I have a few tricks that make these the best soft chocolate chip cookies that you’ll ever try. With hundreds of positive reviews from bakers around the world, I’m confident you’ll fall in love with this chocolate chip cookie recipe too. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative and cornstarch makes them extra soft and thick!
Chocolate chip cookies are a household favorite, a timeless classic, an unparalleled snack… warm, cold, dunked in milk, in dough form, or in baked form. No one can resist the comfort of a chocolate chip cookie and everyone has their favorite recipe, whether it’s on the back of the yellow chocolate chips bag or scribbled in your grandmother’s recipe book.
Heck, I even have separate recipes for crispy chocolate chip cookies and chewy chocolate chip cookies!
Like many of you, I’ve searched far and wide for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe: the best chocolate chip cookies, a recipe I can bake again and again for years. I’ve lost sleep, I’ve burnt dough, I’ve tested and retested and retested… and retested, countless times. And I’m so happy to report that I finally found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’ll treasure for years. And I know you’ll enjoy these cookies too!
How to Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Start With Butter: Use room temperature butter. You can soften butter quickly with this trick or set the butter out 1–2 hours before you begin.
- Use a Mix of Sugars: Cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together. This process aerates the butter, which promises soft chocolate chip cookies. Brown sugar yields soft chocolate chip cookies, and white sugar helps the cookies spread. For chewier and more flavorful cookies, use more brown sugar than white sugar.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar are interchangeable in most recipes. Though either works in this chocolate chip cookie recipe, I love using dark brown sugar for extra flavor because it contains more molasses.
- Add Egg & Vanilla Extract: Eggs provide structure and richness, while vanilla adds flavor.
- Use Cornstarch in Dry Ingredients: Cornstarch, a thickening ingredient, is the secret weapon in this cookie recipe, just like in shortbread cookies. 2 teaspoons give the cookies extra lift and leave them extra soft. You can’t taste it! You also need all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add Dry Ingredients to Wet Ingredients: Combine all the ingredients, then add the chocolate chips.
- Chill the Cookie Dough: For extra thick chocolate chip cookies, chill the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. Chilling cookie dough will make or break the recipe! The colder the cookie dough, the less the cookies will over-spread. If you’re interested, here are 10 tips on how to prevent cookies from spreading.
- Extra Chocolate Chips: This is optional, but as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a few chocolate chips on top. They’ll melt right down into the cookie, making them extra pretty. And melted chocolate is never a bad thing! I recommend doing the same with double chocolate chip cookies.
Room temperature butter is cool to touch and about 65°F (18°C), which may be cooler than your kitchen. To test it, poke it with your finger. Your finger should make an indent without sinking into the butter. The butter should not be shiny or greasy. You can’t cream cold butter and you can’t cream partially melted butter, either. Room temperature butter is imperative to the outcome of these cookies! You need 3/4 cup, which is 1.5 sticks, 12 Tablespoons, or 170g.
Don’t Have Time to Chill Cookie Dough?
If you don’t have time to chill the chocolate chip cookie dough, try my crispy chocolate chip cookies, giant chocolate chip cookies, or Nutella chocolate chip cookies. Or even these soft chocolate chip cookie bars or cookie dough frosted cookie cups, which don’t require individual cookie rolling, either!
I also have an entire section of no-chill cookie recipes. 🙂 Snickerdoodles are a favorite!
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Freezing chocolate chip cookie dough is really easy. I have a whole post dedicated to how to freeze cookie dough, but here’s a recap:
- After the cookie dough has chilled in the refrigerator, roll the cookie dough into balls. Chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Place the solid and cold cookie dough balls into a plastic zipped-top freezer bag.
- Label the bag with the month and the baking temperature, and place the bag in the freezer.
- Freeze cookie dough for up to 3 months. The date will help you determine when the cookie dough is fresh, and the temperature is written for obvious reasons. Really, you can write whatever is helpful to you. The date, temperature, time, recipe name, etc.
- When it’s time to bake the cookies, remove them from the freezer. Preheat the oven according to the recipe’s instructions.
- Bake the cookies for a minute or 2 longer, since the dough is frozen.
Bake the frozen cookie dough balls whenever that chocolate chip cookie craving hits, or when you need a big batch of fresh-baked cookies. I do it all the time!
Sometimes the simplest recipes are what stick. I really don’t need to convince you—it’s a chocolate chip cookie. THE chocolate chip cookie!
Print
The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
I have a few tricks that make these the best soft chocolate chip cookies that you’ll ever try. With hundreds of positive reviews from bakers around the world, I’m confident you’ll fall in love with this chocolate chip cookie recipe too. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative and cornstarch makes them extra soft and thick!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cup (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar together on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together. Add into the wet ingredients, then beat on low speed until combined. The cookie dough will be slightly thick. On low speed, beat in the chocolate chips.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3–4 days. Chilling is imperative for this cookie dough.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Once chilled, the dough will be slightly crumbly, but will come together when you work the dough with your hands. Roll cookie dough, about a heaping 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie (I use this medium-size cookie scoop), and place 3 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake for 11–12 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. The cookies will look extremely soft when you remove them from the oven. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. They will slightly deflate as you let them cool. If desired, while the cookies are still warm, press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops. This is optional, just for looks.
- Transfer cookies to a cooling 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 3–4 days. Allow to come to room temperature, then continue with preheating the oven in step 4. 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): Stand Mixer or Handheld Mixer | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Adapted from Anna Olson
Keywords: soft chocolate chip cookies
LOVE these chocolate chip cookies and everyone I make them for loves them too!! I need to make some cookies for a friend who’s daughter has a corn allergy – so I can’t use cornstarch….but I love all of Sally’s recipes so don’t want to look elsewhere for a chocolate chip one. Is it possible to just leave the cornstarch out? Or is there another recipe you have that is also delicious but omits the cornstarch? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Michelle, The cornstarch helps to keep them extra soft. You can leave it out with no other changes and they should still be great!
These are by far the best! I just starting baking and so in love with all recipes here. But this is my #1!!
★★★★★
Love this recipe! There so nice and soft and taste soo good! Must try supper easy.
This is literally the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I love baking and love to feed people so naturally I have made 100 different versions of this basic staple over the years. I kept searching because perfection was still elusive.
I need look no further. These have the “omg delicious”, eating with eyes closed seal of approval from everyone who has tried them. I have picky kids who usually prefer savory treats to sweet, and a finicky husband who doesn’t often give praise, but these…. these are winner cookies.
Soft, fluffy, well shaped, round and beautiful, golden brown on the bottom and peppered with chocolate on top. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this recipe which spreads so much joy in my household.
★★★★★
We so glad these chocolate chip cookies were such a hit with your family, Laura! Thank you for sharing.
I loved this recipe!!!. If I freeze the cookies after baking. Do you just leave them to thaw out and then eat it?
Hi As, Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. You can thaw them and eat them! Enjoy.
Added a ½ tsp of cinnamon and they were great. Also chilled the dough for several hours. Delicious.
★★★★★
I don’t know if I have done a comment before, but these things are amazing 🙂
The 2nd time I made them, I melted peanut butter and did a drizzle on them. The 3rd time I made them, my boyfriend had a great idea to take chunky peanut butter and put a little on the center. These cookies are bomb! Also, when I blend the chocolate chips in, it turns the cookies into like crinkle cookies and I am totally ok with that as well. Without peanut butter or with, really good! Peanut butter and chocolate tho! Seriously Thanks for a great cookie recipe!
★★★★★
These cookies turned in to chocolate chunk crisps. They were still good
★★★
This recipe is literally the best! A few key things and the cookies will come out perfect every time. One measure on a digital scale if possible. Two room temperature butter. Besides just touching I use a thermometer to make sure in the range of 60 to 65. Three and very important after you make the batter put in refrigerator for atleast 24 hours but even better is 72 is even better. After that pull out of fridge and wait like 30 minutes then roll dough in to balls with your hands and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Perfect every time!
I’ve made these a ton of times and for me, I have the best luck with room temperature butter rather than melted. The melted butter almost always results in cookies I consider too flat. They are perfect with softened room temp butter. The tall cookie trick is important, don’t skip that step!
★★★★★
This recipe is amazing! Cookies came out super soft and chewy! Thank you for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
First off, love this recipe! Only recipe I’ve found that gives just the RIGHT chewy texture for chocolate chip cookies. I did have a quick question, is there anyway to adjust this recipe to make the cookie a chocolate base instead?
★★★★★
Hi Oliver, we’re so glad to hear how much you enjoy these cookies! For a chocolate based cookie, we’d recommend using our Inside Out Cookies as your base. They’re just as soft and chewy!
Thank you so much for the recommendation! I’ll definitely try those out next!
When I made these cookies, the outsides were perfectly done but the insides were too raw. They still tasted good, but how can I get them evenly baked without overcooking the outsides?
Hi Michelle! If the outsides are browning too quickly before the middles can cook, your oven may run a bit hot. You can try reducing the temperature by 10 degrees or so next time. We also always recommend using an in-oven thermometer to ensure your oven is the correct temperature, most ovens can be off by quite a bit. Hope this helps!
Yes, finally found a recipe that worked to make soft Cc cookies, thank you for sharing it! So happy with results!
★★★★★
Just made these today and they came out great. I used dark chocolate chips as we like them better than semisweet .
This recipe is amazing! The first time I made it, I didn’t have cornstarch so I just substituted 6 teaspoons of extra flour instead and added 2 teaspoons of cinnamon (because in my culture we add spices to all of our baked goods so it was a must) and swapped out the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips for sea salt caramel chips. Even with the extra changes, it still came out fantastic. My family finished all two dozen cookies in less than than a day. I’d never made cookies before but it came out just like the pictures. Adding the chocolate chips on top really made all the difference I think. Even my dad who doesn’t like sweet stuff gobbled them up when he came home and then packed some more to take to work the next day. I’m trying them out again today with the corn starch to see if there’s a difference.
★★★★★
I don’t know why my cookies always spread? I follow all the directions, but once they are come out of the oven they spread out and loose that great look like yours. Any suggestions?
Hi M, it sounds like your butter may be a bit too warm which is causing them to over spread. Here is more on what room temperature butter really means, as well as some tips on how to improve your next batch of cookies — see #2 for more tips on how to prevent excess spreading. Hope this is helpful for next time!
Love these cookies and always make enough to freeze for later.
Have you tried cooking in an air fryer? We have the ninja foodi flip that has a bake setting but can’t get the temp/time just right. Curious if have any experience with this.
I made these and they are AMAZING!!
Question though is there a way to make these with peanut butter also. Although everyone love the peanut butter oatmeal choc chip recipe of yours I made…. I don’t care for oatmeal cookies.
TIA
Sherry
Hi Sherry! Adding peanut butter to this recipe would require more testing, we suggest following this recipe for white chocolate peanut butter cookies instead (use regular chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips)!
Thank you so much!
Will be trying the suggestion this week along with the oatmeal butterscotch cookie
These were THEE WORST COOKIES i have EVER MADE!! I followed the directions to a T! THEY ARE FLAT AS PAPER!! Chewy, well probably only because they seemed under baked! AWFUL recipe and waste of money and time!!
★
Dang Really?! I’ve made these cookies multiple times and they come out delicious! You have to follow the directions to a T. Don’t skip anything!
Can I use this recipe to make Jumbo cookies instead of the other recipe you have for giant cookies?
Hi Shae, You sure can! You’ll still want to chill the cookie dough and the bake time may be a bit longer depending on how large you make your cookies.
These are the best chocolate chip cookies.They taste even better the next day.Follow the directions exactly and you will be in heaven.These are simply the best
★★★★★
Hi, I’m not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies but these were amazing, I think I had about 5 🙂 anyways my question is can I use chunky pieces of chocolate chips instead of morsels? Thank you & if so does it change anything in the recipe? Like baking time or anything else that I should be made aware of?
These were so amazing! I used sprinkled cake batter chocolate chips instead of the usual and it was really good. I’ve never had a recipe make exactly what was told and it did.. I was shocked lol.
Would definitely double the recipe next time so there’s more!
★★★★★
These are the best chocolate chip cookies. Perfect every time. I’m curious if this recipe can be doubled or tripled successfully? thanks for all of your hard work and fabulous recipes.
Hi Paula! Yes, this recipe can be doubled or tripled. Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes!
Hi question please. Can I make the balls first then chill? That’s what we did with your sugar drop cookies and they came out great! Can we do the same thing here?
Hi G, absolutely. The dough will be slightly thick and a bit sticky without chilling them first, but it can certainly be done. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Hi. Thank you for your answer. One more question please. Can you half this recipe? 2 dozen cookies are too much! Please help! Thank you.
Yes, you can halve this recipe if desired. To halve the egg you can crack it open, beat the yolk and white together with a fork, measure the volume (should be a few Tbsp), then use half. Enjoy!
Hi. I just wanted to say, this is, indeed THE BEST cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. They taste even better the next day. Printed the recipe and posted it on my fridge. Thank you soooo much! The struggle is over. ❤️
★★★★★
Do you need a mixer or can I mix with spatula and get the same texture?
Hi Rachael! You can mix this dough by hand if necessary, but it will take quite a bit of arm muscle! Particularly when it comes to properly creaming the butter and sugars. We find a sturdy wooden spoon works best. Let us know how they turn out for you.
I feel like I followed the directions exactly, and read through the whole article about preventative tips and my cookies still came out pretty flat. They taste great, but I was hoping for a cookie that looked like the ones in your photos. I’m glad people have had success but it’s on to another recipe trial for me.
★★★
Hi Carrie! I’ve made this recipe a few times now, the first time I only refrigerated the dough for an hour and they came out a quite flat, however the last few times I’ve chilled the dough overnight and they’ve been beautifully thick and chewy! Hope this helps!
★★★★★
I had the opposite problem! They are so tall that I thought they weren’t baked. They held their shape from when I rolled them almost perfectly. I chilled the dough for 2 hours and found rolling them into balls to be super difficult.
Hi Megan, if you find the cookies are not spreading enough in the oven, feel free to use the back of a spoon to gently press them down towards the end of the baking time. Hope this helps for next time!
I’m about to try out this recipe. Could you please clarify if I really have to use 170g of butter? I’m from Russia so we use grams here. Just to make sure. I don’t want to mess it up. In the video it looked like a smaller amount than 170 g.. I might be mistaken, of course!
Hi Elena, correct — you’ll want to use 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Hello, Lexi! Thank you very much for your reply. Yes, I completely followed the recipe and everything worked out well. The cookies were absolutely scrumptious. Everybody in my family loved them!
★★★★★
This is cookie recipe is the best! My family loves it and i use this recipe very frequently. I just noticed though that after a few hours, my cookies become oily and eventually become too soft and sometimes does not hold its form. Does this mean too much butter was used? Or it is a bit underbaked?
Hi Karen, it’s possible that your cookies could just need an extra minute or two in the oven to help hold their shape. Also, make sure your butter is not too soft (here’s more on what room temperature butter really means) as it could cause the cookies to be a bit oily as you mention. So glad your family enjoys these!
I love this recipe! More importantly my very picky husband loves this cookie! After years of some what flat chocolate chip cookies, this recipe showed me I can make a good chocolate chip cookie. Thanks!
★★★★★
This is now my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’ve been making them at least once a week. My family loves them. They are really good with milk chocolate chips as well.
★★★★★
These cookies are amazing!! I’m not really much of a cookie eater but these may have just changed my mind.