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
I followed this recipe exactly as directed and mine were also very dry, inside and out. They did not spread. I thought it was strange to use baking powder instead of baking soda so I think that was the problem.
HI Karen, I haven’t had that same experience. When you measured your flour, did you spoon it into the measuring cup and then scrape off the top for an accurate measure? I have found that if you dunk the measuring cup directly into the flour bin, you can get about 25% more flour because it compacts it. I hope that helps!
Tried these tonight. They did not come out soft. The outside is hard like a scone (like another reviewer said). I followed the recipe exactly. Disappointed since I made these with my son to leave for Santa 🙁 If anyone else wants to make these, I wouldnt leave it in the fridge for an hour. Pretty sure that was the problem. Maybe 20-30 mins would be better.
Oh No!! It is difficult to say what could have gone wrong without being there, but I am always happy to help troubleshoot what could have gone wrong. Were any of the ingredients substituted or changed? Were any of the ingredient proportions changed? Also, when measuring flour, make sure you spoon it into the measuring cup and scrape off the top. This is the best way to measure for baking without a kitchen scale. Pushing the measuring cup into the flour bin can get you up to 25% more flour (I have tested this theory). I sure hope that helps!
Help! Mine seem to be scone like!
They didn’t speak out at all. What did I do?
Sorry. Meant spread out!
Hi Michelle, did you change anything in the proportions of ingredients – make sure the ratios of ingredients are the same or it can affect the texture of the dough.
Can I substitute the light brown sugar for dark brown sugar?
Hi Lily, I haven’t tried that substitution but I think it would work. Your cookies will probably be a little deeper in color with the additional molasses in dark brown sugar.
These cookies are absolutely delicious and super easy to make. I chilled the entire batter before rolling and baking and came out perfectly. The raw batter tastes even better. Well done on an incredible recipe.
From baker in South Africa
Elzaan, thank you for the nice review! 😬
The molasses in the brown sugar of your chocolate chip cookies is acidic requiring the use of baking soda, not baking powder.
Shouldn’t the dough be chilled before portioning?
Hi Tina, I chill after portioning the cookies – you can even freeze the cookie dough balls if you want to store them longer.
The boys and I made these tonight and they were so yummy. Mark added sprinkles to his, so his was the best 😉
I’m glad to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Nataliya!
I am so disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly and my cookies ran together and at 20 mins of baking they are still runny not baked. What could be the reason? 😔
Hi Julie, the #1 cause of that is if the cookies are not refrigerated before they are baked (step #5: “Refrigerate prepared cookie dough balls for at least 1 hour before baking”) If you bake them while the butter is softened, they will turn flat and run together. I hope that helps for next time! Most chocolate chip cookies work best when the dough balls are refrigerated prior to baking.
Hi. I was wondering if it would have been better to use baking soda instead of baking powder to have more control over the gas bubbles that form inside the cookie? And or would it help to use one egg, and maybe one egg white instead of 2 eggs? Just thinking out loud.
Hi Linda, I haven’t experimented that way so I’m not sure but this recipe doesn’t really have an ingredient in it to activate the baking soda unless you activated it with vinegar before adding. I just haven’t tested it so I can’t really make those recommendations.
How much is gonna be 2 1/4 cup of flour in grams? Thank you!
Hi Lina, 1 cup flour is about 120-130 grams. This is about 290 grams floor total.
Your recipe is very similar to the one on the back of Hershey’s Chipits Milk Chocolate Baking Chips. I was a little bummed out when I saw that it required baking powder, baking soda and 2 and 2/3 cups of flour. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong, but it seems whenever I make a cookie recipe that calls for those three ingredients. The cookies taste a bit off.
I’ve made Peanut Butter cookies with just Peanut butter and an egg and they were delicious! Reading about why baking powder and soda is used in cookies, it said Baking soda needs some acid in order to activate and create the carbon dioxide needed to lift the batter, and you want to use only enough soda to neutralize the acid (since leftover soda in the batter tastes gross). I still find that they get too puffy for my liking and that I can taste a bit of the baking powder, baking soda and flour after they are done cooling completely. Any idea why? I’d appreciate any input! Your cookies looked like they turned out fantastic! Not too puffy like mine.
Hi Tasha, maybe it is because you are using a recipe with soda? My recipe does not have baking soda, but only baking powder. Baking powder does not require that acidic ingredient and should be tasteless. Check the ingredients on your baking powder and I would recommend getting one that does not have aluminum – some people have problems with that one and it can affect flavor if you are sensitive to it (not to mention, consuming aluminum is generally a bad idea ;)). I hope that helps!! 🙂
These are the best! This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies-I’ve made them lots of times! I usually use a little less chocolate chips than the recipe calls for(that’s just my personal preference). Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome Syann! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe as much as I do! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review! 🙂
I didn’t have a regular ice cream scoop so I used my 1.5 tablespoon scoop. It made 32 cookies and they are perfect, soft and cake like with a small crunch on the bottom. I also used mini chips because that is what I had on hand.
I’m glad you love the recipe Natalie! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hi! Sorry to bother you, but I am cooking the cookies right now, and I didn’t refrigerate the balls before I baked them, will affect the cookies majorly?
Hi Avery, the cookies are much more likely to flatten and run together if they are not refrigerated before baking. Refrigerating helps them keep their shape and they will be softer if they don’t flatten out as much.
Thank you so much! They did taste like they had wayyy too much brown sugar but I put in the same amount as the recipe said. They did run together and I will definitely start refrigerating dough before I bake it! Thank you again, Natasha!
These cookies are sooooo good! I loved them! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes!
You’re welcome Alena! Thank you for following and sharing your wonderful review!
Omg! It is amazing!!! I love your vanilla cupcake recipe so I know that I would love this chocolate cookies recipe as well, and I’m right! Love it. I didn’t have time to put the dough into the fridge but they turn out sooooo good!!!! My kids and my nieces finished them even they were still in cooling rack -:). Thanks again Natasha.
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing 😀
Hi Natasha,
If I put it in the refrigerator can I leave it in the bowl then scoop the cookies out? I don’t have much room in my refrigerator to do that. I have a Christmas cookie recipe that says I can leave it in the bowl so I’m wondering about this one.
Hi Kara, if you leave it in the bowl for several hours, the dough will become firm and difficult to scoop and roll. You would probably have to soften it a little before rolling the cookies. You could form the balls and place them on plates, touching each other to save space, cover with plastic wra and refrigerate and that should work fine.
I live in high altitude, over 6,000ft. Would I need to make any changes? Also if I wanted the cookies smaller how long would I need to bake them for? Thanks.
Hi Betty, since I don’t live in a high altitude area, I really don’t have any experience with high altitude baking and there’s no way for me to test it. You might do some research on google to see what changes are required for baking cookies in high altitudes. Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! The are sooo good!
My pleasure Katharina! I’m glad you enjoy them!
Use home raised chicken eggs for much better results!!!
YES!!! Home raised chicken eggs are better for any recipe!!
Hey Natasha, in reading the instructions I noticed you write to refrigerate for at least one hour. If I made the dough tonight and refrigerated over night to bake in the morning, would they still turn out as amazing?
Yes, absolutely! That would work great. I would suggest covering them with plastic wrap so they don’t absorb any smells from the fridge but that would work great. I’ve even frozen the dough before and baked from frozen – it takes a little longer to bake but it works well 🙂
How does the baking time change if baking from frozen?
Hi Gayle, it depends on how soft or “done” you like your cookies to be. I would give it an extra 2-4 minutes.