This is the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe EVER! The secret is in melting the butter. No chilling time required, no funny ingredients, just simple, homemade chewy chocolate chip cookies!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are little morsels of memories. I’m sure you, too, have more than one memory that has a chocolate chip cookie wrapped up in it. I know my family adores them, and with this easy and fast recipe (no dough chilling time in sight!) you’ll have a batch whipped up in no time. I love making a big batch of dough and keeping some frozen in case visitors come by or we get an unexpected sweet tooth calling.
If you’ve been on the hunt for a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies, look no more. This is the last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever try. If you don’t love them the first time, make them again; you made a mistake somewhere. 🙂 Seriously though, for being a very basic chocolate chip cookie recipe (no extensive chilling time needed, no cornstarch needed, etc.) this is the best recipe out there.
Here’s what the butter and sugar should look like before you add anything else (right). It will be light and fluffy, and this will take a full 5-8 minutes of mixing. Don’t skip this step!
What Makes These The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies?
It is made with 100% butter, melted to give the cookies a hint of caramel flavor.
The secret key to this chocolate chip cookie recipe is the melted butter. I LOVE that it uses melted butter because you don’t have to wait for the butter to come to room temperature. When you beat the melted butter and the sugars together you beat and beat until the mixture gets light and fluffy (pictures in the post for reference!); the process takes several minutes but it’s where the cookie magic happens! The cookies have a caramel undertone that is so delicious and they turn out great every time you make them. They are crisp on the edges, a little soft in the middle, and the perfect cookie texture all around.
You don’t have to chill the cookie dough.
Also, you don’t have to chill the dough like many other recipes. The reason is because this dough is sturdy enough to spread a bit as the cookies bake, but not enough to totally flatten the cookies into one another. They hold their shape well, so the extra time spent refrigerating is unnecessary!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
- Flour: To bind and fill the cookies. You could also have good luck using gluten free flour, almond flour, or whole wheat flour.
- Baking soda: For the cookies to rise and puff up a bit as they bake.
- Salt: To round out the sweet flavors.
- Butter: And lots of it! Melting it is the key to perfectly soft, chewy, amazing chocolate chip cookies.
- Egg + an egg yolk: Eggs help add volume to cookies and extra yolk makes them more tender.
- Vanilla: For a subtle warming flavor.
- Chocolate chips: Of course! This adds the morsels of chocolate necessary for these cookies. You can use any chocolate chip variety you like here; I use semisweet.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies:
You are going to love making these cookies! They’re SO delish and fun to bake.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium. Until smooth and light and fluffy in color, around 5 minutes.
- Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.
- Reduce the speed to low and slowly add flour, the salt and baking soda.
- Mix in the chips until incorporated.
- Roll them into 1/4-inch balls. And place them on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper or a baking mat) about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies. Until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the middles are still soft and puffy, around 10 minutes.
- Cool cookies. Keep on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough, and enjoy!
Why I Bake These Cookies at 325 Degrees F. Instead of 350 Degrees F.
Baking cookies at 325 helps to make sure the inside and outside bake evenly. The outside doesn’t get crunchy while the inside remains gooey; instead, you have a chewy, but fully baked, cookie from inside out.
Possible Add-in Ideas:
- Oatmeal: Use a half-cup less of flour and add 1 cup of oats to the dough at the same time as the flour for a grainy, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.
- Chopped walnuts or pecans: Fold in 3/4 cup of chopped nuts to the dough when you add the chocolate chips for an added crunch and nuttiness.
- Toffee: Break toffee into small bits and fold 3/4 cup in with the chocolate chips to add a bit of crunch and sweetness from the toffee candy.
- Mini M&M’s: Want a burst of color and an added chocolate boost? Mix in 3/4 cup of mini M&M’s when you add the chocolate chips.
- Cocoa powder: For double chocolate chip cookies and chocolatey cookie dough, add a 1/2 cup of cocoa to the dough with the flour.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies:
These cookies will stay fresh stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, store in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cookie FAQs
How Do You Get Perfectly Shaped Cookies?
Invest in a cookie scoop ! It’s a game changer. I also like using baking mats. Everyone needs both in their kitchen.
Can I Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?
Yes! I always double this recipe, bake a couple dozen, then form and freeze the rest.
How to freeze the dough: Form the dough into the balls, stick them in a single layer in an airtight container, and freeze for up to a month.
How to bake frozen dough: Just bake the frozen dough for a few minutes longer at 350 degrees F. (instead of 325 degrees F.). They turn out perfect every time. Now I always have cookies in the freezer ready to pop in the oven on a whim. I haven’t said no to a request for cookies in months!
I love having the cookie dough in the freezer, too, for unexpected guests or when I want to take some dinner over to a friend. Hot cookies are always welcome with a meal!
Troubleshooting Chocolate Chip Cookies
- How can I tell my cookies are underdone?
- They will still look like dough (glistening, soft) and won’t be golden-brown around the edges.
- Why are my cookies spreading too much?
- Too little flour is often the culprit of flat cookies — make sure you measure it well!
- Why didn’t my cookies flatten?
- Too much flour or not melting the butter can cause them to remain in their cylinder shape.
My favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe EVER
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This is the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe EVER! The secret is in melting the butter (no more waiting for it to soften!). No chilling time required, no funny ingredients, just simple, homemade, amazingly delicious and chewy chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled for 5 minutes
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) on medium speed until smooth and light and fluffy in color, around 5 minutes. The mixture will be very noticeably lighter in color (see post for before and after pictures).
- Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.
- Reduce the speed to low and slowly add half the flour, the salt and baking soda, and then the second half of the flour. Mix in the chips until incorporated.
- Working with 1 large tablespoons of dough at a time, roll them into balls and place them on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper or a baking mat) about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the middles are still soft and puffy, around 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
Notes
- To freeze this cookie dough, simple form it into balls and stick them in a single layer in a zipper-topped bag or an airtight freezer-safe container and freeze. Place the frozen cookie dough balls on your baking-mat-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Hot cookies on demand will change your life! These freeze very well. I normally make a double batch and freeze half.
- When I double the recipe I do 3 eggs instead of 2 eggs and 2 yolks because that’s simpler for me. They turn out great.
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: best chocolate chip cookies, homemade chocolate chip cookies, easy chocolate chip cookies, how to make chocolate chip cookies, chewy chocolate chip cookies
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Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
Did you know I’m a little cookie obsessed? Try these too:
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The recipe was originally published in February 2012. It was rephotographed, rewritten, and republished for your enjoyment in February 2020.
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My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe on the face of the earth. SO good! And they freeze well.
I’m sure I won’t be able to say enough good things about this recipe. I love to cook, especially for people I love. I’m pretty good at it, too. However, I HATE BAKING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. Because I’m so bad at making them. They have never turned out right before and it’s so frustrating to me, so before I tried this recipe it had been a loooooong time since I’d made cookies. But I wanted some so bad and my husband wouldn’t make them for me ? So i used this recipe, and THEY WERE PERFECT. Soft, not too flat, DELICIOUS. So chewy and perfect. And so easy to make! I have tried the weirdest recipes to try and get the perfect cookie, but they never turned out well. These ones did. And I froze half the dough and can’t wait to try those later. Hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted and especially have ever made, and my husband agrees. Wish I could give this 1,000 stars. Thank you, Melissa.
★★★★★
YAY!!!! I love this SO MUCH! Thank you for taking the time to write a glowing review, it’s so appreciated! And I get you, my husband laughs at me sometimes because I own a business around food and I literally could not make cookies to save my life when we were first married. May this first success be a catalyst in your cookie making adventures!!!
These are seriously the BEST! I made them for a gathering a few months back and everyone at the party commented on how delicious they were! Your recipes are ALWAYS the best!! Thanks so MUCH!
★★★★★
What changes would you recommend for baking at a high elevation?
★★★★★
I’m actually baking at 5200 feet so you shouldn’t need to change a thing!
I accidentally used 2 sticks of butter , I’m so used to it that I forgot this recipe used less. So I dropped my temp to 300 and baked for 15min. So yummy, flat but yummy.
★★★★★
Great save! I bet they were fabulous!
Can you use cake and pastry flour or is it all purpose flour. I was going to make them and realized I only have whole wheat or cake and pastry flour so before I head out to the store, I thought I would ask, thanks
Cake flour would work better than the whole wheat for this recipe, it should work just fine.
Hey, we’ve tried this a few times now and love it!!! However, I have a question. I melt the butter and let it cool, but my dough is still not a good enough consistency to actually make balls. I have to spoon it on the pan. Today I tried cooling in the fridge, but it still isn’t quite right for rolling a ball. I love the texture of the cookie in your photos. While ours are delicious, I’d like them to be like the ones you have pictured. Wonder if you have any suggestions for me. Is the butter suppose to get o a specific “look’ before incorporating, etc. Thank you so much!
I think it has less to do with the butter and more to do with the amount of flour you are using. You can use the butter while it’s still warm and it’s great. If your dough is sticky, try adding 1/4 cup of flour. It should be easy to work with and not stick to things when you are making them into balls. You can always email a picture too! I’m more than happy to help you trouble shoot.
Thanks Melissa, for your advice haven’t made chocolate chip cookies yet but made the chocolate , peanut butter, oatmeal balls o my Lord so good. Thanks Tim
So good right! You are going to LOVE these cookies too!
Great recipe for cookies came out deliciousis, I used Bailey chocolate chip a must try sooooo good.
I’ve never seen those, where did you find them?!
Is it salted or unsalted butter??
I’ve used both with great success, though unsalted is typical for baking goods, us what you have on hand!
i dont have any parchment paper, do you think greasy a cookie sheet would be okay?
Parchment, a baking mat, or a lightly greased sheet will all work, thanks for asking and happy cookie making!
i attempted to make these and when beating the butter and sugar it was not setting up? what butter do you use? how long do you let the butter sit to cool? it stayed really liquidy when i was beating it 🙁 looking for a really good cookie recipe
I used a store-brand salted butter, nothing special and I whip it 8-10 minutes if I put it in hot. It’s a long time! It’ll still work even if you don’t beat it a ton, I think it just develops the flavor. Did you make them? What did you think?
So yummy! I used mini M&M’s instead of chocolate chips and they turned out great. Definitely recommend!
★★★★★
Yes! One of my kid’s favorite substitutions for this recipe too! Thanks for sharing friend, I’m so happy you loved them as much as we do!