Chocolate Chunk Cookies
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Tender, puffy, and fudgy with perfectly crisp edges — these chocolate chunk cookies taste better than Toll House and are more reliable.
I’ve been baking chocolate chip cookies since the fifth grade, and I still haven’t found a recipe that’s markedly better than the classic back-of-the-bag Nestlé Toll House version that everyone knows and loves. It’s not for lack of trying—I’ve rested the dough overnight to develop flavor, browned the butter, experimented with different flours, and more. But honestly, the difference in taste never justifies the extra time or effort.
That said, the Toll House recipe isn’t perfect (sorry, Toll House!). When followed as-is, the cookies often come out disappointingly flat. Over the years, I’ve tweaked their chocolate chip cookie recipe to make it more reliable and just a touch tastier. I use less sugar, more flour, two types of high-quality chocolate instead of ordinary chocolate chips, and I always chill the dough before baking. The result? A chocolate chunk cookie recipe that yields tender, puffy, and fudgy cookies with perfectly crisp edges.
“I just made these and they came out AMAZING— so chocolatey, so full of flavor!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Butter: Softened butter creates a tender, chewy texture and slightly puffy cookies. Its richness enhances the flavors of the sugars and chocolate.
- Granulated Sugar & Dark Brown Sugar: Together, they add sweetness, moisture, and a hint of molasses, helping the cookies spread just enough for a crisp edge and chewy center.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the sweetness and adds depth to the cookie’s flavor profile.
- Large Eggs: Give the cookies structure and moisture, creating that perfect balance between chewy and cakey.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the rich chocolate flavor.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise slightly and gives them a soft texture, which contrasts perfectly with the crisp edges.
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the cookie’s base and structure. I highly recommend King Arthur All-Purpose Flour for this recipe — it’s high in protein and gluten and helps the cookies hold their shape.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: Adds intense chocolate flavor, with chopped pieces melting into rich chocolate pockets throughout the cookies.
- Milk Chocolate: Balances the bittersweet chocolate with a creamy sweetness and smooth texture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a hand-held or stand mixer.
Beat until light, fluffy, and cafe au lait-colored. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for 2 minutes more. Scrape down the bowl.
Add the salt and baking soda and beat briefly until evenly combined.
Add the flour and both chocolates.
Mix on low speed until the flour is completely blended and the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or scrape the dough into an airtight container and let rest in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the dough in 1.5-tablespoon balls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (I use a #40/1.5-T cookie scoop with a wire trigger.)
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft and pale in the center. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make-Ahead, Freezing & Storage Instructions
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The cookie dough also freezes nicely for up to 3 months. Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Enjoy! For more classic cookie recipes, check out my Oatmeal Brown Sugar Cookies with Raisins & Pecans and my Crave-Worthy Sugar Cookies.
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Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Tender, puffy, and fudgy with perfectly crisp edges — these chocolate chunk cookies taste better than Toll House and are more reliable.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (packed) dark brown sugar (fine to substitute light)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2½ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled (preferably King Arthur flour - see note)
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghriardelli, roughly chopped
- 2 oz milk chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli, finely chopped
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars for 3 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and cafe au lait-colored (use high speed on a hand mixer and medium speed on a stand mixer). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for 2 minutes more. Scrape down the bowl. Add the salt and baking soda and beat briefly until evenly combined. Add the flour and both chocolates, and mix on low speed until the flour is completely blended and the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or scrape the dough into an airtight container and let rest in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours. (Alternatively, if you don't want to wait, form the dough into balls on the baking sheet as instructed below and chill in the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Line a 13 x 18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drop the dough in firmly packed 1.5-tablespoon balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (I use a #40/1.5-T cookie scoop with a wire trigger.) Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft and pale in the center. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Note: Some readers have had issues with the cookies being flat. This can happen as a result of using a "softer" flour. I highly recommend King Arthur All Purpose Flour for this recipe -- it's high in protein and gluten, and helps cookies hold their shape.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 143
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Sugar: 12g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 76mg
- Cholesterol: 24mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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For the few years this has been my “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe. The dough is easy to prepare, one bowl, got to love that! Everyone who has tasted these cookies has exclaimed “These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever!” My boys will sit down with a glass of milk and devour a whole sheet pan of them right out of the oven. We can’t keep them in the house!
These cookies in cookie dough form are absolutely addicting! So yummy! But for some reason, once baked, the flavor falls flat. Kind of like how pop tarts are better straight out of the package rather than toasted. I don’t get it. If you’re looking for yummy cookie dough, this is definitely the recipe, just be aware that flavor doesn’t translate through baking.
Until I found this recipe, my chocolate chip cookies were flat and inconsistent. These cookies are consistently great! Not greasy, cake-like in the middle, crispy on the outside and great flavor.
Hi Jenn!
I would like to make these cookies for serving Friday late afternoon. I am restricted time wise to either making them Sunday or Monday and freezing them until I want to serve them, or maybe making them Wednesday and leaving them on the kitchen counter.
Which would yield a better result? If I freeze them, how early should I take them out to come to room temp? How long do you think it would take to come to room temperature-want to make sure I don’t get fooled and they are still cold in the center!
Thanks so much!
Elise
Hi Elise, I would make them on Sunday or Monday and freeze them, and then take them out of the freezer on Thursday afternoon. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn,
Another winning recipe! These cookies are so yummy! I did not have dark brown sugar but even with light brown they were good!
Do you have a preference for butter? Thank you, Pam
Glad you liked them! I generally use Land O Lakes butter. 🙂
Cookies turned out great, even added a few walnuts. As always another great recipe, Thank you Jenn. From reading some of the posts, some have had difficulty with this and other recipes. I’ve been baking for years, but always appreciate professional tips.
I learned a huge lesson from Jenn when she sent out her email entitled, “How To Make Baked Goods From Scratch That Aren’t Dry,” and her post – Chef Secret #5: How To Make Moist & Tender Baked Goods. I’ll quote one of her tips -“Use Room Temperature Ingredients – When a recipe calls for room temperature ingredients, it’s important to comply. Cold butter cannot be creamed, and cold eggs can curdle a batter. When room temperature ingredients are called for, it’s best to leave ingredients on the countertop for a few hours before baking.” I’ve been following her advice and have noticed a huge improvement in the outcome of my bakes.
If you haven’t signed up for her “5 Secrets of a Classically Trained Chef,” Plus free email series – I’d encourage you to do it. Thanks again!
Hi Jenn,
My batch of cookies was very tasty, but I also experienced the flattening-to the point that the cookies ran into each other, destroying the round shape. Also, I left the dough wrapped and refrigerated for two days, and my scoop broke trying to scoop it. So I found the King Arthur flour, bought another scoop, and will try again, but thought it would be more accurately sized if I could scoop and “pack” the dough balls tight while soft and then chill them that way. However, my refrigerator is a bit too narrow for the baking sheet, so I was wondering if I could layer the balls of dough between parchment paper in an air tight container and transfer them to the proper baking sheet when I get ready to put them in the oven? Also, the King Arthur flour indicates “unbleached” in a red and white package—is that correct? Hoping the recommended flour and scooping proper sized balls will solve my issues? And how about layering the dough balls in the fridge?
Thanks for your help!
Elise
Sounds like you’re fully prepared this time around with the King Arthur flour and a new scoop. And, yes, it’s fine for you to layer the balls between parchment before baking them. Hope you have a good result!
I made these with perfect results. After reading the other reviews on the brand of flour, I actually used 3/4 cup of bread flour (which I had only because I accidentally bought it, but after googling I learned it had extra gluten) which I mixed in with my Pillsbury basic white. There was no science to the 3/4 cup, it’s just what I felt like doing. I also did 1/2 the dough with dark chocolate and half with milk chocolate (for my husband) and I sprinkled some fancy Maldon sea salt on them. I’ve never made a cookie like these. They’re fantastic. I’m making a new batch today because the first batch won’t make it to Christmas….
The best chocolate chip cookies ever! Easy to make, delicious hot and cold. One batch only lasted one day. Thanks for the great recipe (again) 🙂
Could you please provide the weight equivalents for the sugars and the flour? Thank you so much!
Hi Patty, The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps and that you enjoy the cookies!
What should I add instead of egg
Two of the best substitutes I’ve heard about (I haven’t personally tried either of them) are a combination of water, oil, and baking powder and carbonated water. Scroll down to the bottom of this article for more information about both. I would assume many baking recipes would also work with some kind of store-bought egg substitute.