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
Hello !! I buy all the ingredients but I buy baking powder instead of baking soda. Is there any difference?
Thank you:)
Hello! Baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable in baking recipes. You can read more about the difference between the two in this post!
So good! I have searched for a perfect CCC recipe for awhile, and this is it. Super chewy, I was surprised and delighted to find that cornstarch really helps. I recommend chilling for an hour and a half.
I questioned the temperature you bake these cookies in, but they turned out delicious. This recipe will be my go to when I want chocolate chip cookies!
Wonderful recipe! Wonderful chewy chocolate chip cookies with a golden soft crunch on the bottom. I chilled my dough overnight and it definitely adds to the flavor. This is now a staple in my kitchen!
My cookie dough came out crumbly. Any idea why? I double checked all my measurements and they were exact.
Hi Sara, 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 find this extremely oily and dense. I like a cookie with some crispness around the edge and bottom from tiny air pockets that form. It didn’t happen with these. The flavour is acceptable and they are soft enough. I found the recipe by searching for the “ best”but this doesn’t suit me well.
Hi Janet! Perhaps your cookies were a bit under-baked? For a crispy chocolate chip cookie, you may love our crispy chocolate chip cookies recipe as well.
How long to you chill the dough? It is not in the recipe
Thanks
Hi Bari, see step 3: Cover the dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2–3 hours or up to 3 days. Enjoy!
I like to chill it for and hour and 45 minutes.
I’m bummed! We have searched high and low for the ultimate soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe for years! I tried this recipe exactly as it was (never saw cornstarch before in a cookie recipe). They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside right after we made them, but just a short time later, they are hard and crunchy. The taste is fine. But, I wouldn’t label this recipe as “chewy”.
Hi Deb! They should stay for for days, perhaps yours were a bit over-baked? Try a minute or two less in the oven next time.
Hi! Do you think it would be ok to add some chopped marachino cherries to this recipe to make them cherry chocolate chip cookies for Christmas? Love your blog!
Hi Lana, since maraschino cherries would add liquid to the dough, it would likely take some tweaking of the recipe to get best results. Instead, you might enjoy one of these cherry-based holiday cookies instead! White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies, Cherry Almond Shortbread, Chocolate Cherry Blossoms, or Santa’s Whiskers.
Can you use brown butter?
You can use brown butter, yes, and the flavor is outstanding! But they can be a little more crumbly using brown butter — we suggest using our recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies instead.
I have been using this recipe for years from your blog! It’s a staple in our house. They come out thick, chewy, soft. So delicious! I usually chill the dough overnight for best taste but I have done just 2-3 hours and it works too! These cookies are the best and I’m always asked for “my recipe” and I send them right to your blog!
Ok so overall this recipe is great. However the first batch I did it felt like it was a bit airy. So I did 1 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar and 1 cup of room temperature butter. The taste was great. Spot on for how I like them. However I made them a bit smaller but they got really thin. Should I try adding a 1/4 cup of flour?
Hi Robert, Increasing the butter and both sugars would certainly make for a thinner cookie dough that spreads too much. For the best results we suggest sticking to the recipe which has a better ratio of wet to dry ingredients. These should be dense and chewy cookies. If you cookies were airy as written it’s possible that you may have over beaten the wet ingredients or over measured the flour (be sure to spoon and level or weigh the flour).
Hi! Starting this recipe out today. Can I use cookie cutters for them instead of making balls? Or will that make them too hard?
Hi Lisa, this dough is not ideal for cookie cutters — they will not hold their shape. You could try these sugar cookies and add some mini chocolate chips to them.
This is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe ! It always comes out perfect. And they are a huge hit with everyone who tries them.
can I used browned butter in this ? I’ve been wanting to try it but I don’t want to mess it up.
Hi Kelly, it should work just fine –let us know how they turn out!
I use brown butter with this recipe all the time and it turns out great! I will say I typically measure the butter after I brown it which probably makes a difference
I made the cookies for myself and followed your recipe, they are the best cookies I’ve ever had. So I decided to make them for our family Xmas party, they were a huge hit. Now I making them for all of my customers. I’m making the chocolate chips and butterscotch, they are addicting. Thks
So I was making these cookies last night for the countless time, and as I went to get the flour, I realized I only had about 3/4 of what I needed. I was determined to make cookies, so I used bread flour to make up the difference. When I returned home today, my mom had already eaten 7 and declared them the greatest cookie I’ve ever made. Could a little bread flour make that much of a difference? Or could it be because I made the batter in the afternoon and left them in the fridge until I baked them at night? I usually leave them in the fridge for the minimum suggested time.
Second time making these (the first being yesterday, gone so quick!) And they are the best. Hands down. Thanks so much for the recipe! Making a double batch now to put in Christmas cookie boxes for friends! I split this double batch into thirds and mixed peanut butter chips & chocolate chips in one, mini Christmas M&Ms in another, and just choc chips in the third
Fantastic recipe! Followed it to the T and got just the desired result. They were the perfect chocolate portion of my holiday cookie boxes. Love the cylinder shaped dough trick. Perfect shape once baked.
Is the temperature correct for these cookies at 325 degrees? Shouldn’t
it be at 350?
Hi Lisa, 325 degrees is correct — we find that the perfect temperature to help these cookies maintain their soft, chewy texture.
Can I freeze the baked cookies?
Hi Mary, absolutely. Baked cookies freeze well for up to three months.
Made these to give as gifts. My friend said her daughter (who loves to bake) said those chocolate chip cookies were 10 out of 10. I only had enough to give away so I didn’t get to try them myself, but with all the compliments, I will be making them again.
Hey Sally! I absolutely love this recipe, use it all the time and find it amazing with browned butter.
I have a question though! I’d love to know your thoughts on whether adding a little cream or milk to the recipe prior to freezing the dough can help with moisture loss in the freezer?
I’ve froze these before and they didn’t quite have the same texture from moisture loss I believe.
Hi Madison, we’ve never had issues baking cookie dough balls from frozen. Here’s our helpful post on freezing cookie dough!
I followed this recipe to a T. They looked like the photos, but were hard as rocks once they cooled. Very disappointing after using this longer process to have a soft chewy chocolate chip cookie.
I’ve been doing this recipe for a long time and it never fails me! Would like to ask what is the maximum number of batch of the recipe can I make in one go? Like I need to make big batches almost every other day.
Hi Denise, you can double the recipe so long as your mixer can handle the added volume. Much more than that, and we’d recommend separate batches for best results. So glad this recipe is a favorite for you!
I am just getting back into baking after a long break. I did not bake chocolate chip cookies as they turned out soft, chewy and moist. I have now FOUND the perfect recipe!!! Now could someone please tell how to keep from eating the entire batch 🙂 Your lemon blueberry layer cake returned me to my love of baking.
HI I usually don’t review, but I love you recipe and the family begs me to make these cookies. I am not sure why people had issues. mine come out perfect every time and follow your instructions to the T. love ❤️ them. thank you.
So disappointed with this recipe. I made a double batch so I could gift them this Xmas. The mixture was still super liquidy once mixed so I added more flour to make into a dough like texture. I think there must have been too much cornflour as they’ve baked cake like in texture. They have the cookie chew to a point but not like cookies I’ve made before.
Can’t really gift these which is such a shame.
Cornflour or corn starch? The recipe calls for corn starch so if you accidentally used corn flour, that’s most likely why the texture is cakey.
Can I double/triple the recipe? Do any adjustments need to be made? Looking forward to baking these!
Hi Brandie! This cookie recipe multiplies well. Hope you love them!
Let’s starts by saying I’m not a baker. I live in WY at 7;000 ft elevation and tweaking recipes is not my thing. I found this one and was worried how it would turn out. The 1st batch was fluffy when coming out but flattened some and was a little undercooked. 2nd batch I cooked at 17 minutes and they were a little more golden brown and still a little under cooked but delicious. 3rd batch I cooked for 18 min and is perfect. They cooled quickly and are nice and chewy. The taste is amazing and what I look for in a good chocolate chip cookie. These are almost comparable to subway when fresh.
My daughter & I were excited to make these that we did a double batch because there are alot of people on our Christmas list. The dough was hard as a rock after 3-4 hours. We waited an hour & was still hard & crumbly. They didn’t spread & stayed in a ball shape after 6 minutes of cooking & had to flatten with a spatula. There were so many issues & I was surprised as I use your website quite a bit. Don’t think I will try this one again.
Hi Jenbean! When cookies aren’t spreading and dough is too stiff, it usually means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. When measuring flour, use the spoon & level method. Do not scoop the flour out of the container/bag. Doing so leaves you with excess flour in the cookie dough. Thanks for giving these a try!
Question….I love this recipe so much. As someone who loves to bake, but can’t handle eating much sugar, these usually go to my family and coworkers. Rave reviews always. A coworker has asked if I can make a batch of these for her family for Christmas, but asked if I could make them with dairy free butter and chocolate chips because someone doesn’t tolerate milk/dairy well. Can that be done and will it turn out the same way? Or do I need to make any modifications? I’ve never baked ANYTHING not using real butter. Thanks in advance!!!
Hi Kourtney, we’re so thrilled to hear that you love these cookies! We wish we could help more but don’t have any experience with dairy free baking. Let us know if you give those substitutes a try!
I made these today with country crock plant butter and dairy free chocolate chips and they were still perfect! Swapped out the regular butter with the dairy free butter 1 for 1. Honestly couldn’t tell much difference! Success!!!
Hi, I’m actually wondering the same thing. Have you made them yet and if so did you do anything different?
So I had to make them today and didn’t change a single thing except for using vegan butter and mini dairy free chocolate chips. Honestly they are perfect. ☺️
I made this recipe today with my grandaughter and i found it to be extremely confusing because you list the ingredients so far down wirg tge instructions. I appreciste the tops there are so many ofvthem . I wish yo had added all thise tops at the wnd and listed tge ingredients and ibstructions first. Just a thiught.
Hi Sally! Will reducing the brown and white sugar amount affect the cookie? ie 112g for brown and 75g for white?
Hi Afifah! 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.
These cookies are mid. After chilling, the dough doesn’t flatten much at all. Balls of dough give ball like cookies. Plus the temperature is all wrong – went 16 minutes and still barely browned.
Would it be 163 degree fan forced or regular?
Hi Arabella, We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan) and our recipes are written as such. The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection/fan settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.