The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (2024)

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.

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 scalethat 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 chilledand you’re ready to bake these Chocolate Chip Cookies, pop a fewextra chocolate chipsinto 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

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Photo byMatt Armendariz/Food Styling byAdam Pearson/Recipe adaptedfrom NY Times