Perfect Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies {Melted Butter + No Chilling!}
Believe me when I say, these chocolate chip cookies are truly the best of the best! Soft and chewy, they start with melted butter and can be mixed by hand!
There are so many recipes out there for “the perfect chocolate chip cookie” but this one wins by a mile.
Not only are the cookies soft and chewy and everything a chocolate chip cookie should be, but they start with melted butter and don’t require any chilling. Easy and simple!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
The dough for these chocolate chip cookies can be made in a bowl (no stand mixer needed) and stirred by hand.
The ingredients are simple and pretty much what you’d expect for chocolate chip cookie dough.
- melted butter (brown the butter for even more delicious flavor!)
- granulated + brown sugar
- salt + baking soda
- egg + egg yolk
- vanilla
- flour + chocolate chips
Don’t be tempted to add the full egg for the egg yolk called for in the recipe. It will make the cookies cakey instead of chewy.
Scoop and Bake
The cookie dough can be baked right away. No chilling! (HOORRRAAAAYYYY!)
I use a #40 medium cookie scoop {aff. link} to plop the cookie dough onto baking sheets.
However, this cookie dough can be baked as smaller OR larger cookies. It’s pretty much a no-fail recipe, so scoop the cookies in whatever size you want!
A Classic Cookie
For a classic soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, this recipe can’t be beat.
The cookies literally always turn out amazing, and are met with rave reviews every single time I make them.
Feel free to sub in different kinds of chocolate chips (I’m a semisweet girl myself)!
A Tried-and-True Recipe
I’ve been making this cookie recipe for over ten years, and it never gets old. That’s the sign of a good recipe!
With over 200 five-star reviews, these cookies are a fan favorite!
Rachel says: I’ve made this recipe a million times and it’s the BEST! I use a silicone mat on my baking sheet and they come out perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Loana says: This is the best freaking chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. The cookies look like bakery cookies and my entire family demolished all (52!!!) cookies this recipe made in a few days. Soooo good!
Jen says: OMG. I am converted! Melted butter IS key! These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made (and I have made a ton in my 50+ years). Thanks for sharing your recipe – now it is just our little secret!
FAQs for Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yes! They freeze great.
Increase the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
It needs to be completely melted then slightly cooled.
Shape the dough into balls, place in a covered container and put them in the freezer. I take them straight out of the freezer, place on a cookie sheet, and bake as directed, adding another 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (170 g) (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup (212 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet or milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until well-combined.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until a few dry streaks remain. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly combined (don't over mix).
- Scoop the dough into heaping tablespoons (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and place a couple inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Optional: roll the cookie dough into smooth balls.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: slightly adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Recipe posted May 2008; updated September 2022 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Jackie – 1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons.
How do I measure 1/8 of a cup?
Mel…ANOTHER winning recipe! We are chocolate chip cookie connoisseurs round this house and lemme tell you these were a HUGE hit. I was skeptical of the softness sticking around the morning after baking, but sure enough opened up the airtight container this morning and still soft and chewy. YUM. Thanks for this recipe…won’t make my chocolate chip cookies any other way from here on out!
These came out perfectly! Rave reviews from all the teachers we made them for! This is our new go-to recipe! Thanks!
The first batch were a little ‘plump’- (like little mounds)- but the second batch, I gave each ball of dough a little ‘squish’ down before baking and .. .perfecto! Getting closer to your picture! My next attempt will be to let the butter cool more- how long do you cool yours for? (I imagine 2 min in the freezer doesn’t count. . .?)
hi these do sound wonderful. i recently learned of a trick to make chocolate chip cookies chewier. i saw it on america’s test kitchen tv show on pbs. they take the orignal nestle tollhouse chocolate chips cookies (which was the recipe i liked for years before i saw the tv show) and the change it by decreasing the moisture. here is the link for the org. recipe : http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTL%C3%89-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx
on america’s test kitchen they changed the amounts of almost everything
10 tbsp butter
4 tbsp butter
3/4 c dark brown sugar
1/2c white sugar
1 egg, + 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 c chocolate chips.
the first thing you do is brown your 10 tbsp of butter in a silver colored fry pan.(please be very careful doing this it splatters and i’ve burned myself) stir while mixing so it doesn’t burn. this is done because most of the excess moisture is evaporated off, and in a sliver pan you can see how browned the butter is without burning it. pour it into a heat-proof bow that contains the other 4tbsp butter. mix to melt the rest of the butter, also the hot butter will cool down.
add the sugars, stir, add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.* let sit for 3 minutes, stir again* repeat this step 3x. it gives the sugar a chance to dissolve better. next i add the salt, baking powder and stir again. then i add the flour and when its almost mixed in i add my chocolate chips. i use a 1/4c measuring cup to measure thes out, but i like my cookies small because the opening of my cookie jar isn’t very big, so i break each quarter cup of dough in half and place on cookie sheet. there is no need to roll these out or flatten them down, they turn out perfect on thier own. i bake them at 375 for about 6-7minutes. they will look undercooked when they are done with just a hint of golden around the edge. i only put 1 pan in at at time. i have a 3 pan system, 1 pan in the oven, 1 pan cooling, and 1 pan ready to go in the oven next, keeps you from waiting all day for cookies to bake. you do need to leave these cool on the pan a few minutes before removing. if you take them off too early the middle of the cookie will stay on the pan.
I too have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I never stray from, but I was out of vanilla pudding (the secret ingredient) and so I decided to venture out and try this one. Glad I did, these are fabulous. Thanks so much!
Cookies where good but I am more of a “toll house” fan. But they sure are pretty.
That said I took half the dough and made peanut butter chip cookies and they are to die for! Just added 3/4 C peanut butter chips and 1/2 C chopped party peanuts to half the dough. They are the bomb. Think my hubby will love them if there’s any left when he gets home. He can’t eat chocolate. Thanks for such great recipes. All I’ve tried are awesome.
Pau – I don’t flatten the cookies before baking them. I leave them in the round ball shape and they flatten perfectly in the oven. Hope that helps!
Hi, I tried many of your recipes such as your chocolate chip cookie bars, best cheesecake, cheesecake bars, etc., and they all turned out great! Especially the cheesecake bars, everyone loves them! I would like to try these next; however, I need to ask, when about to bake, do I keep them looking like tablespoon-sized BALLS? Or do I flatten them first? Because I’m worried they might end up looking like balls too, and not cookies. Thanks!
I made these today but used peanut butter M&M’s instead of chocolate chips. Still a winner!
I made this recipe for second time today. I screwed up 1st go around, they tasted ok, but went flat, I added ground flax seed and I mixed dough in a little at a time with mixer. This go around, followed directions to the T, and what a difference!!! You nailed the title, this is the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I actually just made 2 batches back to back. 1st batch I used extra dark chocolate chips…but the extra was too much dark. So remade another batch and used mini semi sweet morsels (only choc chips I had that weren’t dark chocolate) and PERFECTO!!!
Thank so much Mel for sharing your recipes, and more importantly for breaking out your “best”. You are now my go to for baking here on out. I need to try your cooking recipes next. Thanks again love!
Be blessed!
good cookies! doubled the batch so we are good to go for a few days, with company! They are very similar to the Best Recipe cookies I make as my go to recipe. I love it when I find a perfect recipe and I wouldn’t change a thing about them. good stuff!
These taste really good! The first batch I made spread into one giant mass, so I refrigerated the dough for 2 days. The next batch spread, but not as much as the first, so I added a little bit of quick cooking oats to the remaining dough and the last couple of batches are perfect. Yum!!
Search no more for the perfect chocolate chip cookie…because here it is! I made these cookies on Tuesday night and everyone who has had these have fell in love with them…in fact my mom said that next time I make these they want 1 dozen just for them b/c so many fought over who gets the last cookie! But I call them “Just Need One Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie”…they are perfect and just 1 satisfies your sweet tooth!
I’ve been making cookies from the CI recipe you adapted for years but somehow this version turned out even better! How do you DO that?! This is my new go to for sure!
Thank you, Mel. I actually haven’t tried to make those cookies again because I worry that I’ll mess them up for a 3rd time. So my go-to recipe for now is David Lebovitz’s salted butter one. But I’ll give it a whirl soon and let you know how it goes.
Hi Kat – I’m glad you found your way here! About the cookies, yes, I think heat/humidity/elevation – all of that – can play into how baked goods turn out so it’s impossible to say exactly what went wrong. Do you weigh your flour or measure it in cups? That could possible be the discrepancy in flour amounts if you are scooping the flour in cups versus weighing. I adapted my recipe a little bit from the original Cook’s Illustrated – I reduced the size of the cookies since I think they shape theirs in 1/4 or 1/3 cup amounts to make really large cookies and I also increased the baking time slightly. Those changes may be worth a try but it sounds like you definitely need that extra flour to help the cookies keep their shape. Also, make sure the butter is slightly cooled (not melted and piping hot) – that will definitely help with consistency. Good luck!
Oh, I forgot to mention, they flattened so quickly that I had one big thin cookie on my cookie sheet within two minutes, I think. That was before I added the half cup of flour.
Hi Mel,
I came across your blog and have been browsing for longer than I should (I’m at work, shhhhhh.). I tried making the Cook’s Illustrated recipe twice before and both times it was a disaster. The dough was too runny and the cookies flatten too quickly in the oven, even after I chilled the dough (which wasn’t in the Cook’s Illustrated instructions anyway). I ended up having to add a half cup of flour. That saved them, and they were delicious and moist on the first day, but they turned mealy by the second (possibly because of the additional cup of flour?). What could’ve I done wrong? I live in a tropical country, could the heat and humidity have anything to do with it? Thanks in advance for any help you can give. I am hell bent on finding the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it seems melted butter and me don’t mix.
Beth – thanks for the comment! Are you using dark coated baking trays or the light aluminum one? Sometimes a dark finish on a baking sheet will cause the cookies to over darken on the bottoms. I haven’t ever had a problem with the cookies burning on the bottom – but I’m glad you found a way around the problem by baking at a lower temp and on a higher rack. It could also just be that your oven bakes warmer than others – ovens can actually vary in exact oven temperature.
I’d like to start off by saying that since the first time I tried one of your recipes, I’ve followed your blog regularly and consider your recipes to be golden. Tried and true. (That first recipe was Sweet and Sour Chicken.)
I tried these cookies tonight, and they are delicious!! I did have trouble with my first batch burning on the bottoms, but coming out light and slightly golden on the top. I had baked them on parchment-lined trays at 350 deg. for 11-12 mins on the middle rack. The next batch I put on the top rack at 325 deg. for 13-14 mins, and they turned out beautifully! Have you ever had a problem with your cookies burning on the bottoms? This isn’t the first time it’s happened to me, so I’d like to figure out exactly what I’m doing wrong.
Thanks for sharing your talents and recipes with us all. I am inspired by your posts.
Hi! I found your recipe on Pinterest and I am so glad I did! I accidentally only used half the butter and I did use margarine (I don’t know why but I was thinking one stick was a whole cup so I only used a stick and a half) but they still turned out awesome! My husband said they were the BEST cookies he’s ever eaten! My whole family loved them and they were so easy to make! They came out looking so perfect just like your picture! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! This is the only one I will ever use now!
Sheri – I always use butter, never margarine, so I would highly recommend not subbing the margarine for butter since I can’t tell you how they will turn out. I hope the cookies work out well for you!
Does it matter butter or margarine?
Ever since we moved into our house we haven’t been able to get a fluffy chocolate chip cookie… We’ve tried almost every variation out there do I hope this is our answer!
I am making these cookies tonight… I will let you know how they turn out!
Two for two! Second recipe I’ve attempted from your site and it did not disappoint! Amazing cookies and so easy to make. Thank you!!!
The texture and look of these cookies, yes- Perfect! But I found them to be a little bland/flavorless. I made them as the recipe stated but next time I will add extra vanilla and maybe a dash of cinnamon. It gives a chocolate chip cookie a subtle something extra and makes it unique! I ALWAYS add a dash of cinnamon to my choc. chip cookies, so maybe I just got used to the flavor in my cookies.
Hi Marilee – whenever I double this I use two large eggs and two egg yolks (I save the whites for egg-white omelets or french toast or something like that). You could try subbing 3 large eggs and see how it goes but I’ve never tried it.
If you were doubling the recipe, would you use three eggs?
Yum—just made these and had to add valentine M&M’s since I was short chocolate chips. They are fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
My husband declared these the best chocolate chip cookies that I have made for him. Thanks!
These cookies looked amazing from the picture. I baked them up today after having saved this recipe on Pinterest awhile ago. I followed the directions exactly, underbaked the first batch by a few minutes (even though they were in a 350 oven for 12 minutes) and the texture was just weird. They did not come out looking like the picture at all. Unfortunately for me, I’m still on the hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Our family favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe has begun to fail consistently. I don’t know if it’s because of the change in Crisco (elimination of trans fats) or if our tastes are changing. I began my search for a new recipe here. I love these soft yet chewy cookies. I froze some for my daughter’s lunch and feel they came out even better –if that is possible. Husband misses the oats (from our original recipe) so I’m off to try the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies today. The kids and I definitely see this as a keeper though. Thanks!
This recipe is delicious!!! I’ve always hated making chocolate chip cookies because they never turn out good. These make me want to make chocolate chip cookies for every occasion!! They are FANTASTIC!!!
Mmm…great recipe. I made these tonight (half recipe) and they turned out great. Even only making half, I still got 2 dozen cookies. I’m definitely not complaining.
I made these this weekend. Hands down the most gorgeous chocolate chip cookie I have ever made. Seriously. All my other chocolate chip recipes are going in the trash.
Also on a search for the best chocolate chip cookie, I tested these from Cook’s Illustrated and it is now my new go to recipe! Perfection!
I made these tonight, and they are super yum! Thanks. : )
I’ve never had much success with chocolate chip cookies, although they are my kids’ favorites. This recipe is a winner. It batter was a cinch to pull together thanks to the melted butter. This is the version I’ll be making from here on out. Thanks!
These are divine. I have a Mrs. Fields recipe that I USED to make, but this knocked it out of the top spot. I love the buttery richness without the grease. I love that even though the butter is melted, they don’t go flat. I love the slightly crispy outside and chewy inside. These are perfect. I used Guittard mik chips and vanilla bean puree instead of vanilla. My kids inhaled these. I need to hide them because I want to try them when they are a day old. Thank you, Mel, for yet another winner. It seems like other blogs and websites are letting me down but my sister and I agree, Mel never fails us! You are our trusted source.
Just wanted to tell you that I made these and all the family loved them. I got 44 cookies from the recipe. I also substituted 4 ounces of chocolate chips for toffee chunks. Delish. Also, I baked them longer, maybe 16 minutes. Seemed kind of time intensive to me, but I’m just getting into this whole from scratch thing so I’m sure it’s just me.
OMG!!! I just made these cookies and just WOW! So moist and delicious. My kids are just gobbling them up – I had to say no more! This one is a keeper! I never ever comment recipes and I just had to on this one. I also made the chili recipe and it was just fantastic! I put it into my recipe book after just one try, my husband and kids loved it. I followed the recipe exactly and it was just right for us! Great site! I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes!!! Thank you!
These are great cookies! I froze half of the dough balls and they were only in my freezer for 3 days. Friends came over after we went out to dinner and we baked them right up…they were better than anything on the dessert menu that night! You know it’s a good recipe when your friend calls the next day for the recipe…I directed her here…Thanks for such a wonderful food blog…you do a fantastic job!
These are amazing cookies, my daughter Ashley gave me your website, love it. These cookies are so good for moist climates.
I have to tell you I have made these cookies twice now and they have turned out great both times! My only change was 1/2 cup of reeses pieces candies and 1 1/2 cup choc chips for a light peanut butter taste. I also turn my baking sheet around after 5 minutes for even cooking because my oven is old. Thanks for sharing all of your great recipes. I love this website.
I think I’ve positively died and gone to heaven! These cookies are sinful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
My wonderful friend Mel! I write to you as though we are old dear friends because I have followed your blog for eons and you have made me an exponentially better cook and as a result of that wife and mother, what better definition for a friend.
Anyway, I made these classic little gems two days ago and insisted that my husband bring in the rest of them to work the day following since my waistband would have expanded considerably if left to my own devices.
He heeded my command and promptly sent out an e-mail stating “My wife baked some cookies and told me to bring them in today… she said they might help me make more friends”. With in 10 minutes the entirety of the contents of his tupperware container were gobbled up with many hearty claps on the back and new friendships forged. All co-workers agreed that the cookies were great and his friendship was okay too.
So, Mel, because of you I have become a better person AND my husband is making more friends at work 🙂 I give your tried and true recipes a standing ovation! Thank you so much for this wonderful website.
Your friend,
Mickie
P.S. Tell your Aunt Marilyn that her Banana Bread recipe is DIVINE and genius. I believe more batter is eaten then the bread however, I can’t get it in the oven quickly enough.
These are wonderful!! I made them yesterday, and they are my new favorite! My usual standby, the recipe on Butter Flavor Crisco for choc chip cookies, just tastes a little “fake” to me these days (probably the artificial butter flavoring). Yours have great texture and bake beautifully. I used Ghirardhelli chips – 1 cup semi sweet and 1 cup bittersweet (60% cacao). Delish!
Best cookies ever! I’ve been looking for a chocolate chip cookie this good for years. Thanks!