The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever

Posted Feb 11, 2018, Updated Oct 26, 2024 Everyone needs a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe in their repertoire, and this is mine. It is seriously the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever! I have been making these for many, many years and everyone who tries them agrees they’re out-of-this-world delicious! Plus, there’s no funny ingredients, no chilling, etc. Just a simple, straightforward, amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookie that turns out perfectly every single time! These are everything a chocolate chip cookie should be. Crispy and chewy. Doughy yet fully baked. Perfectly buttery and sweet.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let’s walk through how to make chocolate chip cookies step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.

The first step in making these easy chocolate chip cookies to to combine the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. When doing this, make sure to Measure the flour correctly. Be sure to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (NOT a pyrex liquid measuring cup). Then, measure flour by scooping it into a measuring cup and leveling it with a knife. Next, cream together butter and sugars, make sure to soften the butter early by taking it out of the fridge at least two hours before baking so it’s ready to go when you need it. You can also warm it in the microwave for about 7 seconds, but be very careful not to melt it. Once butter/sugar mixture is beaten well, add the eggs & vanilla and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Then add the chocolate chips and beat until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Use LOTS of chocolate chips. You want at least two gooey chocolate chips in every bite. The chocolate chip cookie dough should be easy to roll and not sticky. It should not be dry or crumbly. See photo below for the optimal texture.

Portion & Roll Dough

Once the cookie dough is finished, it’s time to portion and roll the dough. I know many people eyeball it when making cookies, however I highly recommend using a cookie scoop. Using a cooking scoop ensures that all the cookies are uniform in size so that they bake evenly. I love this stainless steel cookie scoop and use it every time I make cookies. At this point you can either bake your dough or freeze it.

Since this chocolate chip cookie recipe makes so many cookies, I always make a full batch and freeze some. That way I have dough on hand for unexpected guests or whenever the cookie craving strikes. I prefer to flash-freeze the cookie dough before putting it in an airtight container. To do this, roll the cookie dough into balls and space them out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then put the baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the dough slightly freezes. Once the dough is slightly frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to an airtight container or plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 months.

How to Bake Frozen Dough

There are two ways to bake frozen dough:

Bake Until they just barely look done

If you are baking the cookies immediately simply roll them into balls, place them evenly apart on a baking sheet (about 1.5 to 2 inches apart) and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. The most important piece of advice I can give you is – DO NOT over-bake these chocolate chip cookies! They will not look done when you pull them out of the oven, and that is GOOD. At the end of the baking time, these chocolate chip cookies won’t look done but they are. They will look a little doughy when you remove them from the oven, and thats good. They may be lightly browned in a few places, which is exactly how you want them. They will set up as they sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. I never bake them for more than 9 minutes

Cool

Cool the chocolate chip cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (or just eat them warm while the chocolate chips are melty)!

Store

Store these chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

The only ingredient I feel confident that can be changed up is the mix-ins. Chocolate chips, sprinkles, peanut butter chips, etc. Do not change anything else in this recipe. If you do I cannot guarantee they will turn out. However, here are some tested substitutions.

Butter. I use salted butter, but unsalted butter would also be great. I just recommend tasting the dough to ensure that it’s salted to your liking. White Sugar. You can use granulated white sugar or organic cane sugar. Brown sugar. I use light brown sugar in this recipe for the best results. Flour. I recommend using an unbleached, all-purpose flour to make these chocolate chip cookies. Many readers have used gluten-free all-purpose flour with excellent results. Or, try these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Sea Salt. I exclusively bake and cook with pure, fine sea salt. Sea salt is different than table salt (that is iodized), so if you use salt other than sea salt I recommend testing the recipe first with 1/2 tsp and then adjusting to your taste. Chocolate Chips. As you can see from the photos, sometimes I use chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate, or chocolate chips. It doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you use 2 cups.

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If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations! These cookies hold a special place in my heart. My friend brought me a meal after my first miscarriage (more on that below) and brought these cookies for dessert. They were so perfect I was convinced they were slice and bake, so I slyly said to her, “the cookies you brought are SO delicious, how did you make them?” Lo and behold they were from scratch and she shared the recipe with me! Her sweet gesture (literally) took a very dark season in my life and made it a little brighter. You see, after our daughter Bethany turned one-year-old we were ready to have another baby! We found out I was pregnant with twins, but things didn’t look great. There were no heartbeats, and although it was early (7 weeks) we were fairly certain that it wasn’t a viable pregnancy. We waited two weeks just to be sure, and then I was scheduled to have a D&C and say goodbye to our babies. This began one of the most difficult, trying times in my life. I was in a cloud of postpartum depression with no sweet baby to snuggle the blues away. My friends and family came alongside of me and I began to heal. I experienced another miscarriage and then got pregnant with my son, Gabe. Losing three babies in such a short time changed me forever. I haven’t taken one single day of my kids’ lives for granted. They were chosen to be mine. I have some babies I never got to hold, so I cherish holding the ones I do. These cookies remind me of the sweetness and importance of friendship. I wouldn’t have made it through without a handful of close friends who I cherish. So make these cookies and share them with people you love. Life is too uncertain to take a minute for granted. Spread love, make cookies. That’s my motto! The links in this post are affiliate links, thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine.

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