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!
this is my first time trying this recipe! my cookies came out tasty and chewy, so I will definitely will use this recipe again! <3
So happy to hear, Sooa! Thank you for your comment!
I have never left a review of a recipe in my life, but as someone who has made hundreds of chocolate chip cookies, these are the best I’ve ever had!
The care you evidently put into developing this recipe shows through your thorough yet accessible instructions, and the resulting perfect cookies!
I added in some peanut butter chips to half the dough and they all came out delicious!
to you, Jamie Silva I owe a great dept.
May your harvest be plentiful this moon!
Thank you for the rave review, Sky! Peanut butter chips sounds like the perfect upgrade. So happy you loved them!
This recipe is so good!!! I’m usually bad at baking when it comes to new recipes but I’m glad I gave it a try! I didn’t have dark chocolate or chocolate chips to put in the cookies, so I used nutella and it turned out so good, it was chewy and crispy on the sides!! I will always use this recipe when making cookies, it’s easier and more delicious, thank you!
So happy to hear, Ece! Thank you for your comment!
I make these cookies every time I’m craving chocolate!! Best cookies i’ve ever had, my friend in pastry school says they’re the best and has asked for the recipe!!
So happy to hear, Mckenna! Thank you for your comment!
I have tried at least 10 recipes before I found this recipe, this is perfect and I shed my tear once it came out so great
So happy to hear, RiRi! Thank you for your comment!
First time ever making chocolate chip cookies that came out edible! Flawless recipe and flawless cookies. Saved forever for future use!
So happy you loved it, Krystyne! Thanks for your comment.
Super easy! Came out just like the picture and delish!
So happy you loved it, Jake!
This is by far the best cookie recipe I’ve ever used, I didn’t chill my dough, and the cookies still turned out perfect. Thin and crispy but incredibly soft in the center and the salt on top made this absolutely delicious. Would’ve given 6 stars if possible
So happy to hear, Madalyn! Thank you for your comment!
I barely leave reviews on recipes but I really loved this one!! Been trying a couple of chocolate chip cookies but most of them disappointed me because I am looking for that chewy texture. Browned my butter, reduced sugar by 20g in total and refrigerated dough for only 15 minutes and it came out perfect!!! Crispy on the edges and chewy in the center… what more can you ask for!!
So happy to hear, Marian! Thank you for your comment!
Just made these with my daughter and they are absolutely perfect! Crispy on the edges and soft all the way through. Thank you for all the detailed explanations. I followed your recipe exactly and I will only make chocolate chip cookies your way from now on.
So happy to hear, Natasha! Thank you for your comment!
I have made this recipe soo many times now and they always turn out amazing, and have turned into a family favorite. I’d like to send a frozen batch ready to bake with a family member who is moving soon. What are the baking instructions after being frozen?
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’ve made these 4 times now. I’ve been making the toll house recipe for 20+ years and this is a thousand times better.
I guess we can call this my new go-to!
So happy to hear, Madeline! Thank you for your comment!
Oh my god. I am in chewy cookie heaven – these are criminally good!! Wow, brilliant recipe.
So happy to hear, Liz! Thank you for your comment!
Absolutely loved these. I actually had really soft butter, didn’t melt it, but it worked wonderful and the ratios were all perfect. I doubled the recipe and always roll them into logs and freeze them for pulling out at random when I want the warm chocolate chip cookie experience. I always sprinkle light sea salt on the cut cookies prior to baking, and this time I mixed up between dark, milk and semi-sweet chocolates and they were beyond heavenly. This is such a good recipe, I’m actually writing it down on a card so I never lose it in addition e-mailing myself a copy. Thank you!
So happy to hear, Lisa! Thank you for your comment!