Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies are hands-down the BEST! They're soft and chewy on the inside, has a slight crunch on the outside, and a delicious buttery flavor. In my opinion, you won't find a better chocolate chip cookie!

This recipe for Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies was updated on February 23, 2021 with newer content and fresh pictures.

Chocolate chip cookies hold a special place in my heart, as they are one of the first things I ever learned to bake! I have my grandma and mom to thank for that.

Now, I love creative and out of the box type desserts, but classic chocolate chip cookies will always be one of my favorite desserts. How very "vanilla" of me, I know, but I can't help myself! Honestly, I'm not sure why I waited this long to share this recipe with all of you. 🙂

If you're feeling adventurous with your chocolate chips, check out my recipe for Junior Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're freaking amazing!! Or even this Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie!

So, what makes this chocolate chip cookie recipe any different from all of the many chocolate chip cookie recipes we see online?

One answer: Flavor.

Like many of you, we have those fond memories of biting into a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie when we were a kid. That soft and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie, with a slight crunch on the outside, and bursting with chocolate chips. That's the kind of cookie this is. This is a childhood cookie that will instantly bring back all of those feel-good memories.

Why This Is The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:

• The cookies are slightly crispy on the outside while being soft and chewy on the inside.
• The ooey-gooeyness from the chocolate chips is tasted in every bite.
• You only need simple ingredients to make this cookie.
• The cookies are not too thin and not too thick.
• Between the buttery flavor and the soft interior, these cookies just melt in your mouth!

Perfect Cookies Every Time

This is one of those recipes where it took me a couple dozen tries to get it perfect. And once I got it to my liking, I tested it another five times just to be sure.

Just like with many types of baked goods, everything needs to be balanced. The flour, leavening agents, butter, sugar, eggs, etc. All of those ingredients work together to create a delicious treat and in this scenario, a classic chocolate chip cookie.

Here's what I have learned on how to bake a perfect chocolate chip cookie every time:

• properly measure your flour
• cream the butter and sugars together for at least 2 minutes
• add an egg yolk in addition to a whole egg
• chill the cookie dough
• use a round cookie cutter to get a perfectly shaped cookie

Using a round cookie cutter to rotate around the hot cookie when it immediately comes out of the oven is an easy, but effective, way to get a beautiful and round cookie.

My cookies don't always turn out flawless, so by using the cookie cutter I'm able to make them more circular. These are the exact cookie cutters I use.

Baking Tips Before Starting:

1. Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.

2. Chilled Cookie Dough: This is one of those cookie recipes where the dough must chill 30 minutes before baking. This is crucial to get both that soft and chewy texture in the middle while having a slight crunch on the edges.

3. Prepare Baking Sheet: I bake all of my cookies using these baking sheets. They perfectly fit 12 cookies on each pan and can be used for a lot of other recipes too. I also use silicone baking mats so the cookies won't stick to the pans.

4. Cookie Scoop: I always use my 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop (#50) for all of my cookie recipes. I love the size and it's my preferred cookie scoop. You can also use whatever cookie scoop size you have on hand.

5. Perfectly Shaped Cookies: The trick to getting more circular cookies is to use a round cookie cutter to essentially “rotate or spin” around each cookie immediately when they come out of the oven. Since they’re really hot, the cookies will easily mold to that circular shape as you move around them.

Ingredients In Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Only simple and every day ingredients are needed to create these delcious cookies!

• All-Purpose Flour: This provides the body and structure of the cookie.
• Baking Soda: Helps the cookies spread when baking.
• Corn Starch: Helps the cookies to be soft and tender.
• Salt: Enhances all of the other flavors.
• Unsalted Butter: This adds a delicious buttery flavor to the cookies. Make sure to use unsalted butter and that it's at room temperature before baking.
• Brown Sugar: Used for sweetness and gives the cookies a chewier texture.
• Sugar: Adds sweetness.
• Egg and Egg Yolk: Helps to bind all of the ingredients together and the egg yolk adds chewiness.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor.
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Classic chocolate chip cookies typically use semi-sweet chocolate chips. I like to use Nestle's or Ghirardelli's. You could also substitute the chocolate chips for milk or dark chocolate.

How To Make Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies:

This recipe requires the cookie dough to chill for 30 minutes before baking. Not only does this create a deeper flavor, but it helps the cookies to not be too thin.

1. Dry Ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, corn starch, and salt. Set aside.

2. Wet Ingredients: In an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed until combined. Then add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.

3. Combine Ingredients & Chill: Slowly add the flour mixture and mix on low to medium speed until the cookie dough starts to form. Stop when you see no more white flour. Then mix in the chocolate chips. Cover the mixing bowl with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for the dough to chill.

4. Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and use a cookie scoop to scoop out the cookie dough onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, just until the outside of the cookies start to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them over to a wire rack.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Recommended Baking Tools:

• Cookie scoop
• Baking sheets
• Silicone baking mats
• Cooling rack
• Mixing bowls

Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 7 days.

Let me know in the comments below if you tried my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies! Are these your new favorites? Let me know. 🙂

Happy Baking!

More Cookie Recipes:

• Simple Oatmeal Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Strawberry Cookies
• Rolo Stuffed Cookies
• Jr. Mint Cookies