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.
I made this batch of cookies and it turned out great. They tasted great and were soft and chewy even the next day. Will definitely make this again.
Have flattened out cookies & rebaked. Total waste of time, not to mention price. The rest of the dough is headed for the garbage !!! Doubtful that my comments will get posted. Super disappointed.
No Shelley! I disagree! Maybe you are just not an experienced baker, and thats okay. You will continue to get better I know it!!
I am not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. I love peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal chocolate chip but not plain chocolate chip cookies. But this recipe has changed me! I now look forward to making and eating these! They are delicious, soft, and outstanding!
These cookies are the reason I cannot lose my last five pounds of baby weight. They are absolutely amazing and all my self control disappears when they are in my counter!! Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
I hear ya, sister.
So I have made this recipe several times with perfect results. I’ve had many compliments and they seems to disappear quite quickly. The last time I made them I realized that I was out of eggs so I substituted some applesauce and dare I say that they turned out even better (if that’s even possible)! Great taste, very soft and chewy, over all my favorite chocolate chip cookie yet!
I am visiting this page again for the 20th+ time and thought I should leave a review. These cookies are amazing and so easy! I make them all the time and receive multiple compliments on them every time. Delicious!
Made these with the girls I nanny! Had to help them at the begging to get the right texture with the butter and brown sugar. Easy for them to do, and so good! Soft and perfect size. Cooked them a little longer then recipe said.
I made these today to give some to the nice neighbor that cleared the mountain of snow out of our driveway. I am so pleased that they came out looking as great as they taste! I have found my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I was pretty sad to find my cookie scoop was broken so I had to use a smaller one but I made it work. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!!
Salted butter vs unsalted. What are the best uses for each? I have NO idea. I usually just use whatever I have thawed . Thanks!!
Hey Courtney – I always use salted butter. 🙂
These are by far the most delicious cookie I have ever had. Found the recipe last weekend. And have already made them twice. Absolutely fantastic.
So happy to hear that, Kim!
I just have to let you know that I’ve been making these cookies for over a year now. They are my go to cookies– they’re SO gooood!! Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
I love the “crunchy” chocolate chip cookies by Uncle A***. Do you have have anything similar?
Not yet, but I have a crispy chocolate chip cookie I’ve been working on that I’ll hopefully post soon.
Thanks to your newsletter, here I am! I am in love with the melted butter cookie recipe. It is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. But I have a feeling I need to make these. I might have to do a side-by-side. Good thing it’s Saturday!
Hope you love them, Katrina!
I just made these cookies and they turned out great! Funny question but how do you get them to look so perfect and thin like that?
Once I scoop them with the cookie scoop, I lightly roll them in my hands to form a smooth ball of dough. Maybe that’s the reason?
I’ve made a lot of recipes over the years, but this is by far my favorite soft cookie recipe. They are perfection!
These were so yummy (especially the dough… shhhh I’m pregnant), just not overbaked. They were very average/mediocre at just 12 minutes. Also, did you measure out 15 ounces? I was under the impression a cup of flour only weighed 4-4.5 ounces. I did it, because I’m at a high altitude and it was pretty humid, but my cookies didn’t have a lot of spread and stayed fairly tall.
Hey Diane, I use 5 ounces per cup of flour (that’s how I develop all the recipes on here) but high altitude baking is a whole different animal (I live at about 2,800 feet) and it sounds like you might need a little less flour for this recipe (although usually with high altitude, cookies tend to spread flat and I tell people to add a few tablespoons of flour to the dough).
You mentioned freezing them. If I froze balls of dough, could I bake them from frozen or do they have to thaw? I’ve never frozen bookie dough before I’ve only bought it.
Yes, you can definitely bake from frozen. Just add another minute onto the baking time.
I’ve tried this but then they don’t spread out nearly as well. Any tips?
Try adding a bit less flour to the dough (maybe 1/4 cup) and/or reducing the oven temperature to 325 degrees and baking a few minutes longer.
This is the best dough and the best cookie. I only like soft cookies and randomly chose this recipe. I can’t believe that for years I’ve just blindly followed the recipes on the backs of the bags of chocolate chips. I def pinned this and will make it again.
Have you ever tried making this recipe as a giant cookie? Pizza pan size?
I haven’t tried that – sounds like a fun experiment!
A quick question… Would these cookies be good to make ice cream sandwiches – firm enough to hold the ice cream but not rock solid from being frozen with ice cream (even if you have thawed them for a few minutes). Or do you have a different chocolate cookie recipe that you would recommend for ice cream sandwiches. Thank you!! Love, love, Love your recipes! 🙂
I think these would be great! They’ll definitely firm up in the freezer but I’ve nibbled one straight from the freezer and they aren’t rock hard. Underbaking them just slightly will help.
How come my dough came out more like batter ? Any suggestions
Without being there in your kitchen, I’m not sure, especially without more details. Did you end up baking the cookies? Did the dough firm up after sitting?
I found your recipe from tumblr and they looked so good I had to give them a try. They are absolutely incredible! Super soft and delicious – they are my new favorite cookie recipe!
These are delicious! They are a breeze to put together and bake up nicely. Thanks, Mel!
Hey Mel! Love your site so much, I am so happy I discovered it earlier this year. Your recipes are a hit around here!
In this recipe my cookies are turning out bit…bubbly. Like when I take them out of the oven they have a bunch of little air holes all across the tops. Has that ever happened to you? I have no idea why. I promise that I used room temperature butter 🙂
Hi Charlotte, I have to say I’ve never encountered that issue where air bubbles are on the top of the cookies. Any chance the batter might have been overmixed? That’s the first thing that comes to mind.
These are awesome, soft cookies! They freeze beautifully too! Thanks for a great recipe! I live at 5200 feet and the only change I made was to increase the flour to 3 1/4 cups.
Lynne, another change for high altitude you can try is using slightly less baking powder and baking soda. High altitude makes the cookies rise too fast, resulting in them deflating too much coming out of the oven. This is especially important when baking cakes. I found this tip when moving here and being frustrated with everything deflating. It works great.
Made these today and they were wonderful! Thanks for a wonderful recipe as always!! 🙂
o my goodness! these cookies r another homerun, mel. I subbed in what I had on hand, & the result was delightful~ I added in 1 c whole wheat flour & 1 c tapioca flour to the 1 c all purpose flour had & used sugar in the raw for all the sugar. in addition, I have successfully been using wax paper to line the cookie sheet wben i bake.
Made these last night and they turned out great! Another home run Mel! I cooked mine for 10 min and they turned out perfect. I’m not one to roll out my cookie dough in my hand before putting the dough on the baking sheet but I found for this recipe it was needed to get the smooth texture. I also thought this recipe was great eating raw in small amounts.
I made these last night and they are perfect! I have been making my grandmothers recipie for cookies for the past 19 years since her passing and this is the closest I have ever had. The height ( I split the difference and used 15.85oz), the color, and the taste, just wonderful! Thank you!!
I absolutely LOVE a good chocolate chip cookie. The soft cookies are my favorite. Can’t wait to try these!
THESE are what I wish my cookies would look like every time I make them. They are beautiful! Thanks to your The Great Cookie Experiment series and searching the web, I’ve been able to troubleshoot why mine sometimes turn into a puddle with chocolate chips in them, among other unfortunate results. I noticed that for these, your cookie dough is in a regular glass mixing bowl instead of your stand mixer. Have you noticed a difference between when you mix them one way versus the other?
No, I don’t really notice a difference from stand mixer to just a bowl using my handheld electric mixer. I think this day my Bosch was in use making bread and so I opted for a stand alone bowl with the electric hand mixer.
My 10 year old daughter LOVES cupcake war on the Food Network. Today we are taking a break from cupcakes and trying these divine looking, good ole C.C cookie. I have a recipe I love but I’m wondering if this will, after 7 years, replace my recipe!!
What brand of chocolate chips do you typically use for your cookies?
Almost always Ghirardelli or Guittard.
I just love the way you write! You are real and honest and you obviously know your way around the intricacies of cooking. I’ve been coming a long time but you always teach me something new.
I made these last night (I know, no self control!), and they were one of the few cookie recipes I’ve tried where they turned out looking just as good as they do in your pictures. And they seriously tasted amazing–and I’m picky about my cookies! I usually wait to take cookies out when they just start getting golden brown on the edges, but I took these out before that point, and they were perfect and soft and not doughy at all. I’m a huge fan of raw cookie dough, and this dough wasn’t my favorite, but I didn’t even care because the cookies were delicious! Thanks again, Mel.
I know this is the best because these are the only ones I EVER make. They’re perfect
Can’t wait to try these next. I always need chocolate chip cookies in my house. Do you bake with convection or regular? I was just wondering, I do convection sometimes and haven’t quite figured out how much more time/less time I should add when doing it. Seems like it usually needs more.
I use both, Lindsay. I have one of those split ovens (standard size oven/range but the oven is split into a small upper oven and a larger lower oven) that has convection in the lower oven. I often set the upper oven to regular bake and the bottom to convection and bake three cookie sheets at a time. If using convection, I usually set it 25 degrees lower and sometimes take the cookies out 30 seconds to a minute earlier (but not always).
I have a question about baking cookies in general. Do you bake one pan at a time?
I’ve tried several times to bake two pans at a time (what else are all those oven racks for?) but the bake time is much longer. I’d love to hear your wisdom on this. 😀
I only bake one at a time using a regular (non-convection) oven. If I turn on my convection oven, I bake two racks at a time. I know you can bake two racks at a time in a non-convection oven if you don’t mind switching the cookie sheets about halfway to 2/3 of the way through baking.
Curious about something Mel; what is the difference-maker in a chocolate chip cookie recipe that changes the texture from a super soft cookie, to a chewy cookie?
Ah, good question, Darlene! For this particular recipe where I wanted a soft cookie as opposed to a chewy, thick cookie – it took using equivalent amounts of brown and white sugar. Chewy chocolate chip cookies generally have quite a bit more brown sugar. I tried cutting back on the brown sugar even more but didn’t like the result so I stuck with the equal granulated sugar to brown sugar.
I must try these!! They look melt in your mouth delicious and chocolate chip cookies are the favorite in our house !!! Thank you for all of your hard work !!! You’re the best !! 🙂
oh my — there are not words — just made these — DIVINE! My chocolate chip cookie quest is over — thank you Mel!
Hey Mel!
First I must say, LOVE your blog! This is probably a stupid question, but do you plop the dough straight from the cookie scoop onto the cookie sheet, or do you use it to measure the size and then roll the dough in your hands?
Not a stupid question. I was wondering that too :-/
It kind of depends on the batter – with this cookie dough, I use the cookie scoop to get it onto the tray and often times just leave it like that – but sometimes if I’m ambitious, I roll the dough in my hands quickly to create a perfectly round ball. If the dough is sturdy, that works – if it’s on the soft side, it’s kind of a mess and is better just to scoop it with the cookie scoops (wiping the edges of the cookie scoop before releasing the dough will help the cookie dough stay nice and round without jagged edges).
This look delicious. But I can’t lie, in a weird kind of way, I feel like I would be betraying your soft and chewy, best recipe, chocolate chip cookies by making these. Haha I may have to work up to trying these, though I don’t think it’ll take too long 😉
These are my next cookies to try. I make chocolate chip cookies for a friend who comes and does heavy lifting, fix dripping faucets and in general helps when I need him. He only wants chocolate chip cookies in return. I have made so many different kinds and will make them as posted and then a batch with malted milk. Tried that in one and he fell in love with the taste. Will let you know how well it works.
I love this arrangement, Margi! Makes me happy to think of him taking care of the odd jobs and you baking up a storm
Umm yeah, I think I need to make these right this second. I just want to dive head first into that cookie dough picture. Wowza! Cookies here I come!! Yum!
I’m so happy you posted this recipe! I was going to make your chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe today for my niece. I’m babysitting, and last night she asked me if we could make cookies today. These cookies look perfect because she requested we use chocolate chips! Thanks!
Yum!! We just finished a batch of your classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so it seems only right that we move right on to this recipe now:)
I love soft cookies! I can’t wait to make this recipe!
I am always in the lookout for the best choc chip cookie ever, and by accident I bought coconut palm sugar instead of brown sugar. So I subbed it in for the brown sugar and it creates an incredibly soft cookie. I now use white/brown/coconut sugar ratio in the cookies and they are amazing. Highly recommend trying it out in cookies, going to try it in brownies next. It even gives a light caramel flavor to the cookies.
Thank you for including weighted measurements in your recipes!! Makes the recipes consistent and easier to make. Thanks again!
I was actually thinking last night “tomorrow Mel’s going to post her cookie recipe!” Can’t wait to try these! We love your recipes and my girls ask “Where did this recipe come from, Mels Kitchen Cafe?” Thanks for all your work!