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
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.
Too much flour. I measured and leveled the flour, taking care not to overmix. Not chewy at all. I’m using the cookies to dunk in my coffee.
Did you try the right flour?
Quite literally the best cookies I have EVER made in my life. Thank you!!
Perfect cookies. Added pecans and choc chips. Absolutely perfect.
Best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. They’re always a huge hit at gatherings. Thanks Sally!
Absolutely ridiculous. Years ago I set out to find THE best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and I found a few that I really loved. They’ve been my staples. Over the last 2 years I’ve discovered that every last SBA recipe I try turns out amazing even if I’ve failed at that particular item in the past (with other recipes). I decided I needed to give your favorite CCC recipe a try and I’m SO glad I did. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever received so many compliments on a cookie before. Delicious through and through and even stands the test of time and tastes just as good on day 2. Well done as always!
WOWWWWW. These are the best I’ve ever had. Even impressed my housemate who is a chef. My first batch wasn’t great as I accidentally overdid the flour (faded measurements on my cups + overtired) so they turned out quite doughy and didn’t spread as much. But I persevered and made a new batch last night and WOW. 15/10 – will be my go to now for sure!
These are the real deal. I followed the recipe exact and they are delicious, I will never make chocolate chip cookies any other way. Thank you, very creative!
I made the balls but it never flatten when i baked it. What seems to be the problem?
Hi Kath, When cookies aren’t spreading, it usually means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. When measuring flour, use the spoon & level method. Do not scoop the flour out of the container/bag. Doing so leaves you with excess flour in the cookie dough.
If you are ever in the middle of baking a batch and the cookies still aren’t spreading, remove them from the oven, and use a spoon to slightly flatten them out before returning them to the oven.
Hi Sally,
I have tried making these soft chewy chocolate chip cookies mini mini times, but I’m having a problem and wanted to see if you could help.
The cookies taste delicious but come out pretty flat and very heavy and greasy just about every time.
I feel like I have followed the directions to a T. I even use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. I use a parchment paper lined baking sheet… chill the dough for the recommended time etc. etc.
Wondering if maybe I need to add more flour… or cornstarch… and what kind of the texture should I be looking for since I feel like I need to tweak something but don’t know how to tell if I got it right with the dough?
The dough usually looks kind of thin and greasy… but even when it looks a little fluffier and hopeful, the cookies always still come out flat and greasy.. I have an oven thermometer also to make sure the oven temp is correct.
Could the age of eggs have anything to do with it or any other variables that might be causing these flat, greasy cookies?
Would really appreciate any suggestions, because the taste is very rich and flavorful, so I don’t want to abandon ship! Thanks!
Hi Gwen, thanks so much for giving these cookies a try! Are you using proper room temperature butter? You can definitely try adding a couple Tbs of flour to your dough. Here’s more tips to keep cookies from spreading!
Love this recipe! It’s now my family’s (and friends’) favorite chocolate chip recipe. The cookies remain soft for days, if they last that long. I generally freeze the extra cookie dough balls and bake them as needed, right out of the freezer. I have a question though, can they be baked a few days beforehand and still remain fresh? Thank you. Love all your recipes!
Hi Pika, so glad your family enjoys these cookies! Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
I’m not much of a baker … but I enjoy baking. I Just made these super soft chewy choc chip cookies, and they are absolutely the best choc chip cookies I’ve ever made or eaten !!!
They are too much like “cake’ cookies which I do not like. I will stick with my regular recipe in future.
Hi Sally, I am just concerned about the egg, what if my available eggs in the pantry is only a small or medium sized with only a small egg yolk inside ? Do I need to make it 2 egg yolks instead ? Will appreciate your reply
Hi Kate, In recipes that only call for one egg it likely won’t make a huge difference using a medium size instead of a large egg. When you scale up a recipe or use a recipe calling for multiple eggs, then the size difference will be much more pronounced. You can always go by weight if you own a kitchen scale. Egg weights can vary but usually large eggs in the shell are about 57g, and 50g out of the shell. A yolk weighs about 18g and a white 30g.
These cookies are so good! Thank you for this recipe!
This was the best recipe by far!!! I have to tell you Sally, I added 4 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter for that extra nutty buttery taste, and it was perfect!!! Will be making this one going forward!! Oh, and my sister is named Sally too, so knew it would be great!
Hi Sallie! How do you melt your butter? Do you melt it by microwave?
Made the recipe twice and weighed everything to a ‘T’. Definitely a chewy cookie which is awesome, but to me the overall texture of the cookie left a lot to be desired. I’ve been baking for the better part of 25 years, and I’ve never had a chocolate chip cookie where the texture was so grainy. The overwhelming flavor and texture that came through was definitely the sugar which to me, unfortunately took away from the awesome chewiness. I still think it’s a good cookie that is easily chewy, but not my favorite so far.
I found that with mine too.
I made these cookies, they turned very yummy, but not chewy .. what is the secret ?
Instead of cornstarch, I used half corn flour and rice flour.
Also I kept in the fridge for 4 hours, everything else was as per the receipt..
Hi Elham, the corn flour and rice flour were likely the culprit. In the future, if you don’t have cornstarch, you can simply leave it out — the cookies should still be chewy, but the cornstarch helps give them that extra chewiness. You can also try baking them for a minute or so less next time. Hope this helps!
I need to add pecans to this, how much would you recommend. The husband is a nut fanatic!! Thank you
Hi Susan! You can use half of the chocolate chips and then the other half chopped pecans. Hope they’re a hit!
I’m making these right this very minute, but it’s so hard to tell when they’re the right level of “looking under baked” and actually being under baked.
They’re still blonde in colour but with a hint of golden brown on top.
Hi Emily! That sounds just about right for these cookies. Hope you love them!
Hi Sally. I am a retired professional patissiere. I love your website. Our local Wegmans sells large soft yummy CCCs for $1.99 EACH. What??? So i started my quest. Your recipe is exactly what I have been looking for! I use my baking scale to measure 15 grams per cookie, make tall balls (I’m a baller!) Stirred in 1 cup Callebaut dark chunks and 1/2 c. Reeses PB chips. My own baking addiction. Got 22 cookies from a batch. Bonus! Thank you so much.
Big Oops! Not 15 grams but 45 grams = 3 Tbsp.
For anyone put off by the long chill time, I scooped mine, rolled it into balls, chilled in the freezer for 30 mins and they were perfect and didn’t spread. Maybe they would be even better with the longer chill time but I was happy with them!
Hi Sally,
the cookies are delicious but mine didn’t spread at all. I have weighed out all the ingredients, so that shouldn’t be the problem. Any idea what I can do to make them spread? Adding another egg? Trying less flour?
Thank you
Hi Lisa! Usually too much flour in the dough is the culprit for cookies that don’t spread, but if you’re weighing you ingredients that doesn’t sound like the case. If you’re in the middle of baking a batch and the cookies still aren’t spreading, remove them from the oven, and use a spoon to slightly flatten them out before returning them to the oven. You can also take your big bowl of cookie dough and microwave it for 10-15 seconds to slightly warm it up before scooping/rolling/baking. Warm cookie dough spreads more. (This is what we do when I notice my cookies aren’t spreading!) Or you could try reducing the flour by a couple Tbs. Thank you so much for giving these a try!
Oh my goodness.
I made these for a teacher, and I am not sure how there are going to be any left for her! These are SO chewy and chocolatey! I used a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chunks and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
I rolled them to be taller rather than flatter, and used an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough. AMAZING!!
Totally surprised art how these came out delicious! I made these for daughter to take on a camping trip. Everyone’s eye a got big when they saw the size and of course they are very good.as
I’ve been searching for a nice chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe and was pleasantly surprised at how soft these came out. I ended up leaving the dough in the fridge overnight then used a scoop to get them all uniform. I did notice that I could taste the baking soda in these. Would it hurt to decrease the amount next time?
Hi Jamie, we’re so glad you love these! They may have a different texture if you decrease the baking soda. Usually when we can taste baking soda in baked goods it means the baking soda may not be fresh anymore.
Hi Sally
I want to thank you for this delicious recipe.
Your recipe and tips are easy to follow.
Thank you so much! More power to you
Hi Sally, first time baker here
I’d like to know how many minutes should I preheat the oven and should I lower the tempreture while baking?
Hi Mae, it will depend on your oven, but preheat it until it reaches 325°F (163°C). Then, you’ll bake the cookies at the same temperature — no need to lower. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Thank you Sally.
just preheat for about 10 minutes
Thank heavens for this recipe! I love chewy cookies and I’m glad I was able to make them at home now. This is perfect and the family loves it!
Perfect! Followed the recipe exactly and they came exactly as pictured. We used these to make ice cream sandwiches for Father’s Day. They held up wonderfully in the ice cream sandwiches, didn’t break or crumble apart but were still chewy and soft.