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 are so easy and tasty! I was skeptical about not chilling the dough first, but it works perfectly! I’m definitely making these again!
I’m so happy you loved it, Amber!
Hey, Natasha! Do you know why my cookies come out with a very smooth surface and don’t look uneven like yours?
Hi Oksana! Did they flatten too much? If so, it could be that the butter was too soft or the oven wasn’t fully preheated when baked.
If you’re referring to them not having chocolate chips on top, watch my video to see what they look like right out do the oven. I pressed in a few extra chocolate chips on top right after they were freshly baked so they have a nicer appearance.
Love, love, love your recipes; you are always my family’s go-to any time we look up a recipe and they have never disappointed. I cannot recommend you to enough of my friends.
I am making a batch of these today but realized I ran out of butter. Is margarine an ok alternative or would I be better off with a vegetable or coconut oil?
Aww, that’s the best, Thank you for sharing our recipes with your loved ones, Robert! I haven’t tested margarine but here is what one of my viewers said, “don’t try margarine the cookie dough will be very creamy and the cookies taste flat and will be toss in the trash like mine.”
I try a lot of your recipes and they are always delish! In the past my cookies have sometimes come out flat. I see in your notes it’s because there’s not enough flour. It would be very helpful if you could include the weight to some of the ingredients too. This time I weighed my flour (weight from King Arthur) and my cookies weren’t flat!
Hi Liz! I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes. Once you’re at the recipe card, you can click Metric to see the ingredients in grams.
Thank you, I never noticed that! Your videos are so helpful and entertaining. Can’t wait to try a new recipe! Happy Holidays!
You’re very welcome! Happy Holidays!
Best recipe ever, great flavors and easy to make. Will keep this one for sure! 🫶🏻
I baked these today and was delighted with them! The recipe is straightforward & the cookies turned out great! I added just a sprinkle of flakey salt on top as they came out of the oven.
Great to hear that you enjoyed these cookies!
silly question can they be made in mini muffin pan?
I think that will work but you might get a different texture. If you try it, you can bake them at the same temperature, but start checking at 8–10 minutes.
I LOVE this recipe it looks and tastes gorgeous definitely making it again never going back!!! 🎄✨️❤️in
Just baked up a batch of cookies and I’m obsessed! 😍 This chocolate chip cookie recipe is a game-changer – everyone who’s tried ’em has given it a solid 10/10! 🍪 Even my wife, who’s not usually a chocolate chip fan, couldn’t resist having a couple (and trust me, they’re THAT good!) 🙌 Huge thanks to Natasha for sharing this amazing recipe.
Thank you for your awesome feedback!
They turned out perfect! Loved making them! Can’t wait to do it again!
Very nice cookies! Well recommend if you are looking for a good cookie recipe!
Thank you for your awesome review, Linda!
They are very delicious cookies! 🤤 I doubled the batch to give to my friend!
That’s so thoughtful! I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Serena!
These cookies were the perfect texture.loved the taste and recipe was easy to follow up
Thank you for your good comments and feedback! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies!
Love these cookies,so easy and so delicious.
Hello, I’m not sure what I’m doing, I have tried making the chocolate chip cookies several times and they do not come out right they come out flat. I follow the instructions step-by-step and still my cookies. Come out terrible.
Hi Beverly, they tend to be flat if too much flour is used. Be sure to measure your flour correctly. I have a How to Measure Ingredients (Wet and Dry) VIDEO here.
Fantastic recipe. Easy to follow and tastes great.
Delicious! Soft and chocolaty! ALWAYS a great treat! Thank you Natasha!
These cookies are soft and delicious. My son came in from ice fishing and grabbed a hot cookie . He loved them ! I wrote the recipe in my “ recipe memories” book to be passed down to my daughter.
That’s the best when our kids love what we parents make. Thank you for your wonderful review!
Very yummy delicious 😋 cookies 🍪 I made them for my family
I’m so glad to hear these cookies were a hit, Amy! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Great recipe for the holidays! I added some nuts and the family loves them.
This recipe looks awesome and the comments confirm it. The nutrition facts say they are 248 calories per serving. I am assuming the serving size is one cookie?
Hi Kathleen! That’s correct, I hope you love the recipe!