With 30 million page views and counting since 2013, these super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. And you don’t even need a mixer!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. This recipe is such a fan (and personal) favorite that I included it in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
One reader, Adrienne, commented: “These are the best cookies I’ve ever had. Incredible. Don’t cut corners or you’ll miss out. Do everything she says and you’re in for the best cookies of your life. ★★★★★“
There are thousands of chocolate chip cookies recipes out there. Everyone has their favorite and this one is mine. Just a glance at the hundreds of reviews in the comments section tells me that this recipe is a favorite for many others too! In fact, if you asked me which recipe to keep in your apron pocket, my answer would be this one. (In addition to a classic cut-out sugar cookies and flaky pie crust, of course!) Just read the comments on a post in our Facebook group. These cookies are beloved… and, a warning: they disappear FAST.
Why Are These My BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- The chewiest of chewy and the softest of soft.
- Extra thick just like my favorite peanut butter cookies!
- Bakery-style BIG.
- Exploding with chocolate.
I’ve tested this cookie recipe over and over again to make sure they’re absolutely perfect. I still have a big space in my heart (and stomach) for these soft chocolate chip cookies. Today’s recipe is similar, but I increased the chewiness factor.
One reader, A.Phillips, commented: “Look no further. This is it. This is the perfect cookie recipe. Follow her instructions exactly and the cookies will be chewy and amazing. … These are the most perfect cookies I’ve made and I’ve tried at least 20 different recipes. ★★★★★“
You can make them with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Key Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
The cookie dough is made from your standard cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. It’s the ratios and temperature of those ingredients that make this recipe stand out from the rest.
- Melted butter: Melted butter produces the chewiest cookies. It can, however, make your baked cookies greasy, so I made sure there is enough flour to counteract that. And using melted butter is also the reason you don’t need a mixer to make these cookies, just like these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin crumb cake cookies, and M&M cookie bars.
- More brown sugar than white sugar: More brown sugar than white sugar: The moisture in brown sugar promises an extra soft and chewy baked cookie. White granulated sugar is still necessary, though. It’s dry and helps the cookies spread. A little bit of spread is a good thing.
- Cornstarch: Why? Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies.
- Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk. The extra egg yolk adds richness, soft tenderness, and binds the dough. You will need 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature, just like in these brown butter marshmallow crispy cookies. See the recipe Notes for how to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly.
The dough will be soft and the chocolate chips may not stick because of the melted butter. Just keep stirring it; I promise it will come together. Because of the melted butter and extra egg yolk, the slick dough doesn’t even look like normal cookie dough! Trust the process…
The most important step is next.
2 Major Success Tips
1. Chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough is so important in this recipe! Unless you want the cookies to spread into a massive cookie puddle, chilling the dough is mandatory here. It allows the ingredients to settle together after the mixing stage but most importantly: cold dough results in thicker cookies. Cover the cookie dough and chill for at least 2–3 hours or up to 3 days. I usually chill it overnight.
(No time to chill? Make these soft & chewy chocolate chip cookie bars, giant chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie cake, or crispy chocolate chip cookie bark instead!)
- Further reading: How to Prevent Cookies from Spreading
2. Roll the cookie dough balls extra tall. After the dough has chilled, scoop out a ball of dough that’s 3 Tablespoons for XL cookies or about 2 heaping Tablespoons (1.75 ounces or 50g) for medium-large cookies. I usually use this medium cookie scoop and make it a heaping scoop. But making the cookie dough balls tall and textured, rather than wide and smooth, is my tried-and-true trick that results in thick and textured-looking cookies. We’re talking thick bakery-style cookies with wrinkly, textured tops. Your cookie dough should look less like balls and more like, well, lumpy columns, LOL.
Watch the video below to see how I shape them. I also demonstrate how I use a spoon to reshape them during baking if I see they’re spreading too much.
Because of the melted butter in this dough, the dough is very soft and a little greasy before chilling, so it’s harder to shape the cookie dough balls. We recommend chilling first, then shaping. If after chilling the dough is very hard and difficult to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and then try again.
We typically do not recommend jumping right to the freezer without chilling the dough first. A quick freeze like that can cause the dough to chill unevenly and then spread unevenly during the baking process. For best results, we recommend following the recipe as written. If you don’t have time to wait for the dough to chill, try this recipe for 6 giant chocolate chip cookies instead, which doesn’t require dough chilling (see recipe Notes in that post for details on using the dough to make 24 regular-size cookies).
Tools I Recommend for This Recipe
I’ve tested many baking tools and these are the exact products I use, trust, and recommend to readers. You’ll need most of these tools when making sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, too!
- Baking Sheets
- Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets
- Medium Cookie Scoop
- Cooling Racks
- See More: Best Cookie Baking Tools and 8 Best Baking Pans
Can I Freeze This Cookie Dough?
Yes, absolutely. After chilling, sometimes I roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them in a large zipped-top bag. Then I bake them straight from the freezer, keeping them in the oven for an extra minute. This way you can bake just a couple of cookies whenever the craving hits. (The chewy chocolate chip cookie craving is a hard one to ignore.)
If you’re curious about freezing cookie dough, here’s my How to Freeze Cookie Dough page (with video tutorial).
Facebook member, Leigh, commented: “These are the only CC cookies I’ve made for years (and this recipe is how I came to be such a fan of SBA!) This recipe worked great when I lived in Denver and had issues with baking at altitude, and it’s still our favorite now that we’re back at sea level. I usually make 4x-6x batches and freeze tons of cookie balls to bake later.“
In Short, Here Are the Secrets to Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies.
- Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie.
- An extra egg yolk increases chewiness.
- Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness. It’s a trick we use for cake batter chocolate chip cookies, too.
- Using melted butter (and slightly more flour to counteract the liquid) increases chewiness.
- Chilling the dough results in a thicker cookie. Almost as thick as peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or their gluten-free counterparts, flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies 🙂
Q: Have you baked a batch before?
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 XL cookies or 20 medium/large cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website for good reason. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. The cookie dough is slick and requires chilling prior to shaping the cookies. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g/12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for 5 minutes
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until combined, then whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be very soft, thick, and shiny. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
- Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight to prevent overspreading.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has chilled for longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop the chilled cookie dough, about 3 scant Tablespoons (about 2 ounces, or 60g) of dough for XL cookies or 2 heaping Tablespoons (about 1.75 ounces, or 50g) of dough for medium-large cookies. Roll into a ball, then use your fingers to shape the cookie dough so that it’s taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 13–14 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is optional and only for looks!
- Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature, then continue with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookies are still very soft.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: Room-temperature egg + egg yolk are best. Typically, if a recipe calls for room-temperature or melted butter, it’s good practice to use room-temperature eggs as well. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, simply place the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Can I add nuts or different add-ins? Yes, absolutely. As long as the total amount of add-ins is around 1 to 1 and 1/4 cups, you can add anything including chopped nuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, chopped peanut butter cups, etc. I love them with 3/4 cup (135g) butterscotch morsels and 1/2 cup (100g) Reese’s Pieces. You could even add 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles to make a sprinkle chocolate chip cookie.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this recipe the other day. I followed all the instructions to the “T”. I weighed out all my ingredients and chilled them like the instruction say to do. I even chilled them again after I rolled them into balls. But, through all my efforts the cookies spread out way to thin. they were a greasy mess. I am not sure what I did wrong. However they tasted amazing. I want my cookies to look as good as they taste and these did not fit that description. Any help or tips would be appreciated.
I would also like to add that I have loved all of your other recipes for a long time and use them frequently, so again, I am not sure why these did not turn out looking as pretty as they do in your book.
Hi Tina, I’m so glad you still enjoyed the taste of these cookies. I recommend taking a look at my post 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies From Spreading to help you troubleshoot. I hope you find it helpful!
This recipe is amazing! The cookies came out very soft, chewy and tasted like perfection. The entire family loved them. Never trying another chocolate chip cookies recipe again!
I’m really trying to figure out why my cookies didn’t turn out as well as I was hoping. I followed the instructions to the letter, chilled the dough overnight, and made “tall balls”. The cookies turned out really grainy, a little greasy, and almost gooey in the middle. I made 2 TBS balls, and baked them for 10 min. and cooled for 10 min. I just can’t figure out why they’re so grainy 🙁 The dark brown sugar also made them really dark and changed the flavor. I gave some to my neighbor and she thought they were caramel.
Hi Leslie, If you try them again I recommend mixing your butter and sugar together for longer in the beginning. If the cookies turned out grainy it’s likely from that first step – mix until the sugar and butter are completely smooth! You can also use light brown sugar if your dark brown sugar is too dark.
My daughter says it’s a five star review with the comment, “cookies so gooey and good that you don’t mind getting your fingers dirty.”
Hello! This recipe sounds terrific. If I wanted to make twice the number of cookies, would it work to just double all of the ingredients and prepare it all together following the same instructions?
Yes, exactly.
I’m making the cookies but only have wax paper. Would that be okay to substitute for parchment paper?
No, do not use wax paper. Parchment or a silicone baking mat is best.
Hi Sally I really love the cookies, but can I reduce the amount of the sugar? Will it probably change the texture?
Hi Dian, You can certainly try to reduce the amount of sugar but keep in mind that it will change the texture of the cookies. I don’t recommend cutting it by too much!
Love this recipe did one batch after 12 hours and another after 4 days both came out amazing but waiting the extra time was worth it!!
Hi Sally! I want to bake these cookies for some friends to send in care packages and I was wondering if they would mail well? I love this recipe and want to share!!
Hi Sarah, These cookies should ship well! This is the best way to ship cookies!
Amazingly perfect !!!!
Made the dough yesterday, let it chill overnight and made the cookies today. Yumalicious!! Best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever!
I made these cookies for my class. My students WOULD NOT stop asking for me to make them again! Hands down the best cookie we’ve all ever had.
I used this recipe to make a Sunday treat for my family and these cookies were divine! My husband isn’t normally a sugar fiend but he ate half a batch in one sitting (yikes!) Followed the directions exactly except for chilling. I had promised cookies after dinner and risked chilling the dough for only an hour and 30 mins and they still came out fabulous, perfectly thick and chewy. Thank you for sharing this recipe, my new go-to for soft chewy cookies.
I thought I found the best chocolate chip cookie recipe until I discovered this one. This is absolutely amazing! It’s everything I hoped it would be and more! Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe!
FINALLY!
After trying no less than 100 recipes I have finally found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe! Thank you Sally!
Just made for the first time! Came out delish! I did make smaller 1″ balls and cooked for 8 min like I saw above cooked at 350 and they came out perfect! Thank you!
Our new favorite choc chip cookie recipe. Like that they aren’t real thick, like so many other recipes. Not too thin or too thick. Today I am making them with Aldi’s choc covered caramel with sea salt and walnuts. My hubbie is drooling, just thinking about them. Can’t make them fast enough.
Hi Sally! I’ve made these cookies before and they were AMAZING.
I just recently finally mastered browning butter.. would you recommend substituting the butter with brown butter?
Thank you again for all your recipes. Every recipe I have made has been a hit with my family and coworkers.
I’m so glad you enjoy them, Mina! I have a recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies that I think you will love!
Love these cookies! I made them all the time when young, but lately don’t turn out and had given up.
However, had no time for chilling, so just rolled in 1 ” balls and baked 8 min @375, cooled 5 min on the rack and they are beautiful!
Thank you so much….
Anna
These cookies taste amazing! They look very puffy when I take them out of the oven, but then flatten out as they cooled on the sheet. I rolled the dough into balls, then chilled for 4 hours. How do I keep them puffy?
Hi Taylor, They will deflate a bit after baking which gives them those beautiful crinkly tops! My best trick however, is to roll the cookie dough balls taller, rather than wide. This little tried-and-true trick will result in thicker cookies. I do it for every single cookie I bake.
First of all, the texture of this cookie is amazing!! I chilled the dough for 48 hours and boom! The cookies were so rich.
BUT I seem to have a problem with the cookies coming out extremely greasy when baked – I live in a particularly hot and humid country could this be the reason why? How can I fix this?
Hi Pim, The climate where you are can certainly play a role! Next time try adding just a bit more flour to help off-set the melted butter.
Hi, Sally
The cookies turned out AWESOME!! This is a great recipe! My 10 year old daughter and 7 year old nephew helped me bake them, and they were thrilled with it!
Perfect way to end the year!
I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my day and have tried a few different recipes over the years. When I couldn’t find the recipe I wanted on Christmas Eve day I resorted to Google and came up with this. I already knew of Sally’s Baking Addiction and have found good recipes here, but this time I feel I hit the jackpot! It was indeed the best chocolate chip cookie ever! My only change, and it’s minor, but it’s just something I like in my cookie, is I add a bit of Instant Espresso powder.
We loved the cookies so chewy and the best taste! I added pecans to mine, we love pecans!! I baked a pan and didn’t chill they don’t d awesome. We will bake more tomorrow. I also us d half Crisco and half butter and doubled my recipe!! Great results!!! We will make again!! ❤️❤️
After living outside the US for seven years and being afraid to make chocolate chip cookies for fear of being disappointed, I picked out this recipe and decided to give it a try. Wow!!! These turned out amazing. I used chopped dark chocolate since it’s hard to find chips in Israel, but I’ll try to find chunks of chips for next time as the chopped pieces flatten out as they melt and blend slightly with the dough. The only other thing I would change is maybe using stronger flour (as my local flour is softer than American flour) or working the dough more, as the cookies were soft and not chewy. In any case these comments have nothing to do with the recipe and the cookies were still some of the best I’ve ever had! And they bake up beautifully, perhaps even better from the freezer. Everyone that tasted them got misty eyed. Thanks so much for including weights so people in other countries can make these! I can confirm that this recipe works great with Israeli baking ingredients.
We’ve always wanted a great chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’ve been on the hunt for the best recipe for years. I followed your exact directions but baked for 13 minutes. These are AWESOME! And my family is thrilled. Thanks for this recipe!
I can not bake … cooking .. I’m pretty amazing at .. I swear .. lol
I ruin precut cookies . I made these cookies and not only did your recipe not hurt my brain … they were the best I’ve ever had ❤️Thank you !!
Hi
I plan to make these cookies with my son but have question regarding egg. I’m a vegetarian and try and avoid egg as much as I can. I usually replace with flaxmeal but what can I substitute egg yolk with?
I have not tested this recipe with an egg substitute but let me know if you try!
Best recipe ever! Thank you!
I was looking for a good chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe and found this website. I just made these cookies and they are indeed chewy and delicious! I made them smaller and shortened the cooking time. You definitely do not want to over bake. They will look like they aren’t totally done, but they will continue cooking out of the oven. I recommend this recipe and I appreciate the video instructions, too. I’m a fairly experienced baker, but it never hurts to watch the video! Thanks!
Made these for the 1st time….best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made! Typically mine always go flat, these did not! Followed the recipe exactly as written, I don’t like to make modifications when it comes to baking….Getting ready to bake the oatmeal raisin next. Very happy family right now! Thanks!
Hi Kristen, For the best taste and texture I recommend sticking with real butter for these cookies.