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
These cookies were awesome. Only thing I did different was to press them down slightly before baking. The first pan I left as balls and they ended up thick, round cookies. I wanted mine more flat. So I gave them a slight press and reduced the cooking time to 10 mins at 350 F. Otherwise they were delicious and easy to make.
Hi Kelly! I’m so glad you love the recipe. They shouldn’t remain round balls but they should spread nicely. If they don’t, this can happen if you’ve used too much flour. See the section common question section in the blog above- Why did my cookies not flatten? I hope that helps.
I love and always use this recipe when baking chocolate chip cookies. The only thing I changed is that I add about 1 tablespoon of Almond Milk to my batch to soften them up slightly. This makes a huge difference. Thanks Natasha for an amazing recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Jamie! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can salted butter be used in place of the unsalted butter, as it’s all I have on hand at the moment?
Hi Pamela, we like using unsalted butter so I can easily adjust the salt level. But you can use salted and just omit the salt in the recipe.
This is the ONLY chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve found that works EVERY time without fail! I also use dairy free butter and it doesn’t cause an issue. LOVE!!!!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Kelsey!
Make these cookies every week for my 4 year old Grandson. He loves them as do the rest of us! I follow all of your tips and they turn out delicious! Thank you for sharing…
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
Best recipes ever thank you
We baked it the first time and it was perfectly good, second time I tried to dec the sugar but I felt it was less chewy and harder than the first time, so you thin it’s the sugar or May be I didn’t measure well the flour. Thanks for your feedback
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Doaa!
Hey Natasha,
For how long should I preheat the oven at 350 F? For one portion of cookies? Also can I use maida instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Sheetal, we preheat it until it reaches that temperature.
Hi Natasha, I was just wondering, how many grams does 1 cookie weigh? I’m planning on making a bake sale!
Hi Precious, unfortunately I wasn’t able to weigh per cookie but the total servings is 26 cookies.
This is my go to recipe and I absolutely LOVE it!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe and so many others because they are truly helpful for people like me.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Nikki!
Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda? Can you explain how it makes a difference?
Hi Taniya, Baking soda is best for this and should not be substituted with baking powder.
Not shewy, not enough bicarbonate thé cookies were flat, thé dough mole soft because not enought flour, too much sugar….dont recommand
HI Kamilia, could your leavening have been expired? This is a pretty normal balance of ingredients and I haven’t had an issue with them being flat. Also, the temperature of the dough matters when they go into the oven – make sure to try the recipe as written without changes.
Hi, I was wondering what oven mode I should use for baking these cookies. Should I do normal bake or conventional bake?
HI Natalia, I always use conventional bake for these cookies and all of my recipes unless I provide info otherwise. Conventional is my default. I hope you love the cookies!
Hi!
I’m a bit confused and need some help. In the how-to-video you verbally say to add 2 tsp of baking powder, but on the baking instructions and on the how-to-video says 1 tsp of baking soda.
Which one should I follow?
Hi Susie, the recipe card is the most current and best version. The written recipe is correct.
Hi Natasha! I’m excited to try this out! My past go to cookie recipie uses bread flour, can I substitute this with bread flour vs All purpose?
Hi Morgan! I haven’t tested it, but one of my
viewers reported using bread flour and it didn’t work quite well for them. Bread flour has a higher protein percentage than all purpose flour which makes a difference in the texture of your baked goods. It’s what gives bread that chewy/dense texture.
Hi Natasha!
You had said baking powder in your actual video, but then I see baking soda in the written recipe.
I also saw a correction of baking soda in place of sal. Now I’m truly confused… Can you clarify the baking soda, baking powder and salt portion for me?
I’d love to try, but unsure which to go with.
Thank you for your time!
Hi Jen! Yes- there is a note above saying we updated this recipe since we had better results. The written recipe is the updated version. Sometimes we make changes to the recipe but can’t edit the video since it’s already been filmed. I hope you love the recipe!
I did see the correction, I just wanted to check and make sure!
Thank you so very much for your response!
Making them right now. I appreciate your content and upbeat personality!
Take Care Natasha
My kids are allergic to eggs and we use flax seed meal for an egg substitute and they are amazing. My family can’t get enough.
Thanks a lot for sharing! I’m glad that using flaz seed meal works too!
I must be missing it, but it says to leave some chocolate chips out of the mixture, I guess to put on top? I don’t see where it says to put them on top?
Hi MS! That’s correct, it’s in step 4 on the recipe card.
If I want to roll the dough into balls and then freeze them, do I need to thaw before baking? I’m wondering if I could just put them right in the oven frozen.
Hi Kaili! Yes, they can be. See the “make-ahead” section above for instructions on this.
When it comes to Chocolate Chip Cookies, I have always made the original Toll House recipe; however, I decided to try your recipe. Oh my goodness, this is absolutely by far the best recipe ever and I did add some chopped toasted pecans … yummy! Thank you Natasha so much for sharing all of your delicious recipes. Your videos make it so much easier to follow especially with a recipe I have never tried before. Thank you! Also, I wanted you to know that I love your cookbook. Looks like my daughter and granddaughter both want one of your cookbooks, so I will be ordering two more soon!
Thank you so much, Brenda! I’m so glad to hear that.
hands down solid recipe! my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe… seriously rave reviews from my girls and their friends!! thank you so much! i have your cookbook and I’m such a fan!! ♡♡♡
Yay that’s awesome! Thanks for purchasing my cookbook, I hope you’re enjoying the recipes!
My family has enjoyed a lot of your recipes. Thank you for all of your hard work giving us the best! I love the easy way you explain the instructions and your personality! 💜