I have a few tricks that make these the best soft chocolate chip cookies that you’ll ever try. With hundreds of positive reviews from bakers around the world, I’m confident you’ll fall in love with this chocolate chip cookie recipe too. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative and cornstarch makes them extra soft and thick!
Chocolate chip cookies are a household favorite, a timeless classic, an unparalleled snack… warm, cold, dunked in milk, in dough form, or in baked form. No one can resist the comfort of a chocolate chip cookie and everyone has their favorite recipe, whether it’s on the back of the yellow chocolate chips bag or scribbled in your grandmother’s recipe book.
Heck, I even have separate recipes for crispy chocolate chip cookies and chewy chocolate chip cookies!
Like many of you, I’ve searched far and wide for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe: the best chocolate chip cookies, a recipe I can bake again and again for years. I’ve lost sleep, I’ve burnt dough, I’ve tested and retested and retested… and retested, countless times. And I’m so happy to report that I finally found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’ll treasure for years. And I know you’ll enjoy these cookies too!
How to Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Start With Butter: Use room temperature butter. You can soften butter quickly with this trick or set the butter out 1–2 hours before you begin.
- Use a Mix of Sugars: Cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together. This process aerates the butter, which promises soft chocolate chip cookies. Brown sugar yields soft chocolate chip cookies, and white sugar helps the cookies spread. For chewier and more flavorful cookies, use more brown sugar than white sugar.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar are interchangeable in most recipes. Though either works in this chocolate chip cookie recipe, I love using dark brown sugar for extra flavor because it contains more molasses.
- Add Egg & Vanilla Extract: Eggs provide structure and richness, while vanilla adds flavor.
- Use Cornstarch in Dry Ingredients: Cornstarch, a thickening ingredient, is the secret weapon in this cookie recipe, just like in shortbread cookies. 2 teaspoons give the cookies extra lift and leave them extra soft. You can’t taste it! You also need all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add Dry Ingredients to Wet Ingredients: Combine all the ingredients, then add the chocolate chips.
- Chill the Cookie Dough: For extra thick chocolate chip cookies, chill the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. Chilling cookie dough will make or break the recipe! The colder the cookie dough, the less the cookies will over-spread. If you’re interested, here are 10 tips on how to prevent cookies from spreading.
- Extra Chocolate Chips: This is optional, but as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a few chocolate chips on top. They’ll melt right down into the cookie, making them extra pretty. And melted chocolate is never a bad thing! I recommend doing the same with double chocolate chip cookies.
Room temperature butter is cool to touch and about 65°F (18°C), which may be cooler than your kitchen. To test it, poke it with your finger. Your finger should make an indent without sinking into the butter. The butter should not be shiny or greasy. You can’t cream cold butter and you can’t cream partially melted butter, either. Room temperature butter is imperative to the outcome of these cookies! You need 3/4 cup, which is 1.5 sticks, 12 Tablespoons, or 170g.
Don’t Have Time to Chill Cookie Dough?
If you don’t have time to chill the chocolate chip cookie dough, try my crispy chocolate chip cookies, giant chocolate chip cookies, or Nutella chocolate chip cookies. Or even these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars or cookie dough frosted cookie cups, which don’t require individual cookie rolling, either!
I also have an entire section of no-chill cookie recipes. 🙂 Snickerdoodles and shortbread are two more favorites!
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Freezing chocolate chip cookie dough is really easy. I have a whole post dedicated to how to freeze cookie dough, but here’s a recap:
- After the cookie dough has chilled in the refrigerator, roll the cookie dough into balls. Chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Place the solid and cold cookie dough balls into a plastic zipped-top freezer bag.
- Label the bag with the month and the baking temperature, and place the bag in the freezer.
- Freeze cookie dough for up to 3 months. The date will help you determine when the cookie dough is fresh, and the temperature is written for obvious reasons. Really, you can write whatever is helpful to you. The date, temperature, time, recipe name, etc.
- When it’s time to bake the cookies, remove them from the freezer. Preheat the oven according to the recipe’s instructions.
- Bake the cookies for a minute or 2 longer, since the dough is frozen.
Bake the frozen cookie dough balls whenever that chocolate chip cookie craving hits, or when you need a big batch of fresh-baked cookies. I do it all the time!
Sometimes the simplest recipes are what stick. I really don’t need to convince you—it’s a chocolate chip cookie. THE chocolate chip cookie!
Print
The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
I have a few tricks that make these the best soft chocolate chip cookies that you’ll ever try. With hundreds of positive reviews from bakers around the world, I’m confident you’ll fall in love with this chocolate chip cookie recipe too. Chilling the cookie dough is imperative and cornstarch makes them extra soft and thick!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cup (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar together on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together. Add into the wet ingredients, then beat on low speed until combined. The cookie dough will be slightly thick. On low speed, beat in the chocolate chips.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3–4 days. Chilling is imperative for this cookie dough.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Once chilled, the dough will be slightly crumbly, but will come together when you work the dough with your hands. Roll cookie dough, about a heaping 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie (I use this medium-size cookie scoop), and place 3 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake for 11–12 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. The cookies will look extremely soft when you remove them from the oven. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. They will slightly deflate as you let them cool. If desired, while the cookies are still warm, press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops. This is optional, just for looks.
- Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cookies stay fresh 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 3–4 days. Allow to come to room temperature, then continue with preheating the oven in step 4. 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): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Adapted from Anna Olson
Where did I go wrong? I e made this recipe several times. The first time or two they barely spread which is exactly what I was looking for. On subsequent attempts they seem to spread way more than my initial ones and can’t seem to replicate them again.
Hi Shane, it’s likely your butter may have been a bit too warm. Here’s more on what room temperature butter really means (it may be cooler than you think!) as well as 10 tips to prevent cookies from spreading. Hope this helps for next time!
I make these cookies all the time. I freeze the dough by making logs and rolling it in saran wrap and freeze. Just take it out of the freezer, make slices and bake it as usual. I double the recipe, so I always have fresh baked cookies on hand when needed. I sent my daughter to her college house with the logs for her and her housemates to enjoy.
I made these for the first time and took them to work today. Most coworkers said they were the best chocolate chip cookies they’d ever had. They kept coming back for more, and at the end of the shift, the 4 1/2 dozen cookies were gone! Needless to say, I’ll have to make them again soon. Thank you for such a great recipe
I tested so many different chocolate chip cookie recipes before this recipe was the one that my partner said “perfect”, “this is the one”. Easy recipe. perfect every time. Never a complaint from my crew. Thank you! <3
Best chocolate chip cookie ever! I’ll have to hide them so I don’t eat all of them!
Delicious
would it ruin the cookies if i used a cookie cutter?
This dough isn’t suitable for cookie cutters. For a cut-out chocolate chip cookie, we would add mini chocolate chips to our sugar cookie dough. Let us know if you give it a try!
Can you use coconut flour instead of. Ap flour?
Hi Linda! Coconut flour wouldn’t be a 1:1 swap with all purpose, we don’t recommend it.
Do you have a low fat chocolate chip cookie recipe?
Hi Debby, our website mostly focuses on traditional baking recipes. We do have a growing selection of healthier recipes that you may enjoy browsing. Hope you can find a few there to enjoy!
These cookies are amazing! I finally found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for me!
Made recipe as written and had great results with no spreading. Temping the butter helped me out. I think these will be my go-to when I want to bring chocolate chip cookies to an event or gathering.
I made today, Love them!! Followed recipe as instructed with exception, I added an extra 1/2 cup of flour and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Fabulous if you like peanut butter!! Will use this recipe always! Thank you!
Wonderful recipe with so many helpful tips! By far best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Turns out perfect every time.
Hi Sally. I’ve been asked to make soft CCC for a 13 yo birthday party. I need to make 25 medium size cookies. I thought I would use a 1/3 cup scoop. What do you think? Any tips for success?
Hi SJN, we typically make medium cookies about 2 heaping tablespoons in size, or 3 scant tablespoons for XL cookies. But it really is up to you! Bake time will slightly vary depending on the size of the cookies. Same temperature.
This has been my go-to recipe for years! However, I recently (finally!) got a kitchen scale and have tried three times to bake these by measuring the ingredients in the gram amounts provided and they just don’t turn out the same! I followed the recipe to the T (including making sure my butter was softened & my eggs were room temperature), and they spread a ton and lacked sweetness & flavor. I tried refrigerating first for an hour, then for around 4, then finally overnight, and they just melted each time no matter how long I had chilled the dough. I don’t think the gram measurements are quite accurate unfortunately.. 🙁 I’ll stick to the customary measurements provided in the future — don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, right? Just a heads up for anyone else who has discovered they prefer using gram measurements whenever possible!
Can I use walnuts or pecans? My favorite go to recipe!
Hi Susan, absolutely. Keep the total amount of add-ins to around 1 and 1/4 cup.
these are my go to chocolate chip cookies now! so soft and gooey, especially when i chop a milk chocolate bar and mix it with semi sweet chocolate chips. I love having some frozen ones ready to get baked too!
It has been a while since I made these (about a year or 2) and this is my go to recipe, no other recipe has ever come close to the praise this one has. I know this is the recipe because this one calls for softened butter and I remember how mad I used to get when I would forget to leave the butter out! However , when I made them this week, I was a bit confused as I don’t remember making these with cornstarch before. Did you have a previous version where you possibly used something else? These did not turn out how I remembered. Thanks!
Hi Olga! This recipe hasn’t been edited. Most of our chocolate chip cookie recipes use cornstarch, which makes them extra soft. How did the cookies turn out for you? We’re happy to help troubleshoot!
The cookie dough tastes great raw but it had no color. Freshly baked, they seemed to lack some flavor and texture was kind of gritty. However, my sister said that the next day they tasted much better which was kind of odd. It ended up working out but when I used to make them, they tasted amazing out of the oven. I appreciate any feedback!!
Is it possible the cookies were slightly under-baked? A couple more minutes in the oven would give more color and a slightly crisp edge for texture.
This recipe is the reason why I’m known as the woman with the best cookie recipe. 100/10!!! FOLLOW this recipe to perfection and you will end up with perfect cookies. DO use room temp butter and do not let it get greasy. This is so very important!! This is a STAPLE recipe.
I have made the cornstarch added chic chip cookies before and they were delicious. Another recipe but yours are just a good. Thanks. Made a double batch. Too many chocoholics in my family. Merry Christmas.
I’ve been baking for over 60 years, but it was my granddaughter that turned me onto Sally’s Baking Addiction. These have become my all time favorite chocolate chip cookies..I was . always looking for a soft cookie recipe, not the flat crisp kind. I’ve learned so much from Sally… who knew to let your butter and eggs get to room temp, and to chill our dough! When I was growing up .. we just pulled everything out, starting mixing (ate a little raw dough.. a no-no) and stuck them in the oven! Could never understand that my cookies never came out as expected! Thanks Sally.. you are an amazing teacher!
This recipe is amazing. Made 2 batches and put them in the fridge before Christmas shopping. Came back and baked them. One with semi-sweet chips and the other with butterscotch chips. So good and soft. This recipe is a keeper.
Hi Sally, when I am baking these cookies I am using a regular baking sheet with parchment paper. As the cookies are being baked for 11 or 12 minutes, I noticed that the top of the cookies are mushy and I assume they more time to bake. That is why I leave them in the oven for almost 16 to 18 minutes. Can you tell me what I doing wrong?. Do I need to get better baking sheets or what can I do?.
Hi Steve, you aren’t doing anything wrong. These cookies will look extremely soft when you remove them from the oven.
I’ve made these before and gotten rave reviews! I was wondering for the holidays, can I use red and green M&Ms instead of chocolate chips?
Absolutely–enjoy!
Hi Sally, I have a question. Every time I make chocolate chip cookies, the bottom becomes very dark, but the center still looks raw? If I pull them out when the bottom is slightly brown, the center remains raw, but if I leave them in, the cookies become too chewy after they cool. What could I be doing wrong?
Hi Taylor, what kind of baking sheets are you using? Dark and thin cookie sheets can often cause cookies to burn on the bottom before they are done baking through. You can also try moving the baking pan away from the heating element or cooking them on a lower temperature to help with the browning on the bottoms. Hope these tips help for next time!
Hi Lexi, thank you for your suggestions!
Not very good. I won’t make them again
Why?
I love this recipe!! Is it possible to make this into a giant cookie using a treat pan? Do I need to make any adjustments to the recipe or baking time?
Hi Andrea, have you tried this chocolate chip cookie cake? It’s a personal favorite! We also have a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie pizza.
These are perfect. PERFECT.
I love this recipe and I’ve made it a few times. I just realized I only have salted butter—do you think that’s a big issue and I should eliminate the salt? Or leave the 1/2 tsp as is? Thanks!
Hi Lilly! You can leave the recipe as is or reduce the salt down to 1/4 teaspoon. Depends if you like sweet/salty or not.
Quick question. I have a convention oven. When I make these cookies, after the 12 minutes of baking, they don’t seem to flatten out very well . Is this normal? Or am I doing something wrong?
Hi Dave, if your cookies aren’t spreading, it’s possible there is too much flour in the dough. How are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level or use a scale to measure. This post on how to improve your next batch of cookies may be helpful to review — see section titled “What if my cookies AREN’T spreading?” for more. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Why do you use cornstarch instead of baking powder?