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
Hi! Thanks so much for all your. magnificent recipes! They are the crowning jewel of most of our gatherings and celebrations. Quick question: I’d like to bake a heaped tablespoon size of cookie to get smaller ones, will that affect my baking time?
Thank you so much! Yes, I would reduce the bake time but not by much. I’d say about 10 to 11 minutes.
I made this recipe for the second time today – delicious cookies but I had the same issue: once I take the dough out of the refrigerator, it is so cold (even thought I waited the 10 minutes as it said in recipe). It is hard to roll into the cylinder shape. Can I work with the dough as it “warms up” or will it not hold its shape if it is too soft?
Hi Betty, yes, you can work with the dough as it warms up. As I’m shaping, the dough gets a little warm which makes it easier to shape. It’s never been an issue. You’ll still want it chilled, though, because if it’s too warm, the dough balls will over-spread.
If I wanted to keep using this recipe as my base and turn it into an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, do I just add rolled oats directly or do I need to reduce flour first and by how much? Tried your recipe “Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies” but found it to have too much oats in it and was overwhelmed with the amount that it was slightly leaning towards a granola texture already.
Hi Jae, adding oats and/or reducing the flour will throw off the recipe. You may enjoy this iced oatmeal cookie recipe. Fewer oats, and you can skip the icing. You can add chocolate chips and other add-ins.
Just tried making the Iced Oatmeal cookiesl ike how you suggested and it turned out really good! Just the perfect amount of oats and just loved the texture and flavor of the cookie overall. Looks like I’ve found my new go to oatmeal chocolate chip cookie base. Thank you so much for your suggestion!
I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for 40 years. When I saw the instruction to melt the butter I scrolled on to a different recipe but then came back. All of the recipes I have made from Sally have been excellent so I went back and made them. Sooo yummy. The texture is perfect! I froze most of the dough in cookie sized ovals. The cookies are especially good after being frozen. I put the frozen balls straight into the oven at 300 degrees convection. Perfect
I’ve made this recipe for as long as I remember, my family loves them! 10/10
Love that it’s not that sweet, I do half of sugar what recipe calls for. thank you for sharing!!
I made this recipe and the cookie texture was more like shortbread.. delicious but not the chewy texture I was going for. Going to attempt again I think.
It tastes and feels nothing like shortbread…? Maybe you did something wrong. I’ve made this recipe countless times.
I followed directions exactly as above. My cookies aren’t as pretty as yours. They look more like little cakes but they are very good.
Made sure to follow the recipe and directions exactly, and these came out amazing. So soft and chewy, great taste and everyone in the house loves them. This will be my new go to recipe. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I added the amount of butter you suggested in grams but way too runny. I added more flour but did not work. The cookies are awful
Did you chill your cookie dough? The dough is definitely thinner after mixing it together, but it thickens up considerably after chilling for at least three hours (but you can chill it up to 3 days).
I love them. I’m not going to lie. It took me literally four times to get it perfect but when I did get it perfect. Oh my God were they perfect! I love them. I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe and this is it. I would recommend it to anybody but it’s going to be my secret recipe now LOL. I do have a question though. If I don’t have baking soda, can I use baking powder?
Hi Ray, we’re so glad you enjoyed these cookies! We do not recommend baking powder in place of the baking soda—it’s not always a 1:1 swap and they react differently. Here’s more on baking powder vs. baking soda, if you’re interested.
I want to double this and use a stand mixer. Is that possible? If so how would you long do you recommend I mix it?
Yes, you can double this recipe. Mix until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Enjoy!
i covered the bowl in cling wrap and let it sit over night and is solidified… 🙁
That is normal. After you take the dough out of the refrigerator you should allow it to slightly soften at room temperature for about 10 minutes (exact time depends on the temperature of your kitchen).
Its been an hour and my dough is still rock hard and it’s so warm in my house too
Hi Milo, it sounds like your flour may be over measured. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured. When there is too much flour, it soaks up all the wet ingredients and causes the dough to become especially hard and dry.
This recipe was amazing! Thank you
I am 65 years old. I’ve been baking chocolate chip cookies a long time. Let me tell you this. This recipe is by far the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES I’VE EVER BAKED!! UNBELIEVABLE DELICIOUSNESS & TEXTURE! .
Should I uses less brown sugar or white sugar if I don’t want it too sweet?
Hi Kathy, you can try reducing either of the sugars, 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.
the recipe looks fantastic. but can i reduce the sugar since my parents can’t handle sweet stuff. if i can, how much should I reduce?
Hi Tim, 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 and thank you for the recipe ! I found that the cookies didn’t really spread at all but rather stayed in a ball. I wonder what I did wrong – maybe I out too much dough into a single ball?
Hi Christina, usually when cookies don’t spread, it’s because there is too much flour in the dough. How do 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.
Just a question ……. Is there any necessity to refrigerate?
Hi Stephanie, chilling the dough is mandatory here!
my neighbor made this recipe they looked and tasted great. When I made them the cookies are flatter after cooling. Could be my oven? I followed recipe exactly all ingredients.
Hi Judy, I’m sorry you’re having trouble with these! Did you refrigerate the dough for long enough before shaping the cookie dough balls? You can also try adding a bit more flour, sometimes if the weather is particularly humid that can help. Here are a bunch more tips you can try: 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading. Hope the next batch turns out perfectly!
Great Recipe – thanks ! I was wondering if I could add frozen raspberries and white chocolate chunks into the mix ? Would frozen raspberries be too ‘wet’ ? Would the total add ins be about 1 and a quarter cups ? Thanks.
Hi Sarah, we don’t recommend adding frozen berries to cookie dough. But you could use freeze-dried raspberries instead of the strawberries in these strawberry & cream cookies, which include white chocolate!
Thanks so much for the speedy response !
Hi there! I followed the directions exactly and my cookies still turned out flat. They do taste good but I was hoping for the plump looking cookies like the picture! Any tips?
Hi Lauren, I’m sorry you’re having trouble with these! You can try adding a bit more flour, sometimes if the weather is particularly humid that can help. Here are a bunch more tips you can try: 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading.
I have a question what if you only have brown sugar is it still ok?
Hi Seema, The white sugar helps the cookies spread. The cookies will be a little different if using all brown sugar.
I’m so excited to try this recipe!
I’m curious though, what does the extra yolk do? What will happen if it’s omitted?
Hi Erin, the extra yolk gives the cookies an extra chewy texture. We don’t recommend leaving it out. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’ve been baking for years and never found one that perfected chewy and soft so well. I make them all the time now
this is the best recipe ive tried and wont go back!!!!!
This recipe was perfect! Only problem I had was no light brown sugar, so used demerara and the white granulated. Worked out great. Soft, chewy cookies! Thank you for the recipe x
I love this recipe but am wondering if I can sub salted for unsalted butter?
Hi Vickie, If you only have salted butter you can use it and reduce the added salt to 1/8 teaspoon.
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve found! Perfect cookies!
I made this recipe and loved it! Can I use the same recipe to make one large cookie cake?
Hi Chloe, so glad you love these cookies! We actually have a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie cake!
I followed this recipe exactly (except that I used salted butter and no extra salt) and the cookies came out very puffy and cakelike- they barely spread at all. I tired multiple times with different temperatures and heights of the dough but it didn’t make much difference. The flavor wasn’t great either. I’m not sure if it’s the cornstarch or the baking soda but these were a fail for me.
This is my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie of all time. I make them at least once a week, my family loves them. I follow the recipe exactly, but add a few more chocolate chips 😉 and I do half semi sweet, half milk chocolate. Oh! And I sprinkle them with flaky salt when they come out of the oven. The best balance. My only fluke was the time I used King Arthur flour when baking them at someone else’s house. They don’t spread correctly! So- avoid King Arthur flour, lots of chocolate chips, flaky salt, PERFECTION!