With 11 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!
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 loved… and, warning: they disappear FAST.
The recipe is also included in two of my published cookbooks (in Sally’s Baking Addiction, I swap chocolate chips for M&Ms/chocolate chips combo).
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.
Back in 2013, I 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.
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 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. 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 and even up to 3–4 days.
After chilling, the dough is quite solid, so let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes (to soften it up slightly) before shaping. (No time to chill? Make these soft & chewy chocolate chip cookie bars 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.
Another Success Tip: When you remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator, the dough may be slightly crumbly. Scooping and then shaping it with warm hands keeps it intact.
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.
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?
PrintChewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 22 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. Review recipe notes before beginning.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (280g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted & cooled 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
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft, thick, and appear greasy. 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 chill in the refrigerator for at least 2–3 hours or up to 3 days. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight for less spreading.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow it to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon, measure 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, making sure the shape is taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Repeat with remaining dough. Place 8–9 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. (XL cookies can take closer to 14 minutes.) The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies. This is optional and only for looks. After 10 minutes of cooling on the baking sheets, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh 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 2–3 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 into a glass 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 – 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.
Just made these and they are so yum and soft. We are happy campers.. tomorrow corn bread recipe
Perfect. I made chocolate chunk macadamia and also milk chocolate chip macadamia. I am at 5,000 ft. and made a few small adjustments for altitude. They came out perfectly. Perfect size. Giving them as a gift. Thank you!
I’m also at 5000ft, would you please share what adjustments you made?
Oh. My. Goodness. I doubled the recipe and assumed I would have enough. WRONG! I walked out of the kitchen to do a few things and they were gone. My family now refers to these cookies as the “Perfect Cookies”. I am hearing, “When are you going to make more “perfect cookies”? or “can you triple the next batch of “perfect cookies”? Definitely a keeper for taste, appearance (they look like you purchased them from a top notch bakery), and ease (you can make the dough and put them in the fridge for a day or two later).
Hello I have made there cookies and they are sooo good. But I have a question. Is there a point were melting the butter too warm is going to damage the butter?
Hi Fernanda, you don’t really need to worry about that, but be cautious as heating it up too much can cause the butter to boil up and “pop.” After the butter is melted, we recommend letting it slightly cool before adding to your mixture.
Absolutely the BEST chocolate chip cookies that I have ever had!! I read through the entire post and MANY comments before making this recipe, and I made it several times, changing several things. The only real thing that I changed was that, in my final batch, I left out the cornstarch. I tried it with, with less and without. For ME (everyone’s taste and texture preferrences are different) that was the way to go. I also, after reading a comment about location of the rack in a gas oven, moved my rack down. I tried it center and lower rack and lower rack in a gas oven was definetly an improvement! Thanks so much for an absolutely scrumptious chocolate cookie recipe!! My co-workers thank you as well! They loved that I kept bringing cookies in!
Perfect! Crisp edges, very chewy, soft middle. I did make one small change by replacing all-purpose with bread-flour. So awesome!
I have made these and they are beyond great! They froze really well, too! Love this recipe!
I have a question about making a diy mason jar cookie mix for gifts. could I do that with this recipe? Or would it not yield a good texture since the butter and sugars wouldn’t be mixed properly. Sorry if this is a dumb question I’ve just seen the cute mason jars and thought your recipe might be better than other online!!
Hi Macy, See this post for cookies in a jar that we have tried!
Sally, what does thr cornstarch do?
Hi Lori! Cornstarch helps give the cookies an ultra soft texture.
I’m trying these tonight for a neighbor who loves my baking. She has brought me flour, sugar, eggs, butter and other necessities for baking so I’ll keep her and her hubs in cookies for a while. I don’t mind doing this for them. They’re a sweet young couple.
I’ve given your recipe and video a 5star rating because of how you made it seem so easy and enjoyable to follow.
Thanks for sharing.
This was such a great basic chocolate chip cookie. I used 275g flour since King arthur and this particular recipe disagree on the weight of flour per cup. Also baked these instead with a heaped tablespoon of dough for each cookie, about 11 min (baking from the fridge) just till the edges were set. Came out with the edges crunchy, and center soft and chewy, yum.
A little too sweet for me, but I was making these to share and they’re perfect. Will make them with bittersweet choc chips for myself later. 🙂
Also okay I lied, I have eaten 6 of them today, send help
Such a great recipe! I’ve used this recipe as a base recipe for many adaptations, and it is wonderful! One thing I find works well is to roll the balls BEFORE refrigerating. The dough is easy to roll at that stage – pop them into an airtight container and bake them off fresh just before you need them!
These are delicious, but I under baked my first batch. They have completely cooled. Can I re bake them?
Thanks so much!
Hi Beth, You can save under baked cookies by returning them to the oven even after they have cooled!
I put the whole batch of dough into a cast iron and baked it into one giant deep dish cookie two years ago for my then-boyfriend’s birthday. Added some ice cream on top. That boyfriend is my husband now. We still joke that that is how he knew he wanted to marry me. This is the best cookie either of us has ever had in our lives.
This are THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever made and I am 74 and baking since I was a child‼️I followed your recipe exactly, and did Frig overnight and they are perfect and outrageous!Thank you for this recipe, love that they are big, and so moist
Hi, Sally. Your wonderful recipes are delicious and imaginative! For this recipe for chewy choc chip cookies, I would like to have more than 16 cookies, and a bit smaller in size. Suppose I use a heaping tablespoon-and-a-half measure of dough (not three) and roll them taller than wide, as you do the 16-yield recipe: should I lower the baking temperature or just shorten the baking time. Your counsel would be appreciated.
Hi Dawn! You can simply shorten the baking time for smaller cookies. Enjoy!
Love this recipe. So many compliments. First time I did it I messed it up, but they still came out so well. I have also adapted this and used Violife instead of butter (great alternative btw). My colleague is lactose intolerant so dairy free option is great! Thanks so much
I love your page Sally, I’ve made so many recipes from here and they never fail.
Qu: when Newley baked they are crisp on the sides but as they cool they become soft. I’ve had the same problem with other recipes. Is there any way to keep the crispyness?
Also, they are very doughy, almost raw – which personally I like but are they meant to come out like this or are they just undercooked? Thank you!!!
Hi Liv, the centers are meant to be chewy, but not raw. If they are, then they need another minute or two in the oven to finish baking through. For a crispier cookie, we recommend our crispy chocolate chip cookies instead!
Hi! Can I add nuts to the recipe? If so, how much? I love your website and am excited to try these! Every recipe I have used is amazing! Thank you so much!
Hi Megan, you can! Simply replace some of the chocolate chips with chopped nuts.
about how big would you say these cookies are (lengthwise)?
I first tried this out in Canada and the cookies were immaculate! Thick and chewy in the middle, thin and crispy at the edges. But when I moved back to the Philippines, I can’t seem to replicate the cookies I made before. It all comes out as one big puddle, or spreads out too thinly.
I followed the recipe to the T and even bought an oven thermometer. The only difference is that after chilling the dough for 24h, it starts out hard then softens in minutes. It’s not as crumbly as the one in your video while you’re molding it.
Any tips on how to improve? Thanks!
Hi T! The climate where you are can certainly play a role! Next time try adding just a bit more flour to help off-set the melted butter.
I’m not exactly sure how but I baked it at 375oC and it turned out just right. Thanks!
I’ve tried SO many chocolate chip cookie recipes and this is by far the best I have found hands down. Comes out perfect every time! People rave over these cookies and I cant imagine using a different recipe ever again. I’ve added oatmeal, mnms and nuts and still comes out perfect! Thanks!
This is literally the absolute BEST chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. I’ve been looking for this recipe my entire life lol. I followed it exact down to shaping the dough taller as opposed to wider and they are perfect!
Can this recipe be doubled?
So glad you love them! Yes, this recipe can be doubled.
Hi Sally, I love this recipe so much that I bought your book “Sally’s Cookie Addiction”! I first made these cookies from your online recipe and then from your book. I noticed that the measurements (mostly the weight in grams, not the cups) are different when you compare the two versions. And I’m wondering which recipe is correct? Or rather, why are the weights different and which version would you recommend me using? The online recipe, or the book recipe of “Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies” pg. 25. Thanks so much for clarification. I’m planning on making a BUNCH of these cookies for holiday gifts.
Hi CB, you may have an older print of the book. There are a few gram measurements updated with future prints (the cups are all correct). I would follow the cup measurements in that recipe or use the grams listed above. Thank you so much for trying my recipes!
Hi if i half the amount of both the brown sugar and granulated sugar, will it affect the texture and the chewiness of the cookies? I find almost all recipes too sweet for my liking. Thank you!
Hi Kenzia, beyond taste, sugar also plays an important role in texture and structure too. Halving the amounts would change the overall chewiness of the cookies.
Can I use milk choc morsels with this recipe?
Absolutely! The cookies will taste a bit sweeter overall with milk chocolate instead of semi sweet.
Maybe this is a dumb question, I don’t know. These cookies are so good. I was wondering if they could be made a little healthier using Almond flour and Stevia. How would you substitute those in the recipe?
Hi Carolyn! We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes and almond flour. Almond flour has very different baking properties than all-purpose flour, and it would take some experimenting to find the best amount. Thank you!
I’m on keto and I’m going to make this recipe for my family. Sure I’ll try one lol I’m going to google to see if I can find ratios for flour/almond flour and sugars/stevia sugars
We added sprinkles (baking with little girls) and these were a huge hit. Not too sweet, thick and chewy. Amazing recipe and new go to.
Can you use a stand mixer if you want to or will that change the results of this recipe in any way?
Hi Liz, You can certainly use a mixer if you wish. Enjoy!
If I use a #20 scoop for this recipe,how long should I bake the cookies? And I have a convection oven, so what temperature should I set my oven at?
Instructions are very clear…easy to use. Thank you
I made this recipe last week, it was perfect! My husband is always telling me he prefers soft cookies and these were just right! Now he’s asking for chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips… I’m going to try your inside out recipe next!
Definitely recommend this recipe!
I just made these today but subbed some ingredients to make them vegan, and they turned out perfect! I used vegan butter (Melt Organics) and 4 tablespoons of aquafaba whisked slightly and they came out great!