Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These chocolate chip cookies are extra soft, chewy, and they turn out perfect every time. This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need!
I feel like a homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe is something that everyone should have in their recipe box. Several years ago I spent quite a bit of time working on creating the perfect chocolate chip cookies and after several attempts I finally landed on the perfect recipe.
So today I wanted to share this classic cookie recipe with you again because it’s one that I make all of the time! Not only are these the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll every try, but they’re also:
- Easy to make
- Incredibly soft and chewy
- Full of melted chocolate chips
- Super delicious!
Every single time I make a batch of these cookies, people go crazy for them and ask how to make them. That’s when you know you have a good recipe!
Recipe Ingredients
First things first, you’ll want to gather all of your ingredients for these cookies. Let’s discuss each one and why it’s important to this recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour: The flour is what provides the structure and helps them hold their shape. Just be sure to measure your flour correctly. Too much flour can lead to cookies that won’t spread in the oven.
- Baking Soda & Salt: The baking soda helps give the cookies a little lift and the salt enhances the flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: I prefer to stick with unsalted butter in all of my recipes, since the amount of salt in salted butters can vary quite a bit between different brands. Only have salted butter on hand? Simply reduce the salt in this recipe to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: The brown sugar adds moisture and creates chewy chocolate chip cookies while the granulated sugar helps them spread.
- Eggs & Vanilla Extract: There are two eggs in these cookies to bind everything together plus a little vanilla extract. I also recommend using room temperature eggs as they will disperse more evenly into the dough.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: I find that semi-sweet chocolate chips work best because they’re not too sweet and not too bitter. Feel free to use any kind that you prefer though!
How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you’ve gathered all of your ingredients, it’s time to prepare these easy chocolate chip cookies. Here’s a simple breakdown on how to make the cookie dough and bake the cookies.
- Whisk together your dry ingredients: Whisking the dry ingredients separately will help ensure that the baking soda and salt are evenly dispersed in your dough.
- Beat the butter and sugars together: I like to mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until they’re well combined.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract: It’s best to mix in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. I also suggest stopping to scrape down the sides of your bowl at this point and mix one more time before adding the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients: You only need to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Mix in the chocolate chips: You can either gently fold in the chocolate chips or mix them in on low-speed until they’re fully incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Chill the cookie dough: This will help ensure that your cookies don’t spread too much in the oven. I find that two hours is the perfect amount of time!
- Scoop and bake the cookie dough: I suggest using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop because it creates the perfect cookie. The cookies will also take about 10 to 12 minutes in a 350°F (177°C) oven. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are set and the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool: I prefer to let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 to 10 minutes, since the residual heat helps the cookies finish setting up. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Quick tip: If you want perfectly round cookies, use a spoon to shape the warm cookies once they come out of the oven.
FAQ’s
How do you prevent your cookies from being flat?
If your cookie dough is too warm your cookies may spread more in the oven. If you find that they’re spreading too much, chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator longer. You can also place the balls of cookie dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to speed up the process.
What do I do if my cookies don’t spread in the oven?
Too much flour in your cookie dough can lead to cookies that won’t spread very much. If you find that your cookies aren’t spreading very well, simply press the cookie dough down to flatten them some before baking.
Can you freeze the cookie dough or baked cookies?
Yes! I suggest scooping the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once the cookie dough is frozen, you can store it in a freezer bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake the cookie dough from frozen, add an additional 1 to 2 minutes of baking time.
Baked cookies that have cooled completely will freeze well for up to 3 months too. Simply place the cookies on the counter and thaw to room temperature before serving.
Can I prepare the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it?
Yes, you can! The cookie dough may be covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If it’s too hard to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes and that should make it easier.
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, make sure to stir your flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- If you forget to bring your eggs to room temperature, simply place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Feel free to swap out the semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate or even milk chocolate chips.
More Homemade Cookie Recipes!
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Classic No-Bake Cookies
Video Tutorial
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups (345 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230 grams; 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 12-ounce package (2 cups; 340g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients and continue mixing until just combined, then mix in the chocolate chips on low-speed until fully incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Cover the cookie dough tightly and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Once the dough is almost chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator, using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and drop onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure to leave a little room between each ball of cookie dough.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown and the tops are set. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
O boy! I am craving chocolate chip cookies now looking at these pictures!! These look so good, wish I had some for after dinner treat!!
Thank you so much, Ami!
I love your cookie recepies they are delicious oatmeal cranberry now im making chocolate chip know they are gonna good as well. I make batches at a time roll them in a log and freeze them to have on hand. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Latasha! I’m glad you’re enjoying the cookie recipes!
Each scoop is two tablespoons? Mine don’t look anything like yours. After 10 minutes they are still large mounds. Should I be flattening them somewhat? They smell delicious though!
Hi, Pat! I use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop when measuring the dough. And I don’t press them down, they do flatten some as they bake. I’m wondering if maybe there was too much flour in your cookies and that’s why they stayed so large? Did you scoop the flour out of the container or spoon & level it? I hope the cookies still turned out good for you!
yummy Thanks fpr sharing
I made this recipe twice by now. I baked for 10 minutes and turn to be just how I like it. Soft and yummy. Another batch I baked it for 12 minutes and it’s crispy.
Delicious recipe. Thank you very very much??
So happy to hear you liked the cookies, Yurika!
These are the best I have ever made!
I’m so glad you liked the cookies, Jayme!
I plan on making these tonight and I have a few questions .
Are you supposed to pack the brown sugar ?
Do you sift the flour ?
I typically just lightly pack the brown sugar and there’s no need to sift the flour, but make sure to spoon & level it instead of scooping it out of the container.
I made these cookies last night , and they were so so good , they came out so soft and chewy. MY kids ate 2 of them as soon as they came off the cookie sheet and went on the cooling racks even though they were still hot . Even my most pickiest child loved them. I am making some more tonight to take to my parents tomorrow for them , my sister and brother . Great Recipe Thank you for sharing it.
So glad you and your kids enjoyed the cookies, Justine!
Bombdiggidy. Best ive ever made. Holler girl!
Glad you liked the cookies, Noah!
Forgot to rate.
Tastes excellent! Baked some for my neighbor and they loved it! Soft and chewy. Best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made and tasted!
So nice of you to bake cookies for your neighbor, Brielle! I’m glad you liked the cookies!
Hi I just baked your oatmeal raisin and your oatmeal cranberry. White chocolate cookies and they were a hit! Now I want to try these but I only have milk chocolate morsels. Is it ok to substitute the semi-sweet ones with the ones I have?
Yes, they’re just a little sweeter than semi-sweet but that would be fine!
This is the second or third time making this recipe and they are delicious. However, I have run into a dilemma. I make these cookies for gift boxes that I transport from Kentucky to Tennessee (about 2 1/2 hours) for New Years Eve. At this point I am going to have to try to make three batches of these cookies on Friday night along with two other types of candy. I was wondering if I could make the dough ahead of time ( a couple days) and bake them on Friday to cut down on the labor on Friday night.
I’m glad you liked the cookies, Cindy! You can make the cookie dough 2-3 days in advance, cover tightly, and refrigerate it. It may be a little hard to scoop at first. If so, you can leave it on the counter for 20-30 minutes and that should help. Or you can scoop out the cookie dough, roll into balls and store in the refrigerator covered tightly, then just bake when you’re ready. Hope that helps!
I have made these 2 times now. I do 1 teaspoon scoops perfect size for my kids. And I put double the amount of vanilla. And I cook 8 mins. But love these
So glad you like the cookies, Melinda! I just made a batch the other day 🙂
Baked 15 minutes and they’re still raw. Followed recipe exactly too.
Every oven is different, but it sounds like yours may not be hot enough? Have you tested your oven temp with an oven thermometer? Baking times are always a suggestion, you need to bake the cookies until the tops are set and edges lightly browned.
Can I reduce or cut sugar? It’s too sweet for me.
You could probably reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup. But keep in mind that sugar is what helps cookies spread, so you may need to flatten them a little to help them spread if you do.
Tried this recipe and substituted the sugar with honey. They turned out awesome, the best chocolate chip cookies I have made! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe it will be a staple in our house.
Glad to hear that the cookies turned out great with the honey, Terrell!
Can dark brown sugar be used in this recipe? Will it make the cookies dark in color?
Yes, that’s fine! It will make the cookies a little bit darker.
This recipe is perfect! I added dark chocolate m&m’s to the top right after I took them out of the oven. So good!
So glad you liked the cookies, Dani!
Mine look like soft mounds but the taste is just right for us. This will be our choco cookie recipe. We loved it.
Sending thanks from the Philippines
You want to make sure to spoon & lever your flour, if you scoop it from the container it can cause that to happen. I’m glad you liked the taste of the cookies though!
I made these for the first time in my new home I purchased last month and I have to say….. they’re AMAZING! My children can’t stop sneaking a cookie here and there! Best cookie recipe over come across . Great advice on how to make them chewy… mine came out tasting like bakery goods. Thank you again!!!??
So happy to hear that, Michele!
ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RECIPE but can this dough be frozen?
Yes, absolutely! You can freeze balls of cooking dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, once frozen place in a freezer bag/container. You can bake the cookie dough from frozen for an additional 1-2 minutes or thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed.
Hey love….this recipe was amazing!!!!….it worked out so well….instead of using mixing bowl…I heated the butter and sugars on the stove on a very low temp….also I used self rising flour….my family couldn’t stop eating them…I made half a batch and making the rest tonight….thanks for sharing have a great week!!!!……?
So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed the cookies, Ranada!
Quick question, do we have to wait the 2 hours? It’s getting closer to my kids’ bedtime and I want to make these before they go to bed so they can also enjoy them :).
If you don’t chill the cookie dough, the cookies will spread some. How much they will spread just really depends on how warm the butter is in the cookie dough. You could bake a dozen and see how they turn out? If they spread too much, then I would chill the dough. You could also scoop it and freeze the cookie dough balls for 15-30 minutes and that may help speed up the process. I do have a small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe that only requires 10 minutes in the freezer. Here’s a link: https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/small-batch-chocolate-chip-cookies/.
Wow I just made these tonight and they are going to be my got to recipe! Thanks so much for the super instructions to! To bad we can’t share photo’s on here tho. My grandson is going to absolutely love these.
In case anyone is wondering about the salt…..I only had salted butter and did as the recipe instructs and decreased the salt down to 1/2 tsp perfect results!!
So glad to hear that, Sheri! If you have Instagram you can tag me there or just e-mail me a picture too! 🙂
I tried this recipe and I thought it was very sweet for my taste.
There is some way to make less sweeter without changing much the recipe?
Thks!
You could reduce the sugar by 1/4-1/2 cup. Keep in mind that sugar also helps cookies spread, so if you reduce the sugar you’ll want to slightly flatten them otherwise they may not spread well.
will it still be chewy if i refrigerated the cookie dough? thank you in advance!
Yes, absolutely!
Cookies Were Amazing. My Daughters Loved It! & Husband Ate About 4 Once Cookies Were Done. & Let Me Tell You Hard to Find Cookies ? He Likes. I Will Definitely Be Keeping This Recipe In My Home. & Will Be Using For Upcoming Holidays. Perfect!
Thank you, Yolie! So glad everyone enjoyed the cookies!
Made these tonight and they were delicious! The family devoured my first batch as soon as it cooled. My sister made cookies last night from another recipe, and she must not have known your flour trick—they ended up a bit mountainous—so you’ve given me the tool to earn some sibling superiority. Thanks!
So glad the cookies turned out great for you!
Seriously the most amazing homemade chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. This recipe is perfection! Thank you. ❤
Thank you, Rylee!
About what size cookies would this recipe yield? I would like to try these very soon.
Once they’re baked, the cookies are about 2.5-3 inches in diameter.