The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
Posted Feb 11, 2018, Updated Oct 26, 2024
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This is the best chocolate chip cookies recipe ever! No funny ingredients, no chilling time, etc. Just a simple, straightforward, amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookie that turns out perfectly every single time!
Everyone needs a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe in their repertoire, and this is mine. It is seriously the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever! I have been making these for many, many years and everyone who tries them agrees theyโre out-of-this-world delicious!
Plus, thereโs no funny ingredients, no chilling, etc. Just a simple, straightforward, amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookie that turns out perfectly every single time!
These are everything a chocolate chip cookie should be. Crispy and chewy. Doughy yet fully baked. Perfectly buttery and sweet.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let’s walk through how to make chocolate chip cookies step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
The first step in making these easy chocolate chip cookies to to combine the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.
When doing this, make sure to Measure the flour correctly. Be sure to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (NOT a pyrex liquid measuring cup). Then, measure flour by scooping it into a measuring cup and leveling it with a knife.
Next, cream together butter and sugars, make sure to soften the butter early by taking it out of the fridge at least two hours before baking so it’s ready to go when you need it. You can also warm it in the microwave for about 7 seconds, but be very careful not to melt it.
Once butter/sugar mixture is beaten well, add the eggs & vanilla and beat to combine.
Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Then add the chocolate chips and beat until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Use LOTS of chocolate chips. You want at least two gooey chocolate chips in every bite.
The chocolate chip cookie dough should be easy to roll and not sticky. It should not be dry or crumbly. See photo below for the optimal texture.
Portion & Roll Dough
Once the cookie dough is finished, it’s time to portion and roll the dough. I know many people eyeball it when making cookies, however I highly recommend using a cookie scoop.
Using a cooking scoop ensures that all the cookies are uniform in size so that they bake evenly. I love this stainless steel cookie scoop and use it every time I make cookies.
At this point you can either bake your dough or freeze it.
How To Freeze Cookie Dough:
Since this chocolate chip cookie recipe makes so many cookies, I always make a full batch and freeze some. That way I have dough on hand for unexpected guests or whenever the cookie craving strikes.
I prefer to flash-freeze the cookie dough before putting it in an airtight container. To do this, roll the cookie dough into balls and space them out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then put the baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the dough slightly freezes.
Once the dough is slightly frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to an airtight container or plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
How to Bake Frozen Dough
There are two ways to bake frozen dough:
- Thaw it first: I love having dough ready to go in the freezer for impromptu guests. When you want to bake them, remove the dough balls from the freezer, set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a light cloth towel or napkin to let them thaw. Then, once they reach room temperature (after about 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen) bake as directed in the recipe (at 375 degrees F). SO easy!
- Bake from frozen: Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (ONLY if you are baking the frozen dough) and put the cookies in the oven in the beginning of the preheating time. (So put the cookies in the oven as you preheat it). Set the timer for 15 minutes and remove the cookies after 15 minutes. The top will look a little more brown than usual, but they will still taste amazing.
Bake Until they just barely look done
If you are baking the cookies immediately simply roll them into balls, place them evenly apart on a baking sheet (about 1.5 to 2 inches apart) and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
The most important piece of advice I can give you is – DO NOT over-bake these chocolate chip cookies! They will not look done when you pull them out of the oven, and that is GOOD.
At the end of the baking time, these chocolate chip cookies won’t look done but they are. They will look a little doughy when you remove them from the oven, and thats good. They may be lightly browned in a few places, which is exactly how you want them.
They will set up as they sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. I never bake them for more than 9 minutes
Cool
Cool the chocolate chip cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (or just eat them warm while the chocolate chips are melty)!
Store
Store these chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
FAQs about Chocolate Chip Cookies
The trick to making this best chocolateย chip cookie recipe gooey is to not over-bake them.
There are a few main reasons for this that I have found in my experience:
1) Expired leavening agents.ย If your baking soda or baking powder are past their prime, your chocolate chip cookies will likely flatten and spread. Even if the date on the container checks out, it still might not be good. That would be the first place I would start.
How to test if your baking soda is active: Combine 1/2 cup of hot water, 1/4 teaspoon vinegar and 1/4 tsp of baking soda. When you add the baking soda a reaction should take place immediately. If not, then you need new baking soda.
How to test if your baking powder is active:ย Addย 1/2 tsp of baking powder to 1/2 cup of hot water. It should bubble immediately. A reaction should take place immediately. If not, then you need new baking powder.
2) Over-mixing.ย If you over-mix the ingredients in this best chocolate chip cookie recipe you may end up with flat cookies.
3) Ingredients are too warm.ย Sometimes over-mixing can also lead to your ingredients becoming too warm. If you notice this happening, youย can chill the dough before baking to return the batter to room temperature.
4) Incorrect oven temperature.ย I recommend baking with an electric convection oven. If your cookies and other baked goods are not turning out properly, invest in a cheap oven thermometer to check the temperature. If your oven is baking too hot or too cold, then the cookies will not turn out well.
If your cookies didn’t flatten, here are a few things that could’ve been the problem. I have never had this happen to me in 10 years, so here are my educated guesses…
1) The ingredients/cookie dough was too cold. Cold dough doesn’t spread as well as room temperature dough.
2) You accidentally used too much flour. Be sure to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (not a pyrex liquid measuring cup), and measure the flour correctly by scooping and leveling.
3) The oven temperature is incorrect. I recommend using an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven (it’s only $7), because it can often be different than the reading it gives on the display or what the dial is set at.
4) The butter/sugar mixture wasn’t fully creamed.ย Try creaming the butter and sugar together for longer.
I have tested baking this recipe from frozen more times than I can even count. I have gotten the best results when I place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (ONLY if you are baking theย frozen dough) and put the cookies in the oven in the beginning of the preheating time. Set the timer for 15 minutes and remove the cookies after 15 minutes. The top will look a little more brown than usual, but they will still taste amazing.
Yes, this recipe halves easily. Simply decrease the ingredients by half and the recipe will make 18 cookies. Or, try this recipe for small batch chocolate chip cookies that makes 8 cookies.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
The only ingredient I feel confident that can be changed up is the mix-ins. Chocolate chips, sprinkles, peanut butter chips, etc. Do not change anything else in this recipe. If you do I cannot guarantee they will turn out. However, here are some tested substitutions.
- Butter. I use salted butter, but unsalted butter would also be great. I just recommend tasting the dough to ensure that it’s salted to your liking.
- White Sugar. You can use granulated white sugar or organic cane sugar.
- Brown sugar. I use light brown sugar in this recipe for the best results.
- Flour. I recommend using an unbleached, all-purpose flour to make these chocolate chip cookies. Many readers have used gluten-free all-purpose flour with excellent results. Or, try these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
- Sea Salt. I exclusively bake and cook with pure, fine sea salt. Sea salt is different than table salt (that is iodized), so if you use salt other than sea salt I recommend testing the recipe first with 1/2 tsp and then adjusting to your taste.
- Chocolate Chips. As you can see from the photos, sometimes I use chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate, or chocolate chips. It doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you use 2 cups.
More of our favorite cookie recipes!
- The BEST Cut Out Sugar Cookies – Perfect for Christmas (or any holiday really)!
- Make this giant chocolate chip chocolate chip cookie cake – better than store-bought and perfect for any occasion!
- For an easy and irresistible dessert, try this Skillet Cookie (Pizookie) recipe! It’s like eating warm cookie dough and it comes together in 20 minutes flat!
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies have three different forms of chocolate!
- You have to try our Oatmeal Cookie Recipe – it’s seriously the BEST!
- Classic Soft Peanut Butter Cookies – My personal favorite kind of cookie!
- Classic snickerdoodles! This is my grandma’s recipe, you will love them!
- Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
- The BEST Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies (EVER)! My favorite Christmas cookie!
- Flourless peanut butter blossoms
- Candy Stuffed Cookie Bars
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars
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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips (14 oz)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugars until combined.
- Beatย in eggs and vanilla until light (about 1 minute).
- Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
- Add chocolate chips and mix well.
- Roll 2-3 Tablespoons (depending on how large you like your cookies) of dough at a time into balls and place them evenly spaced on your prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 8-10ย minutes. Take them out when they are just barely starting to turn brown.
- Let them sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- Butter.ย unsalted butter, coconut oil and vegan butter are all good substitutes. Or, use browned butter.
- Granulated Sugar. organic cane sugar works well too.
- Light Brown sugar. Dark brown sugar works well, but imparts a stronger molasses taste.
- Flour. I recommend using an unbleached, all-purpose flour to make these chocolate chip cookies. All-purpose gluten free flour works very well too.
- Sea Salt.ย I exclusively bake and cook with pure, fine sea salt. Sea salt is different than table salt (that is iodized), so if you use salt other than sea salt I recommend testing the recipe first with ยฝ tsp and then adjusting to your taste.
- Chocolateย Chips.ย As you can see from the photos, sometimes I use chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate, or chocolate chips. It doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you use 2 cups. Choose your favorite variety: milk, semisweet, dark, etc.
- Thaw it first: ย Remove the dough balls from the freezer, set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a light cloth towel or plastic wrap to thaw. Then, once they reach room temperature (about 1 hour) bake as directed in the recipe (at 375 degrees F).ย
- Bake from frozen: Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (ONLY if you are baking theย frozen dough) and put the cookies in the oven in the beginning of the preheating time. (So put the cookies in the oven as you preheat it). Set the timer for 15 minutes and remove the cookies after 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cookies hold a special place in my heart. My friend brought me a meal after my first miscarriage (more on that below) and brought these cookies for dessert. They were so perfect I was convinced they were slice and bake, so I slyly said to her, “the cookies you brought are SO delicious, how did you make them?” Lo and behold they were from scratch and she shared the recipe with me!
Her sweet gesture (literally) took a very dark season in my life and made it a little brighter. You see, after our daughter Bethany turned one-year-old we were ready to have another baby! We found out I was pregnant with twins, but things didn’t look great. There were no heartbeats, and although it was early (7 weeks) we were fairly certain that it wasn’t a viable pregnancy. We waited two weeks just to be sure, and then I was scheduled to have a D&C and say goodbye to our babies.
This began one of the most difficult, trying times in my life. I was in a cloud of postpartum depression with no sweet baby to snuggle the blues away. My friends and family came alongside of me and I began to heal. I experienced another miscarriage and then got pregnant with my son, Gabe.
Losing three babies in such a short time changed me forever. I haven’t taken one single day of my kids’ lives for granted. They were chosen to be mine. I have some babies I never got to hold, so I cherish holding the ones I do. These cookies remind me of the sweetness and importance of friendship. I wouldn’t have made it through without a handful of close friends who I cherish. So make these cookies and share them with people you love.
Life is too uncertain to take a minute for granted. Spread love, make cookies. That’s my motto!
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I have been on a “quest” to find what I consider a great chocolate chip cookie–crispy on the outside yet softer on the inside with plenty of gooey chips. I FOUND IT HERE! First bite I could taste the pleasant hint of butter and then the chocolate! I also have a science background and so I like to measure everything possible when baking (including the chips which are sold in 11.5oz packages–yes–lol! I did add additional chips to make it 12 oz). I made the cookies in batches of 12 so I could “tweak” the cooking time to compare. My oven baked these best at 9 minutes with waiting time between batches to maintain 375-degree temp for accurate testing. I was just at our State Fair a few weeks ago– if I had submitted these I would have surely walked away with a Blue Ribbon! Retired and having fun in my kitchen!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed review, Judy. I absolutely love your tip on waiting between batches for the oven temperature to rise again after the door is opened to take the cookies out.
Is it better to use milk chocolate chips or semi- sweet chips ??
I prefer semi-sweet to make sure they are not too sweet, but if you love milk chocolate – you really cannot go wrong with any add-in you choose!
As a scientist, sea salt is NO different than iodized salt. Both have the same elemental makeup of NaCl (sodium and chlorine). Sea salt is often thought as healthier because it contains minerals, but they are at such insignificant amounts, the claim is false. Also, there is no taste difference.
Hey Stephen. Did you know that I am a chemist (my degree is in chemistry with minors in biology, Spanish and education – I taught chemistry before I had kids). I am also *very* passionate about salt. Most people use iodized salt, which actually contains Sodium Iodide (NaI) and Potassium Iodide (KI). It also contains undesirable ingredients such as: calcium silicate (an anticaking agent), and dextrose. It is not pure Sodium Chloride (NaCl), and it is definitely not as pure as other forms of naturally occurring salt. I will *only* use Redmond Real Salt. It is taken straight from the mines here in Utah. This salt is pure, unprocessed, and full of trace minerals (which are definitely important and the claim is *not* false) that give it nutritional benefits. The flavor of real salt is unlike that of processed salt – and choosing your salt wisely is extremely important. You can educate yourself more here.
The cookies turned out wonderful. However, I found I had to cook them closer to 12 minutes before they began to brown. Probably my oven.
I made the recipe twice without changing anything other than the size of the cookies. I used the metric weights, size 7 eggs (we live in NZ) and chopped up one milk chocolate bar and one white chocolate bar to equal 350 grams. The first time I made the dough the night before I was going to bake them and refrigerated in a log (like how frozen cookie dough would be sold in the supermarket) wrapped in wax paper. They came out perfectly. My son and his friends loved them so I made them again a week later. The second time they weren’t refrigerated before baking. Same great results. They didn’t last the weekend. Reading that they will last up to 5 days in an air tight container made me laugh. They won’t last. Not that they will spoil but they are too good to last. Follow the recipe and keep an eye on them while they bake so they don’t burn. Keeping them the same size helps too.
Thank you so much for this incredibly helpful and kind comment, Lisa!!!
I’ve heard different ways of freezing cookies. Roll in log, pucks, or disc or even in balls. What is the best way to preserve these until the holidays?
I think I found โthe oneโ. If youโve tried many, many cc cookie recipes like I have, go ahead and stop looking.
I’m so glad you found this recipe, Morgan! Here’s to many years of baking bliss!
Delicious!!!! The whole family loved them!
Baked these for our dear couple friends and they loved them. And even better, hubby LOVED them so much. He never lies about my cooking (unfortunately).
Thank you for an easy & amazing recipe. Will be using this for life!
My husband is the exact same way (about cooking and clothes when I ask his opinion). I see it as a gift because I know he is always telling me the truth! ๐
Thank you for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever made! I added chopped walnuts with the chips. My husband and daughter are addicted to them! Definitely my new favorite
Best ever! I use fresh ground pink Himalayan sea salt, yum! I like the bits of salt, so good!
I made this recipe and wow, I was NOT disappointed. I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies since I was a kid, but for some odd reason, always just used the recipe on the back of the chip package. I was looking for a little change, and came across this recipe. I wholeheartedly believe that the SECRET to this recipe is that sea salt. WOW, it just adds a pop. The ONLY thing I do differently is use a variety of different chips: mini chips, regular chocolate chips, white chips, mini hershey’s kisses, and chocolate chunks. I don’t measure, I just pour. The fam DEVOURED these (I think it made about 75 cookies…there are like 10 or 12 left!). Not too soft, not too hard….JUST right and wow, they truly melt in your mouth. HELLO CALORIES, HERE I COME (but worth every bite)! Thank you for a fab recipe!
“I don’t measure, I just pour” – yes and amen! ๐