Chocolate Chip Cookies
The recipe for these chocolate chip cookies is the best ever! No strange ingredients, no chilling period, etc. It’s just a straightforward, easy-to-make, incredibly delicious chocolate chip cookie that bakes up perfectly every single time.
Description
For good reason, these wonderfully soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website. Melted butter, brown sugar instead of white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk ensure the chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. The cookie dough is smooth and must be chilled before shaping the cookies. Before you begin, go over the recipe notes.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted & cooled 5 minutes*
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Preparation
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Place aside.
- Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a medium mixing bowl until no brown sugar lumps remain. Incorporate the egg and egg yolk. Finally, add the vanilla extract. The resulting mixture will be thin. Combine wet and dry ingredients using a big spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be extremely soft, thick, and oily. Incorporate the chocolate chips. Because of the melted butter, the chocolate chips may not adhere to the dough, but try your best to incorporate them.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 2-3 hours or up to 3 days, covered securely. For less spreading, I recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and set it aside to soften for 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius). Large baking sheets should be lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Place aside.
- Measure 3 scant Tablespoons (about 2 ounces, or 60g) of dough for XL cookies or 2 heaping Tablespoons (approximately 1.75 ounces, or 50g) of dough for medium/large cookies using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon. Roll into a ball, trying to make it higher than wide—almost like a cylinder. This allows the cookies to bake thicker. Rep with the remaining dough. Place 8-9 dough balls on each cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are just faintly browned. (XL cookies may take closer to 14 minutes.) The centers will appear soft, but the cookies will firm up as they cool. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Meanwhile, press a few extra chocolate chips into the warm cookie tops. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely after 10 minutes on the baking sheets.
- Cookies can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to a week.
Notes
Make Ahead and Freeze: Make the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Allow to come to room temperature before proceeding to step 5. Baked cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. No need to thaw frozen cookie dough balls; bake for an additional minute.
Cornstarch: If you don’t have any on hand, you can omit it. The cookies remain really soft.
Eggs: Room temperature eggs and egg yolk are preferred. When a recipe calls for room temperature or melted butter, it’s best to use room temperature eggs as well. To quickly get eggs to room temperature, place them in a glass of warm water for 5 minutes.
Nuts or other ingredients? Yes, without a doubt. You can add whatever as long as the total number of add-ins is roughly 1 – 1 1/4 cups, such as chopped nuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, chopped peanut butter cups, and so on. They’re delicious with 3/4 cup (135g) butterscotch morsels and 1/2 cup (100g) Reese’s Pieces. To make a sprinkle chocolate chip cookie, add 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles.
