The BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
There’s just something so irresistible about chocolate chip cookies! If I’m ever in a restaurant and I see some kind of chocolate chip cookie dessert on the dessert menu, 9 out of 10 times, that’s what I order. Or maybe a tiramisu or chewy brownies. Mmm…
I digress.
I’m not a fan of thick, fluffy, cakey cookies. After many failed attempts, however, I finally perfected the type of cookie I love.
This chocolate chip cookie recipe is my holy grail of cookies! Soft and chewy with perfectly crispy edges and melty chocolate chunks. And my favorite part is that they STAY soft all week long!
Scroll down for the recipe!
5 star review
“Best chocolate chip cookie recipe EVER! This is my go to and always a hit! I quadruple the recipe so I can freeze some. I just scoop them out lay on parchment paper 3 high put them in a freezer ziplock and freeze! Absolutely love these cookies!”
—Patricia
Recommended For This Recipe
Essential Baking Tools For Cookies
I created a list with all my favorite baking tools to make the most perfect chocolate chip cookies every time!
🍪 Chocolate Chip Cookies are kinda my thing. My family loves them so much, but I must say these brown butter chocolate chip cookies are tied for first place in my book!
Best Tips For Making Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve received several questions about best practices for chocolate chip cookies, so here they are.
- Follow directions to a T. First, make sure to follow the recipe exactly as it is stated below. Baking is not like cooking; any minimal change may alter the final result.
- Don’t overmix. Make sure you DO NOT overmix the wet and dry ingredients. It’ll let air into the batter and make the cookies go flat. No bueno.
- Baking soda only! Make sure you’re using baking soda, not baking powder. Huge difference.
- Just chill, man. Yes, chilling the cookies in the fridge for at least 20 minutes is annoying, but I guarantee the longer you chill the dough, the better the flavor will be.
- Check your oven temp. Lastly, if you run into issues, check your oven temp. Not all ovens are the same, but you can check to make sure your oven is heating properly with an oven thermometer.
How do you keep chocolate chip cookies from going flat?
- Don’t overmix the dough. TRUST ME. It will be a DISASTER of flat, pancake-like cookies. It happened to me on Thanksgiving Day! *facepalm*
- Chill the dough for at least 20 minutes to solidify the ingredients. This will help the cookies spread less. Promise, it’s worth the wait!
How do you keep chocolate chip cookies soft?
- Underbake them. To keep these chocolate chip cookies soft, make sure you bake them no more than 11 minutes. You want them to be slightly underbaked. They will continue to cook as they cool anyway; however, it does help them stay softer for a longer time.
- Let them cool. Once you take them out of the oven, let them cool completely before serving. Place them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. When you’re ready to eat, just pop one in the microwave for 10 seconds to get those melty chocolate chips. YUM!
How To Freeze Cookie Dough
Whenever I make a batch of these cookies, I usually freeze half of the batch so I always have cookie dough ready to go in the freezer! It’s the best New Year’s resolution I’ve ever stuck to.
Here’s how you can do that too:
- Chill the cookie dough balls before freezing. When you form the cookie dough balls, place the cookie dough balls that you want to freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
- Transfer to a freezer bag and freeze. After about 1 hour in the fridge, remove the baking sheet with the cookie dough balls and make sure they are firm. Transfer them to a freezer bag for storage. They won’t stick together if they are chilled/firm.
- Bake cookies whenever you want! All you have to do is remove the dough balls you want to make from the freezer bag and bake straight from the freezer. You may want to bake them for 1 extra minute since they are frozen, and it will still be delicious! I’d vouch to say they taste even better!
Frozen cookie dough lasts up to 3 months in the freezer.
Comes in handy for rainy days, when the company comes over, or when you need a sweet pick-me-up. I’ve received SO many compliments about these chocolate chip cookies. Seriously, go make a batch right now (or maybe another one of my cookie recipes) and freeze the rest. You’ll thank me later when that craving kicks in! 😉
I hope you make them and LOVE them!
The BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (let it cool for 5 minutes)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate, (or any chocolate of your choice)
- Flaky sea salt for garnish, (optional)
Instructions
- In a mixer or a large bowl, mix the (cooled) melted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and well combined.
- To the same bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix by hand until just combined. Do NOT overmix. Fold in chopped chocolate.
- Using a cookie scoop, form dough into balls (approx. 1.5 tablespoons of dough).
- Place the dough balls in the fridge for, at least, 20 minutes (the longer, the better). You can also freeze the dough balls for future use.*
- When ready to bake, remove the dough balls from the fridge. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place dough balls on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt (optional). It's ok if they are a little undercooked, they will continue to bake as they cool.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Click here for all your cookie baking essentials.
- Follow directions to a T. First, make sure to follow the recipe exactly as it is stated below. Baking is not like cooking; any minimal change may alter the final result.
- Don’t overmix. Make sure you DO NOT overmix the wet and dry ingredients. It’ll let air into the batter and make the cookies go flat. No bueno.
- Baking soda only! Make sure you’re using baking soda, not baking powder. Huge difference.
- Just chill, man. Yes, chilling the cookies in the fridge for at least 20 minutes is annoying, but I guarantee the longer you chill the dough, the better the flavor will be.
- Check your oven temp. Lastly, if you run into issues, check your oven temp. Not all ovens are the same, but you can check to make sure your oven is heating properly with an oven thermometer.
- Don’t overmix the dough. TRUST ME. It will be a DISASTER of flat, pancake-like cookies. It happened to me on Thanksgiving Day! *facepalm*
- Chill the dough for at least 20 minutes to solidify the ingredients. This will help the cookies spread less. Promise, it’s worth the wait!
- Chill the cookie dough balls before freezing. When you form the cookie dough balls, place the cookie dough balls that you want to freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
- Transfer to a freezer bag and freeze. After about 1 hour in the fridge, remove the baking sheet with the cookie dough balls and make sure they are firm. Transfer them to a freezer bag for storage. They won’t stick together if they are chilled/firm.
- Bake cookies whenever you want! All you have to do is remove the dough balls you want to bake from the freezer bag and bake straight from the freezer. You may want to bake them for 1 extra minute since they are frozen, and it will still be delicious! I’d vouch to say they taste even better!
By far the best soft chewy chocolate chip cookies ever! It’s also a great base to add whatever you want (just take out chocolate chips), cranberry with white chocolate, any variation with nuts etc. This gets a workout around the holidays. I’m a professional Chef and this recipe is phenom! 6 Stars!
So happy to hear, Te’O! Thank you for your comment!
This is a keeper! Perfect texture…crisp, but chewy inside. The fact that I can whip up a batch in one bowl and not even use the mixer is a plus! I think I will try a cranberry white chocolate version next time.
So happy to hear, Vivian! I hope you enjoy the cranberry white chocolate cookies too. Thank you for your comment!
the best recipe!
So happy to hear! Thank you for your comment!
These cookies are the best! No other recipe comes close to this! My whole family loves these cookies! I’m the new best baker in the family!
So happy to hear, Elijah! Thank you for your comment!
Thanks
You’re welcome, Lili! Thank you for your comment!
Made several times and turned out great every time! Such an easy recipe too
So happy to hear! Thank you for your comment!
These cookies are phenomenal! I don’t even like dark chocolate, but I sure do now!! Will be my go to cookie recipe from now on. The only changes I made were that I used salted butter because I don’t have flake salt for the topping, I added one egg yolk, and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch because it keeps cookies soft longer. I also kept the dough in the fridge for two hours. Amazing recipe.
So happy to hear! Thank you for your comment!
Literally, the only chocolate chip recipe I make now the ratios are spot on. They’re perfect. It’s all my man asks for.!! Made these so many times over the holidays and still making them again this next year!!
So happy to hear, Taylor! Thank you for your comment!
So yummy! My first time using this recipe and I’ll sure be using it again! I used all white sugar because I didn’t have brown sugar, but they still turned out delicious!
So happy to hear, Annie! Thank you for your comment!
This is the best cookie recipe i have ever tried and will definitely continue to make it!!
So happy to hear, Victoria! Thank you for your comment!
Dipped them in chopped pecans right before baking. Ahhhhhhh
Sounds delicious, Marilyn! Thank you for your comment!
Very good cookie and so easy to make. Never used dark chocolate before and I like it. And the sprinkle of sea salt on top just takes it to gourmet, according to my husband. It’s a keeper, thanks for sharing.
So happy to hear you and your husband enjoy, Linda! Thank you for your comment!
This cookie recipe is absolutely perfect. I have tried soo many recipes to get thin gooey cookies, but none of the cookies turned out the way I wanted it to, except this recipe. Thank you soo much for this recipe, my hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe is now over all thanks to you ❤️
So happy to hear, Saniya! Thank you for your comment!
Perfect recipe, cookies are crunchy and chewy at the same time! So happy with this recipe!
So happy you loved it, Holly! Thank you for your comment!
This is such a funny cookie. I find myself explaining to people – they’re thin but they’re delicious! Perfect chewy/crunchy texture. They make amazing ice cream sandwiches because they retain their chewiness even when frozen!
So happy you loved it, Kathy!
This is the best cookies of all time that I’ve tasted they we’re fudgy chewy and chocolatey I personally love that combo and is my new favourite recipe and I have it a lot of recipe books.☺️👏🍪🥛
So happy you loved them, Elísa!
This is my new favorite chocolate chip recipe! They come out the perfect texture. My only suggestion to take it up by another notch is to brown the butter when you melted! It only takes about five minutes. I’ve been doing my cookies this way for a few years and now this tactic combined with your recipe makes the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.
So happy to hear, Kate! Thank you for your comment!
Best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.easy to follow small batch recipe! My kids and everyone loves these when I make them.cripy edges and chewy soft center.
So happy to hear, Trisha! Thank you for your comment!
Thank you so much. This is a fantastic recipe. I love that I just need one bowl and taste and texture are divine. After about 8 mins or so baking, I take the trays out and slam them on the counter to flatten out the cookies then put them back in the oven for a couple more mins till golden.
So happy to hear! Thank you for your comment!
I am 13 years old and have recently started balancing baking on top of the sports I do. My family’s favorite treats are chocolate chip cookies. I had another recipe I liked, but I decided I wanted something more gooey. I used chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks, and I substituted part of the chocolate for small toffee pieces. The recipe was already amazing, but this substitution really elevated the contrast between the sweet and salty flavors. They are the perfect traveling snack: easy to store, not messy, and just firm enough that they don’t break.
So happy to hear, Ruby! Those sound like amazing substitutions! Thank you for your comment!
I am 13 years old and have recently started balancing baking on top of the sports I do. My family’s favorite treats are chocolate chip cookies. I had another recipe I liked, but I decided I wanted something more gooey. I used chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks, and I substituted part of the chocolate for small toffee pieces. The recipe was already amazing, but this substitution really elevated the contrast between the sweet and salty flavors. They are the perfect traveling snack: easy to store, not messy, and just firm enough that they don’t break.
The BEST recipe. These are delicious and I’m a cookie connoisseur
So happy to hear, Shel! Thank you for your comment!
Even though I burnt the bottom a little bit they where still sooooo gooey.
So happy to hear you still loved them, Caitlin! Thank you for your comment!
These are by far the best chocolate chip cookies! They have definitely earned a spot in our cook book! I also love that you only need one bowl so there is less dishes to do :)
So happy to hear, Anna! Thank you for your comment!
Such a perfect recipe, will only use this one going forward! Had so many compliments, a lot of them being that they taste very much like m&s fresh bakery ones!
So happy to hear, Olivia! Thank you for your comment!
BEST COOKIES IVE EVER MADE. Before baking i gave them a light squish down, and right when i took them out of the oven, i gave the tray a light tap against the counter to flatten them further. Also used milk chocolate instead of dark. tastes like my favourite cookie shop felix and norton!
So happy to hear, Aly! Thanks for sharing!