The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies of your life! Soft and chewy and bursting with chocolate goodness, this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe is life changing. Made in one bowl without a mixer, this recipe delivers soft, thick, chewy cookies every single time! Truly the ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie with unmatched flavor and texture! Love easy cookies? Make sure to try my easy No Bake Cookies and Almond Joy Cookies– just 4 ingredients!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve been using this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe for over a decade and have made a few tweaks to it in the past few years that have significantly improved on my original recipe (from almost 10 years ago!)

I think the changes have improved every facet of these cookies from ease of preparation, to flavor and texture.

What Makes This The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?

Sure, I realize that everyone has a slightly different idea of what makes the best chocolate chip cookies, but, in my opinion, this combination of traits makes for a seriously superior chocolate chip cookie recipe:

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What Makes These Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies So Chewy?

There are three components to this recipe that make these the ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie:

• melted butter

  • Melting the butter in this chocolate chip cookie recipe ensures the most chewy chocolate chip cookies. When I was updating this recipe, I added a bit more flour to the recipe to counteract the greasiness that can sometimes occur in baked goods that use melted butter. Make sure you let the melted butter cool and become opaque before mixing in the sugars.

• extra egg yolk

  • This recipe calls for one egg and one egg yolk. That extra egg yolk makes the cookies more tender which increases the chewiness factor and binds the dough.

• 2:1 ratio brown sugar to granulated sugar

  • I use double the amount of brown sugar than I do of the granulated sugar in these cookies. It gives them undeniable moisture as well as makes the cookies nice and soft for days. It’s also a critical factor in the chewiness of these cookies.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients

These cookies don’t call for anything crazy – just your typical cookie ingredients. It’s the amounts and ratios that help set this recipe apart from others.

• all-purpose flour – keeps the cookie dough together and provides overall structure to the cookies. This revised recipe has additional flour to keep the cookies from spreading and being too greasy.
• baking soda – the leavener in this recipe.
• corn starch – a staple in most of my cookie recipes because of the tenderness and softness it adds to the cookies. It also helps to keep the cookies nice and thick. Creates soft chocolate chip cookies without the pudding mix.
• salt – brings out the all of the flavors in each of the ingredients
• vanilla extract – always use real vanilla extract if you can. Alternatively you could use Vanilla Bean paste which adds amazing flavor to cookies.
• unsalted butter – the butter needs to be melted and then cooled slightly for this recipe. It’s the key ingredient in these extra chewy chocolate chip cookies.
• brown sugar – I use extra brown sugar for increased moisture, chewiness, and softness. Makes the ultimate soft chocolate chip cookies!
• granulated sugar – although I’m a huge fan of brown sugar, you still need granulated sugar in this recipe for spreading, flavor and absorption of other ingredients.
• egg & egg yolk – an extra egg yolk makes the cookies more tender and richer as well.
• chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can substitute milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips or a combination of your favorite baking chips in this recipe. Sometimes we like to use mini chocolate chips and chocolate chunks so there are pockets of chocolate throughout the cookies.

How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

This easy chocolate chip cookie recipe takes less than 10 minutes to pull together. Check this out:

Chilling The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Do I have to??? Yes. You really do. I’ve made these cookies many times without chilling the dough and the cookies are great, but they are SOOOO much better when chilled. Here’s why:

• Chilling the dough allows all those amazing flavors to meld together, creating a cohesive, intensely satisfying flavor.
• When the dough chills, the melted butter turns back into a solid which prevents the cookies from overspreading while baking. If you don’t allow your dough to chill, or don’t chill it long enough, you might notice some spreading that can easily be avoided with the cookie dough is properly chilled.
• Chilling this chocolate chip cookie dough creates a thicker, chewier cookie.

One of the changes I made to this recipe is the chilling method. I originally had the entire batch of dough chilling for an hour (or more) in the fridge. But with age (and the lovely effects of carpal tunnel) I was struggling with scooping the chilled dough. I transitioned over to scooping the dough and forming the dough balls before chilling and that one little step has changed everything.

Additionally, I now recommend freezing the cookie dough for 30 to 60 minutes instead of placing in the fridge. The cookies are much thicker and softer and are the chewiest cookies I’ve ever had.

How To Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Having chocolate chip cookie dough frozen and ready to pop into the oven is one of life’s greatest gifts.

The good news? This recipe already gets you 90% of the way there.

Once you’ve place the dough balls into the freezer, flash freeze them for an hour or so until they are solid. Transfer the frozen cookie dough into a freezer ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months!

I use a quarter sheet pan for freezing the cookie dough and a half sheet pan for baking.

Baking Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Freezer

When you’re ready to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie:

You can alternatively let the dough thaw in the fridge for several hours or on the counter for 30 minutes and bake for the normal amount of time.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use a silicone baking mat. When I was reworking this recipe, I made these cookies literally dozens of times and played with everything from the temperature to the surface the cookies were baked on. One thing that kept coming to light was that silicone baking mats help the cookies keep their shape and resist spreading. If you don’t have a silicone baking mat you can of course use parchment but the cookies will spread a bit more.

Don’t forget to decorate. I like to add a few additional chocolate chips to the top of the cookie dough balls either before freezing, before baking, or after baking. Any of these three methods will work. I like the little pop of color on top and it makes the cookies look even more appealing.

Don’t over bake. The cookies are done when the edges are golden. The center may appear very slightly under baked but the cookies will continue baking on the cooking sheet. This keeps the cookies incredibly soft!

Measure the flour correctly. And by this, I mean give the flour a good stir in your canister and then spoon the flour into your measuring cup. Use a flat edge, like a knife, to scrape away any excess flour from the top of your measuring cup.

Variations To Try

• I used semi sweet chocolate chips, but you can substitute milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips or a combination of your favorite baking chips.
• Try fun add ins – like small candies, caramel bits, and pretzels.
• Make the cookies smaller for a crowd. Just reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
• Add in your favorite nuts. Chop up pecans, walnuts or peanuts and add about a half a cup to the cookie dough before chilling.

More Chocolate Chip Cookies To Try

How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

The BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies of your life! Soft and chewy and bursting with chocolate goodness, this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe is life changing. Made in one bowl without a mixer, this recipe delivers soft, thick, chewy cookies every single time! Truly the ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie with unmatched flavor and texture!

Ingredients

• 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled just until opaque
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg room temperature
• 1 egg yolk room temperature
• 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl for two minutes.

• Whisk in the vanilla extract, egg and egg yolk until the mixture is light and creamy.

• Add the flour, baking soda, corn starch and salt and mix just until combined.

• Stir in the chocolate chips.

• Scoop out cookie dough, about 1/4 cup per cookie, and roll the dough balls in your hands until smooth. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or in the the freezer for 30 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 325°F.

• Place cookie dough about 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet or a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies are done when the edges are golden and the center looks slightly under baked.

• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire racks to finish cooling.

• Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 407IU | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3mg

Originally published November 28, 2011.

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