With 30 million page views and counting since 2013, these super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. And you don’t even need a mixer!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. This recipe is such a fan (and personal) favorite that I included it in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
One reader, Adrienne, commented: “These are the best cookies I’ve ever had. Incredible. Don’t cut corners or you’ll miss out. Do everything she says and you’re in for the best cookies of your life. ★★★★★“
There are thousands of chocolate chip cookies recipes out there. Everyone has their favorite and this one is mine. Just a glance at the hundreds of reviews in the comments section tells me that this recipe is a favorite for many others too! In fact, if you asked me which recipe to keep in your apron pocket, my answer would be this one. (In addition to a classic cut-out sugar cookies and flaky pie crust, of course!) Just read the comments on a post in our Facebook group. These cookies are beloved… and, a warning: they disappear FAST.
Why Are These My BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- The chewiest of chewy and the softest of soft.
- Extra thick just like my favorite peanut butter cookies!
- Bakery-style BIG.
- Exploding with chocolate.
I’ve tested this cookie recipe over and over again to make sure they’re absolutely perfect. I still have a big space in my heart (and stomach) for these soft chocolate chip cookies. Today’s recipe is similar, but I increased the chewiness factor.
One reader, A.Phillips, commented: “Look no further. This is it. This is the perfect cookie recipe. Follow her instructions exactly and the cookies will be chewy and amazing. … These are the most perfect cookies I’ve made and I’ve tried at least 20 different recipes. ★★★★★“
You can make them with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Key Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
The cookie dough is made from your standard cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. It’s the ratios and temperature of those ingredients that make this recipe stand out from the rest.
- Melted butter: Melted butter produces the chewiest cookies. It can, however, make your baked cookies greasy, so I made sure there is enough flour to counteract that. And using melted butter is also the reason you don’t need a mixer to make these cookies, just like these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin crumb cake cookies, and M&M cookie bars.
- More brown sugar than white sugar: More brown sugar than white sugar: The moisture in brown sugar promises an extra soft and chewy baked cookie. White granulated sugar is still necessary, though. It’s dry and helps the cookies spread. A little bit of spread is a good thing.
- Cornstarch: Why? Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies.
- Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk. The extra egg yolk adds richness, soft tenderness, and binds the dough. You will need 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature, just like in these brown butter marshmallow crispy cookies. See the recipe Notes for how to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly.
The dough will be soft and the chocolate chips may not stick because of the melted butter. Just keep stirring it; I promise it will come together. Because of the melted butter and extra egg yolk, the slick dough doesn’t even look like normal cookie dough! Trust the process…
The most important step is next.
2 Major Success Tips
1. Chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough is so important in this recipe! Unless you want the cookies to spread into a massive cookie puddle, chilling the dough is mandatory here. It allows the ingredients to settle together after the mixing stage but most importantly: cold dough results in thicker cookies. Cover the cookie dough and chill for at least 2–3 hours or up to 3 days. I usually chill it overnight.
(No time to chill? Make these soft & chewy chocolate chip cookie bars, giant chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie cake, or crispy chocolate chip cookie bark instead!)
- Further reading: How to Prevent Cookies from Spreading
2. Roll the cookie dough balls extra tall. After the dough has chilled, scoop out a ball of dough that’s 3 Tablespoons for XL cookies or about 2 heaping Tablespoons (1.75 ounces or 50g) for medium-large cookies. I usually use this medium cookie scoop and make it a heaping scoop. But making the cookie dough balls tall and textured, rather than wide and smooth, is my tried-and-true trick that results in thick and textured-looking cookies. We’re talking thick bakery-style cookies with wrinkly, textured tops. Your cookie dough should look less like balls and more like, well, lumpy columns, LOL.
Watch the video below to see how I shape them. I also demonstrate how I use a spoon to reshape them during baking if I see they’re spreading too much.
Because of the melted butter in this dough, the dough is very soft and a little greasy before chilling, so it’s harder to shape the cookie dough balls. We recommend chilling first, then shaping. If after chilling the dough is very hard and difficult to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and then try again.
We typically do not recommend jumping right to the freezer without chilling the dough first. A quick freeze like that can cause the dough to chill unevenly and then spread unevenly during the baking process. For best results, we recommend following the recipe as written. If you don’t have time to wait for the dough to chill, try this recipe for 6 giant chocolate chip cookies instead, which doesn’t require dough chilling (see recipe Notes in that post for details on using the dough to make 24 regular-size cookies).
Tools I Recommend for This Recipe
I’ve tested many baking tools and these are the exact products I use, trust, and recommend to readers. You’ll need most of these tools when making sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, too!
- Baking Sheets
- Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets
- Medium Cookie Scoop
- Cooling Racks
- See More: Best Cookie Baking Tools and 8 Best Baking Pans
Can I Freeze This Cookie Dough?
Yes, absolutely. After chilling, sometimes I roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them in a large zipped-top bag. Then I bake them straight from the freezer, keeping them in the oven for an extra minute. This way you can bake just a couple of cookies whenever the craving hits. (The chewy chocolate chip cookie craving is a hard one to ignore.)
If you’re curious about freezing cookie dough, here’s my How to Freeze Cookie Dough page (with video tutorial).
Facebook member, Leigh, commented: “These are the only CC cookies I’ve made for years (and this recipe is how I came to be such a fan of SBA!) This recipe worked great when I lived in Denver and had issues with baking at altitude, and it’s still our favorite now that we’re back at sea level. I usually make 4x-6x batches and freeze tons of cookie balls to bake later.“
In Short, Here Are the Secrets to Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies.
- Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie.
- An extra egg yolk increases chewiness.
- Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness. It’s a trick we use for cake batter chocolate chip cookies, too.
- Using melted butter (and slightly more flour to counteract the liquid) increases chewiness.
- Chilling the dough results in a thicker cookie. Almost as thick as peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or their gluten-free counterparts, flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies 🙂
Q: Have you baked a batch before?
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 XL cookies or 20 medium/large cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website for good reason. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. The cookie dough is slick and requires chilling prior to shaping the cookies. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g/12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for 5 minutes
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until combined, then whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be very soft, thick, and shiny. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
- Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight to prevent overspreading.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has chilled for longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop the chilled cookie dough, about 3 scant Tablespoons (about 2 ounces, or 60g) of dough for XL cookies or 2 heaping Tablespoons (about 1.75 ounces, or 50g) of dough for medium-large cookies. Roll into a ball, then use your fingers to shape the cookie dough so that it’s taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 13–14 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is optional and only for looks!
- Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature, then continue with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookies are still very soft.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: Room-temperature egg + egg yolk are best. Typically, if a recipe calls for room-temperature or melted butter, it’s good practice to use room-temperature eggs as well. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, simply place the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Can I add nuts or different add-ins? Yes, absolutely. As long as the total amount of add-ins is around 1 to 1 and 1/4 cups, you can add anything including chopped nuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, chopped peanut butter cups, etc. I love them with 3/4 cup (135g) butterscotch morsels and 1/2 cup (100g) Reese’s Pieces. You could even add 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles to make a sprinkle chocolate chip cookie.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made them but they’re to thick. What did I do wrong?
Thanks,
Amalie.
Hi Amalie, It sounds like there may have been too much flour in your dough. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Amazing! These are a must try! Sally is a great baker and teacher! Highly recommend!
They came out kind of cakey and tall. The tops also were hard or crunchy in the way and they never really flattened out. I’m not sure what I did wrong, I I thought I followed the directions exactly how it said.
Hi Lillian, cakey cookies are usually caused by too much flour in the dough. How did you measure the flour? For your next batch, make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. Hope this helps for next time!
Can I use half whole wheat flour for a healthier recipe?
Thank you!
Kit
Hi Kit, Whole wheat flour would yield a very dry, crumbly cookie. We recommend sticking with all purpose for best results.
Best recipe for that soft gooey cookie! My stepdaughter and I enjoyed making these. Yummy!
what does it look like inside? i followed this recipe and my cookies looked a teeny bit “raw-looking”. is it really that way?
Hi Jennifer, Right after they come out of the oven the centers will look very soft, but not raw. The cookies will continue to set as they cool. You can see a photo of the inside of the cookies in the post above.
The best CCC recipe ever! I made them with semisweet chips and walnuts and they are soo good! Lightly crisp bottoms and edges and soft and chewy middle. Perfection.
I made this recipe over Christmas and everyone told me that they could be from an artisan shop, they disappeared really quickly and I have many requests to make them again. Amazing recipe. Definitely recommend it.
Sally, I have been following your recipe but my cookies are not flattening out. What could be the reason? I have tried it twice with no luck
Hi Kamal, It sounds like there may have been too much flour in your dough. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Really good recipe! the dough is so yummy when its raw, thats how you know there gonna be good baked hehe
i leave my dough in the freezer for 10 ish minutes and they have come out perfect!
Hi there!
I just made these cookies and they are baking now. The dough is very crumbly. Why would this be? I checked measurements for ingredients and they were correct. Thanks!
Hi Anne, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level to avoid the dough being crumbly. Hope this helps for next time!
These did not melt like I thought. Flavor was ok. Very crumbly and shape less.
Your website has been my go-to resource for years, and this recipe in particular is my favorite! I add dried cherries, it’s been my signature cookie for years. Everyone loves them and requests them. I had walnuts to the ones I keep for myself. 🙂
How would the cookie change if I use brown butter instead of melted butter? Also how much extra butter or water do I need to add after browning?
Hi Alison, You can certainly use brown butter here, and the flavor is outstanding! But they can be a little more crumbly using brown butter – we usually suggest using the recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies instead.
Clarification on earlier comment: my chips were half semi-sweet and the other dark chocolate (70%), not bittersweet.
I absolutely love this recipe! Even though my chocolate chips melted a bit it still tastes wonderful.
Will this recipe fit for a large cookie cake? (12×16)?
Thank you!
Hi Houchens, This wouldn’t be enough dough. We use this exact dough to make our cookie bars, baked in a 9×9 pan. Here’s our 9×13 cookie bars recipe.
Can I substitute the chocolate chips for m & m’s? Or will they bleed into the cookie
Hi Felicity, Yes, you can swap M&Ms for chocolate chips without making any other changes – or even use half of each.
I love this recipe and would like to make a 9″x14″ sheet cookie out of it. Any tips or suggestions?
Hi Kevin, here is our cookie cake recipe instead. You can use a cake pan or a pie dish for that recipe. Enjoy!
Amazing cookies. Absolutely perfect. What is the best way to store them ?
Hi Valerie, we’re so glad you love these. Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
By baking soda do you mean baking powder or bicarbonate soda?
Thanks
Hi Lynda, baking soda is the same is bicarbonate of soda. Enjoy!
If you use a 1 tbls. cookie scoop, what length of time would the cookies need to bake at?
I have a strange thing happen when I bake these cookies and I wonder if you could possibly explain what causes it. I’ve made this recipe truly hundreds of times. Sometimes the dough stays very smooth when it’s baked. Other times (and pretty much always more recently) it looks like it’s crackled. I’ve varied the amount of time in the frig/ freezer. Have switched between regular bake and convection. Have baked them cold and at room temperature. Nothing seems to make a difference. It’s frustrating bc, to me, they don’t look as appealing. I’m sure this is a weird phenomenon but if you have any clue what might be causing it, I’d love to know how to correct it.
Hi Rosanne, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. It could be a few different things causing the cracks. How are you measuring your flour? Cracks can sometimes be caused by too much flour in the dough, so be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured. We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan). The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly (and crack) and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection/fan settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake. Finally, have you used any different brands of ingredients lately? Sometimes switching brands can be the culprit for different results. We hope this helps for next time!
Thank you for your response. I do weigh everything. No new ingredients that I can think of. Use the regular oven setting pretty much all the time. Sometimes I switch to convection for a minute or 2 at the end to give them a touch of a brown, crispy edge/crust. But the dough looks the same with either setting. Everyone loves them. I guess that’s all that matters!
If I’m using salted butter, should I leave out the salt in the recipe?
Hi Shari, You can use salted butter and reduce the added salt to 1/8 teaspoon.
Hey, we’re doing a school project about baking chocolate chip cookies and we were wondering about what temperature would be best to make the cookies at, and what size balls we should make of cookie dough.
Hi Chloe and Isabella! You can find all the details and instructions on how to make these cookies in the gray recipe card. You can get there by scrolling towards the bottom of the page, or by clicking the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page. Hope this helps!
This is my go-to c.c. cookie recipe. Chewy goodness in every bite. I make the 60 g size cookies (yes, I use a scale to weigh each dough ball). I get 17 cookies instead of 16, which I’m not complaining!
I’ve tried varying mix-ins & chopped walnuts are my fave (about 1/4 c instead of more chocolate chips). Mine are done at around 13 mins. As soon as they come out of the oven, I sprinkle on a little French Maldon salt.
Thanks, Sally!
What is he amount of ingredients to use for the cookies?
Hi Chris, see the gray recipe card for full list of ingredients and amounts, followed by instructions.
Hi Sally! This is my “go to” chocolate chip cookie recipe! Quick question, is it possible to double this recipe? One batch is never enough in my house
Hi Maggie! Yes, this recipe doubles well.
This is my go-to cookie recipe. I have tried SO MANY different cookie recipes and this is hands down the best recipe for delicious chewy chocolate chip cookies. Everybody raves about them and they are gone almost faster than I bake them. And I always do a double batch.
They are marvelous. Made the dough Monday and refrigerated it until Tuesday afternoon. I made each cookie 48grams and that is a lovely size. They baked at shorter time at my elevation. Beautiful and soft with so many chocolate chips. Heavenly. A true repeat recipe.
Is it possible to fix the dough I already made if it is too dry and crumbly?
Hi Clara, you can try adding a little milk (1 Tbsp at a time) to bring the dough together!
how long do I bake the cookies for, and at what degrees? i’m new to baking, and it doesn’t say what temperature to bake at.
Hi Dia, see step 4 and step 6 for those details: Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Bake the cookies for 13–14 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned.
I am at sea level (Florida.) Should I adjust the baking temperature and/or length of baking time for this recipe? The pictures look delicious and I am hoping mine turn out even though I am at sea level. Thank you!
Hi Becky, you shouldn’t have to make any changes to the recipe!
This is my second batch within a week. The first batch I added chopped walnuts, but I am not supposed to eat nuts, so this batch is chocolate chips only. My entire family raved about them. And my daughter made me promise to keep this recipe. Thank you for this wonderful cookie recipe and I look forward to making them again, just not this week.