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 were delicious and a little different taste and consistency than a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe – it reminded me of a sugar cookie type. My family and I loved them! Thank you for posting this recipe. I will definitely make these again!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you and your family enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha!
Can I line cookie sheet with parchment paper and not grease? Or do they have to be greased? Thank you!
Love your website and recipes!
Hi Anna, if you line with parchment paper, there’s no need to grease the pan. They will come off the paper easily :). It’s the same for silpat.
Hi Natasha! Wanting to make these tonight but realized I only have 1stick of butter in the fridge. Would it still work? I would just need to cut recipe in half? Thank you
Hi Vika, yes you would need to cut the recipe in half, otherwise the rest of the ingredients will overwhelm the 1 stick of butter and you’ll end up with cake-like crumbly cookies.
Natasha ever since I’ve discovered your blog, I feel like I’m in good heaven. Your recipes are super easy to follow with the pictures of every step. That is honestly my favorite part! Thank you so much for taking your time to post these:)
P.s. can you look into making a cinnamon rolls recipe?
You’re welcome! Thank YOU for sharing such an amazing review!! I do in fact have 2 cinnamon roll recipes….use the search tool (cinnamon rolls) on my blog page to find them. 🙂
Amazing recipe, the best cookies recipe I made!
Just mentioning that it worked well and tasted great with only half a cup of sugar too. Which helps me feeling a bit less guilty eating a bunch;)
I love to hear reviews like this! Thank you very much Gabrielle 🙂
I’ve tried to make cookies like this for 15 years.. Tonight, as I was getting out all my ingredients- I discovered I still don’t have any baking soda in the flippin’ house🙄 And the nearest store open after 11pm is 45min away.. Luckily, the cookie gods intervened and I found this recipe that only called for baking powder! These baked up like Mrs. Crocker came by and made them herself..or dare I say, better🤔 Thanks for the ingredient tweaks and tips that made this recipe rockin’👊
LO! I am so glad it worked out for you Ali! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made these according to recipe and they turned out very chalky. What did I do wrong?
Hmm… I haven’t had that experience. Did you substitute anything in the recipe? Did you reread the instructions to see if maybe you mis-measured anything?
Over my years of many failed cookie attempts, I’d say you possibly put too much baking powder or forgot the salt.. I’ve done both more than once, with all kinds of baked goods🙄 If only my attention span was longer and reality tv was less interesting..
i tried your recipe once and I’ve been following it ever since! they taste so good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Looks delicious! About to make these tasty things!! thank u for awesome recipe.
You are welcome Natalie, let me know how they turn out 😁.
Omg yo Natasha made these babies today let them cool to room temperature after that had 1 with my cuppa coffee and mmmmm soooooo yummm and scrumptious soft and pillowy on the inside and golden and crisp on the outside wow definitely gotta make these again thanx tons for posting always hun cheers perfect for a rainy day it’s raining up here in NYC how’s the weather by you
Tzivia, thank you again for another awesome review, I’m all smiles 😬. We have the same kind of weather here so cookies with coffee sound really good right now!
Your very welcome Natasha darlin anytime oh wow so even in Idaho it’s been raining yup ditto u can say that again cookies with coffee or tea what could be better lol
I made these today and they are so yummy! I followed you’re exact recipe and it couldn’t have been any easier. These even impressed my super picky father.
Kerri, thank you for such a nice review, I’m so glad to hear that 😬.
Also another question I don’t have a kitchen aid @ the moment would these work if I use my hand mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon thanx again dear
Yes, that would definitely work just fine 🙂
Wow thanx tons Natasha @ always perfect since I have my dark semi sweet chocolate chips definitely gonna use em and wow another bonus that I can use my hand mixer or make them by hand again thanx so much for your help darlin have a great awesome hot weekend cheers
Mmmmm yummmm these look really way good and yummmm thof I’m a little confused one part of the recipe says semi sweet chocolate chips the other part says milk chocolate chips unfortunately I don’t have milk chocolate chips on hand in have dark semi sweet would it still work in reallyrics would like to make these tomorrow or sometime whenever been craving these scrumptious babies for awhile now girl
Oh goodness I didn’t even realize I had that discrepancy. Thank you for pointing that out! You can use either one but I always buy and use semi-sweet :). Dark semi-sweet would work great 🙂
Doesn’t seem to much different than the Nestle Toll House recipe, other than a small difference in the baking soda ,salt.
Hi Kristine, Most chocolate chip cookies have the same basic ingredients but varying amounts which is what makes each recipe unique. 🙂 I just took a look at their recipe and their cookies also have 1/2 cup extra sugar and half the vanilla.
LOOOOOOOVE IT , so good ! Best cookies so far !!!
Thank you Angelina for such a nice review 😁.
BEST COOKIES EVER !!!
Hi Natasha,
I don’t have a cookie scoop 🙁 should I use a tablespoon instead? Teaspoon? I’m not sure what to use but these look so good and I really want to make them!
Hi Shannon, use a heaping Tablespoon. The amount of dough should be about 1/4 cup.
How do you measure out your flour? I always weight so I was wondering which way you do it so I can try and get close to the right amount of flour
Hi Meshe, for most recipes, I fluff it up with a spoon, spoon the flour into my dry ingredients measuring cup then scrape off the top with the back of a flat butter knife.
I think i need a cookie scoop because i always have a habit of making them bigger and i never end up making the amount it says. Do you have any recommendations for a good cookie scoop that will last and is worth it? Also any recommendations for cookie sheets?
Hi Ana, the one we have is a vintage one by Hamilton Beach but I love the scoops like this one with a trigger to release dough.
Why are people saying this is time consuming? Honestly, the instructions were great, and it was really simple. And, they tasted amazing! Especially with a bit of nutella on it!
Ella, thank you for the nice review, I’m glad you liked them 😀.