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
The ONLY chocolate chip cookie recipe I have been using for about 5 years now!!! Simply amazing! I always get rave reviews for the chewiness and how well they stay plumped up!
Tried this recipe for the first time. They came out just like the photos. My cookies were about 2 tbsp each, the normal size, and I ended up with abt 30 cookies. I used only 1 c choco chips and feel that was just right.
This recipe is so honest! It reveals all the secrets to the ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie I have ever dreamed for! Thank you heaps Sally! I have just made it today and my whole family loves it so much that I’ll even bake more tomorrow even if I doubled all the ingredients to make even more cookies, still though it was not enough since it is such a hit!
From New Zealand, enjoying baking during COVID lock-down, found your recipe – freaking awesome biscuits!!!!! 2 batches from 1 dough so far. tried them hot tonight with ice cream & chocolate sauce – lovely! still some left for a couple of hot 1’s tomorrow. fantastic explanatory tips to make soft, moist, thick biscuits. just what I was looking for. thanks so much for your choice recipe. already looking at more of yours.
Since I discovered this recipe last year it became my ultimate favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I made this several times and it was always perfect! Thank you Sally for this recipe. But the last time that I made this, the cookie turned out too greasy. I wonder what I did wrong because the first time I did this it was perfect. I chilled the dough overnight. I did not put any oil or butter on the parchment paper. Is the environment temperature a factor?
Hi! I am not a baker but since we are stuck at home, I figured I would give this recipe a try. WOW!!! Fantastic and easy to follow instructions. Thank you!
Sally, you are amazing. My husband, who does not care much for sweets, couldn’t help but give these a try and immediately said that these were the best cookies he’s ever had in his life (and he’s not much for hyperbole either, so I know he meant it)! I wanted to take a picture but between my husband and my boys, they were gone within seconds! Truly the best chocolate chip cookies any of us have ever had! I would like to try this recipe with monk fruit sugar next time… but I’m afraid to mess with perfection! Have you ever tried this recipe with anything other than the real stuff?
Hi Christina, I’m so glad that you love these cookies! I haven’t tested the recipe with sugar alternatives, but the results will be different as monk fruit sugar doesn’t contain the same chemical properties as regular and brown sugars. Let me know if you test it!
I have made these twice and they are amazing! I double the recipe and freeze extras. Personally I put less chocolate chips in here than asked for. I think it’s just preference and I can just eyeball how I like mine. The second time I used Reese’s peanut butter chips instead of chocolate and it tasted amazing as well. I love how I learned a new trick in having the dough a little higher than wider to help make them thicker and chewier. Definitely recommend making these!
My cookies tasted amazing but the shape did not turn out right – I chilled the dough overnight ! Still would cook this again and play around with the shape!
Absolutely love this chocolate chip cookie recipe!!! I have been looking for a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe for quite some time. I tried this recipe yesterday and my family and I loved these cookies. I think the huge difference with this recipe is the addition of cornstarch and chilling the dough. It really helped to achieve the perfect texture. I will definitely be making these cookies again!
Delicious and really easy to make. Not too much washing up and great for kids. Would recommend!
hey Sally, just wanna say I am obsessed with your recipes! this is the second one that I have tried the first being the very fudgy brownies and boy did they turn out great! both were a success from the very first time I made them. Just wanted to say thanks a lot also I have a question how can make the fudge brownie less sweet. tried to reduce the sugar but it turned out hard
Absolutely perfect!!! These are 100% hands down the most perfect chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had, period! So chewy and delicious and I was a little concerned about the cornstarch but it was perfect! I made 100 cookies for a birthday party using this recipe and it was an absolute hit! This recipe has made our family chocolate chip cookie addicts!!!
Thank you so so much!!
-Adysen
Hi Sally, this recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to give it a try. If I want to reduce the sugar content by around 30%, should I just reduce both the brown and white sugar by about 30% or should I leave same amount of brown sugar and just cut out the white sugar to almost nil? Anything else I need to adjust if I’m reducing the sugar?
Hi Shar, feel free to slightly reduce one or both of the sugars but this could also change how much the cookies spread and how they taste as well. Let me know what you try!
do i really need to chill before i bake the cookies? i cant wait. Can i scoop it and put directly 5e dough in the cooking sheet without making a ball in my hand? i just flattened a little with a fork. What will happen?
Chilling is mandatory for this recipe. Without chilling your dough will spread into a puddle. See the section of the post above called “Chill the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” for details! I do have an entire section of No Chill Cookies that you can bake right away 🙂
I made these last night and they were a total winner! Question – if I want to make more in one go, do I just double everything and prepare as usual, and they will turn out the same? There were times I doubled some recipes but the output was not the same when I made them in its original quantities.
Thanks for sharing. We love it!
Followed the recipe/measurements and all instructions exactly, yet ended up with extremely flat, spread out cookies that had a good flavor, but the texture was so awful as they just seemed completely underdone (even baked for 13-15 minutes). Not a novice baker so was very disappointed by the result. Any thoughts on what might have gone wrong? I did use half m&ms half chunks but don’t think that should have altered the results.
Hi Kate, without knowing exactly what went wrong, I suggest these 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading if you’re interested. If they’re under-baked, a couple extra minutes will help for next time or try increasing the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
This recipe is INCREDIBLE! This also provided a much needed solution to making an entire batch of cookies and having leftover cookies for days that you never quite enjoy as much. I baked a sheet of cookies (6) each evening for our dessert and continued leaving the dough refrigerated. 3 nights of fresh-baked cookies and no temptation to over-indulge was absolutely wonderful 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Sally!
I think I use too much flour, the dough wqs crumbly. I already added more butter but still it was crumbly and the chocolate wont stick in the dough. Can I still save my dough? What will my crumbly dough be when I bake em in the oven? Thanks so much Sally!
Hi Nashatra, You should expect the dough to be crumbly, but the warmth of your hands will help the balls stay together when you roll it. See recipe step 5 🙂
My cookies didn’t spread out. What am I doing wrong? I followed the exact directions.
Thanks
Hi Tracie, make sure you are spooning and leveling (or weighing) the flour. If there’s too much flour, all of the butter will be absorbed and the cookies won’t spread.
Hello, I was wondering how the halve the recipe, what with the egg yolk and all. I tried using 1 egg only while halving all of the other ingredients, but I feel like the dough was too liquidy. Other than that the cookies baked well. I just wanted to know if there was a better way. 🙂
Hi Pravar, the most precise way would be to whisk 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk together, measure the volume, then use half. You can refrigerate or freeze the leftover egg mixture or perhaps use it to make scrambled eggs, omelet, or make another half batch of these.
Thank you so very much for providing such a wonderful recipe, as well as superb directions with which to execute it. I love a great chocolate chip cookie. For the first time in my 65 years of living I finally have a recipe that lets me produce them in my home.
I’ve printed out the recipe, and asked my wife to be sure to provide them at my wake–sometime in the far distant future, I hope.
Nicely done!
I made the cookies and added chips and nut. Yummy ! It is important not to over bake and chill dough before baking. I actually shaped the cookies and then chilled. Family loved them
The perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe!
This recipe is the best cookie recipe I’ve used. If I was to use this receipe and add Nutella in the middle would I need to freeze the Nutella first then put inside the dough ?
These cookies are AMAZING!! My husband can’t get enough of them. Question… can you scoop the cookies into balls and then refrigerate individually or do you have to refrigerate the entire dough before scooping into individual balls?
Hi Nickay, I’m so glad that you all enjoy these cookies. The dough is too soft to scoop and shape before chilling. You can, however, chill it for about 1 hour, shape, then chill for the remaining time.
I love this recipe but a friend of mine does not like chocolate and I was curious if you can leave the chocolate chips out without it negatively affecting the cookie? I have added chocolate chips before to recipes and they did not come out right so I just wanted to see if leaving them out would do the same. Thanks in advance!
Hi Bailey, you can leave out the chocolate chips in this cookie dough. The bake time is the same.
I’ve made this recipe a few times. However the most recent time, the cookies didn’t spread much at all and the bottoms browned before the cookie was done. Any suggestions on what could have happened?
Hi Star, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour (or weighing it). Too much flour means that too much butter will soak up and the cookies won’t spread. You can also try skipping the dough chilling or reducing the amount of time it chills.
Hi Sally, can I substitute GF flour for this recipe?
Hi Sally – if I add a cup of chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks to this recipe, would you recommend adjusting any of the other ingredients?
Hi Susanna, No other changes needed! Keep the total add-ins to 1 and 1/2 cups or less.
delicious.