Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
These super soft chocolate chip cookies are so simple, doesn’t require any chilling, and is truly the best chocolate chip cookie recipe on the planet!
I have over 100 cookie recipes on my site. And at least a dozen variations of chocolate chip cookies.
But these super soft chocolate chip cookies are easily the cookie recipe I make the most often. Like, weekly? That’s a fair estimate. They are crazy simple (no secret ingredients) and crazy delicious.
Super Simple Cookie Dough
This cookie dough is extremely straightforward.
Mix the following:
- butter
- brown sugar + granulated sugar
- vanilla
- eggs
And when I say “mix” I mean “mix it real good.” Until the batter is light and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips…and this time, mix until everything is just combined. You don’t want to over mix the cookie dough at this point.
Cookie Troubleshooting
I scoop the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop (#40). This equates to about 2-tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. But you can make them smaller or larger, depending on how you are feeling in that particular moment.
The brilliant thing about this cookie recipe is that you don’t need to chill the dough prior to baking. HALLELUJAH.
If you find your cookies are flattening too much while baking or NOT flattening enough, here are a few tips:
- For cookies that are flattening or spreading too much in the oven, try adding a couple tablespoons more flour to the dough and/or increasing the oven temperature to 370 or 375 degrees F.
- For cookies that are staying mounded and not flattening well, try decreasing the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and/or using several tablespoons less flour next time around.
Freezing Cookies or Cookie Dough
These cookies freeze amazingly well. I almost always double the batch and freeze the baked and cooled cookies in gallon-sized freezer ziploc bags, pressing out as much air as possible.
Knowing there are ready-made chocolate chip cookies in my freezer at all times gives me a sense of peace and fulfillment that is hard to describe.
Pro Tip: if you take a cookie (ok, three) straight from the freezer and let them sit for about 3 1/2 minutes on the counter before eating, you’ll know what pure joy is. They’ll be super cold but not break-your-teeth hard, and listen, I know warm cookies are divine, but I have a special place in my heart for really-cold-almost-frozen-cookies.
You can also freeze the cookie dough. Roll the cookie dough into balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once the cookie dough is frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to a ziploc bag or other covered container and place in the freezer.
To bake frozen cookie dough, place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and add 1-3 minutes onto the baking time.
These super soft chocolate chip cookies have been a long-standing favorite for almost ten years. My kids have taken over the cookie making these days, and they always turn to this recipe.
Truly, for a good, classic, straightforward, soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, this recipe cannot be beat.
Find room in your heart and your kitchen for this tried-and-true recipe. It’s a keeper!
One Year Ago: Rollup Blender Pancakes
Two Years Ago: Luscious Lemon Cream Pie
Three Years Ago: No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (159 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (340 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour and chocolate chips. Mix until combined.
- Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon size mounds (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and roll into balls. Place several inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges are just set and the middles are still light and fluffy.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 3-4 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (used this soft oatmeal coconut chewie recipe as a start to finding the best soft chocolate chip cookie recipe)
Recipe posted July 2015; updated June 2022 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Amazing cookie recipe!! One of the fastest recipes to bake up and sooooo worth it. I prefer to use mini chocolate chips and cut them back to 1 cup. I’ve made them with milk chocolate chips too. They are all delicious! This one is winner- thanks Mel!
I am excited to try these, I was wondering what brand and kind of chocolate chips do you use??
I almost always use Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips.
I only have unsalted butter. How much salt should I use in the recipe?
Increase the salt by 1/2 teaspoon
I have finally found the best CCC. I’ve tried hundreds and I’ve never said the word perfect when I took them out of the oven until today. My cookies are always flat, so I added the extra flour for once in my life to have a puffy cookie.
So happy to hear this, Andrea!
Great and oh so easy recipe!! Will make some to freeze for easy baking in the future for events.
I do feel they need a skoosh more of something. Will try cinnamon and some pecans on the next batch.
Thanks for a great recipe to practice tweaking to my likes!!!!!
I love this recipe! Can I add peanut butter to it and how much!
I have never tried adding peanut butter to this recipe, but I do have this peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe:
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
This recipe makes great cookies! Not a lot of spread, a little crunchy on the edges, but very soft and moist on the inside.
This is by far the best soft cookie recipe I’ve tried (and trust me, I’ve tried many 😭)
Very easy, the cookies they are soft in the middle and gooey even after 2-3 days, I’m chuffed!!
Instead of chocolate chips I used chunks of white and milk chocolate!
Thank you Mel ♥️
Best chocolate chip cookies I have made.
Seriously, wasn’t expecting them to turn out THIS GOOD! What a difference the baking powder addition makes! Now this will be my new, and last, chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ll ever need. I follow a lot of your recipes Mel, and I have your cookbook. You haven’t let me down yet! Thank you for sharing your love of cooking and baking with a bunch of us busy moms. Thank you!
Thank you so much, April!!
best cookies ever! if I’m ever feeling like I need a little sugar this is my go to recipe.
Mel,
These are the best chocolate chip cookies. I have finally found a gem of a recipe. My husband and grandson love them and so do I. Thanks for posting.
This is absolutely a soft cookie, but the taste seemed a bit off to me. I won’t be making this one again.
Oh my gosh these are DIVINE. For years I have struggled with flat, too hard or too sloppy cookies, but no longer. Sweet, fluffy, soft, delicious. Thank you Mel as always for your incredible recipes!
These are unbelievable! SO FREAKING GOOD. I love these cookies and will definitely be making them again!
I AGREE!
These are unbelievable! SO FREAKING GOOD. I love these cookies and will definitely be making them again!
So easy to make!
Yummy!
BEST COOKIE RECIPE EVER!!!!!
Heavenly soft ✅
Beautifully fluffy ✅
Beyond delicious ✅
Will never make a different recipe again!!! TY!!
These are SO good! Thanks for the perfect soft chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I have made so many of your cookie recipes and I don’t know how I missed this one until just recently. In the past I have had the hardest time making consistent cookies but these ones have been perfect every time! We’ve started making half a batch at night when we decide we want a warm treat last minute. Other cookies just can’t compare to how soft and delicious these are.
I will never stop making these cookies. Always have frozen cooked bags in my freezer for easy air fryer reheat to pair with ice cream. Or just eat 5 for myself, depends on how hangry I am.
i have made these several times, but i get confused by your measurement for flour. i thought a cup of flour was 120 grams, that is how i measure it out and you have 426 grams, wouldn’t that be 3 1/2 cups. i have done it both ways, 3 cups at 360 grams and your measurment, so i wondering which one is correct?? thanks. love your recipes. take care
I test all my recipes using 142 grams of flour per cup. Different recipe sources online may use different gram amounts per cup of flour. There is no standard across the board (for instance, King Arthur Flour uses less flour per cup than America’s Test Kitchen), so my recommendation is to use the weights given in a particular recipe.
I made these today and they were very simple and delicious! Even though I made them for the first time I doubled the recipe because I have that much confidence in your recipes. I have a couple other chocolate chip cookie recipes that I make from your site and they have been my favorite, but I think this will be a new favorite
Mel. These cookies are perfection. Perfection! I had a favorite family recipe, handed down through the years, that I snobbishly compared all chocolate chip cookies to and found them inferior. Then yesterday, my 10 and 12 year old daughters decided to make these for a fun, Sunday night treat.
One bite, and I threw away my family favorite recipe. Seriously. No regrets. They are soft and delicious even the next day. Did I mention they are perfect? This is now the standard, and I doubt it will ever be topped. I can’t think of anything I’d change to make it better. Texture, flavor, saltiness, sweetness, chocolate to cookie ratio, you absolutely nailed it! Thank you Mel!!
One of my all time top cookie recipes!
Well these were delightful. We sandwiched cookie dough ice cream in between two cookies for a fun summer treat too. Thanks for sharing another great one!
This is the best! Love all your recipes!
These are so easy and so good! My new favorite chocolate chip recipe. The first time I followed the recipe exactly, and the cookies didn’t spread at all. So I decreased the flour to 400g and they are just the way I like them! Thanks for a great recipe!
I know this sounds bonkers but I, a reasonably accomplished/experienced baker cannot bake chocolate chip cookies without them spreading into oily pancakes. I’ve tried a zillion recipes and all the same end result, so I KNOW IT”S ME. I notice in your notes, you say to increase the oven temperature; how does this stop the cookies from spreading? I thought the oven was too hot, hence the spread? Please explain your magic to me, I really want to make these! Thanks for any help you can offer!
Hi Monica, baking the cookies at a slightly higher temperature bakes them faster and they puff more quickly (instead of having time to flatten out if they bake more slowly at a lower temperature).
If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be chocolate chip cookies. I’ve encountered some decent recipes over the year, but this one is TOPS! Bonus: the dough is possibly even more delicious. When I tasted the dough, I knew I had a winner on my hands!!
This has got to be my new go-to cookie recipe! I have been struggling with my old one – cookies always came out flat. BUT this one finally gave me the fluffy, soft cookies I absolutely love!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! It’s definitely a keeper!
The search is over. I have found the perfect cookie recipe! These were SUPER EASY to make and turned out FANTASTIC!!!
My kids and I have declared – we have finally found “the one” … this is the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Thank you Mel!
Absolutely delicious These is the best recipe I have ever tasted, by far!
So glad you highlighted this recipe, Mel! I needed to make some cookies and I’m always up for trying a new choc chip cookie recipe. These were so easy and turned out the perfect thickness without chilling. They were super fast to make and everyone loves them.
PS – I can’t believe how rude some people are in your recipe comments!
Very, very good! I love how soft they are. Nobody at my house was complaining when I made these on Father’s Day.
Delicious as always! The first egg I used was a double yoker, so I didn’t know if I should add the second one still.. turns out I should have added the second egg. Still so yummy they just didn’t spread as much as I would have liked. Can’t wait to make again!!
This recipe sounds heavenly! Love your directions and also the fact your recipe contains measurements and weights. I have a question, if the flour I use weighs 120 grams per cup, should I adjust the weight to 320 grams for the 3 cups? Thank you
Hi Marykay, I recommend using the weight given in the recipe. You’ll want right around 426 grams of flour for this recipe. If you adjust and use less, the cookies won’t turn out.
Great recipes!
Question: Would it work to use the chocolate chunks that you can buy in a bag instead of regular chocolate chips?
Thank you!
Yep!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but wanted to ask first: can I substitute chocolate chunks for the chocolate chips? Thank you, Kelli
Yep!