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
Hey Sally,
I want to half this recipe. If I were to do that, how would I half the egg and yolk? And if anyone has halved this recipe before, could I have some tips and pointers?
Hi Lana, 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.
I made these cookies and they are perfect! I’ve always had trouble with chocolate chip cookies spreading too much but read your cookie tips post from the other day and it all really helped. They’re very chewy like promised. We were arguing over who got the last cookie. Oh well, time to make another batch this weekend! Thanks Sally!
Best chocolate chip cookie ever!!!
Ok, so I was very skeptical. Melted butter? My dough was soo greasy! The butter/sugar mixture was questionable. I continued with the recipe since I trust Sally and the 1,000+ 5 star reviews don’t lie. After chilling for a few hours, it looked perfect. After baking and taking it out of the oven, it produced a soft and chewy cookie.
Measurements of everything was perfect. I usually reduce sugar in recipes after trying the recipe as is the first time, but this is truly perfect as is! 5 stars!
Hi Sally, I used dark brown sugar instead and almost immediately regretted it as it turned my butter/sugar/egg mixture dark brown immediately!
Also, after I’ve mixed the wet and dry ingredients, the end result did not look like dough at all; it looked like very thick and sticky cake batter. It’s being chilled in the fridge now, I hope it ‘turns into dough’ tomorrow morning!
If my dough still looks like cake batter in the morning, do I just throw the whole thing away?
Hi Yulis! Sounds normal. This is very creamy and gooey cookie dough, that’s why refrigerating is key.
Thank you Sally!
I have tried numerous recipes for my cookie-loving husband and after being so impressed with your other recipes I thought I’ll try your cookies. It was an absolute success! After one bite, my husband grabbed the whole plate of cookies and ran away. Needless to say, we have a winner!
Loved your tip on shaping the cookies slightly towered, I never thought of this, but it definitely made a difference and made for fatter chewier cookies.
Hi Sally,
Is it okay if I roll them into balls before chilling them? And does the color and flavor of the cookie change depending on the type of sugar (light brown vs dark)?
Hi Era, You can try but they likely won’t hold their shape without being refrigerated at all. You can refrigerate them for a shorter amount of time, roll them, and then place them back in the refrigerator to continue chilling. You will notice a color difference and a very slight flavor difference between light and dark sugar – I love them with both!
Followed this recipe to a T. Was disappointed. Didn’t really spread out and they were too cakey for me not at all what I was expecting.
Amazing cookies and so easy to make! I placed the dough overnight in the ref then baked it for 13minutes. Next time Ill bake a little longer to make the edges just a bit crispier. Will definitely make this again and again!
This recipe is so good! I made it! My children love it. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Yes, yes, yes and 1000 times YES! I am a huge fan of all of your recipes and these definitely do not disappoint. So perfectly soft and chewy. Last chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ll ever need. Next time I’m making them with M&Ms!
Fantastic. I’ve made these twice now. The first time, I chilled them for 2.5 hours; the second time, I chilled them overnight. I observed the following:
Chilling the cookies for 2 or 3 hours seems to result in a more even chewy texture. Chilling them overnight seems to lead to a crispier exterior with a chewy interior. The second batch was only slightly thicker.
A lot of people seem to like the variance in texture of the second version, but I preferred the first. I suspect letting the dough sit for longer once out of the fridge might have made the second batch turn out more like the first.
I can never get nestle toll house cookies to puff up, they’re always flat! I tried this hoping it would be different!! I only had one egg so I replaced the egg yolk with 3 tablespoons of peanut butter and it is sooooo good!!
Hi Sally,
I’ve made these cookie recipe twice now and it’s really very good. Just wondering why my cookies doesn’t spread. I’ve different scenarios everytime – rolling taller vs balls, leaving in the fridge vs freezer, adding a minute or two of baking time.. I even tried flatting them a little before baking but they don’t come out like regular cookie shape – they are a little domed.. what do you think could be wrong? Thanks
Hi Nicole, 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.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I tried it two times and it came out just perfect both times! Loved your detailed instructions and the pics! So easy to follow. Unable to post my pics but it came out picture perfect . Thank you!
I had a friend make these cookies for me, and they were perfect. I have tried to make them myself multiple times, but they always turn out super flat and mushy, not chewy. I had that friend come over and try to recreate them with my ingredients and oven, but it didn’t work for him either. What could the problem be? Thanks so much for your help and delicious recipe!
OK, so I’m not a baker. Until very recently, I would have sworn I couldn’t bake at all. The Sally’s Baking Addiction site was a fantastic discovery and I’ve found several easy and very yummy recipes here, these cookies among them. I’m not a chocolate person, so to me these were just OK – something sweet after dinner. My husband, however, is a chocoholic and can’t stop raving about these cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are among his favorite desserts, and he just proclaimed these to be the best chocolate chip cookies he’s ever had. He can’t stop raving about them. (And he wanted to know if Sally’s married because he’s already in love with her – or at least her baked goods … ~ Sigh ~).
I would have let these cool longer but the family attacked them shortly after they came out of the oven!! Best chocolate cookies ever, according to my family. Thanks for another winner. These will be made again (I will try it when they are not home so I can try freezing the balls for a later bake).
I just made these. They are by far the best chewey chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I made exactly as recipe stated. I am thrilled to add this to my recipe binder.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Hello,
This recipe sounds delicious, but will it make a huge difference if I don’t add the cornstarch, as I don’t have any at the moment..
Thanks
The cornstarch keeps these cookies extra soft. You can skip it if you don’t have any.
Hi Sally, can I roll the cookie before putting in the fridge?
It might be too soft to roll but you can simply refrigerate it for half of the time, roll, and then continue refrigerating them. Enjoy!
These cookies are amazing. I have made this recipe twice now. These are my new favorite recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies. They are also great to make ice cream sandwiches with. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I made these cookies yesterday for the first time and loved them! If I wanted to make smaller cookies (i.e. 1-2 tbsp), how long should I bake them for so that they’re still chewy?
I’m so happy you loved them, Veronica! Smaller cookies will take less time, the exact bake time depends on how small you roll them so just watch them carefully and be sure to pull them out of the oven while they still look soft.
This is by far the best chewy cookie recipe ive tried. 3rd time to make it! My first and 2nd batch didn’t last a day! Now I have to hide some for myself hahaha. Thank you for this recipe!
Super great recipe! My family loved it! Can you please help me? I was just wondering why the bottom of my cookies are slightly burnt? It had a slightly hard texture after baking. I tried removing the parchment paper but it doesn’t work. Thank you so much!
Hi Reign! I wonder if it has anything to do with the baking pan you are using– is it dark metal? What about lining it– are you using a silicone baking mat or parchment paper or greasing it? I recommend a light metal baking sheet as well as a silicone baking mat or parchment over greasing it. You may also want to lower the oven rack, too.
Yes it is and I’m using parchment paper. Should I grease it first? Thank you! I would also like to ask if is it normal for my cookie dough to have a crumbly mixture after chilling it? Thank you so much for your help!
I got too scared to combine my wet ingredients to my dry ingredients coz when i followed your measurements for wet ingredients, i got a lot of it in my bowl, whereas when i looked at your bowl, you only have like a few scoops of it. I did it anyway and still turned out great. I just wondered about that part.
Hi Sally I made the dough and it’s resting in my fridge for tomorrow but I am a bit confused on the leaving it out to be room temperature. Why do we refrigerate it if we need to bring it up to room temperature? Also I live in a country where room temperature is 30°C/90°F, do you think if I leave it out for about 3-4 mins it would be sufficient?
Hi Anita, If it’s refrigerated overnight it’s simply too hard to roll right out of the fridge. You can leave it out just until it’s soft enough to roll. Since your kitchen sounds pretty warm, if your dough gets too warm after it’s rolled you can simply place the dough balls back in the fridge instead of leaving them out.
Hi Sally, absolutely love this and all your recipes. I have 2 blocks of left over fudge and was thinking of making this cookie recipe using fudge pieces. How would I adjust the recipe (the sugar maybe?) give the fudge is a lot sweeter than semi-sweet choc chips? Thanks so much!
Hi Pren, Adjusting the other ingredients would take some additional recipe testing. Keep in mind that if you decrease the sugar the cookies will not have the same texture (it’s used for texture and moisture in addition to taste!). Let me know if you try anything!
Is it better to use convection bake or just bake?
Hi Leslie, When I’m baking, I prefer the traditional conventional setting because I feel things overbake quickly when using the convection setting.
Halved this recipe and hands down the best cookie recipe ever made! Absolutely amazing!!! Thank you!!
These are the best cookies I’ve ever made. Can’t believe I haven’t tried them until now. There were 16 cookies about an hour ago and now there’s only 4 left!