Since I started blogging I’ve always wanted to do a post on my chocolate chip cookies. You see.. my chocolate chips are all that and a bag of pretzels. But the problem is, EVERYONE and their grandma think their chocolate chip cookies are the best. So I decided I wouldn’t do a post because it seemed overplayed (putting it mildly). I just didn’t have it in me to enter the “I have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe” rat race.
But months ago I had asked the question on Twitter on why people believed their recipe was really the best. And from that moment on, Ashley Rodriguezand I would engage in the “Chocolate chip cookie Tweet wars”. I asked her to post her recipe and she kindly pointed me to her beautiful site. I made her recipe that same evening and I must say they were incredibly good. I reported back my results to her and said this.. “They were really good, almost as good as mine.” Her next tweet went something like this, “Almost?” – a.k.a “Say what?!?” Because we’re good friends and lovingly joke around a lot with each other, I can tell you that she really does have a fabulous recipe. But I can also tell you with bold confidence, my recipe is pretty fierce – if I do say so myself. The reason why I love this recipe is because it is not overly sweet and primarily uses brown sugar. The brown sugar gives it a more caramel type chewiness and more depth than the traditional Toll House type of recipe. As a result, you get a nice crisp bottom, but the rest of the cookie is soft and chewy.
These are the cookies my sister who lives in Germany asks me to send her because they are all she can think about when she thinks of home. They are the same cookies she shared with her platoon in Iraq and the same cookies I will be sending to her in Afghanistan. I once sent her a batch of a new recipe and trust me, she noticed. I was told not to deceive her again and send my version only.
But last night it happened again. It all started out so innocently. A typical night of tweeting and before I knew it, somehow I had trash tweeted my way into a chocolate chip cookie bake off with my good friends Lorna Yee and Ashley Rodriguez. If I recall correctly, the conversation went something like this.
Me to Ashley: Bring It!
Ashley to Me: Oh I’ll Bring It!
And before I knew it, other people were arranging a bake off. Moral of the story.. do not tweet and trash if you can’t back it up. And for the record, I can back it up. Enough said.
I present to you my favorite and original Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Enjoy!
| The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe EVER! |
|
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour
- 3/4 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes on medium-high speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
*please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you only have table salt, use 1/2 tsp. *When using sea salt, you will get small crunchy flecks of salt when you bite into the cookie. If you do not like this taste, go with 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.
*I realized grocery stores sell bags of chocolate chips in 12 oz bags but this recipe really needs every last chip. Otherwise you’ll get cookies with only a few chips in each one and this recipe requires lots of chocolate to bulk the cookie up. You’ll need about 1 1/2 bags.
*Troubleshooting*
-If you’re cookies are coming out flat and not like the pictures there are probably 3 reasons for this.
#1) Baking powder and Baking soda is old. If your baking powder and soda is older than 1 year and has not been in a sealed (preferably air tight) container, it has lost some of it rising qualities.
#2) Creaming. It is not enough to just cream the butter and sugars until it has come together. This recipe requires you to beat it with a mixer for 3 minutes until the texture of the butter and sugar turns to light and fluffy-just like the picture.
#3) Flour. Flour should be weighed. This can make or break the recipe because just scooping flour into a measuring cup will never yield ideal or consistent results.
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Follow up- to qoute my picky hubby “they are the best cookies I have ever made!” Love that – thank you!
Thank you so much for bringing these cookies into my life! They are just perfect, chewy and soft, yet firm enough to handle a glass of milk…I made a batch for my church potluck last weekend and they were gone in a flash! Good thing I horded some for myself before we left.
Don’t get me wrong, these cookies were VERY GOOD, but I wouldn’t say they’re “the best ever”. Also, they weren’t as chewy as you described, and after all that brown sugar, I’m suprised they didn’t live up to the hype.
Made a batch of these this afternoon and my family devoured them! These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Thanks Alice for the recipe, I plan on making them again this weekend!
Sara
PS: I found the edges chewy and the inside of the cookies soft.
I tried these today – they are wonderful!! They come out dark and crispy on the outside while staying moist and blond on the inside. I have tried TONS of different recipes and this one turned out great. The only thing is… with all the brown sugar, you REALLY have to watch these like a hawk. If you leave them in the oven a moment too long, they get way too crispy. Pull them out while still *slightly* undercooked, as they darken and firm up. This will be my go-to cookie recipe!!
I used this recipe last week and well, in a hurry I subbed fake butter for real butter, which turned my dough into a goo mess. It was terrible. At least I think this was the problem. Anyhow, trying to quickly thicken it up, I just threw in some sugar, brown sugar and extra flour. Still being too gooey I gave up and threw them in round cake pans. They were the most amazing cookies I have ever eaten in my life. My husband took some with him to work and had men fighting over them. I am making some more, this time using real butter. Hopefully they will be just as good. I am sure that was my problem. I know when making my buttercream icing if I use butter instead of crisco I must cut the measurement in half. Hopefully they turn out just as good!
Alice,
I am going to attempt these cookies today while my cousins are all at school. Problem is, we only have unsalted butter in our house… any suggestions? I’m thinking maybe I can just add a tsp. of table salt to the butter? What do you think? Thanks so much!
When I Tasted the first morsel of chocolatey goodness after chewing and ingesting these delicious and amazing cookies, I felt a transcendta moment in my life occur. I was in an almost nirvana like state, rethinking my whole existence and belief in what I thought a chocolate chip cookie was. I soon realized my life would never been the same.
I’ve spent my life savings purchasing flour, brown sugar, butter, and all the various and sundry goods needed fo this baling endeavor, and have gained at least two dozen pounds. But it is worth it. I liken these cookies to jumping into the mouth of a waterfall, while wearing socks made from the fleece of a sheep born in the pastures of heaven.
I believe my blood now run with the molten magma-like chocolate created from this cookie recipe. It has changed my love of cookies into something more. I will forever use this cookie recipe when baking, and shall continue to make hundreds of cookies to consume. Thank you for giving a recipe that, if kept secret, could become as valued as the holy Grail or the lost city of gold. I will cherish it forever.
Timothy Russell III Esquire
Timothy,
I don’t even know how to respond to your comment. I’ve had to read this one a couple of times to digest it but please know I am genuinely touched. Thank you!
I was wondering before I attempt this recipe, you did not mention packing the brown sugar…should it be packed or not? Oh and I cannot use butter because i am lactose entolerant any tips for using margerine
I made these tonight and they turned out really good after I figured out the flour thing. I initially weighed the flour as suggested in the recipe and 12 oz of flour on my scales came out to about 2 1/4 cups. Well, the first batch came out super flat so I just added the rest of the 3/4 cups of flour to make 3 cups total like the recipe says. So, next time just skip weighing the flour and add 3 cups and they turn out perfect.
Tiare,
I always used salted butter when baking because the salt helps keeps the butter from going bad longer and just has a pleasant taste to it. I wouldn’t add anymore salt to unsalted butter.
Sarah,
I pack my brown sugar down. Hope this helps.
Alice
I made these cookies tonight and they were really good! I do think they were a tad to salty – and I used unsalted butter and kosher salt. It could have been because I used bittersweet chocolate chips so I had a little less sugar coming into the batter. They rose wonderfully – cooled and flattened a bit – a bit chewy and crunchy edges – YUM
These cookies really ARE perfect! I love the texture of the sea salt. They turned out the best at 14 minutes for me.
LOVE your cookies! I have been on the hunt for the perfect choc chip recipe and my mission is now over! All the others seemed to be too runny or too thick. Or, I live in China and the recipes would call for vanilla pudding?!?! I know that can make them grate but that’s a precious item to find here and so no way would I spare a box for cookies when I knew there had to be a good one with out it out there! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your amazing recipe with the world Alice.
Dear Alice,
I never made homemade chocolate chip cookies before, so I was searching for the best recipe out there. I made your cookies this past weekend. My son and husband liked them alot. I thought they tasted a little salty though. I think it’s because I did not pack the brown sugar. I guess the more experienced bakers automatically know to do this; so for the sake of all the beginner cookie bakers out there, it would really help if you could update your directions to say packed brown sugar. Thanks. p.s.-Your pictures were very helpful.
Hi ValT:
I updated the recipe to reflect “packed” brown sugar. As for the saltiness, yes you will get small flecks of sea salt when you bite into the cookie. If you prefer not to have this, use 1/2 teaspoon of table salt. Hope this helps.
wow, alice– these are phenomenal! love the flecks of saltiness and the flavor/texture from all of the brown sugar. as a bonus, it was nice to have a thicker dough that was easy to scoop onto the pan. this recipe is a keeper!
OK, this may have just become my new favorite blog. The perfect chocolate chip cookie has eluded me my whole baking life! I’ve even cried over failed batches from disappointment… sad I know. Just a couple weeks ago I made the supposedly classic JOY of Cooking recipe and the cookies were so so flat. BUT… after the overwhelming success of two other successes from this site–the chicken satay and the chicken coconut curry soup–I had faith in this recipe and it is SO GOOD! Thank you thank you. Now that three out of three recipes from here have been amazing, I may just have to make that beef kalbi I’ve been intimidated by…
You are MY PEOPLE! I am dragging my two small children to the grocery store right now so I can try and make these cookies. It better be worth it!
Timothy-You kill me. I am ready for my waterfall moment, heaven-born sheep fleece socks and all.
I don’t think I can make anymore recipes from this site….if they all come out as amazing as this then I will NEVER lose this baby weight. Amazingly delicious cookies, thank you for sharing the recipe.
I found your site yesterday by searching for ‘best chocolate chip cookies’ and made these last night. And holy crap! these are the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER!!!!
This is the absolute BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have ever tried. The cookies are the perfect texture- moist and soft in the center. I will be making these cookies for several years to come, this recipe is a keeper!
Hello, I am going to make this recipe (hopefully I have enough brown sugar). I will tell you how my family likes it, and from the sound of it, it sounds like they will love it. I tried all these cook books and I can’t seem to find a recipe that is… perfect.
Oh, yes, you can back it up. Fantastic recipe. Perfect balance of flavor and sweetness. I am not a fan of too sweet cookies, or not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies…these are delicious!
This is now the cookie recipe at the top of my pile.
Thank you!
Alice,
You are definitely my new best friend and although I don’t know you personally I feel compelled to tell you how you have changed my life with this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Yes, a bit dramatic, but when it comes to chocoate how can one not be anything but! I haven’t read any of the other posts to find out if they made any alterations but I made just one. Instead of using only semi-sweet chocolate chips, I used a combo of both semi-sweet and Ghiradelli’s (sp?) 68% cocoa choc. chips. I think next time I will try the recipe with all 68% cocoa choc. chips. I just LOVE the combo of flavors of the darker chocolate and the sea salt…just heavenly!
Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world!
Tisa
I just make these cookies and they were faaaaaantastic!!! The only thing I had to change was the cooking time, I had to reduce mine down to 350 degrees and cook for 9 minutes or else they were dark brown/black on the bottom. Had to be my oven. But I looooved them! I even posted a link to this blog on Facebook so everyone I know will have the opportunity to try your awesome cookies! Thanks so much for sharing, I will be making these cookies whenever I bake cookies from here on!
Wow! You’ve just earned a bookmark from me. These cookies are superb.
OMGoodness…. Since the dawn of time, I have always made the chocolate chip cookie recipe that was passed down from my grandmother, and they were a great standby for a go to CC Cookie. But, I must say, when I read over this post about two weeks ago, I had to put this one to the test. I am very hesitant when it comes to using ALL butter in a CC cookie- mostly because the ones I have made in the past have always turned out greasy and flat as a pancake. The cookies always seemed to turn out better in the end when using shortening and a little butter. Fast forward to two days ago (if that even makes sense), I have probably downed 3/4 of the batch by now, and am franticly trying to think of anyone (even the mailman) I can possibly take them too as NOT to consume the whole batch by MYSELF!! These ARE the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made, kudos to Alice and thank you for sharing… Sorry Grandma, these ROCK!!
p.s. love the sea salt, every time I get a bite I think of you.
Someone recently emailed me about cookie scoop sizes and I forgot to reply. I can’t find your email :/ so I hope you check here for your answer. I use the sm-med cookie scoop and not the large one. I bought a large cookie scoop but it broke when I used it for scooping ice cream and I haven’t tried using it with cookies yet. Hope this helps.
Alice
PS: Thanks to everyone who have left the sweetest comments about this cookie recipe. I am so happy it brings a little sweetness to you day.
wow! I have always wondered how other people were able to make the most delicious chocolate chip cookies. Now I know! The cookies turned out fabulous! I almost can’t believe it.
Thanks so much!
Just want to say that I was very desapointed. They were rising and they weren’t chewy or cripy. The texture was like a cake I think 3 cups it’s too much. By the way I followed the exact recipe and I am not a newbie I bake all the time. But these cookies didn’t come out good to me. Definetely Not the best!!!
Sorry
Hi Mia,
This recipe should not be “cake like” in texture, so I’m not sure what happened. Did you weigh your flour? The cookies should be chewy and slightly crispy on the outside edges. As for the rising issue, I’ve addressed this in the post and in the comment section. Old baking powder and soda can be an issue as well as making sure you cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Let me know if I can troubleshoot any further.
Alice
Hi Alice,
I am going to try to redo them tomorrow . But I know I had the right amount of flour cause I did weight the flour. The butter was creamy and the baking soda was new “not expired” .
But I will try again tomorrow and let you know.
Hi Alice,
I made your yummy cookies tonight. My hubby said the recipe is a definite keeper and I agree!! He also schooled me on online etiquette…apparently I’ve been a taker and not a giver…he said it’s only right that I share with you how I felt about the recipe since you so graciously shared your secrets with us. So this is my first official ‘share’ online hehe. Thank you so very much! It’s always fun to try something new, especially when the recipe turns out to be so tasty!!!
These cookies are fantastic! The only difference is I used milk chocolate chips and wow, really great. Thanks!!
I have made the same chocolate chip cookie recipe (slightly adapted over the years) since …before I can even remember, at least for the past 15 years. It is my absolute favorite cookie recipe. Soooo when I googled “best chocolate chip cookie recipe” yesterday just to see what I would find, I decided to try yours…and they came out of the oven about 20 minutes ago. They are very good…but, I have to admit, I still like mine the best. However, my theory is that maybe when someone aquires a love for a specific taste, it is very difficult if not impossible for that edible love to ever be replaced…which may be why both of us (and many other chocolate chip cookie makers) are forever debating who’s recipe really is the best.
…but thanks for sharing your delicious recipe. this particular batch is going to become a bunch of moose tracks icecream sandwhiches for dessert tonight! YUM!
I just made these with my daughter and they are DELISH!! Love the fact that you put them on parchment – what a help for clean up!!
I ran out of parchment…. I have to use foil – think I’ll have any problems? I spritzed with PAM – Hope they’ll be okay. I Let you know.
Well… they landed a little flat, but I expected that – even after chilling the dough. Taste great though. Love the salt!
this is truly one of the best cookie recipes ive ever tried! the cookies turned out just like the pictures. ive made several hundred batches of cookies and by far this is one of the greatest! the only thing i might consider doing different next time is changing the sea salt to a smaller size. but otherwise its a 10!
I made these and they are the best! best! best! I never cared for any homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe. Too hard, too cakey, too sweet, not sweet enough etc. These were spot on! I did not weigh out the flour and they were still delicious. Soooo happy to finally have the perfect recipe. I was trying to come up with a homemade favor for my friend’s bridal shower- I think this is it!
Thanks for sharing Alice : )
Lindsey
The first time I made these they were delicious. The second, I browned half the butter before creaming and I think they were even better if possible. Thanks for the great recipe!
I just want to make sure….brown sugar, as in NOT light brown sugar…..looking at the picture, it’s hard to tell…..they look dee-lish! looking forward to making them!
I just use whatever brown sugar we have. Mine says golden brown sugar.
hi – made these cookies tonight and they were great
i used light brown sugar – was that your preference?
also – 12 oz of flour is less than 3 MEASURING CUPS , correct…
I swore that one day I would be the mother who makes the worlds BEST chocolate chip cookies for when I am blessed with wee ones. This recipe finally did it for me! After countless recipes of trial and error, I tried yours and you have developed the worlds very BEST cookie. My future children and I thank you graciously!!
I have been on a quest this past winter – the ultimate chocolate chip cookie quest. On said quest, I baked many a cookie. I tasted many a morsel. But when I stumbled across this recipe, it lit a fire inside me. I just had to bake these cookies. And this recipe produced what I can honestly say were the best ones by far. I have finally had a cookie that fully satisfied my craving – my quest is over. Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you!
My daughter and I made these tonight and sometimes I am nervous of trying new ones because some just do not turn out. Well these where perfect on the first try! We can not wait to make more and I did follow the recipe exact and did use light brown sugar. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much! Just made this recipe with my daughter – we were careful to weigh the flour and really cream the butter and sugar together… turned out great – and bigger than I thought they would be…
I have been a professional baker for five years and these cookies are absolutely the best. Even better they are so simple to make.
I’m making these with green food coloring for St. Patty’s tomorrow! How Fun!!!
I’ve been making cookies similar to these for a long time…that brown sugar portion keeps creeping higher and higher…but I had not tried sea salt and it was a genius touch.
Sorry, didn’t weigh the flour but the results were still fabulous and looks like we’re using the same scoop; how did I ever make cookies without that little scooper – so much easier!
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