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
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 😀.
It pays to read a recipe all the way through. I wish I had a refrigerator big enough to hold multiple cookie sheets since these need to be refrigerated for an hour prior to baking. And then there is the baking one sheet at a time. Don’t really have time for that! Way too time consuming for simple chocolate chip cookies.
Hi Melissa, yes, it’s definitely best to read through a 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 🙂
So I’m going to have to put up another comment. These may have been a little more time consuming than I had planned but sooooo worth it!! The batter was so smooth and delicious and once baked….SOOOO GOOD!! Best chocolate cookies I think I’ve ever had.
Awww that’s awesome! Thanks Melissa 🙂
do you have to refridgerate the cookie dough before baking?
Yes, if you don’t they will become flat. Refrigerating them create a thicker, softer cookie.
Question do you use dark brown sugar or light brown?.
Light brown. Sorry I didn’t specify. I updated the recipe to state light brown 🙂
Thank you !
Natsha, I prefer crispy cookies instead of soft. How can I make these chocolate chip cookies where they will be crispy?
Hi Gail, I would just bake them an extra 2-3 minutes or to desired doneness to dry them out more.
Absolutely the best cookies! Went down a treat at our local village hall coffee morning here in Devon, England last Saturday! Thank you.
Susanne, I’m so happy you enjoyed those cookies. Thank you for sharing that with us!
These are delicious. I’ve made them twice in the last couple weeks. First time followed the recipe exactly. They were great. Second time, used salted butter on accident…even better. I’ve had a request to make them minus the chocolate chips next time. This is because the batter is THAT GOOD!
Melissa, That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hi,
Just when I decided to make some cookies, I remembered I am out of flour. Waahh. But I am wondering, why do you and others use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the milk chocolate chips ones?
You can use milk chocolate if you prefer. I like the semisweet ones because they aren’t as sweet and the cookies don’t turn out too sweet 🙂
What kind of butter do You use for this recipe?
Hi Marie, I use softened unsalted butter. I usually use either organic or regular if I’m doing a ton of recipe testing 🙂
I made these choc.chip cookies today my husband really like them .I forgot to put them in the refg.for 1hr. but they still was great
Thank you Martha for the nice review, I’m glad you liked them 😀.
Why do u refrigerate the cookies dough balls 1 hour before baking ?
Liliya, by refrigerating them, cookies will rise better and don’t spread out like pancakes during baking. Hope this helps 😀.
thanks so much for this recipe! i had to make some cookies for my sons school, quick, and didnt have any baking soda. This did the trick, and will be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on…Thanks again! 🙂
Chris, thank you for the nice review, looks like you might have a new favorite :).
OMG Natasha!!!!!! THANK YOU !
I just made these cookies and they are PERFECT! I have been looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe for years, and I found it, thanks to you! I wanted a cookie that didn’t flatten out. The baking powder is the trick. This will be my only recipe I ever use :o)
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing your awesome review! 🙂
Hello!!
What kind of butter do you use?
Can I use imperial or land o lakes?
If I want to use land o lakes,how many sticks should I use because the sticks come 1/4 cup each so how many Tbsp?
Thanks
Hi Marie, the brand of butter does not matter. 1/2 cup = 8 Tbsp so you need 16 Tbsp butter for this recipe.
Thanks!!!!
I tried the recipe and they are delicious !! Thanks a lot
Hello Natasha!! Was going to make those today, but dont have brown sugar. Can i substitude with granulated sugar?
Hi Tanya, I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say for sure since baking is a science and I don’t know how the little bit of added molasses in the brown sugar will affect the recipe overall. I think it would work though. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Natasha, made this cookies with my boys today and we love them! The cookies came out just like yours on the pictures! Thank you for such a great recipe, definitely a keeper!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe! 🙂 thanks Olga 🙂
Can butter be substituted with margarine or crisco? Thanks!
Possibly but I haven’t tested it myself. Since baking is so much a science, I can’t really recommend something I haven’t tried. Sorry I can’t be more help.