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 Must-Have 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.
Q: Have you baked a batch before?
Print
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 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 (spoon & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 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.
- Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookies are still very soft.
- Butter: Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft (and your cookies will end up too puffy). You want it still a little warm. Salted butter can be used instead. Reduce salt in the cookie dough to 1/4 teaspoon.
- 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 tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: chocolate chip cookies
This was so good !!!! Is it okay for me to double or perhaps triple my recipe? ? I want to make them for a big party since my friends really liked them ! ! Would I have to use 3 eggs and 3 egg yolks or just 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk?
★★★★★
Hi Kelsey, We’re so glad you love them! This cookie recipe multiplies well. If you are going to double the recipe, double all of the ingredients.
I was never a fan of chocolate chip cookies…until this recipe. These are SO DELICIOUS!!! Mine actually looked just as pictured and tasted incredible. These are definitely in my cookie repertoire. Thank you Sally; everyone I’ve shared these cookies with thank you too!!
★★★★★
These are amazing! My second batch didn’t come out as good as my first but oh well. What’s the difference between this recipe and the Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies? (Not the ingredients, but what’s the purpose of two of the same types?) They’re both supposed to be soft and chewy? I’m confused between the two!
★★★★★
Hi Meredith! I find these are denser, chewier, and have a stronger butter flavor (from melted butter). I’m glad you enjoy these!
I love this recipe so much. I am a 13 years old and love baking. I alway use Sally’s baking addiction for my recipes and y using it I finally found trustworthy recipes. I always bake these for my class. Thank you Sally!!!
★★★★★
Far and away the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! The cookies come out perfectly every time, and have become my most requested baked good! Thanks so much for sharing with us 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Sally !
I have tried this recipie before and am an absolute fan . For a school project I am supossed to use millets so if I use kodo millet flour and increase the sugar to 1 cup will it come out well . Will it be okay if I use skittles instead of choco chips or is choco chips the best option
Thanks!
Hi Shruti, we haven’t tested this recipe with millet flour, so we’re unsure of the results. If you do wish to test it, it may take some experimenting with the amounts of ingredients. 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 cookie recipe that is specifically formulated for using millet flour. Thank you!
Excellent recipe, easy to modify! Salted Caramel version: Use dark brown sugar, combine unsweetened dark chocolate & butterscotch chips. Then I do a tiny sprinkle of sea salt once shaped, just before I pop into the oven. Good luck sharing with others, lol!
★★★★★
I don’t understand why people are having a hard time with this recipe. I’ve used it multiple times and each time the cookies came out perfect. And there was enough margin for error that small deviations or mistakes should not have ruined it. For example, the second time I used softened butter instead of melted, and I used more butter (2 sticks) and sugar. It was more difficult to mix the dough, but they still came out amazing.
★★★★★
Very disappointed! I followed the recipe to a t but they never flattened and stayed in a ball/cylinder shape. They didn’t taste horrible but definitely not the chewy experience I was hoping for!
★★
Hi Lucile, thank you for giving these cookies a try. If the cookies didn’t spread, I wonder if there was 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.
Why did my cookies turn out flat and greasy .. I even weighted the flour and sugar
Hi Marie, we are happy to help troubleshoot! Did you chill the dough for at least 2 hours?
These cookies were amazing! Ich have been baking cookies since I was a little child and they never turned out the way I wanted. This recipe was a game changer!!! I am so happy! Thank youuu
I love this recipe! I make them according to the recipe and following the ingredient guidelines. There are a lot of people complaining, but it is definitely user error on their part. You would think people would realize if a recipe is extremely successful – it is probably on YOU if it isn’t working for YOU.
★★★★★
I absolutely love this recipe! Sally’s recipes never fail to satisfy. I also love her sugar cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies. These are by far my favorite chocolate chip cookies ever, I followed the recipe closely and they turned out absolutely perfect.
Hello Sally and team! I have had such great success with so many of your recipes however this one was disappointing. The cookie dough was very crumbly and hard to handle and the cookies stayed puffed up in the shape of a dome, even after shaping them like a cylinder before baking as suggested. Other chocolate chip cookie recipes I have used typically will call for the butter to be softened and then whipped with the sugars. Melting the butter and adding an egg yolk did not enhance this recipe at all, other than avoiding the use of a mixer. The corn starch adds no value and your notes even say to leave it out if you don’t have it, so not sure why it is included. I was really hoping that this one would be a keeper, but I think I will stick to my classic chcoclate chip cookie recipe that I have been making for over 25 years. All the best!
★★
Hi Franca, thank you for giving these cookies a try. You can read more about the ingredients and why we use them in the blog post above. If the dough was quite dry and the cookies didn’t spread, I wonder if there was 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.
We absolutely loved this recipe, they’re perfect. Hubby said why bother making any other☺️ Love you chewy oatmeal cookies too!!
These were okay. I will stick with my recipe as I didn’t see any real difference with the addition of corn starch, melting the butter, or changing the dough shape. The overall opinion was that if they didn’t know what mine were like, these would be a step above the recipe on the bag.
One thing I did want to point out – if you are serving them to people you don’t know – please disclose that there is an addition of a corn ingredient for allergy purposes. Most people wouldn’t think to ask if a chocolate chip cookie had corn in it.
Sally I have used every one of your chocolate chip cookie recipes, except the cake batter one. This recipe is by far your best!!! And my best! Today I baked three batches of these, my size, which is one tbls. I put the dough together on Saturday a. This is the first time I used this recipe and they came out perfection! Slightly crispy on the edges, soft in the middle and chew. I think these cookies ought to be in the repertoire in heavens bakery! The first bite of that still warm cookie was pure bliss Sally, thank you for helping me be go from being a good baker to the baker my friends and family admire! One of my favorite parts of baking is sharing and watching the smiles. One of my Pastors, Fred, loves when I bring him goodies on Sunday mornings. Also, thanks for all of the tips on keep in cookies from spreading. Years ago that was my #1 Cooke baking problem. Every so often I review these tips.
★★★★★
SALLY THIS RECIPE IS PERFECT!!! I’ve been looking for the perfect cookie and this is it!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
★★★★★
I chilled this dough for 24 hours then left on the counter top for hours waiting for it to soften up and become more pliable. The dough stayed dry and crumbly, it was hard to form them. They didn’t spread very well either. I even took them out and slammed the baking sheet on the counter. It helped a little but not much. They tasted really good though. Why do you think I had these issues ???
Hi Denise, did you spoon and level the flour? Or did you pack it into the measuring cup? Make sure you are spooning and leveling it instead of scooping, which packs it down. (Not ideal for this recipe.) Also, did the melted butter become too cool and thicken up before adding the other wet ingredients?
I bake often and I know to spoon and level the flour so that’s not it.
And no I did not let the butter cool and congeal. I don’t like the way the dough is crumbly after being refrigerated for 24 hours. Maybe next I should scoop them first ? Or I will stick with only chilling them for a couple hours.
Hi Denise, you can roll the dough balls before chilling if you prefer! We find the dough to be a little sticky to roll right away.
I want to make these but I want smaller standard size cookies. How much to use for smaller cookies and will cooking time change?
You can make them any smaller size you would like – bake until the edges are very lightly browned, we’re unsure of the exact time.
These cookies are AMAZING! This is the fourth time making them and they turn out perfect EVERY SINGLE TIME! They are always so thick and chewy and soft and our nickname for them is ‘Chocolate Chip Puffballs’!
So far this is my favorite and the kiddos fav!! Love this recipe. So soft and chewie bit has a lil crisp in right spot just delish
★★★★★
Is it possible to use the same recipe for a cookie cake? If ever what changes odo i need to consider in terms of temperature? I’m gonna put it in a heart shaped pan for valentine’s day
Hi Darlyn! Here’s our chocolate chip cookie cake recipe.
i have been making this recipe for years, but i always „forget“ they basically are raw dough after only 8-9 minutes. so i have to always add at least 5 mins so they arent slimy- so i wouldnt exactly say that the baking time is very accurate for everyone.
★★★★
Mine turned out perfectly exactly like in the pictures. My kids destroyed them. I made two full trays of them and they were gone in about 24 hours!
★★★★★
Hello! Do you have a wonderful recipe for the amazing cookies using gluten flour? I make cookies for my husband, but unfortunately, I can’t eat them. I was also wondering if you have gluten free recipes (I found the granola)!
Thank you!
Hi Suzanne, here are all of our gluten free recipes – happy baking!
Amazing!!! I never knew how much the structure of the dough ball makes such a huge difference. I have made many of your recipes and my family has always been pleased with them (especially my hubby). These are no different- so tasty and the extra egg yolk and corn starch really do kick them up a notch. This is now my go to recipe for choc chip cookies.
★★★★★
I made the cookies and they look nothing like the picture, they’re good, but the pictures are misleading
Hi Niki, how do they look different? We’re happy to help troubleshoot!
The cookies came out amazing! But myne also didn’t look like in your picture. They didn’t thin out as much and looked pale in color. But my kids never batted an eye and eat them up lol thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! First time writing. I own a home bakery, and your recipes are my #1 Go To Recipes, whenever I’m looking for something new. My question today is: i got a LARGE order for Chocolate Chip Cookies. You say that the cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months and you also say that dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Have you ever frozen the balls for 3 months, then baked the cookies, and then frozen the baked cookies? I was asked to bake 20,000 cookies. It will take me awhile.
Hi Laurel, we haven’t tried that, but we’d recommend sticking with 3 months total between making the batter and serving the final baked cookies. Good luck!
Hands down the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made! Huge nostalgia if you went to a high school that made the soft cookies you could buy at lunch. This is my new go-to and replaced my old recipe.
★★★★★
I need to double the recipe are there any special adjustments I should make other than the obvious multiplying by 2?! Thank you!
Hi Jeannie, you can double this recipe without any changes. Enjoy!