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
This recipe called for baking powder? Shouldn’t it be baking Soda? I used powder as per directions and they were like balls of cake.
Hi Carolyn, baking powder is correct. If no other substitutions were made to the recipe, it could be the way in which the flour was measured. Check out my post on how to measure dry ingredients here which should help.
OH my…these are heavenly. I had what I thought was a normal cookie scoop but I guess it was giant. This recipe made 14 GIANT cookies…I had to increase the baking time but they were so yummy. What is the best way to store these Natasha?
Hi Rose! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! We keep our cookies in an airtight container 🙂 They stay soft for days!
I made these cookies for my family this past Sunday and I think there may be a error in the recipes measurements. Mine did not spread out nicely like the video shows they will. Mine stayed the shape of the ice cream scoop. I think it could be the baking powder amount in the recipe.
Hi Deborah, the most likely culprit is too much flour. When measuring flour, be sure to use dry ingredient measuring cups (that can be leveled at the top) and spoon the flour into the measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you scoop the measuring cup into the flour bin, you can get up to 25% too much flour which would affect how the cookies spread.
Hi Natasha. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I had the exact same problem. I did measure the flour just like you recommended, but mine still did not spread out and were kind of crumbly and not moist from the inside. What could’ve went wrong? Thank you
Hi Sahar, I am more than happy to troubleshoot. Was anything else altered in the recipe? Without being this it is hard to say and advise.
Hi Natsha. Nothing altered. I followed the recipe to the letter. I want to try and make these again, but I want to avoid having the same result as I did the first time. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your response 🙂
This is usually due to having the wrong balance of ingredients (i.e. not enough flour or too much liquid ingredients) causing them to spread out too much, not enough, or become cakey. Also, check your leavening and make sure your baking powder is not expired and still active. To test baking powder, place 1 tsp baking powder into a cup and add 1/3 cup hot water – it should fizz and if it doesn’t, replace your baking powder.
Dear Natasha – how do you store thee cookies? In the fridge? plastic ware or glassware – what’s best? Thanks!
Hi Lynn, we store the cookies in a covered container. They stay so soft!
I just made these cookies after seeing a repost on YouTube and THESE ARE AMAZING. My two toddlers keep asking for more. I never had a cookie that taste like this- it’s just perfect! Thank you Natasha, this will be my go to recipe for cookies from now on 💕
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). I’m all smiles!
Yea , we wanted some good yummy cookies, but we got scones…
So so sad!
Did everything you stated and put everything correct like stated.
Hi Lulu, 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
Thank you for sharing your recipe. The cookies look delicious! I will be making them very soon. What brand of butter and vanilla do you use?
I hope you love it Abby! We used Land O’Lakes butter and this vanilla recipe here.
I LOVE the tips on here. You are amazing friend! Thanks for another fail-proof recipe, my kiddo can make the recipe herself , you make them So easy to read! 😉
Aww that’s so great! Thank you for your awesome review, Anna! I love that you have your kiddo involved in the kitchen with you! 🙂
Hi natasha. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, it was sure good,everyone ate very fast. God bless you girl.
That’s so great, Olga! Thank you for sharing that with me! Blessings to you!
OMG OMG! I made this just now, oh so yummy!! And yes I ate one cookie right out of the oven! Lol.. Thank you so much Natasha for sharing your recipes! I love your site because you are so honest with your recipes. More power to you and your family!
That’s so great, Teresa! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Love how easy these were to make and how soft they turned out!
Sounds like you found a new favorite, Steph! Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me!
Nothing better then a homemade chocolate chip cookie.
I completely agree! Thank you for the great review, Becky!
Nothing beats a homemade chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven!
Isn’t that the best!! Thank you for your awesome review, Sommer!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies,hands down! My family loves them so much that I make them every few weeks.
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with us!
These cookies turned out delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Aimee!
Delicious! I have tried several different chocolate chip cookie recipes and yours is the best! They are perfect. Thanks!
Hi Millie! Thank you so much for the amazing review. I am so happy to hear that! What a compliment and that makes my day 🙂
Hi Natasha, I’m just a little bit confused…..in the directions it doesn’t say to refrigerate the dough, but in some of the comments I get the impression that you should refrigerate it. Could you please clarify? Thanks so much.
Hi Tammy, please see the note under the print-friendly recipe. We improved the recipe so there is no need to refrigerate the dough because no one wants to wait for chocolate chip cookies ;). The updated recipe is better than ever with consistent results whether the dough is refrigerated or not.
Thank you so much!
Hi. I love your recipes! Although I’m confused about if the batch needs to be chilled in the fridge before baking. Your instructions & even in your notes all above the recipe don’t state it. Yet in the comments about the flat cookies you replied that it needs to be chilled. Please clarify. Thank you.
Hi Edith, yes absolutely! We updated the recipe because the previous one did require chilling and some people chilled the dough while others didn’t and experienced flat cookies. Now whether you chill it or not, your cookies will be thick, moist and soft. I hope you love this chocolate chip cookies recipe!
I printed off a recipe for soft chocolate chip cookies, except this particular one called for only 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 1/4 cups of flour and only 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. Is this a different recipe?
No, it was not from this link because the amounts are different. I was just wondering if the recipe I used was from an earlier posting and this is your latest. The cookies were actually not too bad, but I will certainly try this recipe. Thank you so much for your reply!
Hi Janet, these are definitely improved. Here is what we updated specifically: Increased brown sugar from 1/2 cup to 1 cup, specified that eggs to be room temp, took the flour from 2 1/4 cups to 3 cups and increased baking powder to 2 tsp. There is no need to refrigerate the cookie balls before baking and they turn out great every time (although you can refrigerate if you want to).
I used almond flour instead of multipurpose flour and all white sugar because my brown sugar was too old to use. They are soooooo yummy!!! Natasha’s recipes are soooo good! I love the video instructions too!!!
Sounds like you found a new favorite, Erica! Thank you for sharing your great review with me!