This is the best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe – perfectly baked, gooey on the inside, slightly crispy on the outside. It has not only has taken my chocolate chip cookie game up another level but it has been tried and tested, and it yields amazing results every time.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
This Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is the definition of perfection. It is a 72 hour Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe to be exact. Don't let the extra chilling time freak you out, it's totally worth it.
While the dough chills in your fridge over that 3 day period the dry ingredients will absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients, hydrate the cookie dough, and intensify the flavors. Chilling your dough also means the cookies will not spread as quickly while baking yielding chewier, thicker, and more golden chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cake Flour & Bread Flour – Not all flour is created equal, so you can't substitute regular flour for the cake or bread flour in this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! Different flours have different protein ratios and don't all weigh the same amount, so it's not a 1:1 swap.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder – These should not be substituted. Both are important in this recipe for leavening, texture, flavor, and browning.
- Kosher Salt – Salt will help balance the sweetness and enhance the flavor.
- Unsalted Butter – I like to use unsalted butter when baking to control the amount of salt I add to the recipe. Make sure your butter is at room temperature before creaming it together with the sugars to yield the best results.
- Dark Brown Sugar & White Sugar – This Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe calls for two types of sugar. The molasses in the dark brown sugar adds a depth of flavor and keep the cookies chewy, while the white sugar helps aerate the cookies when creamed with the butter to create tiny air pockets for a crispier cookie.
- Eggs – Use large eggs at room temperature. If they're straight from the fridge, they will make the butter seize and won't combine evenly.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds even more flavor to your cookie dough.
- Chocolate Chips – You can use semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even a mix as long as it's 2 cups total. The same goes for the shape; chocolate chips, chocolate disks, chopped chocolate, and chocolate chunks all work.
- Maldon Salt – I like to sprinkle the tops of the cookies with flaky salt before baking. This step is optional but very worth it.
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below
How to Make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Start by combining all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Yes, you need a kitchen scale to make this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Not all units have the same density so they don't convert perfectly from ounces to cups. This is my favorite kitchen scale that I've had for years.
Step 2: Then in a large mixer cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl in between, and the vanilla extract.
Step 3: Next, add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until just combined. Then fold the chocolate discs into the batter, cover the dough, and refrigerate for up to 72 hours.
Step 4: When ready to bake scoop ¼ cup sized cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkle with flaky salt.
Step 5: Bake at 350º F for 16-20 minutes until golden brown.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies
For this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe I prefer to bake them all, let them cool and then transfer to an air tight container and store in the freezer. Then when it’s time to eat, take a few out, let them come to room temp and devour.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Follow the steps in this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe to make the dough. Then portion it into 2 tablespoon scoops and freeze on a flat surface. Once the balls are frozen, you can transfer the frozen balls into a zip-top bag and save for later. When ready to bake off the Chocolate Chip Cookies, let them sit on the counter for 15 minutes before baking at the same time and temp listed in the Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe below. This dough is also super useful to have on hand to whip up pizookie when you're entertaining.
Tips & Tricks
- Invest in a kitchen scale. This Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe cannot be made without a kitchen scale. Not all units have the same density, so they don't convert accurately from ounces to cups. This is my favorite kitchen scale that I've had for years.
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs. Cold butter does not cream as well with the sugars and will produce less aeration, which impacts the density of your cookies and can result in flat cookies. On the other hand, cold eggs will cause the butter to seize, inhibiting it from evenly combining into the batter.
- Add a little salt. Salt helps balance the sweetness and gives the cookies a flavor boost. Salt is not only added to the dry ingredients in this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe but also sprinkled on top of the cookies before baking. I love using Maldon flaky salt.
- Add more chocolate chips. Once the dough has chilled and you’re ready to bake these Chocolate Chip Cookies, pop a few extra chocolate chips into each cookie dough ball before transferring them to the baking sheet.
- Don't overbake your cookies. Just like in a Brownie Recipe, the key to soft and chewy cookies is taking them out of the oven while they are still slightly underbaked. Once you remove them from the oven, they will continue to cook slightly from the residual heat. Then, as the cookies cool, they'll start to set, and you'll end up with perfectly baked cookies.
FAQs
What is the secret to making good cookies?
Here are my top 5 tips to making perfect cookies every time.
1. Weigh out your ingredients. Weighing rather than scooping your flour ensures a precise measurement. Scooping flour can pack in more or less flour than needed, altering how the cookies turn out.
2. Let the butter and eggs come to room temperature. Cold butter does not cream as well with the sugars and will produce less aeration. This impacts the density of your cookies. Cold eggs will cause the butter to seize, inhibiting it from evenly combining into the batter.
3. Chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough allows the dry ingredients to absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients, hydrating the cookie dough and intensifying the flavors in the process. Chilling also prevents your cookies from spreading as much while baking, yielding chewier, thicker, and more golden chocolate chip cookies.
4. Use an oven thermometer. All ovens run at slightly different temperatures. I'd recommend an internal oven thermometer to ensure your oven is properly heated. They cost about $4 and are an essential tool when baking!
5. Bang the pan on the counter. If the cookies are too puffy, bang the pan on the counter to release any excess air pockets. Or use a spatula to flatten the cookies to make them more dense.
What makes the chewiest cookies?
The moisture content! That's why brown sugar, room temperature butter, eggs, and the chilling time all are key components to this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Each one plays a part in hydrating the cookie dough to yield the chewiest cookies.
What makes a cookie crispy or soft?
White sugar helps the cookies spread while baking and crisp up, while brown sugar adds moisture keeping the cookies chewy and soft.
Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies?
Both are important in this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe for leavening, texture, flavor, and browning. The carbon dioxide created from the reaction of the brown sugar and baking soda is not enough to leaven the dough on its own, so baking powder is added as well to help the cookies rise while baking.
What does refrigerating cookie dough do?
Refrigerating the cookie dough allows the dry ingredients to absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients, hydrating the cookie dough and intensifying the flavors in the process. Chilling also prevents your cookies from spreading as much while baking, yielding chewier, thicker, and more golden chocolate chip cookies.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cake flour
- 9 ounces bread flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Maldon salt plus more for sprinkling
- 10 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 12 ounces dark brown sugar
- 6 ounces white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or discs
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or discs
Instructions
- Combine the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In a large mixer add the butter and sugars and mix for 5 minutes until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl in between. Add the vanilla and combine.
- Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold them into the batter. Cover the dough and refrigerate for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop ¼ cup sized cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. If the cookies are a little puffy, bang the pan on the counter to release any excess air pockets. Or use a spatula to flatten the cookies to make more dense. Sprinkle the tops with maldon sea salt and let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Weigh out your ingredients. Weighing rather than scooping your flour ensures a precise measurement. Scooping flour can pack in more or less flour than needed, altering how the cookies turn out.
- Let the butter and eggs come to room temperature. Cold butter does not cream as well with the sugars and will produce less aeration. This impacts the density of your cookies. Cold eggs will cause the butter to seize, inhibiting it from evenly combining into the batter.
- Chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough allows the dry ingredients to absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients, hydrating the cookie dough and intensifying the flavors in the process. Chilling also prevents your cookies from spreading as much while baking, yielding chewier, thicker, and more golden chocolate chip cookies.
- Use an oven thermometer. All ovens run at slightly different temperatures. I'd recommend an internal oven thermometer to ensure your oven is properly heated. They cost about $4 and are an essential tool when baking!
- Bang the pan on the counter. If the cookies are too puffy, bang the pan on the counter to release any excess air pockets. Or use a spatula to flatten the cookies to make them more dense.
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe adapted from NY Times
Hi! If I wanted to mix in additional things like pretzel pieces or M&M's, should I do that after the 72 hour chill or before? Thank you!
before
This is hands down the best cookie recipe I have ever tried. You have to do the things that Gaby says and they are perfection. Get the flours, use the scale, let the dough chill after making. Since it’s my husband and me, I chose to freeze the dough after rolling into balls and only make a few cookies at a time. They turn out amazing every time. Thanks, Gaby!!!
This recipe is actually to die for. My family fights over who gets to take more cookies home with them when I make these. You won’t regret making these!!
i was wondering if you could give a time for baking them in a 9” springform cake pan - i want to make them into a cookie cake.
Hi Gaby! I really want to make this today but I don’t have Bread Flour on hand. May I substitute it with Whole Wheat Flour? Thanks in advance!
it's not the same protein ratio and the result won't be the same! I wrote about the protein ratios in the body of the post.
These are the holy grail of cookies and we always have a batch on hand. Can I freeze the dough balls in advance then thaw/bake when ready? Thanks
sure can!!
These cookies are worth the 72 hour wait. So delicious. Crispy edges and chewy centers. WOW!! Using a 3 tbs scoop, I got 34 cookies, so that would be 25 cookie @ 1/4 cup. Not a complaint, just good to know that was how it worked out for me. Will definitely make these again as well as applying some of the prep techniques to the chocolate chip cookie recipe I've been using.
What adjustments are needed for high altitude? These are my favorite cookies to freeze and make.
Gaby, help! I followed the recipe excactly & chilled the dough but the cookies spread into a flat blob. Depsite being flat they were delicious! Thoughts?
weighed the ingredients and everything? no flour substitutions?
The bottom of the cookies were crispy, did I over bake them? I baked for 19 minutes. Should I do it for 16?
yes I'd go on the shorter side. It depends how hot your oven runs + what kind of baking sheet! If it's dark metal, the bottoms tend to get crispy faster