This is without-a-doubt your new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe and for so many reasons! The dough does not need to be chilled, they can be mixed by hand, and they turn out perfect every single time. They have a rich flavor and are soft on the inside but crisp and chewy on the outside. I’ve also included my top cookie bake tips to ensure your cookies turn out just right!
What makes these the best chocolate chip cookies?
When I think chocolate chip cookie, this is the exact cookie I picture. They’re soft and melty on the inside, crispy and chewy on the outside, spread beautifully in the oven, and are loaded with chocolate chips. Oh, and let’s not forget the sea salt on top!
But the reason why I love this recipe so much is because of how quick and easy they are to make. Usually to get the most flavor out of your cookies, the dough is chilled overnight. This helps the flour fully absorb, giving you a cookie with a chewier texture and stronger flavor.
With these cookies, you can all that flavor and texture but without the chill time! Right after the dough is mixed, they’re ready to scoop and bake.
Another major reason why this recipe is SO good is that you don’t need special mixing equipment. All you need is a bowl, a whisk, and a rubber spatula. So not only is the dough quick to make, but clean up is also super fast.
In the end you’re left with the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Each bite just melts in your mouth, and the sound of sinking your teeth into this cookie is something you just have to experience to understand!
Chocolate chip cookie recipe baking tips
I have made maaaaannnyy cookies in my day, and it’s even the largest dessert category on my blog. Throughout the years, I’ve picked up some important tips and tricks to ensure my cookies turn out perfect every time. Here are some of my secrets so you too can up your cookie baking game:
1. Properly measure the flour – I say this in every post, and for good reason. It’s the number one reason why most recipes fail, especially for cookies. If there’s too much flour, the cookies will turn out dry and they will not spread. If you can, measure the flour with a food scale. Otherwise, to ensure you use the exact amount needed, gently spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level if off with a flat edge. If you scoop directly into the flour container, it packs it down into the cup which could leave you with 1/4 cup or more of added flour.
2. Know your butter – The type of butter you use can make a big difference. You would think that a really high-quality European style butter would make this recipe even better, and you may be right. But most cookie recipes are made with basic unsalted butter. If you try to use something that’s a bit more rich, it can throw off the entire cookie. Different butters have different water to fat ratios. If your butter contains too much fat, it could cause the cookies to be too soft, greasy, or spread too much in the oven. When it doubt, stick with plain old unsalted butter.
3. 2 sugars are better than 1 – There’s a reason why I choose to use both light brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe, so don’t make any substitutions. The molasses in the light brown sugar is what gives these cookies that soft but chewy texture. On the other hand, granulated sugar is what gives you that golden and crisp ring around the edge. Utilizing both sugars is what gives you a well rounded cookie, one that’s soft in the middle and chewy on the oustide.
4. The larger the scoop, the better – Not only do I just desire a bigger cookie, but large cookies bake much better than smaller cookies. 2oz is the sweet spot, so I highly recommend adding a 2oz scoop to your baking kit. Otherwise, you can use 1/4 measuring cup which is also equal to 2oz. Larger cookies bake better because there’s more surface area to cover. It takes the heat of the oven much longer to penetrate the center of the cookie. So as it heats, the outer layers of the dough begin to melt, darken, and crisp while the center stays soft and tender. With a smaller cookie, this process happens too quickly and there just isn’t enough dough in the center of the cookie for you to achieve that soft and gooey texture.
5. Don’t over bake – The cookies are ready when they look exactly like the picture above (and this goes for most cookies). You always want to pull the cookies when the edges are golden brown and the center looks pale, puffed, and slightly underdone. What most people don’t realize is that cookies continue to bake outside of the oven. It’s not much, but the residual heat transforms the center of the cookie from goopy and doughy to soft and melty. Then, as they cool, they will deflate and flatten. This compacts that soft and slightly underdone center, giving you the PERFECT texture right in the middle.
6. Don’t skip the sea salt – A light sprinkling of sea salt on top of warm chocolate chip cookies makes a world of a difference. The salt helps balance out the sweetness of the cookie, but also brings forward that chocolate flavor. Just that tiny pinch gives the cookies a much stronger flavor, and once you try it you’ll never go without it!
How can I make these cookies gluten free?
I don’t recommend tweaking this recipe, because you don’t mess with perfection! But I do have a dedicated gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe that is SO good. I’ve had people tell me they can’t even tell they’re gluten free!
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes! Scoop the cookie dough and chill the dough balls until they’re semi-firm (about 1 hour). Then place the dough balls into a freezer safe container or bag and store for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to bake a cookie, preheat the oven to 340F (yes, 10 degrees lower), and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. The lower temperature will prevent the edges from browning too quickly.
How long do these chocolate chip cookies last?
Store the cookies in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 6 days. If you want to keep them soft, place a slice of white bread in the container with the cookies. This will help prevent them from drying out.
For more of my top chocolate chip cookie recipes, check out my:
- Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and comment below if you make these Chocolate Chip Cookies. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
Watch how to make the best chocolate chip cookies:
BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9 large or 12 regular cookies
Description
This is your new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! It’s no chill, mixed by hand, and they’re ready in 30 minutes. They turn out soft and gooey on the inside and crisp and chewy on the outside.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (165g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup (75g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups (240g) semisweet chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe’s, Guittard, or Ghirardelli) + more for topping
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour (see notes on how to properly measure), baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the melted and cooled butter, brown sugar, and sugar. It’s important that the butter is not hot, but it can be slightly warm. Whisk vigorously for 1-2 minutes until it turns into a paste-like consistency (see picture in post for reference).
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour in the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine. Leave a few streaks of flour and pour in the chocolate chips. Continue to fold the dough until the chocolate chips are dispersed and the flour is completely blended in. Do not over mix.
- A large 2oz cookie scoop (or 1/4 measuring cup) is preferred for this recipe. Scoop 5 cookies onto the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes (12 for a more gooey cookie, 15 more a more well done cookie). If you do not have a large scoop or prefer regular-sized cookies, scoop 6 cookies onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- The cookies are ready when they have a golden ring around the edge but are pale and puffed in the center (see the photo above of the cookies inside the oven for reference). And if your cookies spread too much, use a fork to nudge in the sides immediately after the cookies are pulled from the oven.
- When they’re fresh from the oven, top with a few extra chocolate chips and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and continue to bake the rest of the dough.
- Let the cookies cool for about 20 minutes before eating. They’re best when they’re slightly warm and the chocolate chips are still melty. Enjoy!
Notes
FLOUR – If you have a food scale, weigh out your flour to ensure accuracy. Otherwise, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off. Don’t shake it down, pack it in, or scoop directly into the flour bag or container. This compacts the flour which will lead to too much flour in the dough. If there’s too much flour, the cookies will not spread properly.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Karina says
Literally the best cookies I have ever made. It’s so easy and all my friends and relatives love them: )
leticia says
Omg lol I❤️ this recipe
Laura says
I have been searching far and wide for a good choc chip cookie recipe – if you’ve been looking thru a million different recipes, STOP RIGHT HERE AND TRY THIS RECIPE!!! It’s seriously the best. I have family members who aren’t crazy about sweets, but when they try one of these cookies, they keep going into the kitchen for more. The first tray of cookies was swept clean in 5 minutes. Thank you Jenna!! All hail the chocolate chip cookie Goddess!!
Kristin says
These most definitely need more flour than what the recipe calls for. I made them as the recipe called to spoon the flour to measure and the dough was basically like batter. The cookies were flat as a pancake. I made them again and didn’t spoon the flour but just scooped and flattened off the top and the dough was a bit thicker, but I added another 1/3 cup of flour in and the consistency is definitely MUCH better. I also chilled the dough for both batches so that it was a cleaner dough ball. Cookies turned out perfectly when adding the additional flour – about 1/2 inch thick in the middle. Nice flat gooey chewy cookies.
Isabella says
I made it once as is, so delicious! I added cinnamon the second time around and added m&ms, this recipe is an outstanding base recipe to add more chocolate and peanut butter chips too❤️🤤
Jessica says
AMAZING cookies! I’m an avid baker and love to try different cookie recipes. The cookie size the recipe calls for was a little large, so I just used my 2 tbps cookie scooper to size the cookies out and baked for 10 mins and the edges were perfectly crispy but the middle was chewy. Must try 🙂
Amarilys says
Best cookies I’ve ever had!! They come out perfect!
Beth says
A friend’s daughter made these and I told her they may be the BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had! They sent me the link and it all made sense 😉
I (53) can’t be shown up by a 16 yo, so i used browned butter and a mixture of chocolate chips and TJs salted caramel chips.
THANK YOU for the actual BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVAH!!! 🥰
Rae says
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! We LOVE these cookies! I add walnuts to half the batch. I make 5 batches of these cookies every Wednesday when my children are at church programs, they are gone by the next day. I have teenagers, their friends stop over just for these cookies, even when my children are not home! Then my children come home and they all sit around eating cookies and chat with me. I belive the cookies have opened the door to so many important conversations that I have been blessed to be part of….love it!
Thanks, Rae
Annelise says
I added marshmallow fluff on top to make s’mores cookies and replaced chocolate chips with chocolate chunks and they turned out amazing! Everyone loved them!
Jenna says
Sounds amazing!!
Tillie says
Excellent recipe! Soft, flavorful and easy. I added walnut pieces.
Philemon says
I’ll be honest by saying that I started highly skeptical of this recipe after more than a year of trying out recipes and experimenting on my own. Suffice to say that I’m utterly shocked to find that this recipe is borderline perfect. It’s thick, gooey yet crunchy on the rim, not too sweet, yet easily variable. This is the first time I left any review ever, but I was so overwhelmed with joy that I just had to write this here.
Nicollet says
These are so good! I’ve been looking for a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe that is simpler than my current one and I think this may have taken first place! I browned the butter and mixed in a couple of tablespoons of sour cherry jam at the end and they turned out incredible!
Courtney McCabe says
These cookies are not only totally delicious but so easy to make and look beautiful as well. My children had one bite and asked me to send them the recipe! Will be making these frequently! Thank you for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever !
Lexi says
This has become my go to cookie recipe! Everyone always loves it! Thank you!!
Shari says
Hi just a note to let you know that I used King Arthur gluten free flour. This is the only change I made to the recipe. I have made these several times for church and family gatherings. They are very much liked and no one could tell they were gluten free. Very good cookies