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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These cookies replaced my all time favorite cookie because they are so wonderful.
My daughter and I have made these cookies several time and they always come out great! We are needing to make a chocolate chip cookie cake to bring to a birthday party. Would we need to change anything to bake this in a round pan as bars?
Hi Becky, so glad you like this! I’m not sure how these would work baked as bars. If you have my 2nd cookbook, I would recommend the skillet chocolate chip cookie which is on page 178. If you don’t have the book and would like the recipe, please email me at jennifer@onceuponachef.com. The blondie recipe would also be a good option. Hope that helps!
Foolproof Recipe! If I don’t make chocolate chip cookies, I use this cookie recipe as base and add in crushed cadbury mini eggs – to make a mini egg cookie! Everyone loves! I’m sure you can do this with other forms of flavors and combos! Amazing recipe!
Well these were amazing! Another hit! One trick I use after ice cream scooping the dough is I go back and give each cookie dough ball a little hat of extra dough – gives them a nice little height and makes them all a little different looking! Thanks Jen
These cookies came out perfect, not flat like all my previous attempts over many years. They’re puffy, full of flavor, and beautiful. I followed the recipe precisely. The only comment other than absolutely delicious, is that the refrigerated dough is tough to scoop up into those balls since it’s dense and cold, but I got a good upper arm workout in the process. I will always use this recipe. My boyfriend is going to love me even more when I give him a box of these beautiful babies!
Thanks so much Jenn❤️
Susan, you can use the hint Jen gave in her note….you can make them into balls before putting them in the fridge while the dough is still soft, put them on a baking sheet, then refrigerate. I hope this hint helps you.
Marge
I made them exactly as written except I added a few chopped pecans. I only ever use KA flour as well. Put the dough in the fridge Sunday afternoon and made them Monday morning. I got 35 cookies using my #40. I always rotate my baked goods 1/2 way through time. They puffed up beautifully and held their shape. Texture is soft, not cakey, just soft. That’s how we like them. I used 2 bars (8oz) of Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate for chunks.
Would give them 100 stars if I could. I’ll never use another recipe again. I’ve printed it out and have it bookmarked.
Jen – Thank you so much for all your amazing and delicious recipes as I have been a long time fan of your site as well as cookbook. My question is after making the cookie dough, can I scoop it out and freeze each of the individual uncooked cookie dough balls and then bake at a later date? If so, could you let me know would I need to thaw them first or could they go straight to the freezer into the over? Could they bake at the same temperature and if so, for how long. I always love having fresh homemade coookies on hand and this would be an awesome way also for portion control too. Thank you so much and keep all the recipes coming!
Hi Celeste, So glad you like the recipes! Yes, you can freeze the dough balls. Here’s a post I wrote that will answer all your questions. 🙂
This is another keeper! Jenn, have you experimented with adding malted milk powder to this recipe? I have not and I’m wondering what your thoughts are.
Glad you like them! No, I’ve never added malted milk powder to these. If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think!
Hi Evelyn, what a great idea! Joy Wilson from Joy the Baker adds Ovaltine to her chocolate buttercream frosting. It is delicious!
I just made these and they came out AMAZING— so chocolatey, so full of flavor! (I did add the extra 2 tblspns of flour like some of the comments suggested) Thank you Jenn for this recipe!!
Even with using Bob’s Red Mill One-to-One gluten free flour mix, these turned out fabulous. I can’t say they were as tall as if I had used regular flour, but they were good enough. I kept them at just the right time to make them squishy inside, a little crispy outside.