Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip {or Chocolate Chunk} Cookies
These soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are perfect! Seriously, perfect. And thanks to a simple and unique mixing method, this recipe is easy as can be!
I feel all sorts of nervous and also excited posting this soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe today.
I want you to love it.
And I want you to trust me when I say, these cookies really are perfection.
But I also feel slightly disloyal since I quite often profess my love about quote-unquote perfect chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Like these classic (and perfect) chocolate chip cookies.
Or these super soft chocolate chip cookies.
Not to mention other favorite spin-offs like these cream cheese {egg-free} chocolate chip cookies.
A ten years younger blogging me thought I’d only ever have one “best” recipe or one “favorite of all time” recipe for a certain category.
But I guess in all my maturity (ha), I’m realizing that I really can have several favorites.
Like, solid, steady, tried-and-true, stellar favorites.
There’s room in my heart for more than just The One. Even for chocolate chip cookies.
And you gotta trust me, I’m not posting every recipe I’ve ever tried for chocolate chip cookies.
Cause I try a lot (I know, I have issues).
And I cross my heart and swear to die that I will only ever post a recipe (especially another recipe for the same thing) if it’s going to knock your socks off.
And these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies (or chocolate chunk cookies – yum!) will do just that.
I’m not saying they’ll be the last chocolate chip cookies you and I will ever make (what fun is that?). But I have a feeling they are going to become a very strong favorite for you, just like they have for me.
In fact, these are the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve been making for the last little (ok, kind of long) while.
And for a girl who makes an abnormal amount of chocolate chip cookies (and always has them baked and waiting in the freezer), this is kind of a big deal.
I just love these cookies so much! And I’ve converted several friends to them as well (hallelujah for cookies that don’t require chilling time).
Whenever I’ve taken these cookies anywhere the last month or so, I get asked for the recipe.
I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that a few of those times, I’ve loaded the cookies with salted caramel baking chips + chopped snickers bars + regular ol’ chocolate chips (I died, that combo is SO good).
If you are wondering how these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies differ from other favorites, there is less egg (just one overall), and the flour to sugar to butter ratio is a bit lower.
It’s too late (typing this post at midnight, FYI) to analyze the baking science behind it all.
All that really matters is, these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are terrific. I just grabbed a couple out of the freezer, in fact.
And I didn’t get them out just to stare at them, if you know what I mean.
Also, one last quick note: I love, love the mixing method of these cookies (and kind of wonder why I didn’t think of it before).
The baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla are all mixed right in with the sugar and butter. Kind of brilliant if you think about it.
This saves having to clean a separate mixing bowl for whisking together the dry ingredients, and I’ll never complain about one less dish to wash.
And if you’ve always been a rebel and never whisked dry ingredients together anyway before throwing them all in the bowl, this will minimize any miniature, pesky baking soda or baking powder lumps that inevitably find their way into the baked cookies.
Basically, it’s easier. And it’s awesome.
Just like these cookies.
One Year Ago: Perfect Pot Roast and Gravy
Two Years Ago: Quick and Easy Quinoa Enchilada Skillet Meal
Three Years Ago: Slow Cooker Applesauce {No Sugar Added}
Four Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
Five Years Ago: Pumpkin Blondies with Chocolate Chips
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip {or Chocolate Chunk} Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened to cool room temperature (not overly warm or melty)
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (212 g) brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet (or milk) chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (see note about convection). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a bowl using a handheld electric mixer, combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Mix on low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is light and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg and mix until evenly combined.
- Add the flour and the chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks) and mix until combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Scoop the cookie dough into rounded balls (about 2 tablespoons in size; I use my #40 cookie scoop), spacing them an inch or so apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until just very lightly golden (or no color at all) and set around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from BraveTart (omitted nutmeg, altered weight/amount of flour, used salted butter, changed up the method a bit)
These were to die for!! I cut back on the white sugar by 1/2 cup since it just seemed like way too much and they were still really sweet. Loved the texture to pieces though! Soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges. Mmmmmm!
Oh and I banged the cookies on the counter after they came out too… it’s my new weird quirky thing I do. Lol
Seriously, dropping that pan of cookies on the counter is super rewarding. 🙂
These are absolutely delicious – my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!! I used 1 cup chocolate chunks and 1 cup seasonal M&M’s for a fall treat. Love your blog!!
M&M cookies are the best! Thanks, Andi!
Oh man these were awesome! Mel- please try my variation and tell me what you think, I subbed guttiard white chocolate chips and added 2 tsp of cinnamon. AMAZING!! Kind of like an inside out snickerdoodle. Gave them to the ladies that I visit teach and both have asked for the recipe.
Yum! I might even get over my mild dislike of white chocolate to try this! 🙂
Tried these tonight and no one complained but I don’t think I’ll make them again. The texture was gritty despite weighing all ingredients and mixing the specified amount of time. I think there wasn’t enough liquid to properly dissolve the sugar, although this may have been exacerbated by the larger crystals of the organic sugar that I use. I’m going to try the pan banging technique recently published by the NYT (did you see that? intriguing!) but I’ll probably go back to my tried and true recipe (basically the Toll House recipe with a few house tweaks). Thanks for the experiment though!
Yeah, I definitely think organic sugar with coarser/larger crystals would definitely contribute to a different texture. I haven’t seen the NYT thing, but if it’s banging the pan of cookies on the counter after they come out of the oven, I’ll chuckle because I’ve been scaring legions of children by doing that for years after my friend Lisa taught me. Funny. Maybe it’s not even the same thing.
These cookies turned out awesome! I have such bad luck with cookies always going flat, but these didn’t and they were beautiful! I live at a high altitude, so I did the 2 1/2 cups flour, but added an additional 2 T, so maybe that helped? I think these will be my go-to recipe…at least until you post another one.
Wowee wow, these were a hit and super good! I did cut the sugar down a smidge for curiosity sake 3/4 white sugar and and a little less than a cup on brown sugar. But they were still fabulous. Everyone loved them and I wish I had doubled the batch.
Fabulous news!
My only complaint is that they disappeared too fast 😉
We really enjoyed these cookies! I have tried many chocolate chip cookie recipes over the past 25 years with varying results, but never found one that would be my go-to recipe. I think my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe is now over because these ones are just what I was looking for!
Awesome, Nancy! So happy you loved these.
Wow! Just pulled these out of the oven and they are FABULOUS!!! Wonderful flavor and so easy to make! Thanks so much, Mel!! You never lead me astray 😉
Thanks, Brittany!
Seriously the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies ever! I’ve passed it along to family & friends!
These were a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! My new favorite cookie recipe.
Yay!
I commented a bit ago and I’m still not seeing it… I think this may end up being a duplicate. I apologize! SO I made these today– I tried to follow the instructions exactly, using cool softened butter and weighing all the ingredients on my kitchen scale. I also typically have issues with flat cookies, so I baked using my convection setting. The finished product is certainly delicious, but also very flat! I’m so bummed. The pictures you posted look like the cookies I always imagine but never achieve. Sigh. I don’t know what the deal is. I don’t live at high elevation; I do live in a very humid area (NJ). I have made many cookie recipes and rarely am I satisfied with how they turn out. Do you think my best bet would be trying the recipe again with a few added tablespoons of flour?
Hey there, Megan, yes, I definitely think your climate may be the culprit. I live in a very dry climate and I’ve heard that often in humid climates, extra flour can help compensate for what the moisture in the air does to baked goods.
I also wonder if your over mixing your flour. If you mix your flour too long it will also give you flat cookies. Just a thought.
I measured all the ingredients with my kitchen scale, made sure my butter didn’t get too soft before starting, and baked on convection. While they taste delicious, they definitely fell flat. I was so hoping for the thick cookies pictured! Those look like the cookies I always imagine but never achieve. Do you think next time I should try putting in a few more tablespoons of flour? I live in NJ, very humid but not high elevation, in case that matters. The dough didn’t look overly wet or dry, just right. Sigh. I don’t know what I am lacking.
These cookies are fantastic! They taste great and look like a cookie should.
Thanks, Jenny!
You’re the best, Mel! I started adding the baking soda, salt, etc. to my wet ingredients a few years ago, too. After so many years of watching food network, reading cookbooks and magazines and blogs, and 17+ years of daily cooking for my family, I realized that many of the “rules” professed by cooking experts are simply preferences. Or traditions! I still use cold ingredients for pie crust and brown all meat and poultry before cooking (saute in the Instant Pot is the best), but if that extra step in a recipe seems fussy and means another bowl to wash, you’d better believe I’m gonna try skipping it!
These cookies are absolute perfection! I don’t own a microwave and never have perfectly soft butter on hand, so today for this recipe I melted 3/4 cup butter and stirred that with 1/4 cup cold butter and it turned out nice and soft!! WHAT!! I’m so happy right now!!
That’s awesome!
Updated to say crumbly dough notwithstanding, these were so soft and chewy and tasty after cooking 10 minutes at 350. I live at about 4500 ft and did not add any extra flour. There was not too much fluffiness or spreading. Just right. Yum.
Oh really? Thanks for the update!
My dough was so crumbly and dry. Tasted good though. Is it supposed to be crumbly?
No, it shouldn’t be crumbly…sounds like it may have been overfloured. How did you measure the flour?
I just made these and have to say they are delicious! These will be my go-to ccc for sometime now, we were getting a bit bored of the ones I had been making. Thanks, Mel.
I can’t wait to try this recipe out! You never disappoint!
Random question, do you freeze them after baking and let them thaw a bit before you eat?
Yep! Or eat them straight from the freezer.
These are my new favorite chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for the tip to flatten them with a cup if they don’t flatten in the oven. I would have thought they didn’t turn out right, but they are perfect after using your tip!
Yay! So happy they worked out for you!
OMG, these are sooo good! Thank you for the tip to bake on the convention turned on – it worked for me! I couldn’t figure out why my cookies weren’t quite like yours when I was weighing everything to exact the recipe. Wow what a difference it made with the convention oven on! I don’t think I’ll ever stray from this chocolate chip recipe. I just wanted to say I appreciate the details you give in your recipes – I can tell you put a lot of effort into making sure everyone gets it exactly right to have the same experience as you! It’s greatly appreciated!
I meant to say convection oven! Shows you how much experience I have with it. 🙂
Thanks so much, Lauren! I am glad the details helped; it’s important to me that everyone has aa much of a no-fail experience as possible!
Just had to report that I made these egg free and they were FABULOUS! Because the recipe only started with 1 egg, I figured I’d have pretty good luck swapping the 1 egg for 1 Tbsp flax seed meal + 3 Tbsp water (mix, set to the side for 10 minutes, then added into the dough when you’d add the egg.)
These cookies are the bomb! I chose to chill the dough a bit before cooking, as the dough seemed really soft, but the cookies came out *beautifully*. Thanks, Mel! You are a recipe rockstar. 🙂
Oh my goodness, that’s amazing! Thank you for taking the time to leave the details about this!
Alicia, thank you so much for this review! I’ve got an egg allergy kid and now I can’t wait to make these for him tmw. He hardly ever gets cookies and this will thrill him!
I just noticed that this recipe was adopted from BraveTart! I just stumbled onto her blog on Monday looking for a faux Oreo recipe. And hers is the winner! Her recipe actually addressed the science behind the Oreo where King Arthur flour and America’s test kitchen could not answer the why’s or how’s.
You should totally make her Oreo cookie recipe and Macaron recipe and blog about them! But first read her article about her faux-reo recipe. She is an amazing writer and baker!
Article:
http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/08/meet-the-fauxreo-how-to-make-oreos-homemade.html
Recipe:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/08/bravetart-homemade-oreo-style-cookies-recipe.html
I agree, she is amazing! I bought her cookbook after having so much success with many of her recipes (including her cherry pie). I’m excited to check out those links. Thanks!
Quick question: Is the sugar amount correct? I
made these last night. They stayed soft, but they came out gritty and overly sweet from all the sugar. Even my sugar loving 8 year old told me they were too sweet and wouldn’t finish one. I followed the directions exactly. My family already gave me orders to stick to my other chocolate chip cookie recipe. Sorry, but this one wasn’t a winner for us.
Yes, the sugar amount is correct; you could try cutting back a bit. I have a couple other recipes that use 3/4 cup granulated and 3/4 cup brown sugar and they are tasty. Letting the butter and sugar mix for the full 4-5 minutes should eliminate grittiness. Sorry these didn’t work out for you!
I couldn’t get them as puffy as yours but they turned out delicious! These will be a new go-to recipe for me!
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Kristy!
These are the cookies I have waiting for! They are crisp and chewy and absolutely perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Yay!!
Love chocolate chip cookies and these look yummy! Love all the great tips too! Pinned! Xoxo
Made these today. So. Good. I mean spectacular! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. This is exactly the chocolate chip recipe I’ve been looking for. Made with butter but not flat. Yum!
I’m so happy to hear that, Erin! Thanks for reporting back!
So soft! These did really well at 325°. I did start out baking them at 350, but they did seem to spread just a little. Baking at a lower temp was the ticket for me. I will definitely make them again!
Thanks for the feedback, Angela! So happy you liked the recipe!
Man, I don’t know if I can bring myself to stray from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe that I’ve been making for yeeeeears, since I bought “The Best Recipe” cookbook! I’m known for my chocolate chip cookies because of that recipe. Are these really better? Or just different? Do I dare try? Of course, it would give me an excuse to make MORE CCC in the name of research, right???
I don’t know if I can say they are better or more perfect…know what I mean? Just a different variation. If you have a tried-and-true, you might be disappointed, but I have to say, I went in to the recipe having a couple solid favorites, and these skyrocketed to the top. 🙂
Ok definitely trying them! You know… in the name of research. Someone’s gotta do it.
Wow these look yummy. I went to Trader Joe’s yesterday with my list you gave us in hand and, among many other things you recommended, I purchased their chocolate chunks. Amazingly, I have never baked with a chocolate chunk before, so this sounds like the perfect cookie to make with them. Thank you for that awesome list. Found so many new things I had never paid attention to and bought many of them to try out.
I remember seeing the list but now I can’t find it. Can you help me out and remind me what post it is in? Thanks!
I went to look for her Trader Joe’s list again and I can’t find it! Can someone please help me out and tell me what post to refer back to?
It went out in the weekly newsletter – do you get that, Lachelle?
I did! Thanks!
I hope you like those chocolate chunks as much as I do, Teresa! I’m glad the list was helpful. Never hesitate to share YOUR favorites with me!
Mel, you surprise me with another chocolate chip cookies recipe!! But since I trust you with my whole heart and soul, I’m excited about this! I actually need to bake some cookies for a RS activity tonight and I think you just convinced me to try these. And yes, cookies in the freezer, best thing ever!!! Thank Mel, you’re the best!!
Hope you love them, Josie!
Ok, WOW! Mixing the baking soda, salt and baking powder with the butter and sugar. I think this is life changing.
I love your recipe that calls for melted butter but I will have to give this one a shot. You can never have too many good chocolate chip cookie recipes!!
Did I just read ‘salted caramel baking chips’!?! Can’t get them in Canada but would love to know where they are available in the US for my next trip.
I’ve found them at Walmart and just recently at my regular grocery store (like Albertsons or Fred Meyer).
Barb they are available in Canada at most grocery stores under the Chipits’ brand
Hi Barb, I found them at Real Canadian Superstore just last week, I’m in BC.
Haha, I have always wondered if there was a science reason behind keeping the dry ingredients together because this mixing method seems like a no brainer. I’m definitely not an extra bowl person so I always try to make sure I place the baking power and friends in with the flour such that it will incorporate well. Now I will try it your way without fear!
“baking powder and friends” – funny! Yes, this method kind of revolutionized my life with cookies.
You put your chocolate chip cookies in the freezer?? Haha – I’ve actually never tried that. I like chilled sugar cookies, but for chocolate chip I like them fresh out of the oven, and half baked. Well, I call them half baked, but really they’re just slightly under-baked 🙂 😉 Love them – might have to try your recipe!! 🙂 <3
Yes, underbaked cookies are not a bad thing!
I freeze cookie dough balls (before baking) so I can have fresh, half baked cookies anytime ☺️ (I stick them in the oven still frozen for~12-14 minutes – makes them crisp on the edges and gooey inside!)
How many cookies does this make?
The yield is right there above the recipe title – about 3 dozen.
I am always up for trying a new cookie recipe!!
Really! Another favorite chocolate chip cookie! But one less bowl, might have to try these, anything with chocolate is a winner! Keep the good recipes coming!
I just became loyal to your super soft chocolate chip cookies, like a week ago. Especially since I can put the dough in the freezer and just put them on the cookie sheet to bake and they come out perfect. Is this cookie dough good in the freezer and pulling them out to bake fresh?
Hey Bethany – I LOVE that recipe. It’s honestly right up there in my all-time faves. I haven’t tried freezing the cookie dough for this recipe, but I imagine it would work pretty well.
I just wanted to report a follow up to my question. Yes, (of course) this dough freezes beautifully. I did a side by side comparison of these cookies with your super soft chocolate chip cookies with frozen dough from both recipes. Hands down, this recipe is better. I even took a picture of the difference between the two cookies, but I don’t think I can add it anywhere here. I’m pretty sure my husband called this the “perfect chocolate chip cookie.” I said goodbye to the super soft recipe and will be making this one. Yum. Thanks!!
Serious? That’s a pretty big commitment, but I love it, and I can totally see why! Thanks for reporting back! If you can, try adding the picture on FB (on the visitor posts section) – if it’s too much of a hassle, no worries!
Oh yes. Good idea. I just put the picture there!
“…lowering the oven temp by 325 degrees and/or 2…” LOL. I’m guessing you meant to say “[lower the oven] TO 325 degrees” . I’m not sure what” and/or 2″ means? ?
Anyway, I look forward to trying this recipe. I keep experimenting with my “old” chocolate chip recipe because I live at 4,300 feet and am trying different “high altitude” adjustments — less leavening, more flour, more liquid (add another egg). My cookies taste really good, but they don’t flatten enough.
Yep, sorry about that! I meant lower it by 25 degrees. I fixed it. 🙂 What I mean by the and/or is that #1 (lowering oven temp) or #2 flattening with a glass can help fix puffy cookies. I have heard from others that baking at high altitude can be tricky. I hope you find the perfect combination!
Can’t wait to try these! I have used a similar technique for making my cookies for the last couple of years. I cream the butter, sugar and salt. Then I add leavening and mix well. I hate extra dishes!
Hi Mel! Question – have you experimented with scooping the dough into balls, then freezing for baking later? I do this with your perfect chocolate chip cookies recipe, the one with the melted butter (I always use Kerrygold salted butter, and all brown sugar, and I love them so much!). I love cookies when they’re right out of the oven, so I like to do this with dough anytime I make it, then I just pull a couple of the dough balls out of the freezer and bake them whenever I want! Just wondering if you had tried that with this particular recipe, thank you!
Hi Melanie – I haven’t done that with this cookie dough, but I imagine it would work quite well! And I bet that chocolate chip cookie recipe you love is amazing with the Kerrygold butter and all brown sugar – yum!
Are there special instructions if you are using a convection oven, as I don’t see a note. I haven’t made yet, but often do use the convection setting.
Hi Kathy – the convection note is in the 2nd paragraph of the notes section – basically linking to the quick Instagram experiment I did a while back. In short, if you don’t have convection, sometimes you can *close* to the same result by increasing your oven temperature by 20-25 degrees. Otherwise, baking on convection at 325 degrees (if the recipe calls for 350 degrees) should produce pretty good results.
Every time I bake I wonder what kind of vanilla you use. Some vanilla is so strong or impure or something and it kind of wrecks the baked goods. What brand/kind do you use?
Just thought I’d add my two cents…Nielsen Massey is supposed to be the be all end all for vanilla extract. I tried it and wasn’t too impressed. I couldn’t tell the. Difference between it and McCormicks (which I love) and is a third of the price. I’d say as long as you are using pure vanilla extract and not imitation you will be good to go. Rodelle is another good one for me.
Hi Beth – great question. I don’t have any magic answers – my go-to vanilla is homemade (I have a post here: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/diy-vanilla-extract/) OR the Kirkland brand from Costco. Right now vanilla beans and vanilla extract is SO expensive (I read somewhere there was a shortage of vanilla beans in one of the major producing countries) so it’s hard to splurge, but I definitely think pure vanilla extract makes the difference, which you probably already know. I agree that brands can vary – I tried one from Amazon once that had crazy high reviews (this was years ago) and I thought it was terrible.
I’m not sure how lowering the oven temp by 325 degrees will result in less puffy cookies other than just not baking them at all, but I’ll give it a shot. 😉
Haha, good point.
Ha. I’m guessing you both knew what I meant, but thanks for pointing it out. Fixed!
What kind of butter do you use for this recipe? Unsalted or salted? Is there a brand you prefer?
I always use salted (baking purists look aside) because it’s what I keep on hand for everything. Lately, I’ve just been using the Costco butter (Kirkland brand) and like it. Otherwise, if I go to the every day grocery store, I pick up Tillamook or Land o Lakes.
Morning Mel, can’t wait to make these!
My sister loves a chewy thick choc chip cookie but crispy on the outside. Do you have one of those? Thanks much!
Hi Noreen – these might actually fit the bill if you bake them a minute longer, maybe?