Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
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A few tweaks to the classic Nestlé® Toll House® recipe make this the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.
The simplest recipes are typically the hardest to get right, and classic chocolate chip cookies are a perfect example. The most widely-used chocolate chip cookie recipe is found on the back of the Nestlé® Toll House® bag, but if you follow it to the letter, the cookies often come out flat as pancakes. Over the years, I’ve experimented with various techniques in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie, from resting the dough for days to browning the butter to using different types of flour. However, I found that these methods didn’t produce a noticeable improvement in taste and texture—and, honestly, who wants to go to all that trouble for cookies?!
Instead, I tweaked the classic and easy Toll House® recipe to make it more reliable and tastier. These chocolate chip cookies are thick with a chewy, moist center and slightly crisp exterior, and they strike the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavor. Before you start baking, be sure to read my best baking tips to ensure success.
“I was a bit skeptical that these would be ‘the best’ as I have many recipes that make really good chocolate chip cookies. I was wrong! OMG, these cookies are outstanding.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Butter: Provides richness and flavor to the cookies while contributing to their tender texture.
- Granulated Sugar and Dark Brown Sugar: Sweeten the dough, adding moisture and contributing to the cookies’ chewiness and caramelization. Feel free to substitute light brown sugar here.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile with its warm and aromatic notes.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add structure to the dough.
- Baking Soda: Help the cookies rise and spread, resulting in a soft and chewy texture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the dough, providing structure and stability to the cookies.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: These add sweet pockets of chocolate flavor. You can easily swap them out milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or chocolate chunks for larger, meltier bites. To add crunch, mix in toffee bits or chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, or almonds. You can even add candy pieces like M&M’s.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the butter and both sugars.
Beat on medium speed (or high speed if using a hand mixer) for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
Add the vanilla and eggs.
Beat for 2 minutes more, then scrape down the bowl.
Add the salt and baking soda and beat briefly until evenly combined, then add the flour.
Mix on low speed until the dough is uniform.
Add the chocolate chips.
Mix until evenly combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or scrape the dough mixture into an airtight container and let rest in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours or overnight. (Alternatively, if you don’t want to wait, form the dough into balls as instructed below, arrange on the baking sheets, and chill in the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes.)
Drop the dough in firmly packed 1.5-tablespoon balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (I use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop.) For thick cookies, it’s important to really pack the dough in the scooper or with your hands.
Pro Tip: If you’d like to see the chocolate chips on the surface of the cookies, hold back about 1/3 cup chocolate chips and dot them on the dough balls, pressing them in slightly, before baking.
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until golden brown 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. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this recipe will work using a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. However, you will have even better results making my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, which are the best I’ve tried.
King Arthur All-Purpose Flour has a higher protein content compared to other brands, around 11.7%, which gives the cookies more structure. The flour’s ability to absorb more moisture means your dough is less likely to spread too much, giving you plump, delicious cookies.
This recipe is specifically designed to prevent excessive spreading, incorporating the correct flour-to-fat-to sugar ratio, especially if you use the recommended King Arthur Flour. Additionally, it’s important to make sure your butter is soft but not melted, and chill the dough before baking. Chilling solidifies the fat, which helps the cookies maintain their shape better as they start to bake.
Yes, you can freeze chocolate chip cookie dough, and it’s a great way to have fresh cookies on demand. Portion the dough into individual cookie balls, freeze them on a baking sheet, and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, you can bake the frozen dough balls directly from the freezer, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Video Tutorial
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
A few tweaks to the classic Nestlé® Toll House® recipe make this the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) 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 into measuring cup and leveled off (see note)
- 2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips, best quality such as Ghirardelli
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed (or high speed if using a hand mixer) for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping 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 mix on low speed until the dough is uniform. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- 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 or overnight. (Alternatively, if you don't want to wait, form the dough into balls on the baking sheets 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.) For thick cookies, it's important to really pack the dough in the scooper or with your hands. 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 the remaining cookie dough, refrigerating the dough between batches. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Note: I highly recommend King Arthur All-Purpose Flour for this recipe – it's higher in protein than other brands and helps the cookies plump up and hold their shape.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 1 hour, 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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- Per serving (40 servings)
- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 69
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Sugar: 5 grams
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 36 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
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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wanted to try a new CC cookie recipe. Found this one to result in a cookie that spreads way too much producing a greasy flat cookie that is soft in the middle and crisp on the edges. I put the dough in the fridge and will try again to see if the dough firms up a bit maybe the cookies will hold their shape. Can I adjust the flour/butter ratio in some way so the cookie doesnt spread or will putting refrigerating the dough before baking help?
Thanks.
Hi Ellen, So sorry these didn’t turn out for you! It’s very important that the dough is chilled – for the first batch, did you chill the dough initially as instructed in the recipe?
Hi, Jenn. My cookies did the same thing – thin/flat/cooked around the edges. The taste was wonderful! I went through the recipe again to double-check I did as instructed. I chilled overnight (really chilled/firm when I popped them in the oven), and a crepe-like cookie came out! I’m going to try again…
Hi Libby, sorry you had a problem with the cookies flattening out. What brand of flour do you use? If you don’t already, I’d suggest trying King Arthur all purpose flour. It’s got a higher protein content then many other brands, which helps to give baked goods more structure. You could also just try adding another tablespoon or two of flour to the cookie batter. Hope you have better luck the second time around!
I made these last night. Delicious, and those I’ve shared some with said the same. Next time I might try milk chocolate chips instead or a mix of both.
This recipe has the salt and baking soda added directly to the butter/sugar/egg before the flour instead of first combining the dry ingredients. Is that by design? I’ve always used a whisk to blend the dry ingredients and am surprised the soda and salt can get evenly distributed through the dough.
Hi Robin, I typically do that, especially when there are a lot of dry ingredients (just to stay organized), but sometimes you can get away with adding them to the to the wet ingredients as I’ve done here. Saves a step and a bowl to clean.
Hi Jenn,
How do I access your video tutorial for the chocolate chip cookies?
Thank you, Rose Kidd
Hi Rose, I just took a look and see that the link isn’t working — I will look into it and fix it as soon as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience!
Hi Jenn!
Have you ever tried Nestle Toll house chocolate chip lovers cookies? They are different than their original chocolate chip cookie. I am wanting to make a cookie as similar to the chocolate chip lovers as I can and am wondering which of your two chocolate chip cookie recipes will be closer (this one or your best chocolate chunk cookies). Would love to hear back from you, thanks!
Hi Jess, I wish I could help, but I’ve never tried the Nestle Toll house chocolate chip lovers cookies. Sorry!
My family loves these cookies! They are on a weekly rotation here 🙂 My granddaughter has been diagnosed with a gluten allergy, can I substitute gluten free flour?
Rosie North Vancouver BC
So glad they’re a hit with your family! You could try gluten-free flour, but instead, I’d use this recipe. Hope you enjoy them just as much!
It’s another winner! This is always my go-to spot for recipes new and reimagined classics. Jenn, you’ve once again perfected a recipe I’ve been making for years! I also have tried browning butter and a number of other crazy things to elevate the original recipe, but usually it comes out very inconsistent. A bonus is that I only needed to dirty up one mixing bowl, unlike the classic recipe that requires dry ingredients mixed separately. My only adjustment was substituting vanilla bean paste for extract (just a flavor preference). I will never make chocolate chip cookies differently!
Hi Jenn,
My husband loves walnuts and I want to add a generous amount to this recipe… like a heaping cupful. Can I just add to it without further adjustment? Thank you for you recipes and love your cookbooks!
So glad you like the cookbooks! Yes, you can add the nuts without any other modifications. Hope your husband enjoys. 🙂
PERFECT COOKIE My family loved them. Thanks
I baked these today and they came out amazing! I followed Jenn’s instructions to the letter re: mixing time and what a textural difference it made. I did use pastel colored M&Ms in place of chocolate chips and so pretty! 🙂