says one teaspoon of soda, no baking powder. Can this be clarified please?
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’m confused. Is the above recipe card updated or not? Thank you!
Hi Samantha, the recipe is updated.
I baked the chocolate chip cookies. They were amazing and so delicious !
Thank you for recipe. Much appreciated!
You’re welcome, Sonia. Great to hear that you loved the recipe!
Hi Natasha, can you substitute shortening for the butter? We have a dairy allergy in our family. I can’t wait to try this recipe. My old tried & true recipe isn’t baking the cookies like it used to.
Hi Marg, I haven’t tested this with shortening, but one of our readers has, here’s what they said “Thank you Natasha for another amazing, no fail recipe! I halved this, and used shortening (yes..) instead of butter and it came out fine” I hope this helps!
Made these tonight and they are excellent. I always use salted butter because I prefer the flavor and I added some pecans. This is the first time I didn’t over bake. I took your advise and took them out when you said and they look perfect.
I’m so glad it worked out, Kathleen! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Love this recipe. My go to chocolate chip cookie recipe! Any time I need anything, love coming to Natasha’s page ❤️
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Raygan!
When I make these , I am a rock star among friends and family . Another great recipe.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Mo!
Not sure there is any big difference with ingredients but dang following the process outlined here specifically with cook time and time on the pan is huge. These were hands down the best I’ve made. Really Really Good!
Wonderful to hear, Ben. So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Definitely a family favorite around our house. Thank you for the review.
Thanks Natasha, today was my dad’s birthday and I made these for him .I am only 13 yrs old and they were a hit ,hope to make them more and more
Wow great job! I’m glad it was a huge hit.
Hi Natasha! I’m a 11 year old who loves to bake. I’ve used this recipe several times already but this time the cookies were dry and didn’t spread. Why is that?
I even weighed the flour with a gram scale?
Hi Sophia, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to see where maybe something looked different? It’s difficult to guess without being there. Also consider if any substitutions in ingredients were made.
Hi Natasha, these cookies look delicious getting ready to make these for my grandsons. I noticed you used a hand mixer but your recipe states you use stand up mixer. I have a stand up mixer and have hand mixer which one is the best to use? Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes I be enjoyed them all!
Hi Sherree, you can use either one. Whichever is most comfortable and convenient for you.
WOW! These came out EXACTLY as described! My new favorite Choc Chip Cookie recipe. Thanks for your perfect directions.
That’s so great! I’m so happy you found a new favorite!
Do you recommend using unbleached white organic all purpose flour with this recipe?
Hello Gail, I honestly haven’t tried that to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made! They are so special and taste best fully cooled. Came out exactly as described. Over baked my first batch, but even they were fabulous. I will be making these again.
Hi Becky! I’m so glad you loved them. Thank you for sharing.
Hi, I don’t have enough soft light brown sugar. Can i substitute some of it with soft dark brown sugar?
Hi Layla, Dark brown would work here and would give the cookies richer color.