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 made these and the M & M cookies too. Both came out perfect.
Hey sally! i just prepared the cookie dough and i just wanted to know if the dough was supposed to clump together? as i was mixing in the dry and wet ingredients it seemed too dry, and i wasn’t able to move the spoon through the dough smoothly. i’m not sure if i messed up the butter measurement (i measured the butter while it was fairly solid and i put a rough measurement of what i thought would be right) or because i used granulated brown sugar, but i’ve put it to chill for now. any tips while baking or whatever that i could use to salvage the cookies? 🙁
Hi Alice, did you use melted butter?
yup i definitely did. i think melted butter didn’t really reach the 3/4th cup mark?
Have you ever made these ice cream scoop size to make ice cream cookies?
Hi Sandy, I personally LOVE these cookie ice cream sandwiches!
This recipe worked out very well.
I never made chocolate chip cookies with melted butter. I was surprised they came out good. I put them in frig for about 2 hrs. I also added roasted pecans. They taste so yummy!!
Baked these several times and they turn out great. Any suggestions for using this recipe at high altitude-8000ft
Hi Ellie, we’re so glad you love these cookies! I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.htm
This was by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Not only an easy recipe to follow, but the cookies tasted like a professional made them. Definitely 5⭐️’s
Hi! Just wondering how many cookies does this make? Thanks
Hi Natalia, This recipe yields 16 XL cookies or 20 medium/large cookies.
Hi! Can I use whole wheat flour if that’s all I have at home?
Hi Lindsay, We wish we could help more, but we haven’t tried making these cookies with whole wheat flour. It will likely take some trial and error and tweaking the other ingredients to find the best combination of ingredients. Let us know if you give anything a try! If you’re interested, here are all of our recipes using whole wheat flour.
Hi Sally. I haven’t made this cookie yet. If you want to bake 6 to 7 dozen cookies. How much cornstarch would I add? The recipe I normally use, takes about 5 cups of flour, which I use half cake flour. I want to try this one but more cookies. I have never heard of cornstarch in cookies. Thank you.
Hi Wanda, You can double/triple this recipe as long as your mixer (we would use a mixer for the larger volume) can handle it. You would double/triple all of the ingredients.
Sally I cooked for 11 minutes started at 8 minutes until brown on edge. The center is soft and crisp edge but center is soft but seems raw rather than cooked. Is that normal?
Hi Dianne! The middles should firm up as the cookies cool, but you can add another minute or two next time if the cookies need it. All ovens are slightly different!
Hi! I don’t have vanilla extract, is this a vital ingredient?
Can I use salted butter? Thank you!
Hi Stephanie, If you only have salted butter you can use it and reduce the added salt to 1/8 teaspoon.
This recipe was a big hit with the grandkids. I halved the granulated sugar ( just something I do with my cooking)and to speed the process I rolled and then chilled the cookies for 30 minutes before baking and the spread was minimal. Absolutely delicious cookies.
I was not pleased with these cookies. They taste bland and are more doughy than chewy. I make cookies all the time and use a lot your recipes which are usually great, but not this one.
Hi Fran, we’re so sorry that you were disappointed in these cookies. Cakey/doughy 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. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Hope this helps!
I was so excited to try these but they were a flop. I measured what I could in grams and the rest with my tablespoons etc. the dough is yummy but my cookie is glso flat and hard to even get off the parchment paper. I followed it all to a T
Dear Dr. Sally,
The raw dough was delicious, but my cookies…. Baked into one giant flatness . Please help!
Here’s our best tips for preventing cookies from spreading! Did you chill the dough for the recommended amount of time?
I read you use convection when baking. Does the temperature of 325 reflect that for this recipe?
Hi Lynn, We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan). 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.
Can I substitute brown sugar for demerara sugar?
Hi Cee K, We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
I have been trying to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch since I was little. This was my third attempt and I was so happy. They turned out great. Soft and gooey just like I like them. I was able to get 34 cookies out of the batch. I froze some for my Mom and I. I will be trying more of your recipes. ❤️❤️
So glad you enjoyed them, Andi! Thanks for giving the recipe a try.
why does my cookies look so raw? It’s like very doughy
Hi Ally, it sounds like your cookies may be underbaked a bit. Try extending the bake time by just a minute or two next time to see if that helps. Keep in mind that they may look a bit undercooked in the middles when they come out of the oven, but they should solidify as they cool.
Hi, I love this recipe and I make it all the time and the cookies always come out wonderful. For a change, I used chopped up Butter Finger candy instead of chocolate chips. Although the cookies tasted great they were quite flat. I did use a different brand of flour this time. Could this be the result of the different flour or the candy?
Hi Katharine, how did you measure your flour? We always recommend to use the spoon and level method – more on that in this post. Here are our best tips to prevent cookie spreading which might also be helpful to troubleshoot. We’re glad you still enjoyed them!
This recipe is wonderful! Out of curiosity, could I use cold butter instead of melted if I were to want thicker cookies? Thank you 🙂
Hi Jazmin, we’d recommend our soft chocolate chip cookies instead, which uses room temperature butter.
Can you double this? I tried and something didn’t go right. I love these when I don’t double but I fed so many kids with this recipe.
Hi Jeni, yes, you can double this cookie dough. Were the cookies puffy or cakey? That is usually caused by too much flour in the 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. Hope this helps for next time!
The cookies are still in the refrigerator rn but I bet they’ll be absolutely amazing!
hii, can i use potato strach instead of cornstarch or just bake without corn starch?
Hi Mara, you can simply omit the cornstarch if needed.
I always have trouble with your cookie recipe baking times. The center of the cookie is often uncooked even if I follow the recipe to a T or add a few minutes. Do you have any advice and could you also post some photos on the blog of how the cookies are meant to look when taken out?
Hi Sofie, happy to help troubleshoot. Are you chilling your cookie dough for long enough? Are you lining your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats? And finally, do you have an oven thermometer to check if perhaps your oven needs to be calibrated?
Hey you are one of the reasons why I get up everyday and bake a new treat, but when I made cookies the first batches came out to soft and cakey, should I put the other dough in the mixer because the dough is still liquid and is it ok if I bake in toaster oven
Hi Rogue, 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. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. We’re unsure of the results of baking these cookies in a toaster oven.
Is it possible to remove the corn starch due to allergies?
Hi Billy, yes, you can omit it if needed.
Made this with GF flour instead of normal and the cookies turned out brilliantly!! This is absolutely going to be my go-to recipe from now on. Nice and simple but so, so good.
Can these be made with mini chips?
Definitely!
Great work! Do I need cornstarch?
If you do not have cornstarch available, you can simply omit it. The cookies will still be nice and chewy.
Whenever I bake cookies recently, they seem to taste too much like butter, or maybe the taste is too much vanilla extract? If you have any thoughts please let me know, I’m excited to try this recipe and see if it helps!
Hi Briana, have you changed brands of butter or vanilla extract? Perhaps that is the different taste you are getting.
Can this recipe be made into bars?
Hi Stacey, This recipe is great for a 9×9 inch square baking pan or try this chocolate chip cookie bars recipe.