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
Hi Natasha! I made these cookies yesterday and they were delicious, and I scored major points with my sisters. I also think that maybe you should try and use 2 1/2 cups of flour because it makes it taste better and if your rolling by hand add a little flour into your hands because they were a little sticky. I have one last question, when I was adding the egg in i did one at a time but it was really runny and clumpy, do you know what I did wrong?
Hi Lilah! Thank you for the feedback. I’m glad they were delicious.
The temperature of your ingredients matters, your eggs should be room temperature and your butter softened, this will help them mix together. We have had great success with this recipe using 3 cups of flour when measured correctly. Watch my tutorial on how to measure your ingredients correctly. I hope that helps.
How many minutes do you warm the cookies.
Video says 13- 15 minutes and website says 12.
Hi Lilah! It can take anywhere from 12-15 min at 350˚F (we bake 12 minutes), until edges are just turning golden. The tops should still look under-baked.
I made these cookies and they are so good. I followed recipe and made only 17. I used 3T cookie scoop. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely make again!
Perfect! I’m glad to hear that it was a success.
The best “soft” chocolate chip cookie recipe I have found yet. weigh the flour. 3 cups of flour is 360g. Use a large cookie scoop, not an ice cream scoop. I got 28 cookies that baked perfectly at 14 minutes. I will be using this recipe in the future.
Hi Rob! That’s great to hear, thank you for sharing that with us. 🙂
Baking soda or powder.
Written recipe says soda. Video says powder
Hi Annabel, I put a note above in this blog post that the recipe was updated since we filmed the video because we had better results. You can follow the written instructions. 🙂
Hi!
The video states 2 t. B. Powder and 1/2 t salt.
But written recipe states 1 t. baking soda and 1 t. salt.
Please clarify.
Thank you!
Hi Cynthia! I put a note above in this blog post that the recipe was updated since we filmed the video because we had better results. You can follow the written instructions. 🙂
followed the exact recipe and they were bad. had a cake like consistency
Hi Angel. I’m sorry to hear that. Watch my tutorial on how to measure your flour correctly HERE. This is often due to using too much flour.
Natasha,
Perfect cookie dough recipe. A tip use a digital kitchen scale, 3 cups of sifted/fluffed flour weighs 360 grams. Works for me every time.
Thank you for sharing that with us! Happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.
The best!!! I was wondering if I could freeze these cookies? I love your recipes.
Thank you for your good comments, Kasey. Do you mean freeze them after baking? I don’t usually freeze them baked but if you’re referring to freezing the dough before baking, I have some tips in the middle of the recipe.
Just made these cookies they are delicious….mine a bit big and will have to invest in a trigger ice cream scoop….thankyou for the recipe…I live in Turkey so our chocolate chips aren’t as big as yours but ….who cares …still chocolate. Your baked doughnuts are a big favourite of ours too…tried several of your recipes all turned out great…
So glad you enjoyed our recipes! Thanks so much for your good comments and feedback.
The cookies are easy to make. They taste great and are truly soft if you follow the directions.
Thank you for sharing, Cheryl! I’m glad you loved the recipe. 🙂
Dear Natasha
I love your recipes. I made the chocolate chip cookies and they tasted good but did not spread. Any suggestions
Hi Maria! See my notes in the blog above for “why did my cookies not flatten.”
Be sure to measure your flour correctly.
Great recipe, love the cookies. Just a couple comments, you don’t mention adding the vanilla at any time in the instructions. The ingredient list is missing the flour and also lists the chocolate chips as 1 cup, though the instructions ask for 2 cups plus a few.
Hello there, thanks for your feedback. I did mention adding vanilla in number 2. You may click Jump to recipe to view the recipe card, you’ll see a more clear view of the ingredients list. Hope that helps.
Natasha, I made the Chocolate Chip Cookies and they were liked by everyone. I will be definitely making them again. Thank you and I have also tried your Chocolate Fudge brownie. Thank you.
Great to hear that you’ve enjoyed the recipes. I hope you’ll love them all!
What modifications do you recommend for high altitude (Denver)?
Hi Stephanie! I don’t have any experience with high altitude baking. King Arthur baking has a good article on this, I will link it HERE.
I tried the recipe today, nice and easy, quick and delicious. The family loveded.
thank-you.
from delta.
So glad to hear that, Delta! 🙂
By far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever made. Super soft and fluffy. I was a little skeptical because they came out huge after using an ice cream scooper to scoop the dough and they looked underdone after 12 minutes in the oven. But after they cooled they were PERFECT.
Lovely to hear that! Thanks for sharing, I’m glad that it went so well!
Cookies are just fabulous! – followed recipe and hands down the best chocolate cookies ever! Look no further people for another recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that, Kathleen! 🙂
I am, by all means, NOT a baker. It took many many years and moving 1400 miles away from family to become a somewhat baker. I’m a very technical person (by trade) and I followed this recipe to the T… well except the chocolate chip part. Had to mix white and milk chocolate chips cause it’s all I had. Let me tell you, this has got to be THE BEST recipe I’ve followed for chocolate chip cookies! All my immediate family give it 10 stars. Thank you so much for posting this.
Hi Larissa! That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you for trying my recipe.
I’ve been looking for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe and I’ve had some real flops. The last time it was the Tollhouse recipe off the package and they were awful. This time, I followed all the wonderful tips and they were awesome! Thanks, Natasha!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience trying out our recipe, we’re happy that you love it!