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!
These cookies turned out perfect! This will be my go-to chocolate chip recipe from now on. I gave a batch to my brother yesterday for his birthday and he loved them, as did my hubby! Thank you !
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Krystal!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten! And so easy to make. Thanks Natasha for the great recipe!!
I’m so glad to hear that!
This is seriously THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe EVER. THANK YOU! I will forever be using this recipe. They stay soft in a container on the counter for awhile!!!
That’s wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing, Mara. We’re glad that you loved our recipe a lot!
Hi, Best chocolate chips cookies I ever made. I know you can freeze the dough but what about the cookies, can they be frozen once baked ?
Hi Monique, 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.
Hi Natasha, Thank you for your quick response. I was referring to freezing the cookies once baked, do you think it could be done ?
I haven’t done that myself to advise, in an airtight container that may work.
Ok tks. Will try and let you know.
Thanks again for some sharing great recipes.
Best ever soft cookies. 👌😍😍
Thank you so much for the best easy recipe.
Thank you so much for your great review!
In your video you say 2tsp of baking soda and the written instructions says 1tsp. Which is the correct amount?
Hi Lynn. I included a note in the recipe post above that the recipe was updated. Follow the written recipe in the recipe card above, this is the most up to date version.
Great recipe, I followed exactly except I made my cookies a little bigger & kept them in the oven for 15 mins. They came out beautifully! Nice & soft. This recipe is definitely a keeper, Thank you!
That’s great! I’m glad were enjoyed.
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I’ve made this many times for myself and bake sales (to raise money for children’s cancer research) and it’s always a huge win. They’re not too sweet and not plain, and the softness is really nice.
I’m so glad you love it!
Oops – add 5 stars!! Got too excited to write in and then my oven timer went off!!!
No worries, I’ll makes sure to add the stars. Thank you!
We like smaller cookies so I used a 1.5 Tbsp scoop, slightly rounded, and baked them for 10 minutes. Perfection!! Love the recipe and the hints on when to pull them out of the oven.
Sounds great and I’m glad that you enjoyed the cookies!
Truly the BEST soft Chocolate Chip cookie recipe EVER. I like crisp but my band of boys LUV the soft and wonderful texture.
I give it 10 stars…..all of the tips you give make a big difference. I am a long-time baker. I enjoy trying new and different ways to enhance and perfect any recipe
That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you for the feedback. I’m so glad the recipe was a hit.
sorry meant to do 5 stars on the previous comment. cookies were very good and chewy
No worries, updated it. Thank you so much for the review!
very good cookies… nice chunky and chewy.. try a different recipe before and it was a disaster, cookies got flatten
Awesome! I’m glad that you chose to try our recipe, thanks so much for the review.
These came out mostly great, but I would put a full cup of sugar along with the cup of brown sugar. These were definitely not sweet enough for me and mine but still very tasty. We froze half and baked half to enjoy.
Followed the recipe and the 12 minutes was perfect. Five stars!!
I’m so glad to hear that.
The recipe was easy to make would just suggest that the prep time is quite a bit more than 10 minutes. Just creaming the sugar and eggs takes 5 minutes not counting getting ingredients out and measuring. I’m freezing them to bake as needed but I bet they will be delicious!
Hi Natasha, the best ever! How long can I keep these in an air tight container at room temp for.? Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Angel! The cookies should stay soft for day. We store ours in an air-tight container for a few days. You can also refrigerate or freeze the dough until ready to bake and they bake up perfectly every time.
Hi Natasha me and my friends were having a pool party before school starts and I made this brownie recipe and they were finished when the party was over, this recipe is amazing and I love how they were super fudgy and chocolatey. Thank you for an amazing recipe
Hi Abby! How fun. Thank you for trying my recipe. I’m glad you loved it!
Hi Natasha so I’m going to try and make this recipe but I’m wondering what butter do you use for these cookies because my butter sticks are very long and I see in the video yours are very short.
Hi Blair! The sticks of butter come scored with measurements on the wrapper. This recipe uses 1 cup of butter (my sticks are 1/2 cup- or 8 TBSP). You can also click on the “metric’ button to change to grams (227 g).
can you use salted butter and leave out 1 teaspoon of salt as directed?
Thank you
Yes, that will work!