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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Made these yesterday. I fall into the category of never being able to make a chocolate chip[ cookie that gets puffy. I have tried butter, shortening, chilling, etc. These cookies tasted excellent. I used Giradelli bittersweet chips cut in half. The first batch were kind of flat but by the second batch as the oven was hotter they puffed up much better.
Note:
Just because the oven reaches temperature it does not mean it will not get hotter. All the walls and bottom have to heat too. Best to reach temperature and allow another 15 minutes before baking.
Jenn,
I made your steakhouse burgers for my family the other night and they were the best burgers we ever sunk our teeth into. They are definitely better than any steakhouse burger we’ve ever tasted! I had to cut the recipe since we only used 1 lb. of meat, so hopefully I split the ingredients correctly. The only thing I know, is that they tasted DIVINE! I can’t wait to make them again……simple and delicious! Also, I made your a Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. Thee are no words to describe the taste, but “AWESOME!” Thank you so much for the great pictures also. I call myself a “gourmet cook” since I’ve been cooking since I’m twelve ( that makes it 42 years of cooking for me!). I learned from my Italian mom who cooked amazingly each and every night for all 8 of us. I must say, your recipes top some of hers (sorry mom). I will be trying them all, so keep them coming! Thanks again!
These were pretty easy and turned out well. Mine were plenty thick and yummy! I have a convection oven and live at high altitude so cooked at a little lower temp a bit longer. Very pleased!
Hi Jenn!
I love just your recipes !!! My family will be visiting to celebrate my moms 90th bday and I want to bake up these cookies in small batches each evening. Do you think I make a large batch of dough and keep it in the fridge and just bake up small batches each evening over a weeks time?
Yep 🙂
Hi Jen,
Unfortunately I also experienced the cookies baking flat. I followed the recipe as stated, making sure they were chilled so I’m not sure what’s happened. The flavour is great but they looked more like pancakes than cookies. I’ve never had problems with any of your recipes before, and I’ve made a LOT!
Hi Nicole, So sorry your cookies came out flat! I’m scratching my head on this one…I’ve made these cookies so many times and they always come out puffy. Can I ask what brand of flour you use?
I made these exactly as the recipe called for. They were delicious, but I also did not get the height I was expecting. When I went back and looked at the picture, perhaps it’s the angle of the photo that made me expect these cookies to be fatter. But they are definitely yummy!
I’ve never refrigerated cookie dough before. Do I let it come to room temperature before cooking? Or scoop/measure it out while still cold and hard?
Hi Sheri, Definitely cook the cookie dough cold – otherwise the cookies will be flat. Enjoy!
Thanks – they came out delicious, but still decidedly flat. Though I had dough for one extra cookie and baked it on a silicone mat and it definitely had more height. Will use all silicone instead of parchment paper next time. Thanks again!
Hello, I made these cookies and followed the recipe to the T; however, they turned out very cakey. Any suggestions?
Hi Donna, When you say cakey, do you mean they were soft?
Hi Jen!
As usual: Thanks for the great recipes! Really waiting for the cook book 🙂
I experienced the same problem. Cakey for me to mean extremely crumbly and soft. I added the bake time so that they wouldn’t fall apart but they were deliciois:-) Any ideas?
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry you had a problem with the cookies being too crumbly and soft! Did you wait for them to fully cool/set before you ate them?
Hi Jenn
Yes I did. Now the only thing is my husband still loves them so much! I will try the recipe out again and see. Its the first time I have used a stand mixer(always use hand): maybe I got something wrong: either way though: they are still a hit even as they crumble! I will definitely keep trying. Next time I’ll use a different All purpose flour brand and see. Thanks so much for your response Jenn!!
These cookies were (as in they have all been eaten up) delicious!
Due to my impatience the first batch was disappointingly flat; I didn’t refrigerate the dough. So I followed the directions and chilled the dough overnight in the fridge. It truly was the trick to getting the puffy cookies in the picture! My #40 scoop was broken, so I made them a bit smaller with my #20 scoop and baked a few minutes less. They proved to be just the right size cookie for us.
(I did use light brown sugar and semi-sweet chocolate chips though.)
Thanks for such a great recipe…especially enjoyed by my son and his friends! It is a keeper!
Hi Jenn, thank you for all the wonderful recipes:) I plan to bake these cookies but was just wondering if I could replace the dark brown with granulated brown sugar? Would it affect the final result much?
Thank you and keep up the good work!:)
Hi Elisa, It should work but be sure to measure by weight, not volume. Please come back and lmk how they turn out!