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).
You can certainly use brown butter here, and the flavor is outstanding! But they can be a little crumbly using brown butter. Instead, for best results, I suggest trying these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip 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 the 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.
- Can I Use Brown Butter Instead of Melted Butter? You can certainly use brown butter here, and the flavor is outstanding! But they can be a little crumbly using brown butter. Instead, for best results, I suggest trying these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- 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 haven’t baked em yet but I tasted the dough and it’s awesome
I also did not have chocolate chips but it was great even without it love this recipie!
I made the chocolate chip cookies yesterday for my grands first day back to school.
They are so good! Soft inside!
Love them!
Michele
So my oven isn’t working properly, going to use my dad’s. The commute is about 30 minutes and then I’ll still need to preheat the oven so I’m worried they’ll be out for too long, will that be an issue? If so, do I put the dough back in the fridge when I arrive? If so, for how long? And will I have to wait for 15 minutes afterwards?
Hi Sarah, If the dough is fully chilled it should be ok but if you are worried about it, can you transport it in a cooler? If it feels like it has warmed back up it’s not a problem to pop the dough balls back into the fridge while the oven heats up.
These are very oily at the end of the bake. I sit them on paper towel and let that soak the worst of it up. They taste good and everyone loves them but is there a way I can lessen the oiliness? Perhaps add more flour or not melt the butter and just beat it as you would normally?
Hi Sharon, happy to help! Are you allowing the butter to cool just slightly after it’s melted? This helps prevent any overly greasy texture and any excess spread. We hope this helps for your next batch!
uhhhh so i tired it and it didn’t overspread or anything, it lowkey remained really soft with only a lil bit of crunch…so i am not really sure on what to make of this just yet.
Taste is great, but my cookies spread like crazy. I weighed all my ingredients and chilled the dough for 24 hours, left them out at room temp for 15 minutes prior to 325° oven. After 17 minutes they were still underdone, and again spread out. Only baked three 60-gram cookies at one time on the middle rack on a parchment-lined aluminum sheet.
Any notes on what I may have done wrong?
Hi Court, sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you! Here are our best tips to prevent cookies from spreading. Hopefully this helps for your next batch. Thanks for giving these a try!
These are now my go to chocolate chip cookies. My family loves them. (And all of my other baked goods by you. Oatmeal cookies..chocolate cake.) you’ve really boosted my brownie points in the family lol
We used a combinations of mini chocolate chips and mini Reece’s pieces. I will say that I messed myself up by trying to bake too many at once. I had 2 sheets in the oven with the oven racks very close together so one sheet turned out perfect and the other sheet I had to put back in to bake more because they were underdone still. Lesson learned.
Additionally, to get the size and shape suggested for baking, I greased a plastic shot glass and used that to scoop my dough out. With the glass greased I was able to just shake it firmly and the dough came right out in a taller, mounded shape that baked perfectly.
I have never found chocolate chip cookie recipes anywhere better than yours
I do not want to use semi-sweet morsels and instead, milk chocolate chip morsels, do you recommend changing any ingredients amounts? Thank you!
Hi Rae, you can use milk chocolate chips without any changes. The cookies will be sweeter.
I made these today with butterscotch chips and diced dried apples. They are perfect cookies. I love this recipe as a base for different add ins.
can you use baking powder instead of baking soda?
Hi Iana! Those are two very different ingredients and are not interchangeable. You can read more about baking powder vs. baking soda in this post.
I have been trying various chocolate chip cookie recipes for my family and friends. I have tried other recipes from your website and every one has turned out amazing. These chocolate chip cookies were no different. A direct quote from my daughter-in-law, “These are the only chocolate chip cookies you are allowed to make from now on.” Thank you.
What do you do for thinner cookies with crispy edges but still soft in the middle?
Hi Renee, we’d recommend these crispy chocolate chip cookies instead!
I’m planing on making these for an event where they will be left uncovered for a couple of hours. Will these cookies stay soft that long?
Hi Noah, absolutely. These cookies can be left at room temperature for up to a week, so they will be plenty soft at your event. Hope they’re a hit!
Do I have to let refrigerate them for 2 hours can I leave for an hour.
Hi Sanna, Yes, you should chill this cookie dough for at least 2–3 hours so that the cookies do not over-spread in the oven (we usually chill it overnight).
i’m really upset not saying that it’s your fault but idk why my cookies just didn’t turn out right like it was crinkly wrinkly from the top it looked like a biscuit and i cooled it for 3hrs but it still spread a lot
Hi Sana, sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you! Here are our best tips to prevent cookies from spreading. Hopefully this helps for your next batch. Thanks for giving these a try!
I follow the directions exactly but ended up with cookies that just fell apart. The chocolate chips turned into a gooey mess.
They actually tasted fine but they fall apart when you try to pick them up.
I do a lot of baking so I can’t figure out what went wrong.
Hi Linda, we’re sorry to hear the texture wasn’t what you were hoping for. This particular recipe is meant to be soft and chewy, so they won’t bake up crunchy or firm all the way through. If yours were very soft or falling apart, that can also happen if the butter was a bit too warm, the dough wasn’t chilled long enough, or if the cookies were very underbaked. For a crunchier chocolate chip cookie, we’d recommend these crispy chocolate chip cookies. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Love this recipe but my cookies never spread like the pictures, even if I start with them flatter. I’m wondering if it’s due to living in the desert and at a higher altitude? Is there something I can tweak to help them spread more?
Hi Maci! Could there be too much flour in your dough? That can cause cookies to not spread enough. 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 to weigh the ingredients. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Additionally, some readers have found this chart helpful for high altitude baking: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I absolutely LOVE your recipe!! Thank you!!
I just wanted to ask- when baking the cookies from frozen they end up with fudge like centres. I even add an extra 1-4min of bake time but end up with brown cookies and still a soft fudge centre. How can I fix this? I only have this when baking them from frozen. 🙂
Hi Anja, we’re so glad these are a favorite for you! Have you tried banging the pan half way through bake time? That will help initiate spread and help the cookies to spread a bit more evenly. It can be normal for frozen cookies to take a minute or so longer and be a bit thicker in the center. Hope this helps for next time!
I can’t believe I slept on this recipe for so long! The first batch I baked I made two tablespoon sized as instructed but they’re huge. I prefer a smaller cookie so I used my one tablespoon cookie scoop, shaped into cylinders and baked for 10-11 minutes. They turned out delicious!