BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES – This ‘best chocolate chip cookie recipe’ makes the most perfect homemade chocolate chip cookies! Loaded with chocolate chips, I’ve spent years perfecting how to make cookies that are chewy, soft, and slightly crispy with a slightly crackled top. You’re going to love these award-winning, easy BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!
WHAT MAKES A BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE?
Perfect chocolate chip cookies that are soft on the inside, chewy on the outside, with a slight crispy bottom. Easy to make, you’re going to love biting into these best chocolate chip cookies that are loaded with chocolate chips! They really are the best ever, and the only chocolate chip cookie you’ll ever need!
My chocolate chip cookies are ‘The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, Ever’ after being challenged into a Twitter Bake-Off in 2009. Loaded with chocolate chips, what sets this chocolate chip cookie recipe apart is the fact they are perfectly soft and gooey on the inside, chewy on the outside, with a slight thin layer of crispiness to the cookies.
Not many people can claim their chocolate chip cookies are award-winning, but I can! So can several other people who’ve used this Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe to enter and win blue-ribbon baking contests – that is the ultimate compliment!
The story of the ‘best chocolate chip cookies ever’ all started when I started blogging. I’d always wanted to share what only my friends and family had only known, “Alice’s best chocolate chip cookie recipe” but up until this point hadn’t shared it with the world.
You see, my chocolate chip cookies are insanely good. The problem is, EVERYONE and their grandma thinks their chocolate chip cookies recipe is the best, too. So, I decided I wouldn’t do a post on my ultimate cookies because it seemed overplayed (putting it mildly). I didn’t have it in me to enter the “I have the best chocolate chip cookies” rat race.
Back in 2009 on Twitter I asked why people believed their homemade chocolate chip cookies were the best. After some friendly trash-talking, Ashley Rodriguez and I would engage in the ” Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever Twitter War,” and the following week we engaged in the ultimate chocolate chip cookie bake-off.
I asked her to post her recipe, and she kindly obliged. I made her chocolate chip cookie recipe that same evening, and I must say they were incredibly good. I reported back my results to her and said, “They’re really good, almost as good as mine.” Her next tweet went something like this, “Almost?” – a.k.a “Say what?!?”
We weren’t the only ones baking our chocolate chip cookies. People who followed our chocolate chip cookie battle on Twitter also baked them sharing their findings on their food blogs. Depending if you like a more sophisticated cookie or the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, the verdict was clear. This perfectly easy cookie recipe was the crowd favorite!
I can tell you she does have a fabulous recipe. But I can also tell you with bold confidence; my homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe is fierce.
Who doesn’t love chewy caramel edges and soft centers loaded with gooey chocolate chips with hints of sea salt? I mean, c’mon. How much more perfect of a cookie can there be?
THE ROLE OF BROWN SUGAR IN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
The reason why I love this chocolate chip cookie recipe so much is the balance of flavor and texture. Not overly sweet, the brown sugar gives the cookie a deeper flavor that only the molasses in the brown sugar brings. It gives it a caramel type chewiness around the edges.
As a result, you get a nice paper-thin crisp bottom, but the rest of the cookie is soft and chewy.
Using coarse sea salt or kosher salt (over table salt) enhances and intensifies the flavor of the chocolate chips bringing a nice balance to the cookie. I will sometimes sprinkle 3 or 4 flecks of sea salt over each ball of uncooked dough before baking just to get a tiny hit of salt amplifying the chocolate flavor to another level.
These are the chocolate chip cookies my Army sister who lives in Germany requests of 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 chocolate chip cookies I will be sending to her in Afghanistan. I once sent her a batch of a new recipe and trusted me, she noticed. I was told not to deceive her again and send this version only.
Moral of the story… Do not trash-talk-tweet if you can’t back it up. And for the record, I can back it up. Enough said.
I hope you enjoy the most best ever chocolate chip cookies in the world!
NOTES ABOUT THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE AND TROUBLE SHOOTING
*PLEASE do not use table salt, the course 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.
-WHY ARE MY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES FLAT?-
If you’re cookies are coming out flat and not like the pictures there are probably 4 reasons for this.
#1) Your 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 properties and isn’t reacting properly.
#2) Creaming. It’s 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. This step is crucial as it whips air into the mixture to help the cookies rise properly. This also helps with the crackled top.
If you own a Kitchenaid stand mixer and bake regularly, I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the beater attachment with the silicon edge scraper. I’ve own two of these beaters because it saves me a step from having to stop the mixer to scrape the bowl down. I haven’t used the medal attachment for years since discovering the scraper attachment. I hate having to scrape the bowl down when baking and this attachment makes for a better workflow for me. I recommend this KitchenAid KFE5T Flex Edge Beater for Tilt-Head Stand Mixers.
#3) Too little or too much 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. Because all measuring cups are not manufactured exactly the same, weighing the flour is the only real way to measure correctly. If too little flour is used, the fat content in the butter will cause the cookies to spread more than usual. A good inexpensive digital scale (like this one Ozeri ZK14-S Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen Scale) pays for itself in joy and peace. Don’t let too much or too little flour ruin your baked goods you’ve worked so hard on. I own an older version of this scale and I use it nearly daily for weighing ingredients.
#4) Parchment paper vs. silicon mat – I’ve literally baked these cookies a gazillion times and I’ve noticed when I bake the cookies on parchment paper they hold their shape much better than the silicon mat. I get inconsistent results with the mat because of the natural wear and tear on them. A NEW mat will prevent the cookies from spreading a lot better than a really worn one. But parchment paper always yields the the most consistent results! I’ve used Reynolds Kitchens Cookie Baking Sheets Parchment Paper (Non-Stick, 22 Sheets) with very good results!
-Other Notes and Helpful Tips-
* I know most bags of chocolate chips are 12 oz but this recipe requires a lot of chocolate chips to help bulk the cookie up. You’ll need approximately 1.5 bags. I’ve found towards the last of the dough I sometimes add a small handful of extra chips because when we scoop cookies we tend to scrape just dough off the scoop and the last of the dough has a lot less chocolate.
*If you like your cookies to look uniform and the same size, please use a cookie scoop. It makes all the difference and works a lot better than the spoon method. I own this OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop. I’ve had it for 10 years strong and it is my go to tool from scooping cookies to scooping mini-scoops of ice cream.
*For those of you interested in freezing your dough for future use, here’s a great article on HOW TO FREEZE COOKIE DOUGH. Having pre-frozen balls of dough is great when you need to bake a batch for future use.
I PRESENT TO YOU, THE AWARD-WINNING BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE, EVER!
ALICE RECOMMENDS THESE COOKIE RECIPES FOR YOU TO CONSIDER!
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp smallish-medium coarse sea salt or kosher
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour (12 ounces) If at all possible, please weigh the flour
- 2¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 360 degrees. This is not a typo.. three hundred and sixty.
- Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes on medium-high speed on a Kitchenaid)
- Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes on medium.
- 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 golden brown. Remove from the 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!
Updated: May 7, 2018
Alice Currah says
I just want to let you know Sadie how much I appreciate your thoughts and comments. When I first started food blogging I loved the internet culture where people would discuss the recipes in the comments and share their results… and I think that is lost these days. Thanks again. Would love for you to update me with any new findings!
Sadie says
Hi Alice….I’m not sure I could describe my “best” chocolate chip cookie, but when I find it I’ll let you know! Your cookies are excellent, and I’m sure they’d be the “best” for most people. My testers loved them! I’m going to play around with your recipe to see if I can come up with a chocolate chip cookie that will put an end to my search….Sadie
P.S. Your detail to the prep and the importance of weighing the flour is very important to the end result. Thank you for being so thorough.
Alice Currah says
Sadie, your comment made my day! I cannot adequately express how AWESOME it is that you’ve TESTED 232 chocolate chip cookie recipes!!!
And you’re right. What’s best to someone may not be the best to another. But I would love to know what you’re looking for in a best chocolate chip cookie! Thanks for stopping by, you really did make my day. -Alice
Sadie says
I’ve tested 232 chocolate chip cookie recipes so far in search of “the best”, and although these are great cookies, they aren’t “the best” I’ve made. Having said that, I’m sure they could be “the best” , depending on what your preference is in a chocolate chip cookie. My cookies look like the ones pictured with the recipe, and since I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, I’d say they turned out exactly as they were supposed to. They’re soft and chewy, and have a rich buttery taste. I like big bakery style cookies and used scant 1/4 cup measures of dough, which yielded 18. The cookies baked for 14 minutes and looked slightly moist and underbaked when I took them out. They firm up as they cool.
Alice Currah says
Hi Alexis,
I’m all about flexible baking and I’m so glad you figured out what works best for you! The most critical step is the creaming of butter and sugars, as well as the brown sugar ratio to white. Thanks for stopping in and dropping a note! – Alice
Alexis says
These really are great. I’ve been looking for a consistently good chocolate chip cookie recipe for ages.
For me, these weren’t as picky as the recipe would suggest. I didn’t weigh the flour (I roughly scooped 2 1/2+ cups flour), didn’t measure the chocolate chips, used old baking soda/powder, etc. I did cream the butter & sugars thoroughly, and used parchment paper as well.
These are delicious and I will be giving them to all of my coworkers, I’m sure they’ll love them. It’s great to have a classic cookie recipe to be confident in.
Kristen says
I liked the addition of baking powder which isn’t usually in chocolate chip cookies. I thought it could have done without 1/2c. Of the brown sugar. I think 1 1/2c. Total sugar/brown sugar is plenty.
Alice Currah says
Dear Phuong,
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your stories about these cookies. I just had a friend from Hawaii send me a message that a parent of one of the kids at her kids schools brought these cookies and she was like, where did you get this recipe? Because they tasted so familiar. I love hearing stories like this. Thanks again for taking the time to stop by!
Phuong says
These really are the best cookies! I’ve tried tons of choc chip recipes but this is by far the best. I’m not big on sweets, my friends and family are very particular (would NEVER eat boxed cake or store bought cookies) and yet these cookies get requested all the time. I even mailed a huge box to a friend at work and people were like “how are these so perfect?”. I know that there are different preferences for choc chip cookies, but I think the magic of these is how good they taste, that they have a chewy center without being doughy, and crispiness on the edges. THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING!
Alice Currah says
Thanks again for sharing your experience. Every oven is different so I’m glad you figured out what works for you!
Ashley says
I just posted a comment and I meant to put another comment in it to help future cookie makers . We have a propane oven and I know it should be the same temp as every other oven when it is set at a certain degree But for some reason our stove and oven always seem hotter than the average but I noticed that my cookies were turning out slightly burnt on the bottom and not fully cooked when I did it to 360 so I do 350 and they turn out great .Thanks again for sharing the recipe
Ashley says
I have been making this chocolate chip recipe for a couple years now as well . My family loves them and my husband claims they are the best chocolate chip cookies ever . The first couple batches I made were perfect and then I had a couple batches of flat cookies .I have found out that the parchment paper is a must. If you run out don’t think that you can go without it and make them perfect like I did because they will not be perfect .But they are truly awesome thanks for the recipe!
Shannon says
Yes! Creaming the butter and sugar is vital. I use my kitchen aid on level 6 and set a timer for 3 minutes and then it’s perfect.
Alice Currah says
Hi Britt,
Are you creaming the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy like the photo? If it still looks like wet sand then it’s not creamed enough. With a Kitchenaid you will need to scrape down the bowl. But it is very important the butter sugar mixture looks nearly whipped like whipped cream. Hope this helps!
Britt says
My cookies are turning out flat, flat, flat. I had room temperature butter, new baking soda, new baking powder, sea salt, farm fresh eggs (a couple days old) and weighed my flour. When I cream my butter and sugar, it just gets packed around the sides of my kitchen aid bowl and several minutes. I got out my hand held mixer and mixed that way for a few minutes.
I really want this recipe to work! Any help is very appreciated!
Alice Currah says
Glad you and your family liked them. We’re pretty fond of these cookies, too!
Laurie says
I made these and followed the directions exactly, right down to weighing the flour. These cookies were amazing! I had to have my family hide them from me. Soft in the middle and crisp on the edges…the best EVER!
Jackie C says
I have been making the recipe for a couple of years now. It is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. These are the best! I use unsalted butter, medium-coarse kosher salt, and I measure out the 2 3/4 cups flour using the dip and sweep method. These cookies are a family favorite and always a hit! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Kelsie says
I found this recipe Christmas of 2010 or 2011. .
I made it and we fell in love. .
I have made this cookie recipe 1k times.
My husbands Papa was an amazing man.
He served in the Navy and dedicated his life to his family.
He got really sick in 2010, and I brought him over a batch of these cookies.
It was the first thing he was able to eat and enjoy in awhile.
Every time I came to visit he would ask me if I made his cookies.
The cancer got worse and nearing the end of his life I kept these freezer ready.
Before he got too bad he would keep them next to his bed and heat then up for a midnight snack.
They were one of the only things he was able to eat and enjoy. . This recipe not only gave us cookies, but an amazing bond.
I’ve renamed the recipe “Dee`s cookies” and give them to the family every year at Christmas.
I just thought I’d share the joy this recipe brought us in such a hard time. Thank you
Cher says
This is my go to recipe! I bought a scale for this recipe! Always a big hit.
Jackie C says
Thank you so much for the recipe! I have made these many times now and they are fantastic! I use Ghirardelli bittersweet chips and they are always a hit. This is my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Lauri Berreman says
I have been baking for years and have never rated a recipe until now. I LOVE this recipe. I substitute flour with the bobs 1 for 1 gf flour and they are delicious! I have had many people taste them and you wouldn’t even know they are gf.
Muna Kenny says
Delicious looking cookies! Love the step by step pictures. I have a craze of trying new chocolate chip cookie recipes and hopefully will be trying yours this weekend!
sara says
These cookies were OK to be fair we used 1 3/4 cups of flour and the butter was mostly melted but these are certainly not the “Best Ever”. Very disappointed.
Deborah says
Best recipe! Thank you!