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 have made these twice in the last week. They are so delicious and super easy!
This is awful! There is nobody way enough flour…I’m a professional baker, thought I’d try something new…always looking at home cook’s recipes. Yours, by far, is awful. You must have paid people to write your reviews.
Wow what a hateful thing to say JamieJones! I followed this recipe exactly by weight and they came out great. Perhaps you made an error?
Question: the recipe instructions say to mix the baking soda and powder with the butter/sugar/egg mixture.
But the video shows you mixing the baking soda and powder in at the same time as the flour and chocolate chips.
Which one is it, please?
Thanks, Mel! I love your recipes!
You can do either! I updated the recipe to include adding the baking powder and baking soda at the beginning because over the years, that’s what I’ve started doing, but it works either way. So it’s simpler, I’ll edit the recipe so it reads the same way as the video. 🙂
Thanks for bringing this out of the archives! Made these today for our “Cookie Friday” with the neighborhood kids and one boy said they were “the most perfect cookie”. This 9 yr old kid knows his cookies!
Really, they were so good. I did add about 2 more tablespoons of flour so they didn’t flatten so much during the cooking – just my personal preference.
I make these cookies on the regular – almost weekly. I have mde them for friends and family. I have one friend that calls them “Jessica’s Cookies”. LOL! i have given his wife the link to your website/recipe so she knows they are actually “Mel’s Cookies”. 🙂
So, I usually make choc chip cookies “healthy” with oatmeal, but these looked so good I decided to try them. Amazing! The first test was the cookie dough which was delicious. I know, not supposed to eat it, but we have our own eggs. And now that the cookies are baked we can’t stop eating them. I followed the recipe except for adding 3/4 c. chopped walnuts.
Happy you loved them, Ellen!
Just as promised, I made them yesterday within hours. The flavor and texture was perfect. Why I have not made them before- I do not know. They did not disappoint. Thanks Mel!
Side note: I also made a batch with no egg(allergy). For each egg, I used 1 oz of cream cheese and a tablespoon of milk instead. It was seriously delish. Came out perfect.
That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing!
These turned out AMAZING! I love to bake but for some reason cookies always spread terribly for me. These turned out picture perfect and delicious. I used half M&Ms and half chocolate chips. Excited to bookmark this as my “go to” cookie!
I’m so happy to hear that, Kelsey. Yay!
Hi! Just wondering if you’ve ever tripled this recipe? Thanks!
Yes, works great!
My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Thank you!
Wow! This is such a cliche, but I never leave reviews for recipes. This recipe was good enough to overcome my review laziness. Definitely the easiest cookie recipe I’ve used, and they turned out so delicious! The only adjustment I made to the recipe was adding a little bit of five spice blend for extra flavor. They were super fluffy, baked perfectly and will definitely be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on.
I don’t see much different in this cookie, than the one on nestles bag. Other than soda and baking powder.
mix it real WELL
It was just kind of a joke. 🙂
I TOTALLY laughed.
This my favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe. I always get asked for the recipe when I bring them somewhere. All credit goes to you Mel!
So I tried making cookies from a cookbook I have. I’ve made it multiple times before and they came out good. But for some reason they turned out tasting horrible. I was so upset and tossed them. So I searched your website for a better recipe. Because I really needed to make up for the bad ones. And you did not disappoint. These have to be the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. Followed recipe to a “t”. Thanks!
This has been my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe for a while now and I just have to say how delicious, perfect, and soft these come out every time! I just discovered that’s it’s a great recipe for switching up the mix-ins, today I made them with mini chocolate chips and shredded coconut and they turned out perfect. Thanks Mel, you are my go-to for so many recipes!
I’m 9 years old, and this recipe is my favorite and fire! I make it by myself because it’s easy and sooooo good!!!
Way to go, Trevor!
These are my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookies! I prefer puffier cookies so add the extra flour (16.5 oz) and sometimes up both sugars to a full cup. Thanks Mel!!
so yummy! how many calories?
I don’t have that info calculated, sorry!
For cookies…calories don’t count.
I do believe that we have just found thee go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe and of course it was from Mel! I made the recipe with (cool room temperature butter) and 1 cup Guittard milk chocolate chips. I baked half and froze half in cookie scoops. Oh. My. Goodness. I suspect that they are even better fully cool, but they never stood a chance. This is the first chocolate chip cookie recipe that I am keeping and making again. Thank you, Mel!
My husband bought a ton of self rising flour on accident! Can I use SR instead and just eliminate the Baking powder and salt?
I’m honestly not sure as I haven’t tried it, but you could experiment.
I absolutely love these cookies! I just want to politely add that 3 cups of flour is actually 12.65 oz, not 15 oz! I make these all the time (I always measure the flour in cups), but today I decided to just weigh it and they didn’t spread out like they were supposed to!
It actually depends on how you measure and weigh the flour – I test all my recipes using 5 ounces per cup of flour. So for this recipe, I use 15 ounces for the total amount of flour (other sources like King Arthur Flour use about 4 ounces or 4.25 ounces per cup of flour). Ultimately, I recommend following the recipe and how it has been tested. Hope that makes sense!
I will add that this is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe and I weigh my ingredients. My cookies are always much puffier with 15oz of flour, so I’ve cut it down to about 14-14.25 ounces and they still don’t quite look like yours but they taste amazing.
These are absolutely amazing!! They were soft and chewy, I made them over and over again. I will definitely be using this recipe for all of my chocolate chip cookies. Note- keeping the dough in the fridge for a couple of days makes the cookies even better!
I am too old for this. After thirty years of nursing, and 25 since working nights, I am back to working nights during this Coronafest of nursing love. I never ate much on nights as a gently nausea of exhaustion sets in about 3am. So I baked cookies. All my days shift gals I work with daily are shifting over to nights for the time being, so I made little baggies of these cookies for them to eat throughout the night. I still didn’t eat mine, but one of the new young nurses I worked with last night popped one in his mouth and was judged relentlessly for not savoring the only cookie left on the unit. He enjoyed it.
These are so good. I am not sure how I haven’t found them before now. They will be my new favorite basic chocolate chip cookie. I like them even better than the Doubletree recipe. Hope you are doing well. I keep watch on the Idaho numbers. Glad you are at the bottom of the list.
Wanted to add an additional note of thanks. I appreciate the amounts in weight also. I really loved these, so I made a whole bunch of them for the freezer…like 10 batches for my customers. Up to my eyeballs in dough. The weight measuring method makes it so much faster and efficient. I unfortunately realized on the last two batches that I could have been doubling the recipe each time in the Bosch mixer, but oh well… it is so fast with that method, it didn’t take much extra time. Now I will try to remember that next time.
These are the best cookies I have ever made. They are soft and chewy with the perfect amount of sweetness. I would absolutely recommend.
Our favorite new Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe of ALL time!!! We baked a dozen… ate them in an hour! I froze the remaining dough and have cooked a few at a time daily. Added 1 minute to cook time and they are PERFECT! Not to mention, frozen cookie dough is one of my favorite treats anyway!
These are divine. They have been my go-to cookie for about two years now. Always a crowd pleaser and everyone is ALWAYS asking for the recipe. My husband literally drools when I say I’m making these! Thank you for sharing xoxo
I made these and the taste is good but they did not spread like yours in the pictures.I thought I did everything right, but I guess it could be operator error lol.
Mine didn’t flatten either but they’re delicious!
These are great! Highly recommended! They were less soft than I expected but turned out to be perfectly crispy and soft!
These cookies are delicious! Can I ask what you mean by a chewy cookie? Is it less flat? I feel like my cookies flatten out no matter what I do!
Chewy is more about the texture – chewy vs cakey. Does that make sense? Have you tried adding a bit more flour and baking them at 25 degrees higher? that usually helps a flat cookie!
I’ll try that. Thank you!
These are so yummy and easy to make!! My go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!
This is my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!! Question: have you ever made this recipe with m&m’s instead of chocolate chips??
Yes! Works great!
Weighed my flour and sugars (for the first time EVER for cookies) and they turned out great! I was amazed how much the weight was off when just measuring as normal. Thanks Mel! Haven’t been on here for awhile and I feel like I’m missing an old friend 🙂
Happy to see this comment, Nicole! 🙂
If I am taking the butter right out of the refrigerator, how long would you suggest that I leave it out to soften it to room temperature?
It really depends on the warmth of your kitchen, but probably about an hour
Thank you!! I halved the recipe. cooked them and they didn’t flatten out. They still look puffy almost like they did when I put them in the oven. Oh well!! i’m not one that cares about look, just how they taste. Can’t wait to try them tonight!
I usually use a spoon to flatten them a little and it works awesome!
Hi Mel, my family gives 5 stars to us because we are great bakers.Love the recipe!
Mel, if we bake the cookies with whole wheat flour, will that ruin the texture?
It might make them slightly more heavy and dense but as long as the dough isn’t overfloured and I suggest using white whole wheat, they stand a good chance of working out.
Thanks!
Oh my god!!!!! These are the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted! I love baking, but my cookies never look like the picture. But these did! They looked the same and were very soft and heavenly!! Try baking them with m&ms, they are delicious!
I always add a package of vanilla pudding to my chocolate chip cookies, do you think adding it to these would ruin the texture?
I honestly have no idea since I haven’t tried it – sorry!
I have made this recipe several times and it always turns out amazing. Anyone who tries these raves about them and how delicious they are!
These cookies are AMAZING!!!! They’re the only chocolate chip cookies that my family will eat–I’ve made them so many times that I have this recipe memorized!! You are a baking QUEEN, Mel!!!!
Thanks, Kat! 🙂
Thx for posting this recipe on Insta, Mel. I’ve been making cookies for years, but this recipe made the most delicious batch of all time. I don’t know what it is, but these r unbelievably tasty. I always try to do a mix of chips, something to the tune of semi sweet, minis & bittersweet, & this time was no different. Thx for my new go to for choc chip cooks!
Makes good cookies
Room temperature butter??? Everyone’s different…home temperature, room temperature (ie-on there’s other cooking/baking going on)…
How do I know if my butter is “Room Temperature”? I have struggled with this for many years and gave up making these delicious cookies. Thank you for your help. ☺
Room temperature butter indicates the butter should be inbetween “fridge cold” and “warm/soft” – it doesn’t have to be exact, but if the butter is pressed lightly with a finger, it should indent slightly without being so soft that your finger slides all the way into the middle of the butter.
It was delicious! My whole family loved them. But they could be softer and thinner…..
P.S. I am really Zendaya.
Cool!
OMIGOSH these are delish and usually most cookies/desserts are too sweet for me but these ones were perfect “bon appetit.” But… there is one thing I will say the first couple times I made these they did not spread so I used 2 1/2 cups of flour instead of 3 and they turned out just fine. My whole family loves these Mel! Finally found a cookie recipe I love HALLELUJAH!
I’ve been making the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookies for about 40 years! I really don’t like to cook with shortening any more so thought I’d try these! I believe these will be our new favorites. Per husband, I did add about an extra cup (or more) of chocolate chips. I was afraid they’d be flat with the all butter, but they were perfect! Thank you!
Love the recipe – I measured out by weights to be sure that my cookies turned out perfectly. They were still pretty puffy on top and were a bit dry to scoop, so I’m guessing that we could have used a bit less flour, but meanwhile they still taste amazing!
-PS I also used the convection, after the first batch not spreading I lowered the temp to 325.
these are amazing thank you for the recipe I love soft chocolate chip cookies I’m addicted to these ones.
Loved this recipe tastes just like the grandma brand ones that you get in the store !
Hi Mel, beautiful recipe, taste is amazing. well done! the only thing is my cookies did not spread out as much as I expected. They remained puffy on top and looked almost like they did when I scooped them out with the ice cream scoop. I used the exact same measurements, ingredients and method and I have baked this several times with the same result. What could have gone wrong? Pls help. Thank you.
Hi Zee – sounds like you could decrease the flour by 1/4 cup or so and that might help the cookies spread a bit more while baking.
Thank you! Will try it and let you know.
My 6 yr. old son and I just made these delicious cookies. He took one bite and said “Mom you make the best cookies!” Thanks Mel for the “Mom win!”
So cute, Jenni!