Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever! They are soft, chewy, fudgy, and super light and fluffy. You will fall in love with just one bite!

I have been hard at work perfecting this recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and I am so excited to share it with you! I've included for you my best tips and tricks that make these cookies worthy of their bold title. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients:

• Butter- unsalted and softened to room temperature: Butter is the most popular and most recommended type of fat to use when making cookies. It adds amazing flavor and is what causes the cookies to spread during baking. Creaming softened butter with sugar produces a cookie that is incredibly light and fluffy.  
  • To soften butter to room temperature: Set it out on the counter for at least 1 hour. It should be firm but pliable. To speed up softening you can cut it into even-sized pieces, about 1 tablespoon each. 
• Room temperature eggs: Eggs that are room temperature are easier to mix into the dough, which means less mixing, which is always recommended! 
  • Bring eggs to room temperature by leaving them out for 1 hour or by placing them in a bowl of room temperature water for 5 minutes.
• Extra egg yolk: Adding an extra egg yolk gives these cookies a super soft, chewy, and fudgy texture. 
• Baking soda and baking powder: Baking soda and baking powder work together to help the cookies rise and make them more soft and fluffy.
• Brown sugar and white sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and makes the cookies chewier and more caramel-y. The acidity found in molasses also reacts with the baking soda and helps the cookies to rise. White sugar adds a crispy exterior through caramelization. 
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is another secret ingredient that makes these cookies extra thick and chewy.
• Salt: Salt is required to bring out flavors. If you are using salted butter reduce the added salt to ¼ tsp.

How to Prevent Flat Cookies: 

Cookies spreading too much in the oven is a common problem that can be easily avoided with a few simple tricks: 

• Check that your baking powder and baking soda aren't expired: Baking powder and baking soda are leaveners that cause the cookies to rise. If you have baking powder/soda that is slightly older or are unsure, you can check to make sure they are good to use. Pour boiling water over baking powder and vinegar over the baking soda. Both should produce a strong reaction if good to use. 
• Refrigerate the dough before baking: This is arguably the most important step. If the butter isn't cold enough when the cookies go into the oven it will melt before the flour has a chance to cook. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight and up to 48 hours before baking.
• Don't grease your baking pan: A greased pan will promote the melting dough to spread more and farther, while an ungreased pan gives the dough some friction to hold onto and resist spreading. The best way to keep the cookies from sticking is to use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 
• Bake at a lower temperature: An oven that is too hot is a big contributor to butter melting too quickly. Bake the cookies at 325° for the best results.
• Let the pan cool completely between batches: If you put cold cookie dough onto a hot pan it will immediately start to melt and spread. I like to use 2 baking pans so one can cool while the other is in the oven.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1. Add the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar to a large bowl and use a hand-held mixer to cream them together until light and fluffy.  
2. Add the room temperature eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until just combined after each. Be careful not to overmix. Mix in the extra egg yolk and vanilla until smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. 
4. Add the dry ingredients in 2-3 batches and mix until just combined after each. Working in batches prevents the dry ingredients from going all over the place (you want them in the bowl, not on the floor). Once all of the dry ingredients have been added mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
5. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough. The dough will be thick and sticky. 
6. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour and up to 48 hours. You can also freeze the dough at this point for up to 3 months. If freezing the dough I recommend forming the dough into balls and then placing them in a large plastic bag. 
7. Adjust your oven rack to the middle position, preheat your oven to 325°, and line 2 large baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. 
8. Form the dough into balls that are about 1-2 tablespoons in size and arrange on the prepared baking pans 1-2 inches apart. I also like to dot the tops with a few extra chocolate chips, which makes for a prettier presentation. 
9. Bake the cookies in batches for 15 minutes. Allow the baked cookies to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes and then use a spatula to transfer to a plate or wire rack.   

Cookies taste best fresh out of the oven. Store leftovers in an air-tight container for 1 week at room temperature.

Enjoy! 

More Cookie Recipes: 

• Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Edible Cookie Dough

📖 RECIPE

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

The best recipe for soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies

4.69 from 16 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Chilling time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 30 cookies

Ingredients

  

½1x2x3x

• 1 cup unsalted butter* (2 sticks), softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 and ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• In a large bowl, use a hand-held mixer to cream the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy.
• Add room temperature eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
• Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2-3 additions and mix until just incorporated after each. Don't overmix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once all of the dry ingredients have been added mix until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 325°F and line 2 large baking pans with ungreased parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Form the dough into balls that are about 1 and ½ tbsp. big. Arrange the dough on the prepared baking pans 1-2 inches apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven, one pan at a time, for 15 minutes. The cookies will be very soft and will continue to cook and set as they cool on the pan.
• Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before using a spatula to transfer them to a plate or a wire rack.
• Cookies taste best warm and fresh out of the oven. Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for 1 week.

Notes

*If all you have is salted butter reduce the added salt in the recipe to ¼ tsp.

Store cookies or cookie dough balls in a large plastic bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

If baking cookie dough from frozen, add 2 minutes to the baking time. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.1g | Protein: 2.1g | Fat: 7.5g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 13.3g | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg