If you need the best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, look no further! These homemade chewy chocolate chip cookies are everything you want and need a chocolate chip cookie to be: soft and chewy in the centers, buttery on the edges, and full of chocolate chips in every single bite!
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I’m not sure there has ever been a time in my life that a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven has not sounded amazing. There is nothing like the classic cookie recipe, which is partly why it’s one of the most popular cookie recipes–if not the most popular cookie recipe hands down.
Of course, everyone has their favorite chocolate chip cookie they swear is the absolute best, but I’ve been baking this recipe for over a decade and it comes out perfectly every single time! It truly is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Ever.
It’s the perfect combination of soft and chewy with a perfectly buttery edge. It’s an easy recipe to whip up whenever the chocolate chip cookie craving strikes, it bakes within 10 minutes, and it’s a no chill chocolate chip cookie recipe! Because honestly, who has time to wait for cookies to chill in the fridge for 10 years? (Or realistically, an hour but in the chocolate chip cookie universe, 1 hour might as well be YEARS).
Let’s get down to cookie business and get baking!
Reasons Why You’ll Love This Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:
- Perfect Texture: As mentioned previously, these are incredibly soft in the centers with a perfectly chewy bite.
- One Bowl: This is a one bowl cookie recipe that you can make with a standing mixer (or hand mixer) or by hand with a rubber spatula! (In college I made these all of the time by hand!)
- No Chill: You do not have to chill the cookie dough! However, I give all sorts of tips and tricks below about how to chill the dough if you want to (and even freezer tips too!). It’s an incredibly flexible recipe that is nearly impossible to mess up.
- Flavor: I’m telling you, there are 3 reasons why these Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are so flavorful: Vanilla Extract (I use more than the average chocolate chip recipe and once you try, you’ll never stop!), Espresso Powder (coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate), and Butter (I use a little more than most classic recipes and there’s a reason why: so much more flavor. Seriously.)
- Pro Tip: Make a double batch of these chewy chocolate chip cookies and freeze the dough for later! Then you can bake up cookies whenever the craving strikes!
If you love anything and everything chocolate chip, this chocolate chip cookie recipe has been used a variety of ways, including these Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Bar recipe, this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, and as a crust for this Chocolate Chip Cookie Peanut Butter Pie. Plus, try this Nestle Toll House Version!
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients:
This recipe calls for basically pantry staple ingredients so you can make these whenever you want!
- Unsalted Butter: this recipe uses a little more butter than other chocolate chip cookie recipes, and it shows. 😉 This recipe is way more flavorful in my opinion!
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: the molasses in the brown sugar keeps these such flavorful and soft cookies while the granulated sugar keeps them chewy with crisp edges.
- Eggs
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Espresso Powder: an optional ingredients, but espresso enhances the flavor of chocolate without overpowering the flavor. I use espresso powder in tons of recipes!
- Vanilla Extract: Definitely use pure vanilla extract (not the imitation kind)—the flavor makes all of the difference in these cookies.
- Chocolate chips: I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, because I think they’re the perfect blend of richness and sweetness. However, you could use milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate too.
The espresso powder is what transforms these from a Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe to the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. It’s a simple ingredient but it enhances the flavor of chocolate and makes these cookies really full bodied in flavor. It’s an ingredient I use in almost all of my cookie recipes and chocolate recipes. Plus, you don’t need any cornstarch or instant pudding to make these cookies thick or soft–they’re the perfect cookie the way they are!
How To Make These Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Butter: With a hand mixer, standing mixer, or a rubber spatula, cream the unsalted butter until light and fluffy.
- Sugar: Next, add in both the brown sugar and white sugar, and mix until fluffy and combined.
- Egg: Add in the egg and mix until combined.
- Baking Soda, Vanilla & Espresso Powder: Add in baking soda, vanilla extract, and espresso powder and mix until combined.
- Pro Tip: Another reason why these are the perfect chocolate chip cookies is due to when we add the baking soda into the cookie dough. Adding the baking soda into the butter mixture before adding in the flour allows the baking soda to react quicker, which is why these are so thick and chewy.
- Flour: Add in the flour and mix until combined.
- Chocolate Chips: Lastly, add in your semisweet chocolate chips!
- Chill: So you do not have to chill these cookies, but if you want to (I explain the difference in cookie texture down below) this is when you’d do it.
- Bake: Scoop cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop (or two spoons) onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool on the baking try.
- Pro Tip: Another pro tip here from yours truly: add a few extra chocolate chips on top of the baked cookies. It gives them a little more curb appeal, if you will, when they’re done! And, you can also sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt (flaky sea salt). I love a salty chocolate chip cookie, but it’s totally optional!
How To Chill Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Or Not Chill):
Once the chocolate chip cookie dough is made you have 3 options when it comes to chilling and baking them.
- Bake them without chilling
- If you don’t want to chill the cookie dough or don’t have time, you can immediately bake these cookies after making the dough.
- If you choose to make these chocolate chip cookies without chilling, they will still be chewy, but they won’t be as thick as they would be if they were chilled.
- Why won’t they be as thick? The warmer butter is, the more cookies spread.
2. Chill the dough in the fridge
- If I have the time, I like to chill the dough for 30-45 minutes or so; just enough time to get the butter nice and cold again.
3. Chill the dough in the freezer
- This is my favorite method! It’s quick and effective.
- Scoop the dough and space them evenly on the cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for 5-8 minutes.
- Yes, this does require you make room in your freezer. 😉 But, it’s the quickest way to get those thick and chewy cookies!
The Best Temperature To Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies:
I’m going to let you in on a little secret–you can bake these soft chocolate chip cookies at 350 degrees *or* 375 degrees. If you bake at 350, you can expect thicker cookies that are really extra soft in the centers. If you prefer a chewy cookie (that is still soft but slightly thinner and a pinch crispier on the edges) then bake at 375. The hotter temperature will cause the butter to spread quicker, which will lead to a thinner cookie with a more caramelized butter flavor (kind of like the flavor of browned butter but without actually having to brown the butter).
Best Storage Tips:
Store baked chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container or a ziplock bag for 3-4 days. Personally, I think chocolate chip cookies are best when eaten within 1-2 days. They just have a richer flavor and they have a really nice texture (the longer they sit, the drier they get).
If your cookies start to get dry and crumbly I like to add marshmallows with the cookies in the airtight container. The cookies will suck up the moisture from the marshmallows, which will make them stay so soft!
Freezer Tips:
Once the you have made the cookie dough, shape cookies into balls and place them (evenly spaced apart) in an airtight container lined with parchment paper (this keeps the cookies from sticking to the container as they freeze). Store in the freezer.
When ready to bake, take them out of the freezer, place them on a cookie tray and bake immediately. Since they’re frozen, you will need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations:
I love a classic chocolate chip cookie with semisweet chocolate chips, but you can definitely add in chopped nuts, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or even M&Ms. There’s a lot you can add to this recipe if you want to change things up!
Other variations of this dough that I love are these Caramel Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies, these Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies, and these Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookie Bars.
Easy Baking Tips For Making The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Every Single Time:
- Don’t Over Bake: Remember to take your cookies out of the oven when they are just barely starting to brown on top. They will look underdone, but they will continue to cook on the baking tray while they cool. This will make sure they have the perfect soft and chewy texture.
- Don’t Over Mix: While using a hand mixer is so, well, handy, it can be easy to overmix your cookie dough. You want light and fluffy butter and sugar, but if you mix too much, the cookies might come out dry, tough, and flat.
- No Chill Recipe: Remember, these are no chill chocolate chip cookies; however, you can chill them if you want a really thick chocolate chip cookie. It’s a versatile dough!
If you need the best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, look no further! These homemade chewy chocolate chip cookies are everything you want and need a chocolate chip cookie to be: soft and chewy in the centers, buttery on the edges, and full of chocolate chips in every single bite!
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 + 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- With a hand mixer or a standing mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, and mix until well combined.
- Add in the egg, and mix until well combined.
- Next, add in the salt, baking soda, espresso powder and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Add in flour, mixing until combined.
- Lastly, mix in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for 20-30 minutes (you can bake these right away, but the cookies will spread more and won’t be as thick).*
- Scoop your cookies with a large cookie scoop and evenly space them apart on your parchment lined cookie sheet. (You want the cookies to be about 1 1/2 Tbsp to 2 Tbsp in size, which is usually the size of a large cookie scoop).
Bake for 10-12 minutes. You want the cookies to be just *barely* golden brown on top (this will make sure they are soft and chewy in the centers).**
- If desired, use the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to add some extra chips on top of the cookies (I do this after the cookies have cooled for about 1-2 minutes).
- Allow the cookies to cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving.
*Alternately, you can immediately form the dough into balls, place on your cookie sheet, and freeze for 5-10 minutes before baking. There are more instructions in the post on this.
**If you prefer your cookies chewy with a bit of a crisp edge, allow the cookies to bake until they are lightly golden brown, about 1 minute longer or so.
Updated 2024.
Here are some other recipes you might love:
Marshmallow Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Nutella Cream Pie
Funny Aprons says
Omg these are amazing but one of my kids is gluten intolerant, how would you substitute the flour? Thank you
Kara
Joan says
These cookies are great with the espresso powder! My coworkers loved them.