With 30 million page views and counting since 2013, these super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. And you don’t even need a mixer!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. This recipe is such a fan (and personal) favorite that I included it in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
One reader, Adrienne, commented: “These are the best cookies I’ve ever had. Incredible. Don’t cut corners or you’ll miss out. Do everything she says and you’re in for the best cookies of your life. ★★★★★“
There are thousands of chocolate chip cookies recipes out there. Everyone has their favorite and this one is mine. Just a glance at the hundreds of reviews in the comments section tells me that this recipe is a favorite for many others too! In fact, if you asked me which recipe to keep in your apron pocket, my answer would be this one. (In addition to a classic cut-out sugar cookies and flaky pie crust, of course!) Just read the comments on a post in our Facebook group. These cookies are beloved… and, a warning: they disappear FAST.
Why Are These My BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- The chewiest of chewy and the softest of soft.
- Extra thick just like my favorite peanut butter cookies!
- Bakery-style BIG.
- Exploding with chocolate.
I’ve tested this cookie recipe over and over again to make sure they’re absolutely perfect. I still have a big space in my heart (and stomach) for these soft chocolate chip cookies. Today’s recipe is similar, but I increased the chewiness factor.
One reader, A.Phillips, commented: “Look no further. This is it. This is the perfect cookie recipe. Follow her instructions exactly and the cookies will be chewy and amazing. … These are the most perfect cookies I’ve made and I’ve tried at least 20 different recipes. ★★★★★“
You can make them with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Key Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
The cookie dough is made from your standard cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. It’s the ratios and temperature of those ingredients that make this recipe stand out from the rest.
- Melted butter: Melted butter produces the chewiest cookies. It can, however, make your baked cookies greasy, so I made sure there is enough flour to counteract that. And using melted butter is also the reason you don’t need a mixer to make these cookies, just like these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin crumb cake cookies, and M&M cookie bars.
- More brown sugar than white sugar: More brown sugar than white sugar: The moisture in brown sugar promises an extra soft and chewy baked cookie. White granulated sugar is still necessary, though. It’s dry and helps the cookies spread. A little bit of spread is a good thing.
- Cornstarch: Why? Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies.
- Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk. The extra egg yolk adds richness, soft tenderness, and binds the dough. You will need 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature, just like in these brown butter marshmallow crispy cookies. See the recipe Notes for how to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly.
The dough will be soft and the chocolate chips may not stick because of the melted butter. Just keep stirring it; I promise it will come together. Because of the melted butter and extra egg yolk, the slick dough doesn’t even look like normal cookie dough! Trust the process…
The most important step is next.
2 Major Success Tips
1. Chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough is so important in this recipe! Unless you want the cookies to spread into a massive cookie puddle, chilling the dough is mandatory here. It allows the ingredients to settle together after the mixing stage but most importantly: cold dough results in thicker cookies. Cover the cookie dough and chill for at least 2–3 hours or up to 3 days. I usually chill it overnight.
(No time to chill? Make these soft & chewy chocolate chip cookie bars, giant chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie cake, or crispy chocolate chip cookie bark instead!)
- Further reading: How to Prevent Cookies from Spreading
2. Roll the cookie dough balls extra tall. After the dough has chilled, scoop out a ball of dough that’s 3 Tablespoons for XL cookies or about 2 heaping Tablespoons (1.75 ounces or 50g) for medium-large cookies. I usually use this medium cookie scoop and make it a heaping scoop. But making the cookie dough balls tall and textured, rather than wide and smooth, is my tried-and-true trick that results in thick and textured-looking cookies. We’re talking thick bakery-style cookies with wrinkly, textured tops. Your cookie dough should look less like balls and more like, well, lumpy columns, LOL.
Watch the video below to see how I shape them. I also demonstrate how I use a spoon to reshape them during baking if I see they’re spreading too much.
Because of the melted butter in this dough, the dough is very soft and a little greasy before chilling, so it’s harder to shape the cookie dough balls. We recommend chilling first, then shaping. If after chilling the dough is very hard and difficult to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and then try again.
We typically do not recommend jumping right to the freezer without chilling the dough first. A quick freeze like that can cause the dough to chill unevenly and then spread unevenly during the baking process. For best results, we recommend following the recipe as written. If you don’t have time to wait for the dough to chill, try this recipe for 6 giant chocolate chip cookies instead, which doesn’t require dough chilling (see recipe Notes in that post for details on using the dough to make 24 regular-size cookies).
Tools I Recommend for This Recipe
I’ve tested many baking tools and these are the exact products I use, trust, and recommend to readers. You’ll need most of these tools when making sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, too!
- Baking Sheets
- Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets
- Medium Cookie Scoop
- Cooling Racks
- See More: Best Cookie Baking Tools and 8 Best Baking Pans
Can I Freeze This Cookie Dough?
Yes, absolutely. After chilling, sometimes I roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them in a large zipped-top bag. Then I bake them straight from the freezer, keeping them in the oven for an extra minute. This way you can bake just a couple of cookies whenever the craving hits. (The chewy chocolate chip cookie craving is a hard one to ignore.)
If you’re curious about freezing cookie dough, here’s my How to Freeze Cookie Dough page (with video tutorial).
Facebook member, Leigh, commented: “These are the only CC cookies I’ve made for years (and this recipe is how I came to be such a fan of SBA!) This recipe worked great when I lived in Denver and had issues with baking at altitude, and it’s still our favorite now that we’re back at sea level. I usually make 4x-6x batches and freeze tons of cookie balls to bake later.“
In Short, Here Are the Secrets to Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies.
- Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie.
- An extra egg yolk increases chewiness.
- Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness. It’s a trick we use for cake batter chocolate chip cookies, too.
- Using melted butter (and slightly more flour to counteract the liquid) increases chewiness.
- Chilling the dough results in a thicker cookie. Almost as thick as peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or their gluten-free counterparts, flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies 🙂
Q: Have you baked a batch before?
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 XL cookies or 20 medium/large cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website for good reason. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. The cookie dough is slick and requires chilling prior to shaping the cookies. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g/12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for 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
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until combined, then whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be very soft, thick, and shiny. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
- Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight to prevent overspreading.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has chilled for longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop the chilled cookie dough, about 3 scant Tablespoons (about 2 ounces, or 60g) of dough for XL cookies or 2 heaping Tablespoons (about 1.75 ounces, or 50g) of dough for medium-large cookies. Roll into a ball, then use your fingers to shape the cookie dough so that it’s taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 13–14 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is optional and only for looks!
- Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature, then continue with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookies are still very soft.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: Room-temperature egg + egg yolk are best. Typically, if a recipe calls for room-temperature or melted butter, it’s good practice to use room-temperature eggs as well. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, simply place the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Can I add nuts or different add-ins? Yes, absolutely. As long as the total amount of add-ins is around 1 to 1 and 1/4 cups, you can add anything including chopped nuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, chopped peanut butter cups, etc. I love them with 3/4 cup (135g) butterscotch morsels and 1/2 cup (100g) Reese’s Pieces. You could even add 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles to make a sprinkle chocolate chip cookie.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I used the exact measurements, but my cookies were cakey and dry. I know that’s probably due to too much flour but I used the amounts in the recipe. This is the second time that this has happened to me, even though I’m trying different recipes. Any help?
Hi Leah, cakey cookies are usually caused by too much flour in the dough. How did you measure the flour? For your next batch, make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. Be careful not to over bake the cookies, too. Hope this helps for next time!
I have your book Sally’s Cookie Addiction, as well as Sally’s Baking 101. The Chewy Chocolate Chip recipe is in both books, but I am curious as to why the weight in grams is different for the flour, butter and light brown sugar. The amount of chocolate chips is also different.
Hi Elizabeth, the Sally’s Baking 101 version is the correct amount which matches the recipe above. The cup amounts in Sally’s Cookie Addiction are correct, but a few of the gram measurements are slightly off. They have been fixed in recent prints!
Is it possible to make this recipe with margarine? If so, do any of the other ingredients need to be modified?
Hi Mel, we really recommend sticking with butter here for best results.
Wow! I just made these today and they turned out delicious! I didn’t have unsalted butter but the result was still good.
For some reason my cookies didn’t spread/flatten at all during cooking, and instead just cooked holding their tower shape? I followed the recipe as closely as possible so I’m not sure what went wrong. Chilled the cookies for 2.5 hours before cooking
Hi Meredith, if you find the cookies are not spreading enough, you can take them out of the oven and lightly tap the baking sheet on the counter to help initiate spread. Or, you can use the back of a spoon to gently press them down. How are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over-measured, which can prevent spread, too. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Would 100% reccomend to anyone wanting to make cookies!!! These were so chewy and delicious – I have made this recipe over three times!
I loved this recipe, but my cookies came out really fat and round. I think I did something wrong but I’m not sure
Hi Gin! It sounds like there may have been too much flour in your dough. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
I made this for a friend’s birthday and she loved them! They taste amazing!!
These cookies are the best of the best !!
I am really struggling with this recipe. I’ve made a couple batches, thinking I can get it right, but they just don’t turn out. They taste fine, but they refuse to spread. They wind up being too small and puffy – not wide and flat. I’ve measured everything as exactly as possible, chilled the dough, and let it warm up varying amounts of time in the hopes I’ll stumble on the correct method. Letting it sit out for 15 minutes isn’t enough and resulted in rock hard dough I couldn’t scoop. Letting it sit out for an hour didn’t help either. I’m usually pretty good at following recipes, but this isn’t working for me. Very disappointing. Time to find a better chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Hi Sara, I’m really sorry these have been frustrating so many times. If the cookies aren’t spreading and staying small and puffy, that usually points to too much flour (even a couple extra spoonfuls can make a big difference), dough that’s very cold, or an oven that runs hot. Make sure you’re spooning and leveling the flour rather than scooping from the bag, and if you have a kitchen scale, weighing it is even better. Also, check that you’re using baking soda (not powder). For the chilling step, the dough should be firm. A spoon helps to begin chipping away at the dough and more you scoop, the softer it gets. An oven thermometer can be helpful too, since higher temps can cause cookies to set before they spread. I truly appreciate you giving these a try, and I’d love for them to work for you if you ever try them again.
Why should the eggs be at room temperature?
Hi Evan, they combine with the other ingredients better at room temperature. Plus, we’re using melted butter here, and cold eggs will solidify the butter and make the dough too stiff to mix properly. You can read more about room temperature ingredients here!
I’ve tried many, many chocolate chip recipes in search of the perfect one – this is it!! The perfect texture – Thank you!! I will be making many times for my large family.
Fantastic, wonderful and exactly as described. The instructions are easy to follow. Perfectly balanced of salty and sweet, crispy and chewy. I’ll be making these again. I reposted to social media. These alone are worth the follow!
Thank you so much, Linda!
Is it possible to makes this with less sugar without affecting the texture?
Hi Cynthia, sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.
I halved all the sugars. It still turns out perfect!
Do you have a tutorial for correctly folding in ingredients? Ive seen videos of it on youtube but youtube is… not quite as reliable as this site lately, lets say.
Hi Kam, you can see how we fold in the chocolate chips in this recipe in the video tutorial above (just using a spatula!).
Hello! I accidentally added the 2nd yolk AND white of the egg! Any suggestions?
Hi Lindsay, you may need to add extra flour to account for the added moisture. We’re unsure how much!
I have never before been able to make really good cc cookies. Until this recipe! And they reminded me of my mother’s. My mom was the cookie maker for our family, and they were all great. Thanks to this recipe I can now make very good cc cookies.
We’re so glad these were a favorite for you, Tish!
live in rio rancho nm, altitude e 5.300 ft. Made cookies exactly as recipe called for. Chilled dough 3 hrs, shaped them exactly as said using 2 tablespoons of dough, they still flattened out not as pictured. Is there an adjustment needed for high altitude?
Hi Mary Beth, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html And here are our tips to prevent cookies from spreading.
Hello! I accidentally added the 2nd yolk AND white of the egg! Any suggestions?
Hi Lindsay, you may need to add extra flour to account for the added moisture. We’re unsure how much!
Hi! Can I use browned melted butter in this recipe? Thank you for your recipes, they are life saver!
Hi JGR, You can certainly use brown butter here, and the flavor is outstanding! But they can be a little more crumbly using brown butter – we usually suggest using the recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies instead.
Thanks for the great recipe. I would like them to be a little less sweet.
Do you have suggestions for this ? If I reduce the sugar, do I need to adjust anything else ?
Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth, you can try reducing the sugar, but keep in mind that sugar plays an important role in the taste, texture, and structure of a recipe, so we’re unsure of the results when using less sugar. We’d recommend starting small, and then you can reduce further in future batches as needed.
Hi Sally, I just made your choc chip cookies for the first time. They are wonderful however they are a bit greasy. I’m wondering what I did wrong? I used a scale to measure flour. I used measuring cups for sugars. The butter was in pre-measured quarter sticks, so I know that was correct.
Would the cookies still come out if I creamed the butter and sugars instead?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Susan, Are you allowing the butter to cool just slightly after it’s melted? This helps prevent any overly greasy texture and any excess spread. If you’d like to use softened butter, we’d recommend using this recipe for soft chocolate chip cookies instead.
Have used this recipe countless times and because I am plant based I use flax egg and plant based butter. No one has any idea it’s not made with egg or dairy butter. And I always add walnuts.
This recipe is very yummy and awesome, but why are there cornstarch?
Besides that, they are very delicious when you make them with ONLY two people.
I love these! Used dark chocolate chunks and chopped up some Hershey bars because that’s what I had on hand. Sprinkled with maldon and Wow!
Amazing, I didn’t have enough butter so did 2/3 of the recipe and didn’t add the extra yolk.
They’re delicious and great to have a tasty treat that isn’t ultra processed that i can pop in the air fryer (160 for 11 mins) whenever I want!
Absolutely the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made.
I have been using this recipe for about THIRTEEN YEARS!!! Its my go to base for every blonde cookie I create. I am now 33 years old, with a child of my own, who is now almost 3.
This recipe will become a core memory of ” mom’s cookies” for him . I couldnt be more greatful.
Nothing tops this recipe.
Thank you for giving me something to be proud of, and to pass down .
With Love
Miranda from Northern Ontario Canada
I just wanted to say that I love this comment!
I stopped making chocolate chip cookies years ago because they were always flat and greasy, no matter which recipe I used. When I saw this recipe and it was from a trusted source, I decided to give it another go. Goodness, these are the best I have ever had!! They are simple to make, thick, chewy, full of chips and simple pantry ingredients. These are definitely my new go to! Well done and thank you Sally!!
This is the first time I make chocolate chip cookies and they turned out amazing! Every recipe of yours that I have made so far has been a success. Thank you for all your incredible recipes!
One of the best cookie recipes ever ! What if I want to make the cookies gluten free? Can I just use gluten free flour without changing anything else?
Hi Joanna, We haven’t tested these cookies with gluten-free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you do give it a try!
Very dough. I like mine with less flour.
Joanna, did you try them with GF flour? I’m getting ready to try using king Arthur’s measure for measure gf flour.
Perfect cookies!!