These large, bakery-style thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies stay soft for days and are a huge family favorite. Made with melted butter, a high brown sugar to white sugar ratio, and an extra egg yolk to ensure super soft cookies, they require NO chilling time and are the perfect after-school snack.
These cookies have been around for a LONG time! I first made them nearly 12 years ago when I fell in love with America’s Test Kitchen and my new Baking Illustrated cookbook. I had long been on the hunt for a fabulous thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie and I had finally hit pay dirt! This was my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe for years upon years, until I stumbled upon The New York Times chocolate chip cookie, which I modified a bit to become my NEW favorite thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe.
However, these cookies made a resurgence in my kitchen last weekend and were due for a revival here on the site, especially since they’re one of my all-time most popular recipes!
How to Make Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Start with Butter: We use melted butter to keep the cookies super soft and moist.
High Brown Sugar to Granulated Sugar Ratio: Brown sugar ensures soft cookies and the white sugar helps the cookies spread out. For cookies that are chewier and have a more robust flavor, we use double the amount of brown sugar to white sugar.
Egg & Vanilla Extract: Eggs provide structure and an extra egg yolk gives the cookies a boost of softness. Vanilla is our flavor enhancer!
Dry Ingredients: You’ll need all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt for structure, rise and flavor balance.
Chocolate Chips: Of course! One and a half cups give you chocolate in every single bite without being overwhelming.
Ahhhh that dough!
There’s a little shaping technique that makes these cookies have that gorgeous bumpy texture on top that looks like they came straight out of the bakery.
All of that combined to make these my oldest, most favorite chocolate chip cookie that needs absolutely no chill time whatsoever.
While the NY Times cookies that I love require some refrigeration before they’re baked, these can be mixed up and baked right away, so you’ll have warm cookies fresh from the oven and ready to devour in about 45 minutes. Can’t beat it!
What’s your favorite type of chocolate chip cookie?
Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.
Roll a scant ¼ cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2½ inches apart.
Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to set, yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. These can also be wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months.
This recipe was originally published on June 21, 2008, updated in July 2016 with new photos, and then refreshed in August 2019 with updated photos and more recipe tips.
I made these around Thanksgiving. They were a big hit. My sons calls them the sinful cookies. I added Semi, milk and white chocolate. I will be making these a lot. My granddaughter wants pecan and caramel on top.
Just baked these cookies and they are absolutely perfect!! They are soft inside and have just the right amount of crispness on the outside. Much better than my old go to recipe!!
These look yummy. Who doesnt like a chocolate chip cookie..dont think I’ve met anyone who doesnt😊 a close tie for me is a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie w a little bit of coconut. Mmmmmm mmmmm.
Have you baked these cookies with gluten free flour? If so, how did they turn out? I scrolled through many, but not all comments, so my apologies if previously asked and answered.
I have made these with gluten free flour and they came out really well. Spread out maybe a little more than I would expect. I used Red Mills GF one to one flour (it has xantham gum in it) and added toasted pecans which may have helped also keep it together.
It seems like a lot of complaints about this recipe could be because one person’s cup of flour is not the same as another person’s cup of flour. If enough flour is not used cookies can turn out flat and too buttery. Just wondered if you used 5oz per cup as mentioned in your May 24, 2016 Baking Basics: Weighing Ingredients post. Thanks!
Hi there, I was wondering why there’s a discrepancy in the metric equivalents given in the recipe – here you say 5oz per cup, which is 10 oz / 280g for 2 cups. But when you click metric, it’s given as 8.8 oz / 250g. Which weight is correct? Thanks!
I made these today. They are great. Perfect sweetness. I made my own brown sugar using unrefined cane sugar and added a some molasses to it (just Google it!). Then I measured it like you would with regular brown sugar. I didn’t want to waste the egg white so instead of a yolk I used a substitute – 1T coconut milk. Apparently, you can use applesauce or banana too. Ok. My point is this recipe works and it’s great. Yes, I made substitutions but they are minor. I a trained chef and I know this recipe will work even if I didn’t do the substitutions. My son said it’s the best chocolate chip cookie he’s had. And oh – do measure your ingredients properly and follow the instructions. That’s all. Thank you for the recipe, browneyedbaker!
There is something wrong with this recipe. I made it twice- by hand- and both times they spread way too much. The 2nd time, I also put them in the fridge to chill before putting them in the oven. The flavor is good but they are too thin and therefore too crunchy. I’m usually a fan of Brown-eyed bakers recipes too. This one does not work… disappointed that I have to bring them to a dinner party too.
Many years ago my BFF made these for me as a gift at Christmas. Aren’t baked goods simply better when from a friend? She gladly shared this recipe and I’ve made them as gifts many times now successfully. I prefer bitter sweet Ghiradelli chips and sometimes add toasted coconut and/or toasted chopped pecans. Found this to be a perfect fool proof recipe when followed as written. I’ve made the dough and baked right away, made dough and baked after hours in fridge and also frozen dough balls to bake a few at a time ( since it’s just 2 at my house. ) PERFECT EVERY TIME!!
Hi! I`m from Norway! Since we just got chocolate chips in Norway, I wanted to try to cookies. I tried a recipe a few days ago, but they got hard as stones:/ Tried yours today, and they turned out great!!! Love them! Thank you so much!!
We love these cookies! I make them all the time – usually in double batches. I freeze half the dough and always have some on hand to make for last-minute visitors. But my dough is always very wet and sticky. I have to wet my hands with water to even handle it – it wouldn’t be possible to pull it apart and shape it as you suggest. They still taste great…but any thoughts on why I always get such sticky, wet dough? Thanks!
I ran across this recipe on your site several years ago (I think it was 2011 or 2012) and I must say that this has been my (and my family’s) absolute favorite cookie ever since.
I have done several different chip variations (semi-sweet, milk chocolate, peanut butter, white chocolate or white chocolate with dried cranberries) with this cookie recipe and they always come out perfect.
I also always have to double the batch every time I bake them because . . . well, with 1 pre-teen and 2 teenagers, along with myself and the hubby, one batch just isn’t enough lol. They DEVOUR them!
I actually have a double batch with white chocolate chips baking right now and my kids look like a bunch of toddlers, practically bouncing on their heels, incessantly asking when they’re going to be done lol.
I love these,. They’ve turned amazing every time I’ve made them. I use weights instead of volume for my dry ingredients as I tend to be heavy handed with my measurements. The last time I made them, I made the dough to bake them later on. I refrigerated the dough for a few days and as I forgot to pull out the dough ahead of time, ended up baking them at refrigerator temperature. They turned out better than any time I’ve made them before. I’m not sure what it was about the chilled dough that made them so good, but I’m going to try it again. One of the guys I work with ate 6 over the course of an hour. There is no bigger compliment. :)Bring back the weighted measurements! I dread the day that my old copy of the recipe disappears.
Good recipe, but I don’t understand why all “chewy” cookie recipes say to chill the dough. Maybe it is a matter of wording. Chilling the dough makes a SOFT (not chewy) dome-like cookie. Letting the dough warm up a bit makes the cookies flatten out. THEN let the edges brown and leave the middle looking somewhat unbaked. THAT makes a chewy cookie. Once I let the dough warm up a bit, they turned out great!
Just made these because my boyfriend was craving chocolate chip cookies (when I tried the old “let’s pick up some store-bought dough” cop-out he said “but we don’t want store cookie dough…”) — they’re great! We used the 1/4 C measuring cup and scooped scant amounts out and it came out to exactly 18 cookies. On our mismatched assortment of cookie sheets the ones on a dark sheet did get darker and thinner and were done a minute or two earlier, and on the lighter sheets this was not the case and the recipe above (for 15-18 min bakes) was perfect.We are likely going to make this our go-to recipe since the only other one I have ever used more than once is from a children’s cookbook and is significantly lower-yield ;)Thank you for another great recipe!
I had never baked cookies from scratch before and was looking for an awesome recipe. I tried this one and the cookies came out perfectly. They were thick, soft, and crazy delicious! Even my friends were shocked that this was my first time baking them from scratch because they were so good. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Made them tonight and it did not turn out. It’s is chock full of chocolate chips, but spread and our super thin. Won’t make them again. Too many extra steps for me between the rolling, twisting, re-joining, cooling completely on the cookie sheet for them not to turn out. They looked puffy when I took them out of the oven then the sunk to cookie that wasn’t even as thick as the chip.
i have been baking for over 40 years, and your recipe has become my favorite base for chocolate chip cookie ever. i personalize my cookies by adding fresh grated ginger and some cayenne pepper, then after baking them for 6 minutes, i do sprinkle a little seasalt on the cookies for the perfect salted chocolate chip cookie :)
Thanks! I’ve been making thee for years after coming across the recipe on your site. These are hands down the best. I tried the other CI recipe where the butter is browned – it’s good but this recipe is my favorite. Everyone raves when I make these. I just never tried freezing them before. The husband bought some “healthy” store bought dough and the cookies were flat. My daughter and I just doubled the recipe just now and we’re going to shape and freeze some dough for future cravings! Thanks again!
Ok, I have to comment that after making these for years I’ve finally tried shaping then freezing for baking when we get cookie cravings. They were delicious, but not as delicious as freshly prepared/unfrozen state. Also, the cookies didn’t get that crinkly look when baked from frozen. I find that my cookies also always come out best when I bake one tray at a time which then means it takes me longer since I’m not baking two trays at once. Tried rotating trays 1/2way in and it still didn’t turn out as good.
There was way too much flour in your recipe, by almost a half a cup. The cookies came out rock-hard. I googled other America Test Cookies recipes and yours is not accurate. I also use to get the magazine so I’ve made them before and they always came out wonderful. These while still tasting good, were NOT chewy at all! 1&3/4 cup of flour would be all you need. The butter is supposed to be lightly browned.
The recipe is written exactly as printed in Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve been making these cookies for well over 10 years and they have never, ever been hard. Using a half cup less flour would make these virtually unable to shape. The butter is actually supposed to be browned in another recipe of theirs – the perfect chocolate chip cookie (https://www.browneyedbaker.com/cooks-illustrated-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies/) – perhaps you’re confusing the two recipes.
Could I use this revipe to make a giant cookie? My friend has requested one for chritmas and I absolutely lovd this recipe as normal sized cookies. Should ai just add all of the mixture to a cake tin? Thanks!
Made them and absolutely loved them! Love the idea of breaking the cookie in half and squishing together, gives them such a cool look. Thanks ever so much for this great recipe!
I’m not sure if this will be seen since the recipe was posted several years ago, however I feel compelled to post my rave review! I have been making these cookies regularly since 2013. I have baked them for Christmas, I have put them in care packages, I have baked them as housewarming gifts, welcome to the neighborhood gifts, birthday gifts, thank you gifts, etc. etc. I would say that I make these cookies 2-3 times a month. My neighbors know me as the “girl who makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world.” If only they knew how simple this recipe was! Thank you so much for sharing this incredible recipe. I can’t wait to pass it down to my baby daughter when she is old enough.
I found these looking for a melted butter cookie recipe. And because they cane with weight measurements ::love:: and came out AMAZING, I am sure I will make them again and again. I ran out of regular flour, brown sugar, and chocolate, so I used more than half whole wheat flour, added some molasses, and used 55g of walnuts. I will probably use the original ingredients next time, but these were beautiful and tasty and worthy of offering one to the repairman who stopped by in the middle of baking (he, of course, accepted). Just great!
Forget the Toll House recipe on the chocolate chip bags! This has been my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe for years. It never disappoints, and everyone is impressed with these cookies’ size. If you want the cookies to turn out crunchy, then don’t let them cool on the cookie sheet–remove them to cool on a rack. We best like these cookies chewy soft, so this is it. Just finished baking another batch to give away. Yummmmmm.
I followed the recipe exactly… but when it came to forming the balls & trying to rip them apart they were really too “wet” to. They turned out huge & VERY flat, which has never happened. I think it was when I mixed the sugar & butter that I realized it didn’t look right because it looked too wet, but I proceeded anyway. Regardless, they were DELICIOUS. I thought I would not like them since they were absurdly thin, but they still tasted AMAZING. With more flour or sugar I’m sure it would have turned out better. Will try these again for sure, maybe adding another tablespoon of flour next time & chilling the dough first then trying the rip apart method.
Hi Haley, I would make sure the butter is cooled to room temperature and not too warm; you shouldn’t need to add any more flour, though. If you let it cool and the resulting dough is still too wet, chill for a bit before forming into balls.
I live at 6600 feet in the mtns of Colorado and was worried these wouldn’t turn out as all my other CC cookie attempts. They came out perfect! Love a recipe that doesn’t require high altitude modifications! This is now my go-to cookie recipe!
I made these for ice cream sandwiches, and they are great! Luckily, one of the cookies broke while I was assembling the sandwiches, so I got to try them on their own, haha!
I made these and they came out PERFECTLY! I’m using them for homemade ice cream sandwiches that my sister wanted me to make and I couldn’t have chosen a better recipe! Not too thin (because who wants a super thin, too-crispy cookie on their ice cream sandwich???) and just the perfect amount of chocolate chips! I can’t wait for her to have one!!! I haven’t tried a cookie because I tend to shy away from sweets, but my sister tasted the batter and said the vanilla was so good and strong I’m excited!!!
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! Every time I bake it, people think I bought the cookies from a gourmet bakery. My sisters also ask for these cookies every time they come visit. While I love this recipe as is, I have also tried adding 1/4 tsp of cornstarch which makes them less chewy but the texture is a little closer to Panera-style cookies.
These were outstanding! WOW! I was skeptical about the no refrigeration part with the warm fat, but they are unbelievable. I’m making them for our church’s summer camp and the bigger size makes portions so easy. My nine-year-old son helped too!
I tried this recipe this week end and it was fantastic!! It’s super easy and super quick, and the cookies are so chewy! I tried so many recipes and never found the result i wanted. Thank you for this great recipe everyone loved it!! Cheers from France! xoxo
These are FANTASTIC! Moist, chewy, delicious. I have made A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of chocolate chip cookies. I have tried all of the top recipes, family recipes, and package recipes. These win! Definitely my favorite and will now be my go-to. Thanks so much for sharing this!
These are AMAZING!!! I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for 15 years and I’ve always relied on the Toll House recipe. This is my new favorite!! I also think it makes a big difference to roll the dough, and break it apart, baking with the jagged edges up. Great tip! THANK YOU!
I made this recipe, and I have to say it raised more questions than it answered – I felt very silly splitting all the dough balls in half. Not to mention it is nearly impossible to rejoin them without flattening that jagged edge just created. I settled on a technique of more thirds, then rolling with jagged edges outside. However, I’d like to see the science behind how this works. With more time, I’d do a side by side comparison.2nd change – left butter on counter to room temp.- did not melt and wait for it to cool – I’ve never in my life waited for the butter to cool, by the way – it goes against my nature.3rd and 4th changes – I used the Guittard large flat chocolate chips, delicious, but what am I to do with a 1/4 bag left over? I used them all, of course.5th change – I added 3/4 cup chopped pecansRating is based on the numerous oddities in this recipe without any reasoning to back them up. With my changes, cookies were happily consumed!By the way, I did not warm my eggs to room temperature – they turned out fine.
Yummy, I’ve had people ask to get this recipe. Your husband is right. I don’t normally even like Chocolate Chip cookies, but these are delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Does it make a difference if I use unsalted butter or salted? If I omit the salt wouldn’t that be ok to use the salted butter instead? I never have unsalted butter in the house
Hi Norma, Ideally you’d use unsalted butter so that the exact amount of salt in a recipe can be controlled since there is varying amounts of salt in different brands of salted butter. However, in a pinch, you can use salted butter and omit the salt.
I just whipped up a batch of these and they are delicious! The most perfect cookie! I followed the recipe and side from when incorporating the wet and dry ingredients I simply poured the wet ingredients over the dry and mixed them with a rubber spatula. I also used cold eggs and which didnt impact it either. They turned out perfect! Thick chewy and a little crunchy!
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. No one can believe they’re homemade and not store bought. I always use my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients and mix by hand. Perfect every single time!
I have baked a lot and never seen a recipe that had you break apart the cookies that way. Did I miss the why in the post? If not, can you share with me?
I have made these cookies for years EXCEPT I substitute chocolate chunks for the chips and I use macadamia nuts. Whenever I take them someplace everyone raves about them.
Has anyone baked these from frozen? I made the dough balls but didn’t have time to bake so I stuck in freezer. Worried about having cookies that don’t spread at all (conversely I don’t want them to spread to much)
Should I bring to room temp first or will they be ok from freezer? Looking for the perfect balance so they are thick but not too thick :)
Hi Colin, I have! You don’t need to bring them to room temperature; you can bake them straight from the freezer, but will likely need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Mine turn out just the same when baking from the freeze. Enjoy! :)
Has anyone baked these from frozen? I made the dough today but didn’t have time to bake. Sometimes when baking from frozen the dough doesn’t spread (or still spreads too much). Looking for that sweet spot of nice and thick! Others experiences would be appreciated (bake from frozen, thaw, etc)
Also used KAF for the first time with this. Think it will make any difference over store brand AP? I weighed out each ingredient to the gram and followed instructions exactly so hopefully it only helps!
I’ve been making variations of this cookie since it was originally published in Cooks Illustrated. Its the best and friends beg me to make them. A couple of adaptaions. On the 1 cup brown sugar, I use 1/2 light brown sugar and 1/2 dark brown sugar and ALWAYS use Domino brand. Other brands I’ve tried don’t produce a perfect cookie. On the 1.5 cups chocolate chips, I use 1/2 cup Ghiridelli (sp) semi-sweet chips and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (either Nestles or Callubaut). My kids don’t like nuts, but I think this cookie is at its best with with 1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans added along with 1/8 cup loose sweetened coconut and 1/8 t. of ground cinnamon. Making some now to welcome my kids home for the Thanksgiving holiday!
Love these cookies. I wave given this recipe years ago by a church member and is now my signature cookie. :) Love the gooey center, crispy crisp edges. Some things I’ve tried, mixed and matched, when I have the ingredients at hand: Use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar. Use raw sugar in place of white sugar. Add a tsp of cinnamon. Brown 1/2 cup of butter and cool with rest of melted butter. Mix 2/3 any good brand of milk chocolate chips and 1/3 dark 60% cocao chips. Sprinkle a bit of raw sugar on top of cookies before baking. 1 tbsp espresso powder. 1/2 regular salt, 1/2 kosher salt 1/4 tsp cayenne powder, 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Toasted {insert nut} here, 1/2 cup.
While I might have scrambled eggs in the morning or fried egg sandwich, sometimes I don’t want to eat a cookie with egg goo cooked thru-out. I’m going to try some chickpea gooey liquid in a few. Anyone else have any suggestions on a binder? Arrowroot flour? Tapioca flour? Flaxseed I haven’t tried yet.
I made these cookies with no problems for months when I was in the Middle East, but I’m back home in Australia and am having real trouble with them. First, instead of spreading and levelling out, they just puff up and crack on the top. They are not chewy nor are they soft or tasty, but quite hard, crispy and yuck. Help! What do I do? I haven’t changed anything about how I make them!
Thanks Michelle – I think you’re right! Come to think of it, most of my cakes have been failing so I think it’s time to upgrade the oven! Hope you’re doing well with the new addition to the family! Xx
I made these cookies today, and they tasted great but did not look as pretty as yours. I have 2 questions: I had a hard time getting the chocolate chips to mix into the batter. I assume this is because of the melted butter. Is there a trick to that? Also, after baking, the cookies looked more like baseballs (too rounded). When I took them out of the oven I tried to flatten them with the back of a spoon, but they didn’t deflate much at all. Any idea what went wrong with the appearance of the cookies?
Hi Mary-Jane, I don’t have any tricks for mixing the chocolate chips, I just stir them in and try to work them in so they are evenly distributed. Did you do the whole pull-apart and put back together shaping step? They shouldn’t stay in a ball shape, but they do fall as they cool. Is your oven temperature correct? I can’t think of anything else if you didn’t make any ingredient substitutions.
When you rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time, you have to open the oven door. My concern is it might affect of rising the cookies? most of the recipes say rotating the baking sheets top to bottom but i am too scare to do this so I always bake only one sheet which takes more time to finish baking….but if it does not affect the result of baking I would love to open the oven and rotate the pans. Thanks.
I made these cookies Weds and am making them again today! I haven’t had luck with melted butter cookie recipes but yours was PERFECT!! Seriously turned out amazing, not too flat, not greasy, just yummy! Thanks for sharing!
I made these for a BBQ I am hosting tonight. I weighed the ingredients and used 2 oz. of dough for each cookie. The recipe made exactly 18 as stated. They are delicious and I know they will be a big hit!!! it is nice to have a quick and easy recipe that produces a great cookie:) I often bake your ” New favorite thick and chewy chocolate chip” recipe. It is my number one chocolate chip recipe.Thank You for all the great recipes and posts! .
As I was reading through this recipe, it looked very familiar. I realized it is the same recipe I have for big,chewy M&M cookies from America’s Test Kitchen. I use this base quite often and have substituted/added nuts, dried cranberries, white chips, coconut…mixing and matching depending on my mood. The dough holds up so well but I do refrigerate it…as I do just about every cookie dough. I find it intensifies the flavors and I like the finished baked product. Thanks for sharing so others get to enjoy this yummy cookie.
Curious to know if you have used this exact recipe for a cookie cake? The recipe I uses produces a more cake-like cookie, and I prefer one that is more dense and chewy. I’ve thought about melting the butter in my recipe, but thought I’d see if anyone has used this in a cookie cake pan already. Excited to try it either way!
30 years ago at the office, someone brought choc chip cookies that were:
Mounded like a macaroon Crispy-ish but not like you’ll break a tooth (texture inside like a macaroon, actually) White-ish not yellow like all the others with brown sugar.
I lost the recipe.
Thanks for the info about the extra yolk makes them rise and the melted butter makes them soft. I always assumed she used just regular sugar but am at a loss as to how to accomplish the rest!
Perhaps she used self rising flour, even.
I guess I”ll start over with your recipe as a starting point, thanks!
I made these with a few variations: I made the dough a day of ahead of time and chilled overnight. I also added in 3/4c of chopped walnuts. The result: BEST COOKIES EVER!!
I’m so glad you posted this recipe. I was trying to copy and paste it for a friend off of the America’s Test Kitchen website, but couldn’t since you have to pay to join (even though I have the cookbook, which is where I originally found the recipe). Thanks for saving me some typing time.
Have you even frozen the dough after shaping into cookies and then baked straight from the freezer? I’m thinking about making a freezer meal with some cookies for a new mom and was wondering if they would work and if there were any changes to the baking directions.
You say that you always weigh your baking ingredients -yet are your measurements are in cups etc. Why don’t you provide them in grams as well, to make it easier for everyone who is following your own tip? Thanks
I’ve been using this recipe from BEB for a few years now, and just as I come online to get the recipe yet again, decided to comment. These are so good! Best cookie recipe I’ve tried (and I’ve tried quite a number!) over the years. I don’t make them over sized but make mini cookies (we have small children who often have that old problem of ‘the eyes are bigger than the stomach’ ) with the same recipe and they turn out just as amazing that way – just smaller and great for the little hands in our house. Thank you for putting it up, everyone in our house is very appreciative! Not to mention the workmates, relatives and friends who have also enjoyed these cookies (when there are any left over) :)
Anyone who says these don’t turn out well is wrong! Follow the directions! I followed them exactly and they turned out perfectly…just had to bake for about 20-22 minutes instead because they are so big! And if you don’t believe that this recipe is foolproof, know that I’m 16 years old and don’t always follow directions and they still always turn out perfectly! My go -to recipe.
Made these for the first time today – I am not an experienced baker – followed instructions exactly but did chill the dough first and between batches. Cookies turned out great! Big hit with the resident 10-year-old. Thanks for a great recipe.
hit enter before i could finish! i tweaked by reducing sugar by 1/4 cup and added caramel bits and flaked sea salt for salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. my back wasn’t turned before the plate was just crumbs!
I love this recipe. It is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I hate to think about how many of these I’ve gorged on late at night with a big glass of ice cold milk. Today for a change of pace, I whisked a half tablespoon of dark cocoa and two teaspoons of instant espresso powder into the flour mixture. I also folded in a cup of pecan pieces with the chocolate chips. They are incredible. A beautiful mocha brown cookie loaded with texture and absolutely delicious.
I made these last night for my dessert, which were cookie ice cream sandwiches. I’ll start by saying great recipe and flavor/texture. No complaints there at all.
However, the pull apart method works to get the bakery look on top, but it made for a very ‘tall’ ball of dough when you mash them together, since the ball tends to mash upwards. I had to bake them longer than the 18 min mark since they made for tall/thick cookies due to the height of the dough ball and even the edges weren’t setting (which is nerve-racking since you never want to go over the max baking time out of fear of over baking). I figured another method to get the bakery look without the pull-apart/mashing, which just didn’t do it for me. Roll a smooth ball at the desired size. Place the ball in one palm, and use your other hand to ‘ruin’ the top of the ball by scratching and picking at the top surface. I have nails, so could do this easily, but you could probably use a fork to. Ruining the smoothness gets you the scraggly look. Make sure the scraps fall into the dough bowl, so you can scoop it up in your next ball. Worked for me…! great recipe though – got rave reviews.
Hi Michelle – Just wanted to let you know I made these with carob chips and loved them! Totally satisfied my cookie craving. I posted them for Father’s Day! I’d love if you’d check the post out: http://piesandplots.net/carob-chip-cookies-sundaysupper/ :)
After years of making recipes I’ve found online, none has prompted me to leave a comment…until now. No one has to ever search for another CCC recipe again, this one is the end all. A friend made these for my husband and I, we ate them all, she had to make another batch, and then send me with the recipe. On the drive home my husband said he always thought my CCC were the best, but now he realized they were only like a 6 compared to these which are off the charts. I bring them everywhere with unending compliments. Thank you for doing all the hard work so we don’t have to (we just get the compliments). You’re the best!
I have been using this recipe for the last year, I bake these 2-3 times a month, my fiancé is a carpenter and on Fridays I like to send him with a treat for all the other guys, however HE is a hard one to please when if comes to baked goods. His mother was a goddess in the kitchen, trained in Paris, and I have been left to “fill her shoes” in the baked goods department. My fiancé also completed pastry school, so he knows his cookies. What I am trying to get to is this freaking recipe saved me. Actually all the recipes on this page have. He eats what I cook now! And raves about it! Your recipes have actually given me the confidence to cook in the kitchen! and try new things (I used to be the girl who set cakes in fire and only was allowed in the kitchen if it was to microwave soup) anyway, these are the best chocolate cookies you’ll ever make and I am so appreciative for this site!
I just made these a couple days ago and I love them!! I am extremely picky about cookie texture (I almost never eat store bought cookies, even oreos)! I hate crunchy cookies, as a result I bake all them time because I much prefer the soft and chewy texture of homemade cookies – plus that way I can make them exactly the way I like them. This recipe is perfect! Definitely my go-to for chocolate chip cookies now. My family definitely loves them too, they were gone in nearly one day! I may make a double batch next time. ;)
Oooh, I have really wanted a recipe for these kind of cookies, I love the cookies that are nice and soft and kind of undercooked in a way. But I’m trying to find a recipe like this for a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips. Is there any way I can modify this recipe to have that, (like, changing the chocolate chips to white, I know, but adding cocoa powder or replacing something with cocoa powder?)
Hi I’m just about to make this I don’t have baking paper liner nor non stick spray can I use silver foil instead. I hope I can get a quick reply. Thanks
Hi Nadia, The cookies will stick to the foil. Definitely use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I don’t recommend using non-stick cooking spray, as it can add extra grease and cause the cookies to spread flat.
They are delicious! I put slightly too much butter in (about 10% too much) and used almost all dark brown sugar and a half teaspoon more of the vanilla and I got some interesting results. They were chewy in the middle and the edges had a bit of a nice crunch yet without being burned. Brown eyed baker’s recipe is excellent and this was just a variation on it. I really enjoy the comments with everyone sharing too. I recommend some Almond Breeze 80 cal milk to go with these thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies. Yum!
My daughter is wanting a bar or round pan cookie similar to those that can be purchased at American Cookie Co… My question is, can I use this recipe for that instead of doing individual cookies? Thank you for your help.
Hi Mindy, Unfortunately, these cookies will not come out the same if you use either of those products. If you absolutely must use either one, use the margarine, definitely not the oil. I can’t guarantee how they will turn out, though.
My daughter and I made these last night. We didn’t turn them and they still turned out with the right texture and thickness. Maybe she didn’t “pack” her brown sugar well enough, because we both thought they didn’t taste as sweet as they were supposed to. We alternated using two cookie sheets so it had time to cool. Only baked one sheet at a time, so we put the dough in the fridge while waiting for the first batch to cook. Probably shouldn’t have done that, because that made the dough crumbly and harder to split and mush together. I’m sure we will try another batch though. Thanks for sharing the recipe! :-)
I love your recipes!!! I made the rum cake twice. Everyone loved it!!! I made cupcakes with the extra batter. Anyway my question is can I make the cookies smaller and they have the same texture?
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tried to scale them down, so I can’t say for sure if they would have the same texture, but if you try it, be sure to reduce the baking time. Good luck!
I know this post is years old at this point, but I have to compliment you. This is my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies now. I obsessively measure each ingredient as per your directions, and I do the pull apart method. By weighing each ball of dough, they come out perfect EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I brought some in to work and was accused of purchasing them. A million times thank you!
Ok… couldn’t resist this recipe so preheated the oven and moved my laptop into the kitchen. Had all ingredients handy and made a double-batch. Bottom Line: Cookies came out “perfect” — according to my wife, who is the ‘expert.’ Here’s what I changed: 1. Used 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, and 1/3 cup white sugar. 2. I used “banana crunch granola” Planters peanut butter. 3. I doubled the vanilla amount, using pure “Mexican vanilla.” 4. I used salted butter, so lowered salt amount to 1/4tsp per batch. 5. I used “quick oats.” 6. I used a 12-oz bag of semi-sweet morsels for the double-batch… I did not measure. Results: Outstanding! I started checking at 10 minutes… 18 minutes was enough time. Letting the cookies finish cooking/cooling on the cookie sheets was easy… the cookies came right off the parchment paper and did not burn whatsoever. Using the banana-flavored peanut butter was on a whim… but it turned out great! The essence is there, and the peanut butter (Planter’s) package said the banana flavor is just banana chips and sugar. All other ingredients were properly proportioned. The cookies did not fall apart when cooled, which was great!
Me again… several other things I did different, now that I slept on it: 1. I only used one egg per batch. (I omitted the extra egg yolk inadvertently). This happened because I had the two eggs out… then later decided to double my batch, and forgot to get more eggs out. Still turned out great 2. I softened the butter (in the microwave) in lieu of melting. 3. I only used 1/2 cup (one stick) of salted butter per batch. 4. I added the eggs with the sugar and butter, then added peanut butter, then flour mixture, then oatmeal, using a mixer. Then I folded the chocolate chips into the (quite thick by now) cookie dough. 5. I used an ice-cream scoop (the kind you would see at an ice-cream parlor) to ‘guestimate’ a scant-1/4 cup. My first 8 cookies were quite thick, and a bit larger than the rest… I found it easier to adjust the size of my dough using an ice-cream scoop vs. a measuring cup, being 100 times easier just to ‘roll the dough’ onto your hand to finish the dough ball and split in half. 6. Regarding shaping the cookies: When you go to “jam your dough back together” you might find yourself with something more like a blob that might leave you scratching your head. I found that after you split your dough ball in half, if you (sort-of) “roll your hands back on themselves,” with the jagged edge of the cookie dough facing up, you will get a very nice dough ball with a jagged top. What I mean by rolling your hands back onto themselves… you are holding the dough balls in your hands, after splitting, and then with a singular, rotating motion, bring your knuckles together (more or less). I found that using this motion to put together/finish off my dough balls resulted in a more consistent jagged-top cookie.
Perhaps I have made enough changes to this recipe to call it my own. Good luck with your cookies and feel free to reply to this thread with your comments, both good and bad. Cheers!
Me again. Well, I just figured out why my recipe was so “different” than this one… I had two recipes on two different windows/tabs, and I guess I was going back and forth between two different recipes without even realizing it! So I guess I will re-write this recipe and perhaps publish it on my daughter’s blog-sight or something like that. Lastly… try baking at 350 degrees Fahr. (175 degrees Celc.) instead of 325 degrees… just keep an eye of the edges of the cookies. If they start turning brown (don’t worry, the centers/tops will still be soft, even if you overcook them a bit), they are done and will finish cooking on the cookie sheets.
NOT thick and chewy. I divided my dough into three batches. The first were really thin and 15 minutes was way too long. Thin and crispy cookies? No thanks. The second batch I baked shorter but were still really thin. The last batch I put in the fridge over night hoping that would help, but it actually seemed to make them worse. Not sure if I did something wrong but I don’t know if I will try them again.
I gotta say that these came out perfectly for me—I baked them for exactly 17 minutes in my oven and rotated them as in directions. They are puffy and chewy and really are not overly sweet (to me, anyway.). I hope they retain the chewiness in my tupperware container. By the way, do they turn out just as well if you freeze them or freeze the dough? I would like to make another batch and freeze the dough for Christmas baking so if any of you posters have done this, please share your thoughts. It is a great recipe and I love the fact you omit creaming the butter and sugars—takes so much time. Oh! Did want to say that I prefer using Ghiradelli chocolate over the other brand —it really is a better chocolate and you will taste the difference.
Made these once before and they came out perfect. Changed it up a bit tonight by using 1 cup of semisweet chunks and 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips. Then I took 1 cup of kettle cooked potato chips and 1 cup of thin sour dough pretzels and crushed them and added to the dough. Awesome sweet and salty combination!
I was pretty disappointed with these cookies. They turned out flat and crispy, definitely not fluffy and chewy. The whole house smelled of butter instead of baking cookies.
I just finished baking these and they are incredible! The best chocolate chip cookie ever! It even made my brother stop being angry at me and tell me it was the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made. Sticking to this one now!:))
I made these and they were perfect! Ive tried so many chocolate chip cookie recipes only to end up disappointed. I cant recommend that others try these – the melted butter and extra yolk make such a difference :)
After lots of searching, compiling and comparing recipes for the best thick n chewy CCC, I made these tonight with a lil tweaking. Definitely the best looking/ tasting I have ever made! Only changes were: Used bleached flour because I already had. Used 1stick of melted butter and 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of melted butter flavored Crisco. Used 3/4 tsp of baking soda instead of 1/2. After wet ingredients were all mixed (according to directions) I stirred in 2 cups of chocolate chunks by hand with spoon, then added the dry ingredients in 3 increments, stirring (also by spoon) after each addition. Stopped stirring as soon as flour was no longer visible. Put scooped dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet, then chilled 30min in fridge, then right into oven. Baked on convection @ 325 for 4 min, then reduced heat to 300 for 11 min. These cookies were thicker than the ones pictured. Made 16 cookies (probably would have made 17 or 18 but some of the dough disappeared!
Hi there, I apologize if someone else has asked this already but have you ever made this cookie with oatmeal? I would love to try it but get a little “squimish” about experiments. I have an oatmeal cookie recipe that calls for craisins and white chocolate chips and I would like to adapt this recipe to make them thick and chewy and AWESOME!!!!
This recipe does call for all-purpose flour; about the kisses – I think they would melt too much; chips tend to hold their shape in cookies a little better.
O.EM.GEE! These have answered my chocolate chip cookie prayers! I have searched for YEARS for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe…I didn’t think I was ever going to find it. Until now! Thank you SO much! :)
I’m baking these right now….had my two littles helping me, so it was more hectic than if I were baking by myself, (but more fun), and dangit…I didn’t melt the butter. I just softened it. Hope the end result is still good. :) I love your recipes!
These cookies are A-MAZING! Very thick and oh so chewy!! I have made so many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies but this one is my new favorite. I made them twice, the first time they were flat but I discovered it was because I beat/mixed my batter too much! I also used a scale to weigh my ingredients the second time and that also made a huge difference! I made sure my butter was close to room temp before adding to the sugar and then creamed together on a medium/low speed (level 3 on my KitchenAid mixer) for about 2 minutes, just until smooth. I whisked the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla together in a separate cup and then slowly incorporated with my mixer on low until mixed, about 30 seconds. Then I added the flour mixture a little at a time on low just until incorporated and lastly, hand mixed the chocolate chips into the batter. 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips were the perfect amount for my taste! I put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, scooped out 2.1oz size balls and cooked for 15 minutes on parchment paper. However I only baked 1 sheet at a time in the center rack, 6 cookies per sheet. I did not rotate while cooking….they still came out perfectly. THANK YOU for this great recipe!! :)
These cookies tured out perfect! My husband, the Cookie Monster said these are his favourites. They turned out fluffy, soft and chewy. Bravo for this recipe.
After hours of searching on the internet for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, I stumbled across this one that was actually from a link placed on another website that asked how to make The Perfect Cookie. I Made this Recipe exactly as it says without any tweaks or substitutes. They came out PERFECT! THEY WERE THE BEST COOKIES I’ve EVER MADE! Noone at work believed me that I actually made them from scratch. They truely are as good if not better than the cookies you buy at one of those gourmet bakeries. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! ♡
I saw a comment by a Bekah if I believe and she kind of outlined what she did in this recipe and how she made it work for her and I thought it was a good idea! So I will do the same :D.
I have baked these cookies a handful of times and (not counting the first time) they have ALWAYS turned out great :D. Yesterday when I made them I discovered I didn’t have any salt (who runs out of salt!?) and I crossed my fingers hoping it would turn out okay but it did :D. So for anyone out there who for whatever reason doesn’t have any salt, the world is NOT going to end ~.~.
I do pretty much exactly what the recipe tells me to do. Initially I add in the whole egg with an additional egg yolk. But I am super anal about over beating or mixing so after that step I take out my hand mixer and carefully whisk in the flour mixture. Oh and also, when you melt the butter, be sure that you sit in the fridge for a good minute. You don’t want to add in the chocolate chips in when the dough is really hot from the melted butter because then the chips melt lol. This hasn’t happened to me, but my dad was making a healthier version of cookies and he didn’t cool the coconut oil before adding everything else in and that happened to him. I should add that the recipe he made still turned out great! (except for some reason the next day the natural sweetener he used was completely over bearing to taste). This is just a cautionary statement :).
I believe when I made these cookies the first time I just added the the egg plus one yolk. But for some reason those cookies….were a bit off. When I tasted the dough before putting them in the oven it tasted really grainy to me. My mother reported the same thing to me. They were still thick and chewy and tasted amazing but there was that minimal difference. So what I do to prevent that from happening is that after I whisk in the dry ingredients if I taste it and its a liiiiiiiitle too grainy for me I add in a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle bit more egg white. Just a tad! And for some reason, wallah, the dough is just perfect for me lol. I then with my freshly washed hands (don’t forget underneath the nails!) work the chocolate chips in with my hand. Using the whisk for that is just annoying to me because the chips get stuck in between the wires. But that’s my preference.
Recently I have had the amazingly bright idea to sit my dough in the freezer so it can harden. I have found that after all of the ingredients are blended in if I put them in the oven they will flatten out very easy. Still good! But flat. So I roll the dough in some plastic wrap and throw it in the freezer. Then I just take out fairly big chunks with a tablespoon. I tried the method outlined in that picture once but I find that my rough chunks that I spoon out give me the same results :). I don’t really want to roll the dough balls because I don’t want them to be perfect looking.
Finally, I take them out and set them on a wire rack once I see the BOTTOM of the outer edges are brown and crispy but the sides of the edges aren’t brown but to the touch they are firm and puffy at the same time. They aren’t hard. I feel it is important to let them cool down on the wire rack because as the pan cools over time it is continuing the slow process of baking the cookies even further in the middle just enough so they are really thick and chewy and just….just…just heavenly.
These cookies generally don’t last a day. I eat a few straight out of the oven because they are amazing that way. But you can store them in a container or do like I do and put them all on one plate and wrap it in plastic wrap lol. I put them in the fridge because my parents just…always seem to put them in the fridge but I just pop them in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds so they get all gooey and warm again. Tastes amazing. Thank you Michelle for giving us this recipe! Sorry this was a long post but I figured someone could benefit from what I did :).
Lol, I made these but forgot the half cup of white sugar! I didn’t realize it until I reread the recipe after they were baked. No wonder hubby wasn’t so trilled about them. I thought I had over baked them because they were browner than usual. Since they have less sugar, I decided to try half a cookie. They taste okay and are a little cake like. Ah well. The batter was amazing though, lol. I will have to try the recipe correctly another day. Thanks for sharing!
I just made these cookies tonight and they are freaking amazing. By far the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. I have no idea why so many people had problems with this recipe. I followed the instructions pretty much to a T and they turned out perfect. Thank you!
I had stopped making chocolate chip cookies altogether because all my attempts resulted in flat, ugly looking cookies. I tried your recipe reluctantly…and was so pleasantly surprised!! These cookies were absolutely perfect-they looked like the pictures of cookies that I see in cookbooks but could never make myself. And they taste delicious! This will now be my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe twice in about one week and they were amazing! The first time, I waited too long to remove them from the oven and they spread a bit, but were still tasty. But the second time, I removed them sooner and made sure my butter had cooled entirely and they were so delicious. They looked and tasted just like a bakery cookie. I got a lot of compliments. I will definitely make them again, but when I have time I’m trying the infamous NY Times recipe.
These cookies are simply the best. I’ve now made them twice now. As a matter of fact, my second batch is in the oven right this moment. Every lady should have a perfect cookie recipe to make for her little ones someday, and I’ve just found mine! These cookies are everything your recipe promises– they are soft, chewy, delicious, and a visual delight! You, my dear lady, are a wonder. I’ve already passed this recipe on twice. Well done!
Well…. Tried this recipe today. I reduced the butter by 1/4. Then used 2 tbsp shortening along with the remainder of the (unsalted) butter. Convection oven at 325 degrees. Cookies were sensational! Fine easy recipe! Thanks!
These were fantastic! However, when i followed the recipe exactly, they were super flat. I had to add more flour to turn the batter into a thicker batter. You know you have added enough flour if you can pick up a chunk of cookie dough with two fingers and not have the batter slide back into the bowl from your fingers. These cookies were probably the chewiest I have ever had and were as thick as the picture! I omitted step 4 because 1/4 cup of cookie dough per cookie would make a small dinner plate sized cookie. I just did about 1 1/2 tablespoon of batter per cookie and they were a little larger than the palm of my hand. I also didn’t understand half of step 4. haha I also did not worry about moving the cookie sheets around in the oven. I just let them be on a middle rack. I hope this helps!
I made these cookies a few weeks ago and they were delicious! I followed the directions “to a T” but found that while my cookies were chewy (I like them that way…) they were not “thick”. My cookies did spread a bit.
Any helpful hints? What did I do wrong? Thank you, Brown-eyed Baker… you are a cookie angel!
Hi Lisa, Make sure you allow the butter to cool down to room temperature before using it. Also, I recommend parchment or a silicone baking mat versus greasing the pan. Good luck!
I measured flour in cups and when the dough was ready I saw that I have to add more flour otherwise they would become thin. next time I will weight the flour. The only thing I did differently I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. In my oven I had to bake them for 25 minute and they still stayed very light in color almost pale. May be it because I use less sugar, but usually I cut sugar in American recipes for cookie in half and they are sweet enough. I shaped them with ice cream scoop, received 20 big cookies.
I guess my search for the best chocolate cookie recipe stops here at your blog. Thank you so much for sharing especially on how to shape the cookies and produce the jagged edges.. Love it and it is a Must! :)
I really like how the people who comment here acknowledge that they may have done something wrong during the baking process when their cookies turn out bad or environmental factors may have played a part, and they are going to try again. I was searching for chocolate chip cookie recipes on Allrecipes and some of the comments on the recipes said how the cookies were disgusting, awful, was nothing like what the author stated, they were never going to make them again, etc. They’re saying it’s the recipes’ fault for their bad cookies when they may have done something wrong. As stated here in the comments, there are a number of factors that could cause bad cookies: faulty oven temperature, not using baking paper, not cooling the butter enough, over mixing the dough, etc.
thanks so much for this recipe. the cookies came out perfectly, thick and chewy. my family gives it a “double thumbs up”! Normally my cookies are hard and crispy, which every one in my family does NOT enjoy. You made me a winner this batch! YAY!!
I love love love this recipe!! People rave for these cookies, though I do make some modifications. I only use brown sugar anywhere from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup, and that’s it.. no more sugar. Also I use whole wheat flour and only 2 cups, without those 2 extra tbsp, though I’ve made them with white flour and still I only use 2 cups.
Ok I just made these and followed direction. The flavor is fantastic. Beautiful and thick when right out of oven BUT then after cooling on cookie sheets they are FLAT! I didnt over mix when adding dry ingredients to wet. What went wrong? This is a recipe I would like to make again but only if they turn out thick and chewy. HELP!
A couple of things could have happened – the butter could have been too warm… also, did you use parchment paper or did you grease a cookie sheet? Greasing cookie sheet usually imparts way too much fat that can get soaked up into cookies, resulting in flat cookies that spread.
OMG these were amazing… I used white chocolate chips (preference thing) and wow. Sidenote: I have never in my life made cookies, period. This was my first hoorah and it was far better than I could have imagined. Thank you!
Just made these and they are delicious! I added walnuts and just rolled them into balls, the size the recipe suggested. BUT I don’t think they taste that different from my usual recipe, which is the NESTLE tollhouse recipe. In a taste test, I don’t think many would be able to tell the difference. My recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag comes out just as chewy as these too, they’re just smaller.
This is almost identical to the cookie recipe I’ve come up with over my years of tweaking. I’ve always used 1 cup of butter and think they turn out a little greasy (I’m the only one who thinks this). I’m going to cut my recipe back by 1/2 stick and see how it goes. Thanks!
Great recipe!!! I just made these and they are going in my favorites… Turned out perfect… I used measuring cups/spoons not weights… Followed instructions, only had salted butter and didn’t pull them apart… Just rolled into balls about the size of a golf ball, still looked like bakery cookies… Little tip::: I didn’t over mix and folded chocolate chips with my hands… Baked at 325 for 15 mins, no more, no less… Thanx, Luey…
I left the mixer going, tossed the chocolate chips in there and then proceeded to go check on the kids, forgot about it for a good 5 minutes, so it was way over mixed, but still turned out perfect. Only difference was the roughed up tops didn’t stay as obvious after baking, but that 15 minute suggestion was spot on with how long I did mine and they were amazing.
QUESTION! I made these last night and the dough was so crumbly I couldn’t make cookies. It reminded me of moon sand. I am at 8500 feet altitude and I’m guessing that maybe I need more egg? I tried to salvage the dough and make blondies out of them but with all the butter the outside cooked and the inside stayed doughy. Any suggestions would be great because I think these could be my new favorite! Thanks!
Yikes, it definitely sounds like it may be an altitude issue, as most times these cookies lean towards the other end of the spectrum – the batter being a little too much on the soft side. I have never baked at high altitude; I know there are a lot of guides and suggestions out there that you could consult. If you have any standby alterations that you make to recipes, you could try that too.
These can be shaped into balls and frozen. When you want one (or 7), pull out the desired amount, place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 300, turning half way through the baking time.
Love this recipe but I was wondering if there’s a way to make it with whole wheat flour. It’s currently all I have in my cupboard but my first attempt left the cookie dough dry and crumbly. :c
Hi Josie, I normally don’t recommend using whole wheat flour unless a recipe has been specifically formulated for it. If you’ve already tried it and found the dough to be dry and crumbly, my guess is that it’s not going to work. Usually, you can only substitute up to 1/2 whole wheat for all-purpose flour and still hope to have decent results.
Oh well thanks anyway. I was actually able to make it work my second time around but, I’m still going to play around with it. I think the only reason it came out dry and crumbly the first time was because I had followed the recipe the whole way through. Unfortunately that doesn’t work well without making changes. So I will continue to make changes until I run out of flour. c: Thanks for this great recipe and your feedback. :D
Awesome recipe, I have tried too many CC cookie recipes with average results. I am a huge fan of large chewy cookies, and these turned out amazing! Thanks for the post! Keep up the good work. Do you have a place to submit pictures? I like seeing hows others turned out so I’m sure others may too!
I too have been on the hunt for a new “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe. I found a few that I liked “ok” that claimed to be the BEST, but always found them lacking something… I tried this recipe for the first time this week and they were amazing. My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I took them to work with me and my team loved them as well. I am making them again as we speak. I thought the recipe was super easy to make. But a couple of notes from my end, I don’t have a kitchen scale, so I just measured as always. When I tried to do the ball rolling, split apart method, I found the dough was way to sticky for that (refrigerating for a bit probably would have helped). I ended up with cookie dough stuck pretty well all over my hands. I am not complaining… can’t say that I mind licking delicious cookie dough off of my hands. So instead of the pull apart method, I just used tablespoons and made big spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. They still came out looking like the picture. Nice and crackly. The final note from my side is that I cooked the batch first for 8 minutes, then rotated. But then instead of 8 minutes on the final part, I watched the cookies like a hawk. I think it ended up being more like 5-6 minutes. Cooled as directed and they were perfection. Gone in 24 hours. Thanks again.
A couple other notes on my process with these cookies since I have made the recipe no less than 20 times now… (yes I have a problem with chocolate chip cookies). :D I use sea salt instead of iodized and love this because every now and then you get a little chunk of salt that make such a nice balance with the sweet of the cookie. If you like “salted caramel anything” this is the way to go. Also I only use really good butter. This makes a big difference. I don’t usually cool the butter all the way down. I like how the warm butter caramelizes the sugars… Plus I don’t like to have to wait. The only other thing I should say is that these cookies truly are THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE. And I have been hunting for a long time. Everyone I make them for tells me I should be selling them on the street and can’t stop eating them. So thanks again for the recipe. Changed my life forever. :D I won’t be making another chocolate chip cookie again, and I know this recipe will be passed along for generations in my family.
Found same recipe via America’s Test Kitchen. I was hopeful. Gooey and yummy out of the oven last night but even though in airtight container…hard as rocks today.
Made these cookies a couple of weeks ago and they are excellent! I had a few mishaps however. I found the dough to be a bit dry, then my DD accidentally added another 3/4 bag of chocolate chips making them super duper chocolaty. I then baked them a bit to long so they ended up more crispy but I found that they didn’t really spread out at all and I still had more mounds than flat cookies. We still ate them and sent some over to DD friends houses. Tonight I am making them with coconut oil (12 TBS is ALOT!), shredded coconut in place of the chocolate chips and the 1/4 bag of chips we have left over. Hopefully they will turn out well, they are in the oven now!
I finally made these cookies after months of bookmarking the recipe!!! I followed the recipe to a T , but I did not have a Full cup of light brown sugar so I topped it off with dark brown sugar. The melted butter was cooled to Warm as stated. I do not have luck with parchment paper , it burns it our oven so I used the cookies sheets that my mom has used for DECADES, so the non stick is no longer. The cookies were soft in middle at first after cooling but hours after being in air tight container they were crisp all way thru. What did I do wrong? Some comments state that the butter is to be COOL . Which is correct.. warm or cool completely? The cookies were soft in middle when taken out of oven..How soft should they be at this point?? To make sure of not over baking them?? Still YUMMY!!
On the brown sugar bit…I don’t keep brown sugar in my house simply because I don’t use it very often and I hate the rock of a disaster it becomes after a while so I make my own brown sugar when I need it. I just mix the amount of white sugar called for with some molasses mixing it until there are no more molasses lumps…seems to work out fine for me. So if you have molasses and no brown sugar there is an option for you.
Hi Gail, I usually melt the butter before I do anything else, and then go about getting all of the other ingredients ready, prepped, etc. By then the butter is usually about room temperature, which seems to work well. When you take the cookies out of the oven the cookies shouldn’t even be baked the whole way through in the middle – they should be lightly brown and set around the edges, but still very pale and puffy in the middle. If you were to put your finger on the middle, it would just be goo. However, the residual heat from the baking sheets helps to finish baking the cookies as they set up.
These were AWESOME!! I have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but didn’t have all of the ingredients to make it…I searched and found this recipe. I have a new favorite <3
These are sooooo good! My husband, friends, neighbors beg me to make them:) also, if you are looking for a thick cookie, using baking powder instead of baking soda and cook them a bit longer than the recipe says. I did that on accident and they came out thick and so yummy! I still prefer the original recipe though;)
Quick question. I have made these before and they are my all time FAVORITE cookie; however, I have lost the recipe. When I finally found it again, or at least what I thought was the original recipe, on the ATK Feed their measurements for flour are 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 2/3 ounces) and your recipe calls for 10 5/8 ounces. The recipe at http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipes/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/ looks like the original one; however, they do not pull the cookies apart in this one and to me that is what makes the cookie! Any feedback would be helpful as I am making several batches of these cookies for friends and family for Christmas and want to make certain I get it right because I weigh all of my ingredients and know that it can make a huge difference if it is off. I really LOVE your blog!!!!
Got lucky to have the cookies turn out great on the first try! Highly recommended, the instructions were very easy to follow- especially for an amateur baker like me :) So proud of my cookies. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I have made these several times and they are always delicious. So yesterday I made them with white chocolate chips, walnuts and chocolate chunks. I do not think I have ever ate a better cookie! The teachers at my school loved them too. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I have shared it many times along with the website.
Ok second go around with the recipe. Got demands from work to make more! This time I used the correct flour and the dough looked right this time. First batch out of oven…we will see if they retain their chewy texture after fully cooling…wish me luck!
Oh and I forgot to mention that my chocolate chips kept falling to the bottom of the mixing bowl and not really sticking in the dough…what did I do wrong?
Hi Jen, By adding flour, too much may have been absorbed by the cookies, which could have made them hard. These cookies usually stay soft and chewy for days (up to a week) before they get a little stale. I always recommend using parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, to ensure that there are no extra ingredients being absorbed by the baked goods.
Not sure what you mean by adding flour….do you mean maybe I added too much? I want to try these again bc even tho they were hard everyone loved loved loved them!!
Hi! Tried the recipe today and they looked perfect. They we soft and chewy right out of the oven after cooling for a minute. But one I put them on the plate and they were out for fifteen minutes or so they were hard and crispy and not chewy. I used baking spray with flour on the baking sheets. Any suggestions as to why they turned hard? Thanks!
hi, i tried making them, but the dough was buttery, is that the way its supposed to be? and i noticed that when i use a parchment paper it seems a little oily on the bottom. that’s the only “problem” i seem to have, and my melted butter was actually at room temperature already. do you think it has to do with humidity? I live in a tropical country :) Other than those two things, I think these are the bomb!
Hi Nina, While the dough is a little buttery, there shouldn’t be any oil left on the parchment paper. I’m not sure what you mean that the melted butter was already at room temperature? What you want to do is melt the butter, then let it sit until it cools back down to room temperature.
I have been searching for the perfect chewy choc. chip cookie. My family is very picky about their cookies. I made “cookie A” this morning and they were perfect! A huge hit. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hi Katherine, Creaming the butter and sugar results in a little bit more of a lighter, crisper cookie. Mixing it as the recipe describes is part of what gives it that thicker, gooey texture.
Made these today. They are amazing! Trying to talk myself out of eating ALL of them. So chewy and awesome!
And to all the people who are getting thin batter, I think I have solved your problem. When you mix the melted butter and sugars together you need to mix it for a couple of good minutes. When you mix it more it thickens a bit and starts to get a lighter, creamy look. After that just add all the rest of your ingredients as you would and they should turn out fine :)
These were awful. I followed the recipe exactly and they tasted like butter. Even the consistency of the cookies were awful. No I did not overcook them. I’m very upset with how much of my baking stuff I wasted making these. I will not use this recipe again.
I’ve tried it last night with my som and it was so tasty but a bit hard which I think that eather the temperature was a bit high or it was cooked too long.. I kept it for 18 min with switching up to pottom but want to know the temp to use for next time…. Thank you so much as I’ve searched for such recipes long ago…<3
Did I pay attention to let the melted butter cool? Nope. But it wasn’t scorching hot either. I just used a standard 1/4 c. ice cream scoop. Why didn’t I pull apart and re-squish them?? Too lazy I guess. They still came out absolutley perfect. I won’t make another chocolate chip cookie other than this one.
I would not recommend adding oatmeal, as it will definitely affect the texture of the cookie. I do have some oatmeal cookie recipes that you can add chocolate chips to; I would recommend going that route.
Update: The cookies looked perfect right out of the oven, but as they cooled, they started to deflate. Am I baking too long, or not enough? I baked them for 15 minutes. Please help! They still have an awesome flavor, but I really like a THICK cookie. Thank you!
I have tried another similar variation of this recipe & they did not turn out. This one, on the other hand, turned out perfect! I done everything you stated to do, except weighing the ingredients, as I don’t own a scale & wow, I’m so pleased with the results. Thank you so much!
This recipe is awesome! Like everyone else, I’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. The brown sugar to sugar ratio is key here (2:1). I did not refrigerate the cookie dough as others did and they came out perfect. I cut the recipe in half because we didn’t need all of those cookies. ; )
Took me about a dozen tries before I got these cookies soft and gooey yet quite crisp. The texture was retained finally after it has cooled. My son enjoyed rolling the cookie dough into balls as much as eating them after they were done. Great recipe.
I think this is the first recipe on your site that I’ve tried & don’t like. Just finished making your dark chocolate cupcakes w/ the cream cheese icing from your red velvet cupcake recipe and these turned out wonderfully! The cookies on the other hand were thin, crispy on the outside and too soft on the inside, and way way too sugarery!! I made them exactly as the recipe dictated, even put them in the fridge so I could form the balls better, as well as tried extra baking soda in one of the batches…but they end up so thin each time that they fall apart when I pull them off the baking sheet. After 4 tries, the remainder batter is in the fridge… Any suggestions for really thickening these up? Thanks!
I just made these for my daughter’s volunteer school project. I normally make sugar free cookies, because I personally can’t have too much sugar. But she informed me that I couldn’t get “healthy” on these because they asked for regular chocolate chip cookies. So I came across your recipe on Pinterest and gave them a go. I followed your instructions to a T, even weighing everything, and I have to say, these are the best freakin cookies I have ever made/ate!! Yes, I did eat a 1/4 of one. I want more, but I know it’ll make me sick, so I am refraining. I wanted to try to make them sugar free, but with the precise measurements I was afraid of the conversion ratio. Would you perhaps have any suggests?
Hi Dora, I’m glad the cookies were a hit! I generally don’t do sugar-free baking so I’m not sure how you could eliminate the sugar in these and still get the same flavor/texture. You could try using Splenda as a substitute… I haven’t tried it, but if you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
THE MOST delicious chocolate chip cookie ever…hands down!! Thank you for the recipe. They turned out perfect. I can’t wait to try making them with chopped up Reese’s PB cups instead of the chips! These will be the hit of the bake sale for sure :)
I tried this recipe. It was good but the dough was super buttery. I noticed its the same as the white chocolate macadamia recipe, except this one has twice the butter! Is that a mistake?
BTW, the white chocolate macadamia recipe is TO DIE FOR! I pinned both of these recipes on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing! Love your blog!
Hi Emily, Not a mistake! Make sure to let the melted butter cool completely before proceeding with the recipe. It can make a big difference in the final outcome!
I made these 3 days ago and it will definitely be my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and they baked up perfect and are STILL soft today (3 days later!!!). I did notice that they work best if you make them pretty big. The smaller ones seemed to spread and flattned a bit more. Absolutely fabulous!
I’ve been using your recipe for over a year using softened butter & had not noticed my mistake! I often thought, your recipe was chewier than all the other CCC recipes I’ve tried so it became my fav CCC recipe, though I felt it was lacking in the chewiness I was looking for. Today, I had someone to copy down the recipe for me from your site & I noticed “melted” after the word butter, I’ve never made cookies with melted butter before, so I checked your site myself to confirm it was copied right. I made it with the correct instructions today & got abit worried when dough turned out wetter than the avg cookie dough but the end results it was superb! Definitely was waaaayyyyy better than with softened butter. The chewiness I was looking for! :D & it’s so easy to make too, I don’t even use my mixer, I just use a whisk! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. It would be great if you could come up with different variations of your amazing CCC.
Amazing.. easy to follow recipe.. cookies turned out thick,crunchy on the outside .. chewy and cake like on the inside. Added both white and milk choc chips.
WOW – paroxysms and mega-backflips!! These are rock-your-world splendiferous. Seriously, impossible to come up with the appropriate superlatives to describe these cookies. Tender, yet chewy. Resistant, yet yielding, melt-in-your-mouth loveliness. Butter ramps up the delightfulness. A taste of the dough left me skeptical, as it had megawatt sweetness. I was concerned. But the angst was unnecessary. Once baked, they’re perfectly sweetened. Leave it to the folks at Cooks Illustrated to find the ne-plus-ultra, holy grail of chocolate chip cookies.
Hi Rosie, A couple of things could have happened… It’s important to make sure that the melted butter has completely cooled before proceeding with the recipe; if it’s too warm, the cookies will spread. Also, it’s best to line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; if you greased the sheet with butter, shortening or spray, that could have contributed to the cookies spreading and tasting greasy. Finally, if your oven temperature is off, it could definitely affect the final outcome of the cookies. I always recommend getting an oven thermometer (they’re less than $10) to make sure the temperature is accurate.
I finally baked this recipe, and they are A M A Z I N G ! ! ! Even though I had run out of my “good” vanilla, and even though I used off-brand chocolate chips, they are absolutely delicious. FYI, I chose to use dark brown sugar for the added “deep” flavor it would impart, and I roasted and caramelized sugar on a handful of pecans, which must have increased the yummy factor exponentially. According to my 26-year-old son, they shouldn’t be legal : ).
Thank you for this recipe! It is absolutely wonderful, and I was glad for the weight measurements since I recently got myself a digital scale and I wanted to try it out. Although I have to say this cookie is a tad “too” sweet for some people (me included), but I did use dark brown sugar, so I don’t know if that affected it, I’ll just have to omit the white sugar next time.
I was able to yield about 40 cookies from these using a tablespoon of dough.
Wow, I’ve just tried this recipe and the cookies came out great! I think this is probably the first time I’ve succeeded with a cookies recipe, haha, so thanks a lot!
Hi Isabela, If you are having the same result with different types of recipes, you might want to check into getting an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature is correct. That could definitely be the issue. If they are dry, it could also be an issue with overmixing the batter.
I was so excited to try this recipe! I was so disappointed when it came time to shape them, then split and rotate 90 degrees. My dough was too sticky and runny. But I STILL tried to do it because it sounded so ‘professional chef-like’, ya know! lol. Obviously, that didn’t work seeing as the consistency was so off. I tried adding a little bit more flour and sugar. I saw that many people warned about over-mixing and I’m assuming I had done that! Adding the flour and sugar really had no effect. lol. BUT, they did come out of the oven deliciously. In fact, they were a LOT like the chewy chips ahoy cookies, which I love! So yay for that! lol. 2 days later, I’ve just finished the last of the cookies and it still tasted delicious. I definitely intend to try this recipe again without using my mixer! I’m going to stir by hand this time and HOPEFULLY I won’t over-mix and it will turn out just right! Either way, it’s my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve found thus far! Thank you sooo much! ^_^
These were FANTASTIC!!!!! We didn’t have unsalted butter so we just used salted. We also used 2 cups of Chocolate chips. And used a largish cookie scoop to make the balls. These really were the very best cookies we’ve ever made. We were very careful not to over mix. I think if anyone has problems with this recipe that that may be the problem. Can’t wait to make these again. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I am impressed with this recipe and I don’t think I’ll ever roll another chocolate chip cookie again. I love how they look with that pull apart method. So glad I found your site! Thanks!
I love this recipe! Whenever I have a craving for cookies this is my go too. Every time I make them they get better and they look so gourmet. I prefer using dark chocolate chips and I have even chopped up the chocolate truffles from Costco and made a chocolate chunk version. <3
AMAZING COOKIES! sooo easy to make and they are simply delicious!:) thank you for the recipe! ps: i am no expert baker I think anyone could make this recipe! i chilled mine for a little bit in the fridge and used hersey chocolate chunks because I did not have any chocolate chips!
I made these cookies today with mixed results. Let me start by saying these are unbeliveably tasty, and the flavor is not at all the problem I had. I followed the recipe to the tee, going so far as to weight all the ingredients, and mix by hand so as to be sure not to over mix. I weighed each cookie to 62 grams, and it did indeed make identically sized18 cookies (first time that’s ever happened) . I rolled them, then pulled them apart then squished them together again, and they really did have that uneven look i’ve always tried to get. That’s the good part, however, despite the fact that I did all of that, and I rotated the sheets and timed them to 18 minutes (because no way was 15 enough) and took them out before they looked done to me, the first 2 sheets came out looking great, then they cooled and flattened out like all my other cookies do. The 3rd sheet was different. I actually wound up cooking them for about 20 minutes somewhat by accident, and they are PERFECT !!!!! So, now I know, my oven is 20 minutes.. i also sprinkled with cinnamon and sea salt. Some may think this is weird, I can assure you, it is not. Try it, you might be surprised. In short don’t over mix or under bake.. and they will turn out awesome. I can’t wait to make them again !!!!! THANKS !!!!
Simply amazing! Debuted these lovelies on 4th of July and not a crumb left. This is simply fab with Ghirardelli chips and pecans! I’m definitely the cookie champ! Thanks a dozen times!
Oh nooooes. I ran out of parchment paper so I had to put them an inch apart! I hope it doesn’t….oh ….nevermind its kinda already….yeaaaaaah these are NOT going to be perfect looking cookies. I wonder if I should take them out…. and space them….
Okay, It turned out alright :) Not ALL of the cookies touched together…..But I will say this…..
THESE COOKIES ARE THE BOMB DOT COM!
I have never made a cookie in my life. I barely even like chocolate chip cookies because to me they have always been very boring and too chocolatey and too sweet at times. But after I followed all your rules, and tried them once they cooled. OH MY GAWD it was like an explosion of chocolatey goodness. These cookies are amazing. THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. And I haven’t even tried any other recipe. I don’t have to. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this recipe :) I got many compliments on it.
We made these today and they turned out really wonderfully. I didn’t have unbleached flour or unsalted butter, but they were still excellent. I did substitute 1 teaspoon almond flavoring for one of the teaspoons of vanilla, but it was fine.
Can’t wait to try some more recipes from your site! Thanks.
Made these last night and they were AWESOME. Anyone having problems with flat cookies is most likely not making their cookies large enough; this is one recipe where you have to accept that you will only get 18 cookies; trying to stretch the batter to get 24 will result in cookies that aren’t thick and chewy. Thanks for the recipe and I can’t wait to try more recipes from this site :-)
I’ve been using this recipe since last year and never have never failed! I love Baking Illustrated ’cause I’m learning a lot with them (I am a self-studied baker)… I use 1 1/2T cookie scoop (just enough for a regular-sized cookie) and still it comes out thick and really chewy everytime… I always add 1/4tsp of ALMOND extract for an extra goodness… and for others that has the dough not-workable (very sticky), what I do is I add the dry ingredients mixture in 3 batches… There’s a science about that but I can’t explain :D just google it! And of course, bringing all the ingredients into room temp is one of the most important thing in baking cookies! :)
oh! and I used this ratio of sugar, white sugar (6Tbsp), light brown sugar (5Tbsp), and dark brown sugar (5Tbsp)… Perfect less sweeter cookies! That is just about 1cup of sugar (1cup=16tbsp)…
This is my second time making these- absolutely perfect! The texture is awesome and produced a very pretty cookie. I added white chocolate chips to the mix too, love them! Will always use this recipe as my standard chocolate chip cookie go-to!
These cookies are fantastic, my doctor told me I had to cut down on my cholesterol, so now I used Butter Flavoured Crisco 10 Tablespoons and Carob Chips, they turned out great (of course butter and chocolate is better, but these were close and doctor friendly) and no cholesterol.
How come on every website I found postings of people who are saying their cookies are not that thick? I have tried it so many times to back them and also my cookies are flat. How come we see them on a picture always thick and soft, but the majority deals with the same issue. I have had the dough in the refridge for 2 hours and they came out a little bigger. But I want that thick cookie! None of the recipes online gives me the effect.
I hear you! Try this. Use a non, non stick pan. (silver pan with no coating). Use parchment paper, to prevent spreading. Use only one stick of butter instead of 1 and 1/2 (they won’t spread as much). Take them out of the oven at 15 minutes, even if they don’t look done. Any longer, they spread. They continue to cook when out of the oven. No one tells you all of these things. All of these things make a difference. Oh, only put 6 cookies to a half sheet. I hope this helps you. I have researched it to death. Good luck!
I use a non stick and parchment paper! I think I will go for less butter this time. Do you think mixing the butter with crisco shortening will help? also I will try 6 cookies in stead of 9 this time and keep the dough refridged for a couple of hours. Thanks for the tip! Very much appreciated.
I think cutting down on the butter will work for you and 6 cookies to a half sheet. The Cisco ? I’m not a fan, I don’t use it, so I don’t know what that will do. Let me know if cutting down on the butter works for you. Also, from another suggestion, I used bread flour, with the recipe as is and they came out thick. I prefer to go by the recipe and use only 1 stick of butter, they come out thick that way. If all else fails, use bread flour, it WILL make a thick cookie. Good luck!
I am continuously looking for the perfect cookie. I finally found the perfect oatmeal cookie and NOW I found the perfect chocolate cookie recipe! I did change it a little. I used less sugar. I decreased BOTH the brown and white sugars by the same amount (2 TBSP). I also refrigerated my dough before baking and I kept it cold (this little secret I learned for the perfect oatmeal cookie). THANK YOU so much for revealing HOW to make them chewy~the ragged edges!!!! Reading through some of the negative comments, I wonder if they allow the butter to cool but not congeal or if they used it when it was too warm. I sincerely appreciate negative comments because I learn so much. In my quest for the perfect cookie, bread, roll, pita, etc. I have discovered weighing is the key. Thank you again for this recipe! This will be a part of my repertoire of tasty desserts!
Hi Michelle :) I finally tried these cookies! They came out perfectly–> crispy around the edges and chewy/gooey in the middle! However the next time i tried them, i accidentally put baking powder into the batter instead of baking soda..On realizing my mistake I added the baking soda too :P So that batch didn’t come out well :/ My question is how do I get the cookies perfect everytime?
I did last week and it’s so yummy! But it is too sweet for me, so I did again today with 2 tbsp white suger and 1/4 brown sugar. However, the cookies didn’t end up flat. But the taste is still very good.
I hate flat cookies. I discovered if I cut back on the butter by about one-third of what the recipe calls for…they come out thick and chewy. Give it a try. If a recipe calls for one-and -a-half sticks of butter, I cut it back to just one stick.
I’ve been looking for an ultimate choco chip cookies recipe for a while, and trying lots of different ones. I’m Russian, and that is not the traditional cookie for us, but my boyfriend loves them and he is very particular and picky- so it was super important to get them right. The cookies that I made turned out to be the absolutely best cookies i ever tried. And that’s what he said too :) It’s absolutely fantastic. I didn’t have vanilla, so replaced with caramel extract, and it worked just right too. I don’t know what people who failed it did wrong. The recipe is easy to make, and handcrafting part is fun. Thank you so much for sharing this! I will check out your other stuff for sure.
Just finished making a batch of these – WOW – they are my new favorite cookie! I used King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and got perfect results. The break apart method really did wonders for the texture. Thanks for sharing this!
This recipe is so PERFECT. I cooked some and my brother’s friends happened to be over and they ate them all up! Not without me taking two of them, though ;). Thank you so much! This recipe is amazing!
The best cookie ever! crounchy on the outide, soft and chewy in the middle! beautiful! Supposed to take to a bonfire tonight, but I might eat them all by then! ONE THING THOUGH : When rolling into balls DO NOT do the break in half thing, just roll it in a ball and leave. I made 1 batch rolled in balls and one done how the recipe said, the ones I broke in half ruined in the oven and the rest were fine! ***** 5 STARS!!!!!
I made these the other day (minus the shaping technique…hard to do with a 2 year old helping!) and they were AWESOME! So chewy, moist and delicious. Nice and thick, just like you described. My daughter loved them, and they smelled SO amazing baking. I’ll be making a batch of these when we try to sell our house in the fall. I know they say to do that when potential buyers come in. I figure I’ll leave a few on the counter as well for them to try. YUM! Thanks for posting. I think I’ll be trying your Peanut Butter Cookies recipe today as well.
I came across these cookies on pinterst! Yummy. I didn’t do the shaping the way you write though. I just rolled the dough into balls – slightly smaller than a golf ball and they turned out perfect. After 3 days they (well the 2 cookies that were still not eaten) were still soft and chewy. Now I’s off to check out your other cookie recipes! Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love this recipe!!! i made them for my boyfriend and we both agreed they were the best chocolate chip cookie recipe i have ever used! thanks so much!!! :)
Wow- i made these cookies today because i wanted to try and recreate a gourmet cookie i tried downtown. They turned out wonderful! though i only used a stick of butter and i used white chocolate, macadamia, and lime zest, and a dark chocolate drizzle on top. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe, ill definitely use it again !
Hands down the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had and I’ve made countless recipes. I would LOVE to put chocolate chunks in it with premium chocolate. Perfectly chewy and with a touch of crisp on the outside. Love the technique to make it appear more gourmet. The next day the cookies are still chewy even without being in an air tight container. Thank you!
i have been making these cookie every chance i get, and i love this recipe, but i always hate putting in batch after batch, so on my moms b day i just decided to make it as one huge cookie it turned out awesome i baked it in a circular pan for about 25 minutes, my older sister tried them for the first time and she said they were better than store bought cookies :) (i think that’s a compliment)
I tried these cookies again. I omitted the white surgar. I used bread flour (researched online), put them in the refrigerater and the cookies came out perfect. Not thin like before. Yes, thin cookies have always been my issue. Apparently with the bread flour, you will not have flat cookies! Now I’m very satisfied, and now have my favorite cc cookie! Thanks!
I just finished making these. The first two batches (on a half sheet) I put 6 on each pan. They came out great, but a little thin. The last batch (on a half sheet) I put 2. They came out much thicker. Could that have something to do with how much they spread? I,too, am trying to get a thicker cookie. The taste and texture is exactly what I want. I will try 4 to a half sheet next time and see what happens.
I make these cookies all the time, and they are a family favorite! I was wondering if I could make these in a toaster oven instead? Please let me know ASAP. Thanks:)
Hi Rebecca, I’ve never used a toaster oven to bake (just mostly for toast and reheating pizza!) but I believe they can be used for small batches. I think as long as the temperature is correct and you use only as many balls of dough as will fit on your tray, you should be fine.
These cookies are amazing!!! I made them using all white whole wheat flour & used Smart Balance instead of butter. I reduced the brown sugar to 1/2 cup. Even with all these substitutions, the cookies tasted amazing and were SO CHEWY!! Thanks for my family’s new favorite cookie recipe. :)
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made and eaten. They came out perfect. Followed the directions to the t and they were the best. The hardest part was waiting for them to cool down. Thank you for sharing the recipe and beautiful pictures along with the great tip to melt butter and cool.
For those concerned about the cookie dough being too soft, (and not able to be patient enough to wait for it to harden, like me :P ) I used an ice cream scooper to scoop it onto the baking tray. I didn’t use Michelle’s way. Hope this helped =)
i feel the need to share my story you see i am fourteen and i have always tried out recipes i find online and frankly none of them have ever been great some were passable but my mom was getting pretty of me wasting ingredients on things that didnt even taste good so when i found this recipe and saw all the good reviews i thought i would give it one last shot and so i asked my mom to get some brown sugar but she never did! i was getting kind of mad when i saw in our pantry that we already have some! so i made the cookies this morning and they were delicious! i didnt have any trouble with it at all but i did use just regular butter and i put in a little bit more flour to make it more workable :)
These cookies have become a staple in my household.. everyone goes crazy for them and they really do taste like bakery cookies! I am officially obsessed with your blog… tried your cracker jack recipe out last week and they were beyond amazing. Thank you!
Hi Jen, It sounds like you either overbaked them, let them sit out too long before storing them, or didn’t store them in an airtight container. They definitely stay soft and chewy if baked and stored appropriately.
I was very excited about the recipe and followed the instructions exactly. The end result was a delicious cookie right out of the oven, but a rather dry and ordinary cookie once cooled. I liked the technique info regarding breaking them in half and exposing the torn centers, which yielded a pretty cookie. Not bad at all, but lets just say I will continue my search for the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie.
I haven’t made these in a long time and finally whipped up a batch today. Everyone in the house is going crazy! I am going to have to ration out the cookies or they will be gone before the day is over.
So, I just made these cookies today and they taste great but they are not thick :( I’m not sure what I did wrong. But any suggestions? They are more like thin and semi chewy/crunchy.
Hi Katie, It sounds like perhaps your butter was too warm, which would have caused the cookies to spread a bit and become more crunchy. Next time make sure that your melted butter is completely cooled before proceeding with the recipe.
During Christmas season, I followed directions to the ‘t’ and had awesome cookies. I made 75 cookies, 5 per box and was asked if they were home-made or if I bought them at a bakery! Score! I haven’t made them since because those cookies are HUGE! Do you think they will be just as chewy if they were smaller; maybe half the size? I guess I’ll experiment but hoped you’d already tried it and could comment.
Thanks again, love your website, your photos and your writing style. Keep it up!
Hi Alicia, I actually have done this because a friend of mine wanted these over the holidays, but didn’t want them so big. I just used a medium-sized cookie scoop (about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons) to scoop out the dough (didn’t do any special shaping) and baked them for a handful of minutes less. They were delicious! Still very chewy and soft.
Is anyone having problems with the dough being too crumbly? When I mix in the chocolate chips, they don’t adhere to the dough and all wind up at the bottom of the mixing bowl. I feel like I’m wasting chips. I’ve made this recipe about 10 times and same results. The cookies turn out fantastic, but the chip problem persists.
I love this recipe! I followed every step exactly except I used half melted butter and half softened butter — I’ve had bad luck with all-melted butter chocolate chip recipes before so I got a little hesitant. The recipe turned out exactly like the picture…beautiful, soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges! Next time, I will try all melted butter! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have been browsing and saving recipes for days and I was pretty sure I had the perfect recipe for chewy cookies, but right before starting baking, I ran into this recipe and I’m glad I decided to go with yours.
My first chocolate chip cookies and my husband said they were perfect.
I had bleached flour and I had pure cane sugar…. I didnt realize it wasnt brown sugar and it was too late to run to the store so I took the chance. There was no problem. They were very soft… melted in my mouth. I baked one shaped like a golf ball and the other ones using the instructions. I think I prefer the round one. The other ones have a slightly crunchy crust on top, while the round one is all the way soft. I baked them for around 20 minutes and they werent all brown, but they were cooked.
I (too) have been on a quest for the quintessential chocolate chip cookie. This one is a keeper! Followed the recipe to the letter and….perfection! Chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Don’t let the “wetness” of the dough scare you. I did, however, cook at the same time for just about as long using my convection oven those of you wondering how convection would differ.
Very good texture and flavour in these cookies. Thanks for sharing it.
For shaping them to get the pull apart look try chilling for 30mins so it’s a bit more firm then form the dough into a ~1.5″ diameter log and pinch off pieces from the end and dropping on baking sheet. No smooshing back together. Takes a little practice to get consistent sizes but this is how I did it when working in a bakery.
This is the first homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made and they are AMAZING!!!! Now I feel like I should try other recipes just to compare, but I don’t know if I ever will because these are so perfect! I am the kind of person who eats the whole roll of Pillsbury dough and never bakes a single cookie, but with this recipe, the dough and cookies are equally as amazing! I added mini-m&m’s and cinnamon, along with the semi-sweet chocolate chips… mmmmm. I also let the dough sit in the fridge for a day for the second batch and the cookies were even better (saw that tip on another site). YUM!!!!
I have made this before and they were such a big hit that now my husband wants these for his birthday! Do you think you could make them the same way but put them in a cookie cake pan and it will be just as good?
Hi Amanda, I’m glad you guys enjoyed the cookies! I’ve never made these in a pan as a “cookie bar” so I couldn’t say for sure how they would compare, but if you try it I’d love to know how they turn out!
Hello… I just baked these fat cookies. I followed all your instructions, weighed the dry ingredients, cooled the melted butter, weighed each cookie – mine at 2.2oz. They turned out great, crispy on the edge and chewy in the inside. I baked the first batch for 16 minutes, once they were cooled, my husband took the first bite and the middle still under baked. So I baked the second and third batches for 18 minutes. Thank you for the recipe. I wish I could share the pics here.
I am not at all surprised that there are 289 comments on this post !!!! i guess i get to be 290 ?? :)
I too was on a search for a “go-to” chocolate chip cookie … i have a chocolate-chocolate brownie type cookie, but its not the classic and i really wanted one. So of course, as a HUGE HUGE fan of your blog i decided to give these cookies a try.
and so, i baked these tonight for my brother’s birthday party… i followed the recipe exact – pulling the balls apart to make the jagged edges. oh my lord — they were PERFECT !!!!! they looked exactly like those bakery of coffee shop jumbo cookies, and they were so perfectly chewy and yummy …. i am ECSTATIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay !!!
thank you for this ….
and of course, tomorrow i’m making a second batch for my sister in law – since the 18 cookies got eaten VERY quickly :) :)
Ok first off let me say that you are a genius and these are by far the best chocolate chip cookies I have EVER made. I too was on the hunt for the perfect recipe and this is definitely it! As much as I love cooking and eating I am constantly dieting and pretty much end up giving everything I make away or have my husband eat them. These cookies however are simply irresistible! Is there any way you could tell me the nutrition info on these cookies like calorie count , etc. If you could I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you! I look forward to making some more of your fabulous recipes.
Hi Yvette, I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies! I am actually working right now to implement nutrition facts so you should begin seeing them on here within the next month or so!
My son gave me the ATK 10 years of shows cookbook for Mothers Day last year. These cookies were the first recipe I tried. Wow! I immediately chucked my 25 year old tried and true recipe. These are THE best cc cookies ever!
I got this recipe from my friend. I’ve made them twice and I’m realizing im doing something very wrong. My cookies always cool hard as rocks and they are really white. ANd the chips are hard too. What am i doing wrong!??
Hi Jen, How long are you letting the cookies cool before storing them? It sounds like they may be left out too long or that they are being over-baked. I can’t really speak to them being white, that’s odd – perhaps you’re using a flour that is really bleached?
MUST BE STORED AIRTIGHT!!! These are sooooo good! I made the mistake of leaving them on the cooling rack overnight and they were rock hard the next morning. I salvaged them by putting them into an airtight container with a few wet paper towels. After a few hours they were soft again. I also didn’t weigh anything (don’t have a scale) and used jumbo chocolate chips (bought accidently – a glorious mistake). They are sooooo yummy! Thank you for sharing!
I love this recipe. I have already made 8 batches of this cookie recipe. My kids love them. They like them with mini M&Ms in them. This recipe is a keeper!!!!
Thank you for this recipe! I made it for my office last night and was a little worried the cookies wouldn’t remain chewy the next day, but they did, and have been a huge hit. I made sure the cool the butter as instructed, used sea salt in place of regular salt, and semi-sweet chocolate chunks instead of chips. I also made smaller, more bite-sized cookies instead of large ones, so I only needed to bake for about 13-14 minutes. Perfect!
Wow that’s ALOT of comments on one recipe! I am sure no one will ever scroll all the way down to view this one …but thought I’d add my 2 cents anyway. Due to diet accommodations I used spelt flour, earth balance/canola oil, enjoy life non dairy choc chips, only used 1 c. br sugar (no white at all), They turned out fine. I even forgot to refrigerate the dough so my cookies ended up very large and thinner but totally acceptable. These are going to be even better when I chill the dough next time. I think I’m in love!
My husband (NOT a baker) made them the other night and they were unbelievable. I thought *my* chocolate chip cookie recipe was the best. Guess I was wrong. I promptly replaced it with this one. Thank you so much!
Hi Michelle, I love your site! And after reading all this, I really want to give this ccc recipe a go. However I am from Holland and since everything is about the measurements… is an American tablespoon that you mention the same as ours? Or do you have a specific measurement tool for teaspoons, tablespoons and cups? Please let me know, cuz I’ m dying to make these delious cookies of yours!!! :))
These cookies were WAAAAYYYY too sweet! I did like the chewy-ness, but honestly 2C flour to 1 1/2C sugar (total brown/white) is ridiculous. I’m surprised not to see someone else say the same thing. I love sweets, but this was too much for my taste.
Most cookies can be shipped, but if you want them to arrive in good condition, wrap them well in cling wrap first in pairs (this will minumize them rubbing together) then you will have to use a strong corrigated box with some packing chips, Bon Voyage!
Hi Rebecca, Yes, definitely! I have actually shipped these multiple times, all with good results. Just wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap, and then place in a ziploc bag (keeps them fresh), and make sure you have packing bubbles or some type of padding.
I found this recipe and it looks awesome – I’m concerned about the amount of butter – in my previous experience with butter, because it is so “thin” (in comparison to Crisco) it causes the cookies to flatten and get overly crispy on the edges – so I’ve mitigated this by going half and half with butter and Crisco. What about this recipe prevents the butter from doing this to the cookies?? Is it the extra egg yolk?
Hi Erin, The extra yolk definitely adds some “heft” to the cookies. These cookies definitely aren’t flat, just make sure you let the melted butter cool before proceeding, and you’ll be good.
I can’t thank you enough! Finally, a chocolate chip cookie recipe that has worked!! I’m enjoying some thick and yummy cookies as I type. I’m soooo glad I found your blog.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have been looking for this forever!! It is so disappointing to take the trouble to make chocolate chip cookies, only to have them turn out well, just not right! And then eat bad cookies anyway because you are craving them so much! If you are gonna eat all those calories it had better be worth it and these cookies are SO WORTH IT!!!! Love them!! These are the definition of what a chocolate chip cookie should be.
Just made these tonight & they are amazing!! Great recipe, thanks so much for sharing!! First time in forever that I made a chocolate chip cookie I didn’t feel needed any tweaking!!
Whipping up a batch right now – can’t wait to see how they turn out! They look so thick and yummy! My nieces took a look at these cookies and quickly begged, and begged me to make these. They look amazing, chewy, soft, and thick! So excited an can’t wait. Any tips on how to make these would be great, thank you!
A friend made these today and OMG these are the best cookies I have ever tasted! Yummy, yummy, yummy! I will definitely make these. They are the perfect combination of chewy and crunch and sweetness.
Wow these look very yummy. Mmm my mouth is already going. They look perfect- not way to chewy, not to soft, not to thick, not to thin. I can’t wait to bake this – they will be perfect for my Halloween Party coming up. (I’ll be using your cupcakes for that too!)
These were by far the best chocolate chip cookies i have ever made!! i just pulled my first batch out of the oven as we speak and they are perfect! :) FINALLY!! a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that are actually what they say they are! thanks
Prior to making these a few months ago, my very favourite cookie recipe for about 10 years was the copycat Mrs. Fields recipe. It was fantastic. So I cannot BELIEVE that I have found a recipe that I like more! I cook them until they are just cooked on the edges and quite raw in the middle. Then after cooling down a bit they are sooooo chewy. And they taste even better the next day.
On a side note, I accidentally forgot to melt the butter once when I made them and just creamed it the traditional way, and they tasted EXACTLY the same.
I love this recipe!! I sang praises to the heavens when I found this! I had searched for years for a Choc Chip cookie recipe that didn’t end up cakey or flat. After reading how they tested it, I gave it a shot. I was in awe of the stunningly beautiful cookie that resulted! This is the only choc chip recipe that I will ever use!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Chocolate chip cookies are my husband’s favorite. I like to think that he loves me because of my excellent cooking :), but he has always preferred store bought chocolate chip cookie dough. I made these, and they were AWESOME! I finally have a recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookies that are better than store bought dough!!
I wonder if you can give me some advice, I know this probably sounds like a really stupid question but how do you mean by “rotate 90 degrees”? Is that when you’re rolling the balls in your palm? I tried the recipe a while ago and I don’t think I shaped them correctly because they ended up very small, domed and cakey instead of chewy and craggy :/ but I’m so eager for it to work because yours look amaaazing! Hopefully you can enlighten me! :)
Kind of confused on the shaping method… So you split the ball into two pieces and then keeping one pieces jagged look you form the other ball back into the first one? so then it is one ball again with a jagged edge? Wouldnt it be easier to take a bigger ball (amount of two cookies) and split them in half and place both jagged edges up?
Hey! I have tried to make this recipe as well as an Alton Brown on foodnetwork.com, both times my cookies spread too thin and the edges got crispy while the middle was fine. but the chocolate chips stayed in the middle too. the taste is good, the cookies just don’t look, well… good. Any tips!? would using parchment paper make a difference? my pans are stone, non-stick already, so idk. I really want to get these right! thank you so much!
Hi Julie, Usually when cookies spread thin it’s because of too much fat. Make sure that you really allow the butter to cool before you proceed with the recipe, or spreading will definitely happen. Also, I don’t bake cookies and things like that on stone – it might hold in more heat, which would cause the fat to activate too much as well, causing the spreading. I like regular cookie sheets with parchment paper – always have success with that combo.
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing. After reading through all the comments, I was afraid the cookies were going to be hard and crusty. So I did the following: Used chilled/soften butter instead of melted butter. The reason is I was afraid the melted butter will sink to the bottom of the cookie. Also, soften butter will add air to the batter when it bakes so it’ll cause a chewier cookie. Finally, this dough is great in freezing as well. I put the dough in some parchment and rolled it into a dowel-shape. Put some plastic wrap around it and put it in a ziplock. I think it’ll freeze well up to several months. Whenever you like some cookies, bring out the dowels and cut into 3/4 inch shapes and bake for around 19 minutes (alittle longer because it’s frozen…)
This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever tried! I have tried so many different recipes over the years, but this one is exactly what I was looking for and it’s the only one I’ll ever use. I like to use sea salt for these to give them a salty crunch, and I like the chocolate to be chunky. Incredibly yummy!
I found this blog a few days ago and I absolutely love it! I’ve written down a list of desserts I’ve found on here that I gotta try! I’ve made these cookies twice in the past few days and my family and I absolutely love them! Thank you so much for such an awesome blog and recipe! :)
These were really good! My daughter had seen a recipe about making chocolate chip cookies that look like turtles. We layed out 5 whole pecans to look like the head and legs of the turtle and put a ball of this cookie dough on top, baked it and then drizzled chocolate and carmel sauce on top! They were delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!!!
I love making these cookies, they are a hit every time. I made them for the umpteenth time last weekend and I would like to make them a bit sweeter. How can I sweeten them up with out loosing that chewiness? Add more brown sugar? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Hmm I honestly am not sure. I think they’re super sweet as is, and once you add more sugar you need to start playing around with the other ingredients to make sure you maintain the same consistency. If I give it a try I’ll let you know what I find, but I don’t think I’d add more sugar to this particular recipe. Maybe try milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet? That would up the sweetness factor.
Thank you for giving weight measurements. I’m in Culinary Arts school, and in baking we only weigh our dry ingredients. Often times the wet ingredients as well. It really does make a huge difference in the outcome of the product. I rarely measure dry ingredients in measuring cups anymore. I am grateful for the tips on how to make those huge bakery cookies!
I followed the recipe and decided to form the balls two different ways: rolling the cookie dough into a ball and breaking it apart and forming the ball with the jagged side up. The jagged-side-up cookie looks so professional!! I wish I would have known about this trick sooner! The cookie itself was delicious and one of the best I’ve ever had. I will be using this recipe from now on. Thank you so much!
Tried these last night and subbed chocolate chunks for chips (I too, am a cholate freak) – SO SO good, my coworkers can’t seem to get enough! The technique of seperating the dough balls really seals the deal. My new go-to!
LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies! I have made many chocolate chip cookies, and my family agrees with me, these are a winner! Currently trying to gain a little meat on my bones, so I had no problem helping myself to two:) SO rich and delicious.
Just made these & they’re amazing! I even subbed 1 cup of all purpose flour for a cup of white whole wheat flour as I’m always trying to use more whole grains in my baking… still turned out fantastic! Might be my new go-to recipe for CCCs! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! I’ve been visiting your site now for a few months and I just attempted this cookie today. It came out looking exactly like yours – superbly thick with tonnes of chips and chew in every bite. I’m very pleased with how these looked so professional! i’ve tried a gazillion recipes but they always come out looking sad and flat, albeit delicious. thanks for the inspiration!!
I just want 2 say that these are my FAVORITE cookies! and that i have tried recipes before and they turned out plain awful! and i tried THIS recipe and LOVED THEM!!!!!!! and i made them with Butterscotch chips and they are to die for! thank you so much for this recipe! :)
I just done baking my first batch of your recipe. and? It is one the the best CCC i’ve ever tasted! love it!
still, i dont get the “joint-the-base-of-the-halves” thing.. so i just use ice cream scoop to do the work (: and i have to flatten my dough first before baking it, since my first baking sheet does not comes out as yours,
I can halve this recipe right? How could I do that with the egg and egg yolk thing? (I’m asking because I wanna make more and I only have 1 stick of butter left, LOL!
Hi Finn, I have never halved the recipe so I can’t vouch for the results (some recipes are more/less temperamental than others when halving or doubling). When I halve eggs and/or yolks I break it into a bowl, beat lightly to break it up and weigh it, then use half of that weight.
THANK YOU!!!! My husband loves these so much, he makes all these faces while eating them, LOL! Definitely the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. I make them with the tablespoon scoop and bake them for exactly 9 mins on 325 and they are absolutely divine. This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I will ever need. Brown Eyed Baker, my family thanks you.
I’m so happy I found Brown Eyed Baker, your blog is a real treasure.
I just made these and they definitely turned out thick and chewy :) however they weren’t sweet enough (well for me at least lol) This recipe is definitely a keeper. I love them!
I made these cookies yesterday and even though they didn’t turn out thick, I love them. Why? No need for room temp. butter and this morning, they’re still soft, slightly chewy and absolutely delicious. I couldn’t handle the hand tearing method, I need to use a scoop so they’re all the same size. That might be why they turned out flat, but I’m fine with that. They’re very pretty, perfectly smooth on top and they look like they were made in a professional kitchen.Thanks for this recipe! Btw, I used mini chips too, they were a great choice!
HELP! I made these this morning and they were definitely not thick. I followed the recipe exactly and I am an experienced baker. What did I do wrong? They taste awesome so I’m not exactly dissapointed but what made me want to bake them was the “thick & chewy” part.
Hi Kristin, I think perhaps the butter wasn’t cooled completely before proceeding with the recipe. I have done this before when I wasn’t paying attention or impatient, and it definitely causes the cookies to spread out and be flat. I would give it another try and make sure the butter is cool!
HELP! I made these this morning and they were definitely not thick. I followed the recipe exactly and I am an experienced baker. What did I do wrong? They taste awesome so I’m not exactly dissapointed but what made me want to bake them was the “thick & chewy” part.
These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever. :) I made them for the first time today. While I was at work, my husband ate the whole batch. That means they were great!
I made these tonight and added Macadamia nuts to them. I weighed all of the ingredients and wow does it ever make a difference. I don’t know if my measuring cups are wrong or if my scale is off, but I was shocked by the difference, especially with the brown sugar. I’m glad I went with weight because the cookies turned out perfectly. My mother in law even complimented my cookies :) thank you for posting. Now to try some of your cupcake recipes
hey dis is a wonderful recipe..but cud u pls demonstrate dat pulling in2 half,rollin it 90` n den joinin,facing jagged surface sumthn lol cud u mayb post a video of dat :) i’d very much appreciate it thanku :)
I just found your blog recently and made these when my husband was craving some homemade cookies. THESE ARE AMAZING!!! The best I have ever made…and I have made some recipes! I also have your sweet and sour chicken in the oven for tonight and I am making your stuffed peppers and squash soup tomorrow! I am really excited to try all these recipes because it all looks so yummy!! Thanks for making this blog!
I just made these and ohmygoodness are they the best cookies ever! Thick, soft, and chewy, which everything I’ve been looking for in a good cc cookie recipe!
I was a little nervous how these would turn out when I noticed that the batter wasn’t sticking to the chocolate chips, but after rolling the dough into balls the problem was solved. In addition to adding dark chocolate chips, I also added some shredded coconut and toffee bits to the dough for a little variation — Yum!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My search for the perfect cc recipe is finally over!
oh my these are so yummy i dont even know where to begin…maybe just a huge thank you…my tummy is very satisfied….my hips not so much. I used a 1 1/2″ cookie scooper and baked for 9 min and they came out beautiful
Ok, I am stupid and don’t understand the “Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up”…..when you rotate the halves 90 deg, you basically join at the sides? If so, then how do you get a “ball” again? You have 2 round halves butted together isn’t going to form another ball….this step is confusing the way it is written….I think I will just do it as “Kaitlin March 27, 2010” did and “rolled 1/2 cup dough balls and pulled them into halves, which resulted in the same crinkly texture on top”.
Hi Rick, Yes, you join at the sides, exactly. You just push them together. You don’t really want another “ball” – the resulting shape will be flatter than a ball, but still round when pushed together and jagged on top.
Wow, these are AMAZING!! This was my first time to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I found the recipe to be very clear and these were so simple to make. And they are absolutely perfect. Mine were crispy on the edges, gooey in the center, little salty with the sweet (I may have used too much salt, but it actually worked!), and I love that there are just a TON of chips in there. Perfect!
Michelle, I made these last night and they were soooo melt-in-your mouth delicious! Plus very easy and quick to make. This is the new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe in my house now! By any chance, do you have a “healthy” (or “healthier”) version of these? Love the cookie but am a little scared of ALL that butter & sugar…! :)
I just made these, and they are amazing! Simple and quick to make, and finally I’ve managed to make a light, chewy, crisp-on-the-edge choc chip cookie! Thanks for the recipe!
WOW! I’ve been planning on trying these for a long time and they exceeded my expectations! Absolutely the best ccc I’ve ever had. I brought a bunch to an event at work and several people said the exact same thing. No need to try any others, this is the one. Thanks, Michelle!
I’m always looking for the best chocolate chip recipe. I tried Alton Brown’s off Food Network and I’ve been pretty pleased with those. When I saw your recipe while browsing your site (a wonderful way to waste some time by the way!) I just had to try these cookies. I just pulled them out of the oven and I know already they are going to be a huge success. I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe, seriously. You’re a life saver. Now, if I can bake some more cookies before eating the rest of the dough then other people can enjoy them too! I’ll be posting my pictures on my blog later this week :) Hooray!!
**CAN BE REFRIGERATED!** I was sent over here by my friend who says this is the best cookie recipe she has ever made so I decided to go ahead and try it out. Well, these really ARE the BEST cookies! When I melted the butter I actually let it cool for about 15-20 mins and our house was about 70 degrees all day. After I made the dough, I put it in the fridge, crossed my fingers and hoped that it will still be puffy. And they were! I also just used a TBLSP cookie scoop and just made them look kinda uneven so they get that crinkly look to them. I baked them for 10 mins like that and they were perfect! Thanks so much for sharing this. Toll House needs to scratch the recipe off their bags and replace it with this one!
Finally! I have been searching, as you have, for the perfect CCC recipe, and this one is wonderful… massive, crunchy outside, chewy inside. My husband and I like more cookie than chocolate chip, so I stayed toward the 1 cup, and it is perfect. Thanks for the post!
Also, I tried sprinkling sea salt over the cookies, and we agreed that it would be better inside the cookies. I’ll be adding probably 3/4 or 1 Tsp. next time, instead of the proposed 1/2 Tsp. To form the cookies, I used 2 cookie-scoopers of dough mashed together. They can’t help themselves but crinkle and split on top, it’s the nature of the cookie. My husband said that if he has me and these cookies, he’s in good shape ;)
Just came over here from your pancake recipe and I have to agree with you on this one. I’ve been making this recipe for several years…probably close to 7…and I still love them the most.
Made these last night, so good! My husband had one before I went to bed, and when I talked to him the next day the first thing he said was “omfg those cookies are good!” LOL. Thank you for sharing, this will replace my old recipe!
I have made these cookies previously but am just now getting around to leaving a comment. They are so delicious and chewy. I love these cookies and will be making them again today. They are really tasty. Followed the directions exactly and came out with a perfect cookie. Thanks this is a keeper.
I made these today (to bring to a Super Bowl party tomorrow) and I have to say I love the consistency and texture. Mine kind of have a flour-y taste to them, which I can’t figure out. But, oh well, they’re still delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe around! I used my baking scale for the first time with this recipe and it came out perfect. I added some toffee bits for a little extra treat.
I thought I posted here already but don’t see that I did- these are THE CCC for me. Perfect and easy. I refrigerated the dough overnight because I ran out of time to bake that day and they were awesome so I will continue to refrigerate first if I can! Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chips are hands down the best (in my opinion :) and really add the extra goodness to this cookie. Might try adding nuts next time. Thanks for posting this family fav!
These were so great!! I added a few spoonfuls of peanut better per someones recommendation–YUM!!! I can’t wait to try them without the peanut butter as well. Oh, and, we sprinkled the last batch with some sea salt–so delicious! :) Can’t wait to try even more of your recipes!
I am ADDICTED!!! I want to make these everyday!! My only change/addition is I used sea salt in the batter and sprinkled the tops with sea salt when they came out of the oven…yummo!!
“This is the best chocolate chip cookie EVER. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my wife” – says my husband who is a die hard CCC fan. Thank you for an amazing recipe that made me the super wife! =) I substituted regular salt for sea salt and it was amazing! Every now and then you would get a bite of chucky salt and it balanced out the chocolate really well! I also used a mix dark chocolate chips and regular semi-sweet ones. MMMMMMMMMMM!
Best cookies ever! I just made a batch for my boyfriend, and…wow. That’s all there is, just wow. Of course, he’s allergic to chocolate (I know, I don’t know how he survives either, poor thing) so I substituted butterscotch chips for chocolate chips. It didn’t seem to affect the results, except for the fact that I failed to take into account how much sweeter butterscotch chips are than the regular semi-sweet chips. So now I have a batch of incredibly lovely, and ridiculously sweet blondies. Oh, well. They still taste great though, and I’ll just have to remember to reduce the sugars a bit if I make them with butterscotch again. Definitely plan on making a batch of regular chocolate chip for myself sometime soon. This recipe’s too good not to! :) Thanks for such a great (and versatile) recipe!
I ABSOLUTELY adore America’s Test Kitchen-They by far have the best recipes for everything from pot roasts to baked goods. At 19, I love to bake, and everyone asks how do my baked goods turn out to well? My secret-America’s Test Kitchen recipes.
I’ve been making the Thick and Chewy recipe for a few years now, and I always get rave reviews. They bake perfectly, and have such a “unique” taste that I feel Toll House lacks. They also freeze very nicely, and cook up great when you just want “one” cookie.
My other favorite’s include: Ultimate Banana Bread,Pumpkin Bread, Blondies and Tiramisu!!
I tried this recipe last week, not thinking that it would be any different than the claims of other “Thick and Chewy” cookies. After making these, I don’t think I will ever find a better recipe. Everyone that has tried the cookie, said it is a winner. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
We had a snow day down South today and I was inspired to bake these cookies. They turned out fantastic! Mine always taste good but look terrible and these taste great and look even better. Thanks for sharing!
I’m happy to report that I finally got around to re-trying this recipe after I messed it up several months back. This time, I let the butter cool completely (in fact, I put it in the fridge to cool and let it go just a little too long – it was still stirrable but starting to solidify – I just set the bowl on top of the oven vent while the oven preheated, and voila! Problem solved!). The only other thing I did was add 1/2 tsp of baking powder and used mini chocolate chips since it’s what I had. And… they turned out picture-perfect, just like yours!! Guess it pays to be patient with the melted butter :-) Thanks for an awesome recipe – it’s my new go-to CCC!!
I just wanted to say that I just tried this recipe and its fantastic! A keeper, and I’m a chocolate chip cookie lover. Its the fourth thing I’ve made from your site, and each of them have been great . . . I’ve been emailing friends the link :)
Okay – Michelle R – You’ve inspired me to try ’em again!! I’ll make another batch of delicious, “best choco chip cookie recipe hands down!” and report back!! (Well, at least I’m optimistic, right?!) :)
hey shasta, hope u try them again cause they r bomb! the first two x’s i made them they came out perfect! i was so happy. however third time i made them they came out thin and spread out wAy too much. i am attributing this to personal error b/c i was in a super rush so i probably mis-measured. also i didnt chill the dough which i did the previous times. so keep ur optimistic attitude and give it another shot! hope all works out well :-)
OMG shell this is the best choco chip cookie recipe hands down! Luv it!!! I’ve used the whole melting butter and adding egg yolk concept as a base for other cookies and it works out wonderfully. I love the low baking temp….it really adds to the recipe b/c we used to melt the butter for cookies in my food science class, but the cookies never came out this fantastic. thanks again :-)
I:( don’t know what I did wrong?? The dough is very dark- and not delicious….mine doesn’t look like the picture at all. I threw out the first batch – obviously, I underestimated the overcooking!! I did use light brown sugar, so I’m not sure WHY they’re so dark colored? And, I typically know my way around a recipes…….so…………………?
I made these last night….sent them to work with my honey. Made more today…these stayed at home with me! :) So good! Definitely more vanilla-y than my signature chocolate chip cookies, good thing I LOVE vanilla! Delicious and so easy to make, they stayed soft and seriously looked like a cookie you would pay $3 for at a bakery!
I made these last night for the first time and they turned out PERFECT! And usually my luck with cookie baking is hit or miss, haha. I sprayed my baking with sheet with canola oil and used a quarter measuring cup to measure the dough. These are by far the best CCC I have tried, including cookies from bakeries. I took a sample cookie to work for someone to try and it got very positive reviews. Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m baking your peanut butter-chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies now!! Yay Christmas baking!!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I just recently found your website, while looking for a good French onion soup recipe, and after great results with that, I tried this CCC recipe, and I am soooo glad I did! These are the best CCC I have ever baked, and I am a very avid baker, but these blew away every other recipe in my box! Thanks so much for not only sharing the recipe, but also your technique! I followe the recipe exactly, and got perfect results.
I used greaseproof paper however the second batch didnt stick I think I took them out prematurely. Also I tried the cookies whilst they were hot :) so once slightly cooled the flavour settled. Sorry about that!
I will hopefully try them with glace cherries, should I rinse them first? Also should I halve them or into smaller segments?
Cookies were a delight :) thankyou for such a great which was so easy to follow!
Hi, I have just made my first batch of these and the recipe is great!! easy to follow and with great results. However mine stuck to the sheet a little and some of the mixture seemed to be on the tray, should I give it some more time?
Also can I swap the chips for nuts or cherries? and if so what weight?
Finally…. :) I could slightly taste the sugar am I using too much or should i increase the vanilla.
Many thanks, I love this recipe! the method is brilliant. I have read other comments and I agree that leaving the butter to cool is key, granted the recipe is follwed then the results are great!!!!
You say they stuck to the sheet. Did you line the cookie trays with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray? I’m a big, big believer in using either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat like Silpat.
You could substitute nuts and dried fruit for the chips, just use the same amount (1 to 1-1/2 cups).
I’m not sure what you mean by saying that you could taste the sugar. In any case, I wouldn’t adjust it or the vanilla quantities.
I made these and they were awesome. Just the way I like them; thick and chewy. I made mine a little smaller and ended up with 2 dz cookies. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
This looks very similar to the one I got from Joy the Baker (and that she got from Alton Brown) – it makes for a fabulous cookie (and sinful cookie dough…)
OMG! Michelle, these were incredible. I baked them last night and deliberately only baked 4 as I have no will-power and would have eaten more if they were there. We ate them whilst they were warm and kinda chewy inside and wow – I will never go back to my chocolate chip recipe again. Thanks for all the tips, they were really helpful. I now know what I will be baking for my cookie exchange!
Having always been disappointed by thin, flat (yet tasty) chocolate chip cookies, I was desparately searching for denser, chewier ones. My husband stumbled upon this website, while googling recipes for thicker cookies, and he said the reviews were great.
So, I just made these and they do NOT disappoint. The cookies are moist, chewy, thick and really tasty. I had to use two different types of baking sheets, so I think that changed the edges on one of the batches, and only had milk chocolate chips but otherwise I pretty much followed the directions. I will be making these again this weekend for my nephew’s birthday party and again for my daughter’s birthday celebration in school, but making them a bit smaller because these were insanely large cookies!
Tried these first without melting the margarine…tasted great but fell completely flat.
Then I followed the directions.
Refrigerated the dough for about 6 hours when I was at work, so it was a little hard to work with later, but WOW are these amazing. Hoping they stay soft for the event tomorrow!
These truly are the BEST chocolate chip cookies. The batter looked a bit buttery, so I added about another 1/3 cup flour. Still looked oily, but I didn’t want to add more incase I ruined it, so I baked one test cookie.. It turned out perfect, so thick and chewy and professional looking, and it tasted even better! Now I’m just waiting for the oven to heat up again to bake the rest. Thank you so much, this is only the second recipe I’ve tried, and it is perfect so now I won’t have to search and search..
So glad you love these Taylor! If your dough was a little oily, next time make sure that your butter is completely cooled after melting it – that can cause a big difference in texture once it’s all mixed together.
Wow! I just made these, and let’s just say that the Toll House recipe is going out and (if I don’t stop eating these), my dress size is going up! I made smaller balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoon), and ended up with 30 x 2 1/2 inch cookies-perfect for sharing at work! Thanks!
I made these over the weekend for my family and they turned out perfect and everyone loved them. I think I’ve finally found the perfect chocolate chip recipe! So nice to have cookies that didn’t spread out all over the pan while baking then have frisbies instead of cookies. Thanks so much.
I made these today and took some to work, and everyone RAVED about them! Yum yum yum!!! (Believe me.. nurses love, and know their snacks! We sure get enough of them!) So THANK YOU! This recipe has a spot in my personal cookbook now. I even passed it on. :-)
My first sheet is in the oven right now…they look puffy and delicious! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe, and this may be just the ticket!!!
These are a great cookie, I had made them from another food blog but also found over sixty thousand followers at allrecipes.com had used this minus the trick of pulling the ball of cookie dough apart and only using one teaspoon of vanilla! I didn’t measure too carefully and the recipe was very forgiving. Other sites said you must chill batter at least an hour before baking, what’s up with that??? Good choice that could adapt to additions such as peanut butter, nuts, or other types of chocolate chunks!
I made these cookies this weekend for my brother’s birthday dinner and they were a BIG HIT!! I left the first batch in the oven just a little too long and they weren’t quite soft enough, but I learned my lesson by the 2nd round. Perfect!!
i am just like all of you, in search of the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe. but to tell you the truth, i gave up YEARS AGO because i was convinced there was no such thing.
*THIS RECIPE IS THE DEFINITION OF THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE!*
i au pair for a swedish family, now in luxembourg and for over a year i have wanted the children to experience real, authentic chocolate chip cookies. i did a lot of lecturing on how we might be dissapointed with this recipe, but there was no need for that as we had chocolate smeared on our lips, and the gooey cookie pieces in our mouths!
I AM SHARING THIS RECIPE WITH EVERYONE I KNOW! YOU ARE A GODDESS AND I LOVE YOUR CREATIVE IDEAS!
Hi Colette, waving to you in Luxembourg! Thank you so much for sharing your story and the rave review of these cookies. I agree, they really are the best!
Hi! I made these a few weeks ago and they were amazing! However… I have made them twice since then and both times, they have spread out so much and are SO flat!! I am so disappointed because they were so good the first time I made them. Do you have any idea what could be going wrong? I can’t figure it out and it’s so frustrating!!
I was just going through some old comments and found someone with a similar problem, and I read your response to them. Perhaps I didn’t let the butter cool enough, I just don’t know!
Hi Bailey, That was going to be my suggestion. I’ve had it happen to me too and the flattening seems to always happen when I’m impatient with letting the butter cool. Also, do you grease your pans or use parchment? If you grease there could be extra fat getting into the cookies, causing them to spread.
I just made these cookies and I must say that although mine aren’t as beautiful as the one’s posted on you site (I did follow your directions for rolling and pulling apart the dough), they are still beautiful in their own way. This is now my go-to site for baking recipes…I rave about this site to my co-workers!
Have you ever tried sea salt in these cookies? I’ve made some chocolate chip cookies with sea salt before and they’re wonderful in terms of the salty-sweet flavor, and added texture. I’ve notice you’re pretty into salty-sweet, so maybe just a suggestion?
Oh my God! If you think that you don’t have the time to make these cookies, then let me say something, sweetie – you are crazy. I made these cookies for September 1st, and I don’t need to say that people threatened to kill me if I didn’t give them the recipe :D.The cookies had the PERFECT concistency – they were chewy and thick. I added a handful of pecans and they added a nutty and superdelicious taste to the cookies. Definitely a keeper!
I have tried MANY chocolate chip cookie recipies, but, WOW. this one was DEFINITLY the best. its the chocoalte chip cookie we always try to make but never can-finally!!!! you are the best :)
I’ve made this recipe several times and this last time I did the lazy way and dumped the whole batch on a 1/2 sheet pan with silpat lining it. Baked it for 30 minutes and they turned out great although I think the next time I’ll go for 25 mins instead as they weren’t quite as chewy as I like. Took them to a family get together and they disappeared.
I printed out this recipe a year ago, jiminy cricket! LOL And just made them tonight.. Sooo disappointed– they taste great but they came out paper thin.. just like a Nestle Tollhouse cookie.. Guess my search for that thick CCC will continue :(
Melody, after reading your comment I thought I would share what happened to me. I probably used the butter when it was still too warm so when I mixed everything together it was too buttery and shiny. I added about 1/4 flour and it reached the proper cookie dough consistency. I formed the cookies and baked them and voila, they turned out perfectly.
I made these today… well, I actually made the dough Saturday afternoon and baked them today (Monday). The dough was loose when I finished mixing (by hand, mind you) – much too loose to be shaped into anything resembling a ball. So I put it in the refrigerator until today. It was sticky but somewhat workable. I couldn’t get the “pull-apart” method to work though, the dough just wouldn’t hold its shape well enough. After baking, the cookies are delicious – but look NOTHING like the pictures. They more closely resemble the kind of cookie I get with the Nestle recipe – spread and thin. I was really hoping for a thick, chewy, craggly cookie like the one pictured. Any ideas where I could have gone wrong or what I could try next time? Thanks for the recipe!
I’m sorry you had a less-than-stellar experience with this recipe! The most important step in this recipe is to make sure the melted butter has been cooled to the touch before you mix it with the sugars and proceed with the recipe. If you add it when it is too warm, the dough will be much wetter and less manageable than intended. I’ve had this happen to me before and it seems to be the one variable that can keep the cookies from being perfect. They definitely should not be thin. The other thing too is to make sure you don’t overbake them (or yes, they will spread). You should take them out of the oven when the edges look set but the middles are still a very pale brown and puffy. They won’t look done, but they will finish baking on the warm baking sheet when your remove them from the oven. I’m not sure if refrigerating the dough could have had an impact on the outcome, as I’ve never refrigerated this dough. Oh, one other thing – did you butter the cookie sheet or line with parchment or a silpat? Sometimes buttering a cookie sheet can cause too much extra butter to get into the dough once in the hot oven and can cause spreading too.
I hope you’ll give them another try, they are hands down the best cookie recipe I think I’ve ever made!! Let me know if you have any more questions and how the next batch turns out!
Hmm… let’s see. I might not have let the butter cool enough, I get impatient. :-) I’m pretty sure I didn’t overbake them, they were still a little gooey when I took them out (I’m really not a fan of overdone cookies, so I tend to err on the side of underdone since they continue to bake a little after coming out.) And I don’t grease cookie sheets when making cookies, nor use parchment or Silpat liners. So the only variable I see that might be the problem is the melted butter. Just very strange that they came out so differently from the picture… I’ve been baking (sweets) for a long time and nothing has baffled me more than the basic chocolate chip cookie. Thanks for all the ideas! I guess I’ll just have to give this another shot… darn, more cookies!
Hi, I just want to mention again that so many ovens loose their calibration quickly. I suggest that everyone buys a oven thermometer just to see what the oven is actually at. They are not too expensive and will stop a lot of frustration on either conventional or convection ovens, not to mention food waste.
I keep my flour in the fridge because of the little worms that are in flour, just natural, but, I keep it in there. After I melt my butter I just mix and the cool flour does the rest. Nut, if I did’t I would just stick to the recipe. It is the best!
I’m a long time follower on and off. I avoid following a sweet blog until I really have to make something because I LACK SELF CONTROL.
I tried this CCC with only one variation. I omited the 1/2 cup white sugar. And I don’t know its because the dark brown sugar I use is quiet sweet or what but I think it is of perfect sweetness without the white sugar. And its now my most requested cookies and loved recipe. What do you think ?
Ofcourse, using the brown sugar kind of makes a much darker looking cookie but its yummy! I was planning to switch things up and try using white sugar next time. What do you think should be the ratio considering I use both the sugars ( assuming my dark brown sugar is way sweeter??). I was planning to start of with 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar. http://journeykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/perfect-chocolate-chip-cookie.html I hope I made sense. :)
So glad you enjoyed these cookies with the variation you created! If you add back in white sugar, I would encourage you to keep the ratio the same (2:1 brown sugar to white sugar), otherwise if you use more white sugar than brown sugar, you will end up with a much crisper (not as thick or chewy) cookie. It might still be good, but just know that switching up the ratio will result in a very different texture.
These cookies were really good! I am taking half to my friend and her family to get them out of the house so we don’t eat them all! Curious to see how they taste after sitting a day. One recipe I have for choc chip cookies taste better after a day (uses pudding)… wow three BEB recipe in two days :p
OMG!! These cookies are so fantastic!! I have my own chocolate chip cookie recipe that my husband loves, but I will never use it again. These are crunchy and chewy and perfectly cooked. I also love the way you form them before cooking – very cool. I love your website as well. A great find!
Well, I must say this is a pretty tasty cookie recipe you have there. When still warm they were perfect, but unfortunately they don´t seem to “age” as well as I hoped. (I would give them an 8/10 one day after baking them) I used a natural vanilla bean instead of the vanilla extract though, since you can´t buy the latter over here. Greetings from Germany !
I was really looking forward to making these and seeing if they would be chewy. I added maybe 3/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter. Unfortunately they didn’t come out very chewy. I’ll admit I didn’t let them cool on the pan, which was supposed to make them chewier (I only have 1 small baking sheet to use), and I made these smaller than the recipe asked for—does that last factor help make them chewy? I’m thinking about trying it again but I want to get other opinions as to what I should tweak? Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)
Oh my goodness, I just made these cookies and they are my new favorite by far! Thank you SO much for the recipe! I was wondering what makes them so fat? I feel like in other cc cookies I’ve made I have to chill the dough and be very careful not to let the butter get too soft so I don’t end up with flat cookies. The dough for these was so soft I was worried they would flatten in the oven. But, miracle of miracles, they didn’t at all! Any insight you may have would be greatly appreciated =)
Hi! I want to thank you for this recipe:-) I tried this cookie recipe last weekend! :-) I was really amazed by the results! In the philippines, i used muscovado sugar and it has a very distinct flavor. :-) I made a half a dozen pieces for my great love.. weee!! i’m sure he will love it :-) Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try the others. :-) Salamat! It means Thank you in Filipino :-) I am now your avid fan :-)
Me and my Boyfriend made these last night cause he has been craving chocolate chip cookies, We added some peanut butter chips to them as well, the dough was really gooey and messy ( but tasted fantastic!!) and the cookies turned out great…but my tops didnt turn out good like yours which means i better practice and make some more ;)
I actually just made a Triple-Chocolate Chip version (from the same cookbook), and am planning on posting it this coming week, so be sure to check it out! I hope you’ll enjoy!
I’m eating one of these now – they’re delicious. :] I formed the first nine dough balls according to the instructions (“pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface”) but for the next nine I used a bit of a shortcut; I just rolled 1/2 cup dough balls and pulled them into halves, which resulted in the same crinkly texture on top.
Hey Michelle, I was just wondering if maybe I could add in some cocoa to make these cookies double chocolate cookies? And if yes, about how much would you recommend me to add in? THANKS.
I just made these and they are delicious. The texture is perfect! I’m printing the recipe out and putting it in my favorite recipe binder :) Thanks for the great post.
i made these cookies today and everyone loved them. they are so good! thanks for the recipe, it’s the first chocolate chip recipe that i’ll DEFINITELY be making again :)
Wow, these turned out amazing! I just baked them as part of Christmas gifts (I’m doing chocolate chunk cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies in cute little boxes) and they turned out perfect!
Hi! I just wanted to say that I tried out your recipe, but I added cinnamon and used mini M&M’s instead. They came out awesome. They will be a go to cookie recipe for me from now on! Thanks for the inspiration. Your site is pretty awesome. I am a huge lover of cookies (when I was younger whenever anyone asked me what my favorite food group was, I promptly answered: cookies!). Thanks again!
Stephanie – I’m thrilled you’ve found your new go-to chocolate chip cookie dough! Thanks so much for stopping back to share your thoughts on the recipe.
I agree — this is now by go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. They had a chewy dense quality that was exactly what I was looking for! I’m not sure I got that twisting thing though…
The secret to cake-like cookies is to make them bigger! You can use some cake flour too, if you like. The Times did a great article on chocolate chip cookies this time last year.
The attached recipe is fantastic! It calls for special chocolate pieces and stuff, but regular semi-sweet works fine. The proportions are about the same as Michelle’s recipe here, but they use some cake flour, and call for 36 hours of chilling.
Hi Ashley, Thanks so much for coming back and reporting on the cookies! The addition of peanut butter sounds so good, I am going to try that the next time I make these! So glad you liked them :)
Oh my god, this recipe is great! I added about 1/2- 3/4 cup peanut butter to the dough and they turned out so good! Mine were, I am happy to report, much thicker than the ones in the pic, and so chewy! Yum, yum, yum! Perfect recipe!
Do you know how to get the cookies to be “cakelike” and not crispy? They came out beautifully thick.. but still crisp. I wanted them like a cake? Does anyone know the secret? Thanks!
It needs less fat, more moisture. I achieve cake-like when I use a portion of applesauce in the place of the oil, as well as a higher ratio of flour, baking powder, etc.
Make these and search no more for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. These really are out of this world. (And this coming from someone whose favorite cookie is not chocolate chip cookies.)
My hint: Use Toll House Mini Morsels – they make it even better!
Hi! I’m just wondering a bit… the nestle toll house recipe results in super flat and oily cookies, based on my experience. I never liked that recipe. I’m wondering how this turns out to be thick when it calls for only 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour. do you melt the butter? it doesn’t say anything about melting the butter in the directions. Please let me know, I’m still dying to achieve the best home-baked cookies. Thanks!!! :-)
I just made these… and trust me, after taste-testing, it is taking all my will power not to eat the entire batch tonight! Thanks Chelle, this is definitely the best choc chip cookie recipe I have ever found!
these look so delicious! i have to say, your soft and chewy recipe is a staple in my house. we love love love it. but i may be trying this recipe soon. i love trying new cookie recipes.
WOWZA! These are some dang fine cookies! The batter seemed a little loose and I was a tad concerned, but it was all for naught. Delicious, tender, chewy — perfect!
I used a 1/2 cup scoop and twisted them in half — they were a little more than 2.5 ounces each and made for a hefty cookie. Thanks for sharing!
i think we’ve found a new way to make chocolate chip cookies and melting the butter is a key step, along with lowering the oven temp. this is great. i found a peanutbutter cookie recipe that uses alton browns tips to make them soft and chewy too that’s posted on my log. that has been my quest, soft pb cookies!
This is my favorite cookie recipe – hands down! They’re also delicious when adding a big scoop of peanut butter to the batter. My husband and I have been known to polish off a batch in 24 hours! :)
I really love the Baking Illustrated book. America’s Test Kitchen basically takes tons of recipes and tests, tests, and retests in terms of ingredients, equipment, and methods until it nails the best way to make a certain recipe. I have honestly never been disappointed in a recipe of theirs that I have tried – everything has been spot on and amazing. They have a show on PBS that I think runs on Saturdays if you want to look up your listings – you could check out a couple of episodes and see what they’re all about.
How is that Baking Illustrated book? I have never seen/read about America’s Test Kitchen besides what I read from other blogs but people rave and rave about it.
Definitely count me in as one who continues to try recipe after recipe, even though I’ve tasted perfectly wonderful choc. chip cookies. I think it’s just so fun to experiment!
These cookies are amazing! My husband said these were the best chocolate chip cookies he’s ever had! They were super easy to make!
I made these around Thanksgiving. They were a big hit. My sons calls them the sinful cookies. I added Semi, milk and white chocolate. I will be making these a lot. My granddaughter wants pecan and caramel on top.
Just baked these cookies and they are absolutely perfect!! They are soft inside and have just the right amount of crispness on the outside. Much better than my old go to recipe!!
Just wondering if anyone has doubled this recipe and if so any recommendations?
Thanks so much!
Hi Bethany, Yes doubles just fine!
I doubled mine. Only thing I changed was the vanilla. 1 Tablespoon to 2 cups of four seemed like too much so I cut it to 1 teaspoon.
Best chocolate chip ever! Doubles easily. Thank you!
Can I make the dough a day ahead and refrigerate? If so how long before cookie should I put it at room temp?
Yes, that would work okay! No need to leave at room temperature. Once you take them out and shape the dough, they’ll be ready to bake.
Wow, The Recipe Said 18 Cookies…… We Made 42!
Yo yummy. This is recipe much attract my children.
Made these for a party and they turned out perfect! Love love love.
These chocolate chip cookies look very delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Yum, those chocolate chip cookies look delicious. You can never have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes.
These look yummy. Who doesnt like a chocolate chip cookie..dont think I’ve met anyone who doesnt😊 a close tie for me is a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie w a little bit of coconut. Mmmmmm mmmmm.
this is my husband’s (and my) favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! I’ve tried others, but my husband only wants THIS recipe. Absolutely delicious!
This has been my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe for years. I love it.
Have you baked these cookies with gluten free flour? If so, how did they turn out? I scrolled through many, but not all comments, so my apologies if previously asked and answered.
I have made these with gluten free flour and they came out really well. Spread out maybe a little more than I would expect. I used Red Mills GF one to one flour (it has xantham gum in it) and added toasted pecans which may have helped also keep it together.
I want to add nuts. Should I reduce the chips?
If you don’t mind a “chunky” cookie then no need to reduce the chips; if you prefer more cookie dough than add-ins, then yes reduce the chips.
What’s your favorite chocolate chip to use in this recipe?
I buy Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips.
It seems like a lot of complaints about this recipe could be because one person’s cup of flour is not the same as another person’s cup of flour. If enough flour is not used cookies can turn out flat and too buttery. Just wondered if you used 5oz per cup as mentioned in your May 24, 2016 Baking Basics: Weighing Ingredients post. Thanks!
Yes I did!
Hi there, I was wondering why there’s a discrepancy in the metric equivalents given in the recipe – here you say 5oz per cup, which is 10 oz / 280g for 2 cups. But when you click metric, it’s given as 8.8 oz / 250g. Which weight is correct? Thanks!
I made these today. They are great. Perfect sweetness. I made my own brown sugar using unrefined cane sugar and added a some molasses to it (just Google it!). Then I measured it like you would with regular brown sugar. I didn’t want to waste the egg white so instead of a yolk I used a substitute – 1T coconut milk. Apparently, you can use applesauce or banana too. Ok. My point is this recipe works and it’s great. Yes, I made substitutions but they are minor. I a trained chef and I know this recipe will work even if I didn’t do the substitutions. My son said it’s the best chocolate chip cookie he’s had. And oh – do measure your ingredients properly and follow the instructions. That’s all. Thank you for the recipe, browneyedbaker!
There is something wrong with this recipe. I made it twice- by hand- and both times they spread way too much. The 2nd time, I also put them in the fridge to chill before putting them in the oven. The flavor is good but they are too thin and therefore too crunchy. I’m usually a fan of Brown-eyed bakers recipes too. This one does not work… disappointed that I have to bring them to a dinner party too.
Many years ago my BFF made these for me as a gift at Christmas. Aren’t baked goods simply better when from a friend? She gladly shared this recipe and I’ve made them as gifts many times now successfully. I prefer bitter sweet Ghiradelli chips and sometimes add toasted coconut and/or toasted chopped pecans. Found this to be a perfect fool proof recipe when followed as written.
I’ve made the dough and baked right away, made dough and baked after hours in fridge and also frozen dough balls to bake a few at a time ( since it’s just 2 at my house. )
PERFECT EVERY TIME!!
These cookies are phenomenal!
Should I refrigerate these before cooking?
Hi Samantha, Nope, they do not need to be chilled before baking.
made these today for a bake sale my kids are doing. The recipe turned out perfectly!!
Hi! I`m from Norway! Since we just got chocolate chips in Norway, I wanted to try to cookies. I tried a recipe a few days ago, but they got hard as stones:/ Tried yours today, and they turned out great!!! Love them! Thank you so much!!
We love these cookies! I make them all the time – usually in double batches. I freeze half the dough and always have some on hand to make for last-minute visitors. But my dough is always very wet and sticky. I have to wet my hands with water to even handle it – it wouldn’t be possible to pull it apart and shape it as you suggest. They still taste great…but any thoughts on why I always get such sticky, wet dough? Thanks!
Hi Eve, This can happen to me sometimes if the melted butter is still too warm or if I don’t incorporate it into the brown sugar well enough.
Hi Michelle,
I ran across this recipe on your site several years ago (I think it was 2011 or 2012) and I must say that this has been my (and my family’s) absolute favorite cookie ever since.
I have done several different chip variations (semi-sweet, milk chocolate, peanut butter, white chocolate or white chocolate with dried cranberries) with this cookie recipe and they always come out perfect.
I also always have to double the batch every time I bake them because . . . well, with 1 pre-teen and 2 teenagers, along with myself and the hubby, one batch just isn’t enough lol. They DEVOUR them!
I actually have a double batch with white chocolate chips baking right now and my kids look like a bunch of toddlers, practically bouncing on their heels, incessantly asking when they’re going to be done lol.
I love these,. They’ve turned amazing every time I’ve made them. I use weights instead of volume for my dry ingredients as I tend to be heavy handed with my measurements. The last time I made them, I made the dough to bake them later on. I refrigerated the dough for a few days and as I forgot to pull out the dough ahead of time, ended up baking them at refrigerator temperature. They turned out better than any time I’ve made them before. I’m not sure what it was about the chilled dough that made them so good, but I’m going to try it again. One of the guys I work with ate 6 over the course of an hour. There is no bigger compliment. :)Bring back the weighted measurements! I dread the day that my old copy of the recipe disappears.
Good recipe, but I don’t understand why all “chewy” cookie recipes say to chill the dough. Maybe it is a matter of wording. Chilling the dough makes a SOFT (not chewy) dome-like cookie. Letting the dough warm up a bit makes the cookies flatten out. THEN let the edges brown and leave the middle looking somewhat unbaked. THAT makes a chewy cookie. Once I let the dough warm up a bit, they turned out great!
Just made these because my boyfriend was craving chocolate chip cookies (when I tried the old “let’s pick up some store-bought dough” cop-out he said “but we don’t want store cookie dough…”) — they’re great! We used the 1/4 C measuring cup and scooped scant amounts out and it came out to exactly 18 cookies. On our mismatched assortment of cookie sheets the ones on a dark sheet did get darker and thinner and were done a minute or two earlier, and on the lighter sheets this was not the case and the recipe above (for 15-18 min bakes) was perfect.We are likely going to make this our go-to recipe since the only other one I have ever used more than once is from a children’s cookbook and is significantly lower-yield ;)Thank you for another great recipe!
I had never baked cookies from scratch before and was looking for an awesome recipe. I tried this one and the cookies came out perfectly. They were thick, soft, and crazy delicious! Even my friends were shocked that this was my first time baking them from scratch because they were so good. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Made them tonight and it did not turn out. It’s is chock full of chocolate chips, but spread and our super thin. Won’t make them again. Too many extra steps for me between the rolling, twisting, re-joining, cooling completely on the cookie sheet for them not to turn out. They looked puffy when I took them out of the oven then the sunk to cookie that wasn’t even as thick as the chip.
Not sure what I did.
i have been baking for over 40 years, and your recipe has become my favorite base for chocolate chip cookie ever. i personalize my cookies by adding fresh grated ginger and some cayenne pepper, then after baking them for 6 minutes, i do sprinkle a little seasalt on the cookies for the perfect salted chocolate chip cookie :)
Do you shape these before freezing so that you can cook them directly from frozen state? If yes, how much longer do you bake them for?
Hi Cat, If you freeze before baking, yes you should shape and then freeze. Enjoy!
Thanks! I’ve been making thee for years after coming across the recipe on your site. These are hands down the best. I tried the other CI recipe where the butter is browned – it’s good but this recipe is my favorite. Everyone raves when I make these. I just never tried freezing them before. The husband bought some “healthy” store bought dough and the cookies were flat. My daughter and I just doubled the recipe just now and we’re going to shape and freeze some dough for future cravings! Thanks again!
Ok, I have to comment that after making these for years I’ve finally tried shaping then freezing for baking when we get cookie cravings. They were delicious, but not as delicious as freshly prepared/unfrozen state. Also, the cookies didn’t get that crinkly look when baked from frozen. I find that my cookies also always come out best when I bake one tray at a time which then means it takes me longer since I’m not baking two trays at once. Tried rotating trays 1/2way in and it still didn’t turn out as good.
There was way too much flour in your recipe, by almost a half a cup. The cookies came out rock-hard. I googled other America Test Cookies recipes and yours is not accurate. I also use to get the magazine so I’ve made them before and they always came out wonderful. These while still tasting good, were NOT chewy at all! 1&3/4 cup of flour would be all you need. The butter is supposed to be lightly browned.
The recipe is written exactly as printed in Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve been making these cookies for well over 10 years and they have never, ever been hard. Using a half cup less flour would make these virtually unable to shape. The butter is actually supposed to be browned in another recipe of theirs – the perfect chocolate chip cookie (https://www.browneyedbaker.com/cooks-illustrated-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies/) – perhaps you’re confusing the two recipes.
Could I use this revipe to make a giant cookie? My friend has requested one for chritmas and I absolutely lovd this recipe as normal sized cookies. Should ai just add all of the mixture to a cake tin? Thanks!
Hi Quinn, Yes, I did it here with very little alterations:
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-cake/
I love trying different recipes and this one just made it to the top. Well done.
Made them and absolutely loved them! Love the idea of breaking the cookie in half and squishing together, gives them such a cool look. Thanks ever so much for this great recipe!
I’m not sure if this will be seen since the recipe was posted several years ago, however I feel compelled to post my rave review! I have been making these cookies regularly since 2013. I have baked them for Christmas, I have put them in care packages, I have baked them as housewarming gifts, welcome to the neighborhood gifts, birthday gifts, thank you gifts, etc. etc. I would say that I make these cookies 2-3 times a month. My neighbors know me as the “girl who makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world.” If only they knew how simple this recipe was! Thank you so much for sharing this incredible recipe. I can’t wait to pass it down to my baby daughter when she is old enough.
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop and leave a review Courtney! I really appreciate it! :)
I found these looking for a melted butter cookie recipe. And because they cane with weight measurements ::love:: and came out AMAZING, I am sure I will make them again and again. I ran out of regular flour, brown sugar, and chocolate, so I used more than half whole wheat flour, added some molasses, and used 55g of walnuts. I will probably use the original ingredients next time, but these were beautiful and tasty and worthy of offering one to the repairman who stopped by in the middle of baking (he, of course, accepted). Just great!
Forget the Toll House recipe on the chocolate chip bags! This has been my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe for years. It never disappoints, and everyone is impressed with these cookies’ size. If you want the cookies to turn out crunchy, then don’t let them cool on the cookie sheet–remove them to cool on a rack. We best like these cookies chewy soft, so this is it. Just finished baking another batch to give away. Yummmmmm.
I followed the recipe exactly… but when it came to forming the balls & trying to rip them apart they were really too “wet” to. They turned out huge & VERY flat, which has never happened. I think it was when I mixed the sugar & butter that I realized it didn’t look right because it looked too wet, but I proceeded anyway. Regardless, they were DELICIOUS. I thought I would not like them since they were absurdly thin, but they still tasted AMAZING. With more flour or sugar I’m sure it would have turned out better. Will try these again for sure, maybe adding another tablespoon of flour next time & chilling the dough first then trying the rip apart method.
Hi Haley, I would make sure the butter is cooled to room temperature and not too warm; you shouldn’t need to add any more flour, though. If you let it cool and the resulting dough is still too wet, chill for a bit before forming into balls.
perfect 😊
I live at 6600 feet in the mtns of Colorado and was worried these wouldn’t turn out as all my other CC cookie attempts. They came out perfect! Love a recipe that doesn’t require high altitude modifications! This is now my go-to cookie recipe!
This is now my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Always delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I made these for ice cream sandwiches, and they are great! Luckily, one of the cookies broke while I was assembling the sandwiches, so I got to try them on their own, haha!
I love these chocolate chip cookies.I have made chocolate chip cookies before but this article forces me to make them again.Thank you for publishing.
I made these and they came out PERFECTLY! I’m using them for homemade ice cream sandwiches that my sister wanted me to make and I couldn’t have chosen a better recipe! Not too thin (because who wants a super thin, too-crispy cookie on their ice cream sandwich???) and just the perfect amount of chocolate chips! I can’t wait for her to have one!!! I haven’t tried a cookie because I tend to shy away from sweets, but my sister tasted the batter and said the vanilla was so good and strong I’m excited!!!
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! Every time I bake it, people think I bought the cookies from a gourmet bakery. My sisters also ask for these cookies every time they come visit. While I love this recipe as is, I have also tried adding 1/4 tsp of cornstarch which makes them less chewy but the texture is a little closer to Panera-style cookies.
These were outstanding! WOW! I was skeptical about the no refrigeration part with the warm fat, but they are unbelievable. I’m making them for our church’s summer camp and the bigger size makes portions so easy. My nine-year-old son helped too!
Can this dough frozen in dough balls if I wanted to make the dough in advance?
I would flash freeze them.
These are really good. My cookies usually come out flat and oily, or puffy and too floury tasting. These came out beautifully.
Hi Amy, Yes, definitely, I have done this and it works great!
I tried this recipe this week end and it was fantastic!! It’s super easy and super quick, and the cookies are so chewy!
I tried so many recipes and never found the result i wanted. Thank you for this great recipe everyone loved it!!
Cheers from France! xoxo
These are my boys favorite chocolate chip cookies ever! They loved how big and soft and perfect they turned out. I am making another batch right now!
I love most chocolate chip cookies, but I always go back to this recipe! We love it!
These are FANTASTIC! Moist, chewy, delicious. I have made A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of chocolate chip cookies. I have tried all of the top recipes, family recipes, and package recipes. These win! Definitely my favorite and will now be my go-to. Thanks so much for sharing this!
These are AMAZING!!! I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for 15 years and I’ve always relied on the Toll House recipe. This is my new favorite!! I also think it makes a big difference to roll the dough, and break it apart, baking with the jagged edges up. Great tip! THANK YOU!
Michelle – My go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies has been your ‘My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies’: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/favorite-chocolate-chip-cookies/. My family loves them. How do these compare?
Hi Ann, These aren’t quite as thick and don’t have as much heft. I really love those favorite cookies, but still use this recipe for a quick batch.
My toddler and I made these tonight. They were delicious!! The recipe was so easy to follow. We will definitely be making these again.
Usually love your stuff but I thought these cookies lacked something :(
Wow these cookies sound delicious I am defiantly going to try these
I made this recipe, and I have to say it raised more questions than it answered – I felt very silly splitting all the dough balls in half. Not to mention it is nearly impossible to rejoin them without flattening that jagged edge just created. I settled on a technique of more thirds, then rolling with jagged edges outside. However, I’d like to see the science behind how this works. With more time, I’d do a side by side comparison.2nd change – left butter on counter to room temp.- did not melt and wait for it to cool – I’ve never in my life waited for the butter to cool, by the way – it goes against my nature.3rd and 4th changes – I used the Guittard large flat chocolate chips, delicious, but what am I to do with a 1/4 bag left over? I used them all, of course.5th change – I added 3/4 cup chopped pecansRating is based on the numerous oddities in this recipe without any reasoning to back them up. With my changes, cookies were happily consumed!By the way, I did not warm my eggs to room temperature – they turned out fine.
BEST RECIPE EVER! THE COOKIES ARE SOOOO CHEWY!THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING XX
Yummy, I’ve had people ask to get this recipe. Your husband is right. I don’t normally even like Chocolate Chip cookies, but these are delicious! Thanks for sharing.
These cookies are great. They are now my main chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Does it make a difference if I use unsalted butter or salted? If I omit the salt wouldn’t that be ok to use the salted butter instead? I never have unsalted butter in the house
Hi Norma, Ideally you’d use unsalted butter so that the exact amount of salt in a recipe can be controlled since there is varying amounts of salt in different brands of salted butter. However, in a pinch, you can use salted butter and omit the salt.
I made these cookies and the whole family loved them. My mom said this is the cookie recipe she has always been looking for.
I just whipped up a batch of these and they are delicious! The most perfect cookie! I followed the recipe and side from when incorporating the wet and dry ingredients I simply poured the wet ingredients over the dry and mixed them with a rubber spatula. I also used cold eggs and which didnt impact it either. They turned out perfect! Thick chewy and a little crunchy!
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. No one can believe they’re homemade and not store bought. I always use my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients and mix by hand. Perfect every single time!
i love this recipe because you do not have to put the dough in the fridge so they won’t spread in the oven and they taste amazing.
I am never sold on any cookie i have ever made. Until now. These are the BEST!
I have baked a lot and never seen a recipe that had you break apart the cookies that way. Did I miss the why in the post? If not, can you share with me?
Hi Laura, It’s purely for aesthetics – to give them that craggly top you see in bakery cookies.
I have made these cookies for years EXCEPT I substitute chocolate chunks for the chips and I use macadamia nuts. Whenever I take them someplace everyone raves about them.
Oooh sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your adaptation!
Has anyone baked these from frozen?
I made the dough balls but didn’t have time to bake so I stuck in freezer. Worried about having cookies that don’t spread at all (conversely I don’t want them to spread to much)
Should I bring to room temp first or will they be ok from freezer? Looking for the perfect balance so they are thick but not too thick :)
Hi Colin, I have! You don’t need to bring them to room temperature; you can bake them straight from the freezer, but will likely need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Mine turn out just the same when baking from the freeze. Enjoy! :)
Has anyone baked these from frozen? I made the dough today but didn’t have time to bake. Sometimes when baking from frozen the dough doesn’t spread (or still spreads too much). Looking for that sweet spot of nice and thick! Others experiences would be appreciated (bake from frozen, thaw, etc)
Also used KAF for the first time with this. Think it will make any difference over store brand AP? I weighed out each ingredient to the gram and followed instructions exactly so hopefully it only helps!
I’ve been making variations of this cookie since it was originally published in Cooks Illustrated. Its the best and friends beg me to make them. A couple of adaptaions. On the 1 cup brown sugar, I use 1/2 light brown sugar and 1/2 dark brown sugar and ALWAYS use Domino brand. Other brands I’ve tried don’t produce a perfect cookie. On the 1.5 cups chocolate chips, I use 1/2 cup Ghiridelli (sp) semi-sweet chips and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (either Nestles or Callubaut). My kids don’t like nuts, but I think this cookie is at its best with with 1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans added along with 1/8 cup loose sweetened coconut and 1/8 t. of ground cinnamon. Making some now to welcome my kids home for the Thanksgiving holiday!
Love these cookies. I wave given this recipe years ago by a church member and is now my signature cookie. :) Love the gooey center, crispy crisp edges. Some things I’ve tried, mixed and matched, when I have the ingredients at hand:
Use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar.
Use raw sugar in place of white sugar.
Add a tsp of cinnamon.
Brown 1/2 cup of butter and cool with rest of melted butter.
Mix 2/3 any good brand of milk chocolate chips and 1/3 dark 60% cocao chips.
Sprinkle a bit of raw sugar on top of cookies before baking.
1 tbsp espresso powder.
1/2 regular salt, 1/2 kosher salt
1/4 tsp cayenne powder, 1/4 cup cocoa powder.
Toasted {insert nut} here, 1/2 cup.
While I might have scrambled eggs in the morning or fried egg sandwich, sometimes I don’t want to eat a cookie with egg goo cooked thru-out. I’m going to try some chickpea gooey liquid in a few. Anyone else have any suggestions on a binder? Arrowroot flour? Tapioca flour? Flaxseed I haven’t tried yet.
I made these cookies with no problems for months when I was in the Middle East, but I’m back home in Australia and am having real trouble with them. First, instead of spreading and levelling out, they just puff up and crack on the top. They are not chewy nor are they soft or tasty, but quite hard, crispy and yuck. Help! What do I do? I haven’t changed anything about how I make them!
Hi Tiah, Oh no! If no other changes were made, it sounds like it could be your oven or the air temperature/humidity.
Thanks Michelle – I think you’re right! Come to think of it, most of my cakes have been failing so I think it’s time to upgrade the oven! Hope you’re doing well with the new addition to the family! Xx
So like if I wanted to save the cookie dough can I freeze it?
Yes! I would recommend portioning out the dough into balls and freezing that way.
I made these cookies today, and they tasted great but did not look as pretty as yours. I have 2 questions: I had a hard time getting the chocolate chips to mix into the batter. I assume this is because of the melted butter. Is there a trick to that? Also, after baking, the cookies looked more like baseballs (too rounded). When I took them out of the oven I tried to flatten them with the back of a spoon, but they didn’t deflate much at all. Any idea what went wrong with the appearance of the cookies?
Hi Mary-Jane, I don’t have any tricks for mixing the chocolate chips, I just stir them in and try to work them in so they are evenly distributed. Did you do the whole pull-apart and put back together shaping step? They shouldn’t stay in a ball shape, but they do fall as they cool. Is your oven temperature correct? I can’t think of anything else if you didn’t make any ingredient substitutions.
When you rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time, you have to open the oven door. My concern is it might affect of rising the cookies? most of the recipes say rotating the baking sheets top to bottom but i am too scare to do this so I always bake only one sheet which takes more time to finish baking….but if it does not affect the result of baking I would love to open the oven and rotate the pans. Thanks.
No, it won’t affect the cookies. A lot of recipes (cookies, cakes, breads, etc) call for rotating pans. This is to ensure even baking.
What do you think about browning the butter? :)
Sounds amazing!!!
Wow delicious, I was looking for this everywhere. Finally here we go…
I made these cookies Weds and am making them again today! I haven’t had luck with melted butter cookie recipes but yours was PERFECT!! Seriously turned out amazing, not too flat, not greasy, just yummy! Thanks for sharing!
I made these for a BBQ I am hosting tonight. I weighed the ingredients and used 2 oz. of dough for each cookie. The recipe made exactly 18 as stated. They are delicious and I know they will be a big hit!!! it is nice to have a quick and easy recipe that produces a great cookie:) I often bake your ” New favorite thick and chewy chocolate chip” recipe. It is my number one chocolate chip recipe.Thank You for all the great recipes and posts!
.
As I was reading through this recipe, it looked very familiar. I realized it is the same recipe I have for big,chewy M&M cookies from America’s Test Kitchen.
I use this base quite often and have substituted/added nuts, dried cranberries, white chips, coconut…mixing and matching depending on my mood. The dough holds up so well but I do refrigerate it…as I do just about every cookie dough. I find it intensifies the flavors and I like the finished baked product. Thanks for sharing so others get to enjoy this yummy cookie.
Michelle,
What does the dough rolling method do for the cookie?
Hi Marcie, It gives the cookies that craggly look on top vs smooth and puffed.
Curious to know if you have used this exact recipe for a cookie cake? The recipe I uses produces a more cake-like cookie, and I prefer one that is more dense and chewy. I’ve thought about melting the butter in my recipe, but thought I’d see if anyone has used this in a cookie cake pan already. Excited to try it either way!
I have! The recipe is here: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-cake/
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s so quick and easy. I found it on your site years ago and everyone that I make them for LOVES them.
Here’s my search.
30 years ago at the office, someone brought choc chip cookies that were:
Mounded like a macaroon
Crispy-ish but not like you’ll break a tooth (texture inside like a macaroon, actually)
White-ish not yellow like all the others with brown sugar.
I lost the recipe.
Thanks for the info about the extra yolk makes them rise and the melted butter makes them soft. I always assumed she used just regular sugar but am at a loss as to how to accomplish the rest!
Perhaps she used self rising flour, even.
I guess I”ll start over with your recipe as a starting point, thanks!
I made these with a few variations:
I made the dough a day of ahead of time and chilled overnight. I also added in 3/4c of chopped walnuts. The result: BEST COOKIES EVER!!
I’m so glad you posted this recipe. I was trying to copy and paste it for a friend off of the America’s Test Kitchen website, but couldn’t since you have to pay to join (even though I have the cookbook, which is where I originally found the recipe). Thanks for saving me some typing time.
Have you even frozen the dough after shaping into cookies and then baked straight from the freezer? I’m thinking about making a freezer meal with some cookies for a new mom and was wondering if they would work and if there were any changes to the baking directions.
Hi Carissa, Yes, I’ve done that! You may just need to increase the baking time by a few minutes.
You say that you always weigh your baking ingredients -yet are your measurements are in cups etc. Why don’t you provide them in grams as well, to make it easier for everyone who is following your own tip? Thanks
I’ve been using this recipe from BEB for a few years now, and just as I come online to get the recipe yet again, decided to comment.
These are so good! Best cookie recipe I’ve tried (and I’ve tried quite a number!) over the years. I don’t make them over sized but make mini cookies (we have small children who often have that old problem of ‘the eyes are bigger than the stomach’ ) with the same recipe and they turn out just as amazing that way – just smaller and great for the little hands in our house.
Thank you for putting it up, everyone in our house is very appreciative! Not to mention the workmates, relatives and friends who have also enjoyed these cookies (when there are any left over) :)
Which is your favorite cookie between the NY Times cookie, Levain, and this one?
Hi Jacob, Definitely the NY Times cookie!
Oh. My. Lord. Best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever baked. I cannot thank you enough.
Amazing recipe and cookies! I am trying it.
Hey M! Been looking at the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes that use a 12 to 72 hour rest. What adjustments need to be made or can any recipe be used?
Anyone who says these don’t turn out well is wrong! Follow the directions! I followed them exactly and they turned out perfectly…just had to bake for about 20-22 minutes instead because they are so big! And if you don’t believe that this recipe is foolproof, know that I’m 16 years old and don’t always follow directions and they still always turn out perfectly! My go -to recipe.
Great recipe! I followed exactly and they turned out great.
Hi Michelle,
I had a question about the brown sugar. Did you choose to use Light Brown or Dark Brown sugar?
Hi Mimi, I use light brown sugar.
Made these for the first time today – I am not an experienced baker – followed instructions exactly but did chill the dough first and between batches. Cookies turned out great! Big hit with the resident 10-year-old. Thanks for a great recipe.
these are my go to chocolate chip cookies have made them soooo many times and have had many compliments:)
I have made these but tweaked it a little
hit enter before i could finish!
i tweaked by reducing sugar by 1/4 cup and added caramel bits and flaked sea salt for salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. my back wasn’t turned before the plate was just crumbs!
These cookies are amazing! Can they be frozen?
Yes, they can definitely be frozen. Enjoy!
Can you make these with bread flour?
Hi Sally, I never have, but you could certainly give it a try!
I love this recipe. It is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I hate to think about how many of these I’ve gorged on late at night with a big glass of ice cold milk. Today for a change of pace, I whisked a half tablespoon of dark cocoa and two teaspoons of instant espresso powder into the flour mixture. I also folded in a cup of pecan pieces with the chocolate chips. They are incredible. A beautiful mocha brown cookie loaded with texture and absolutely delicious.
these are amazing cant wait to make again:)
These were AMAZING!! Definitely my new go-to choc chip cookie recipe! And who knew about the jagged edge thing? I love everything about these cookies!
I made these last night for my dessert, which were cookie ice cream sandwiches. I’ll start by saying great recipe and flavor/texture. No complaints there at all.
However, the pull apart method works to get the bakery look on top, but it made for a very ‘tall’ ball of dough when you mash them together, since the ball tends to mash upwards. I had to bake them longer than the 18 min mark since they made for tall/thick cookies due to the height of the dough ball and even the edges weren’t setting (which is nerve-racking since you never want to go over the max baking time out of fear of over baking).
I figured another method to get the bakery look without the pull-apart/mashing, which just didn’t do it for me. Roll a smooth ball at the desired size. Place the ball in one palm, and use your other hand to ‘ruin’ the top of the ball by scratching and picking at the top surface. I have nails, so could do this easily, but you could probably use a fork to. Ruining the smoothness gets you the scraggly look. Make sure the scraps fall into the dough bowl, so you can scoop it up in your next ball. Worked for me…! great recipe though – got rave reviews.
Hi Michelle – Just wanted to let you know I made these with carob chips and loved them! Totally satisfied my cookie craving. I posted them for Father’s Day! I’d love if you’d check the post out: http://piesandplots.net/carob-chip-cookies-sundaysupper/ :)
So I just pulled my cookies out of the oven and the are beautiful! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!!
After years of making recipes I’ve found online, none has prompted me to leave a comment…until now. No one has to ever search for another CCC recipe again, this one is the end all. A friend made these for my husband and I, we ate them all, she had to make another batch, and then send me with the recipe. On the drive home my husband said he always thought my CCC were the best, but now he realized they were only like a 6 compared to these which are off the charts. I bring them everywhere with unending compliments. Thank you for doing all the hard work so we don’t have to (we just get the compliments). You’re the best!
I have been using this recipe for the last year, I bake these 2-3 times a month, my fiancé is a carpenter and on Fridays I like to send him with a treat for all the other guys, however HE is a hard one to please when if comes to baked goods. His mother was a goddess in the kitchen, trained in Paris, and I have been left to “fill her shoes” in the baked goods department. My fiancé also completed pastry school, so he knows his cookies. What I am trying to get to is this freaking recipe saved me. Actually all the recipes on this page have. He eats what I cook now! And raves about it! Your recipes have actually given me the confidence to cook in the kitchen! and try new things (I used to be the girl who set cakes in fire and only was allowed in the kitchen if it was to microwave soup) anyway, these are the best chocolate cookies you’ll ever make and I am so appreciative for this site!
I just made these a couple days ago and I love them!! I am extremely picky about cookie texture (I almost never eat store bought cookies, even oreos)! I hate crunchy cookies, as a result I bake all them time because I much prefer the soft and chewy texture of homemade cookies – plus that way I can make them exactly the way I like them. This recipe is perfect! Definitely my go-to for chocolate chip cookies now. My family definitely loves them too, they were gone in nearly one day! I may make a double batch next time. ;)
Yum! These look good! I was just wondring, will it make a differance if I use milk chocolate chips?
Hi Hannah, The cookies will have a sweeter taste, obviously, with milk chocolate, but that’s the only difference.
Oooh, I have really wanted a recipe for these kind of cookies, I love the cookies that are nice and soft and kind of undercooked in a way. But I’m trying to find a recipe like this for a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips. Is there any way I can modify this recipe to have that, (like, changing the chocolate chips to white, I know, but adding cocoa powder or replacing something with cocoa powder?)
Hi Emy, I actually have a few different chocolate cookies like you’ve described. They’re all under the “Cookies” category on the site: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/category/recipes/cookie-recipes/
Hi I’m just about to make this I don’t have baking paper liner nor non stick spray can I use silver foil instead. I hope I can get a quick reply. Thanks
Hi Nadia, The cookies will stick to the foil. Definitely use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I don’t recommend using non-stick cooking spray, as it can add extra grease and cause the cookies to spread flat.
They are delicious! I put slightly too much butter in (about 10% too much) and used almost all dark brown sugar and a half teaspoon more of the vanilla and I got some interesting results. They were chewy in the middle and the edges had a bit of a nice crunch yet without being burned.
Brown eyed baker’s recipe is excellent and this was just a variation on it. I really enjoy the comments with everyone sharing too. I recommend some Almond Breeze 80 cal milk to go with these thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies. Yum!
My daughter is wanting a bar or round pan cookie similar to those that can be purchased at American Cookie Co… My question is, can I use this recipe for that instead of doing individual cookies? Thank you for your help.
I actually just posted a cookie cake recipe today, and it is based on this recipe :) https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2014/02/20/chocolate-chip-cookie-cake/
These cookies were amazing! I did make a few changes and made them for my family! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!!
I want to make these cookies for someone who is allergic to dairy. Will it come out as good if I use oil or margarine Instead of melted butter?
Hi Mindy, Unfortunately, these cookies will not come out the same if you use either of those products. If you absolutely must use either one, use the margarine, definitely not the oil. I can’t guarantee how they will turn out, though.
My daughter and I made these last night. We didn’t turn them and they still turned out with the right texture and thickness. Maybe she didn’t “pack” her brown sugar well enough, because we both thought they didn’t taste as sweet as they were supposed to. We alternated using two cookie sheets so it had time to cool. Only baked one sheet at a time, so we put the dough in the fridge while waiting for the first batch to cook. Probably shouldn’t have done that, because that made the dough crumbly and harder to split and mush together. I’m sure we will try another batch though. Thanks for sharing the recipe! :-)
I love your recipes!!! I made the rum cake twice. Everyone loved it!!! I made cupcakes with the extra batter. Anyway my question is can I make the cookies smaller and they have the same texture?
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tried to scale them down, so I can’t say for sure if they would have the same texture, but if you try it, be sure to reduce the baking time. Good luck!
I know this post is years old at this point, but I have to compliment you. This is my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies now. I obsessively measure each ingredient as per your directions, and I do the pull apart method. By weighing each ball of dough, they come out perfect EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I brought some in to work and was accused of purchasing them. A million times thank you!
Ok… couldn’t resist this recipe so preheated the oven and moved my laptop into the kitchen. Had all ingredients handy and made a double-batch. Bottom Line: Cookies came out “perfect” — according to my wife, who is the ‘expert.’
Here’s what I changed:
1. Used 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, and 1/3 cup white sugar.
2. I used “banana crunch granola” Planters peanut butter.
3. I doubled the vanilla amount, using pure “Mexican vanilla.”
4. I used salted butter, so lowered salt amount to 1/4tsp per batch.
5. I used “quick oats.”
6. I used a 12-oz bag of semi-sweet morsels for the double-batch… I did not measure.
Results: Outstanding! I started checking at 10 minutes… 18 minutes was enough time. Letting the cookies finish cooking/cooling on the cookie sheets was easy… the cookies came right off the parchment paper and did not burn whatsoever.
Using the banana-flavored peanut butter was on a whim… but it turned out great! The essence is there, and the peanut butter (Planter’s) package said the banana flavor is just banana chips and sugar. All other ingredients were properly proportioned. The cookies did not fall apart when cooled, which was great!
Me again… several other things I did different, now that I slept on it:
1. I only used one egg per batch. (I omitted the extra egg yolk inadvertently). This happened because I had the two eggs out… then later decided to double my batch, and forgot to get more eggs out. Still turned out great
2. I softened the butter (in the microwave) in lieu of melting.
3. I only used 1/2 cup (one stick) of salted butter per batch.
4. I added the eggs with the sugar and butter, then added peanut butter, then flour mixture, then oatmeal, using a mixer. Then I folded the chocolate chips into the (quite thick by now) cookie dough.
5. I used an ice-cream scoop (the kind you would see at an ice-cream parlor) to ‘guestimate’ a scant-1/4 cup. My first 8 cookies were quite thick, and a bit larger than the rest… I found it easier to adjust the size of my dough using an ice-cream scoop vs. a measuring cup, being 100 times easier just to ‘roll the dough’ onto your hand to finish the dough ball and split in half.
6. Regarding shaping the cookies: When you go to “jam your dough back together” you might find yourself with something more like a blob that might leave you scratching your head. I found that after you split your dough ball in half, if you (sort-of) “roll your hands back on themselves,” with the jagged edge of the cookie dough facing up, you will get a very nice dough ball with a jagged top. What I mean by rolling your hands back onto themselves… you are holding the dough balls in your hands, after splitting, and then with a singular, rotating motion, bring your knuckles together (more or less). I found that using this motion to put together/finish off my dough balls resulted in a more consistent jagged-top cookie.
Perhaps I have made enough changes to this recipe to call it my own. Good luck with your cookies and feel free to reply to this thread with your comments, both good and bad. Cheers!
Me again… for a second time.
One last thing I did differently: I only used 1 cup of all-purpose flour per batch. :)
Me again. Well, I just figured out why my recipe was so “different” than this one… I had two recipes on two different windows/tabs, and I guess I was going back and forth between two different recipes without even realizing it! So I guess I will re-write this recipe and perhaps publish it on my daughter’s blog-sight or something like that.
Lastly… try baking at 350 degrees Fahr. (175 degrees Celc.) instead of 325 degrees… just keep an eye of the edges of the cookies. If they start turning brown (don’t worry, the centers/tops will still be soft, even if you overcook them a bit), they are done and will finish cooking on the cookie sheets.
NOT thick and chewy. I divided my dough into three batches. The first were really thin and 15 minutes was way too long. Thin and crispy cookies? No thanks. The second batch I baked shorter but were still really thin. The last batch I put in the fridge over night hoping that would help, but it actually seemed to make them worse. Not sure if I did something wrong but I don’t know if I will try them again.
I gotta say that these came out perfectly for me—I baked them for exactly 17 minutes in my oven and rotated them as in directions. They are puffy and chewy and really are not overly sweet (to me, anyway.). I hope they retain the chewiness in my tupperware container. By the way, do they turn out just as well if you freeze them or freeze the dough? I would like to make another batch and freeze the dough for Christmas baking so if any of you posters have done this, please share your thoughts. It is a great recipe and I love the fact you omit creaming the butter and sugars—takes so much time. Oh! Did want to say that I prefer using Ghiradelli chocolate over the other brand —it really is a better chocolate and you will taste the difference.
These are by far the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! I keep coming back to your recipes- you never disappoint. Keep them coming :-)
taste delicious but spread out a lot on to tray i might have put too much butter in them
smell nice but spread out heaps all over tray !
Made these once before and they came out perfect. Changed it up a bit tonight by using 1 cup of semisweet chunks and 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips. Then I took 1 cup of kettle cooked potato chips and 1 cup of thin sour dough pretzels and crushed them and added to the dough. Awesome sweet and salty combination!
I used all purpose flour and EGGS HAVE TO BE AT ROOM TEMPATURE AS WELL. : )
I was pretty disappointed with these cookies. They turned out flat and crispy, definitely not fluffy and chewy. The whole house smelled of butter instead of baking cookies.
I just finished baking these and they are incredible! The best chocolate chip cookie ever! It even made my brother stop being angry at me and tell me it was the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made. Sticking to this one now!:))
I made these and they were perfect! Ive tried so many chocolate chip cookie recipes only to end up disappointed. I cant recommend that others try these – the melted butter and extra yolk make such a difference :)
After lots of searching, compiling and comparing recipes for the best thick n chewy CCC, I made these tonight with a lil tweaking. Definitely the best looking/ tasting I have ever made! Only changes were: Used bleached flour because I already had. Used 1stick of melted butter and 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of melted butter flavored Crisco. Used 3/4 tsp of baking soda instead of 1/2. After wet ingredients were all mixed (according to directions) I stirred in 2 cups of chocolate chunks by hand with spoon, then added the dry ingredients in 3 increments, stirring (also by spoon) after each addition. Stopped stirring as soon as flour was no longer visible. Put scooped dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet, then chilled 30min in fridge, then right into oven. Baked on convection @ 325 for 4 min, then reduced heat to 300 for 11 min. These cookies were thicker than the ones pictured. Made 16 cookies (probably would have made 17 or 18 but some of the dough disappeared!
Hi there,
I apologize if someone else has asked this already but have you ever made this cookie with oatmeal? I would love to try it but get a little “squimish” about experiments. I have an oatmeal cookie recipe that calls for craisins and white chocolate chips and I would like to adapt this recipe to make them thick and chewy and AWESOME!!!!
Hi Lisa, I would recommend this recipe for an oatmeal cookie: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/12/04/chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/. You could omit the raisins and add in your craisins and white chocolate chips. Enjoy!
Could I use regular all-purpose flour, and possibly chopped hershey kisses instead of semi-sweet chocolates?
This recipe does call for all-purpose flour; about the kisses – I think they would melt too much; chips tend to hold their shape in cookies a little better.
lovely cookies! :) however the mix turned out more like cake mix, but that was easily compromised!
These are lovely! I’ve made these several times and everyone iI’ve given them to before always asks for them.
O.EM.GEE! These have answered my chocolate chip cookie prayers! I have searched for YEARS for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe…I didn’t think I was ever going to find it. Until now! Thank you SO much! :)
I’m baking these right now….had my two littles helping me, so it was more hectic than if I were baking by myself, (but more fun), and dangit…I didn’t melt the butter. I just softened it. Hope the end result is still good. :)
I love your recipes!
These cookies are A-MAZING! Very thick and oh so chewy!! I have made so many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies but this one is my new favorite. I made them twice, the first time they were flat but I discovered it was because I beat/mixed my batter too much! I also used a scale to weigh my ingredients the second time and that also made a huge difference! I made sure my butter was close to room temp before adding to the sugar and then creamed together on a medium/low speed (level 3 on my KitchenAid mixer) for about 2 minutes, just until smooth. I whisked the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla together in a separate cup and then slowly incorporated with my mixer on low until mixed, about 30 seconds. Then I added the flour mixture a little at a time on low just until incorporated and lastly, hand mixed the chocolate chips into the batter. 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips were the perfect amount for my taste! I put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, scooped out 2.1oz size balls and cooked for 15 minutes on parchment paper. However I only baked 1 sheet at a time in the center rack, 6 cookies per sheet. I did not rotate while cooking….they still came out perfectly. THANK YOU for this great recipe!! :)
They are the best cookies ever!! Turned out perfect the first time. I can’t wait to make them again!! Really simple and easy to follow instructions.
These cookies tured out perfect! My husband, the Cookie Monster said these are his favourites. They turned out fluffy, soft and chewy. Bravo for this recipe.
After hours of searching on the internet for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, I stumbled across this one that was actually from a link placed on another website that asked how to make The Perfect Cookie. I Made this Recipe exactly as it says without any tweaks or substitutes. They came out PERFECT! THEY WERE THE BEST COOKIES I’ve EVER MADE! Noone at work believed me that I actually made them from scratch. They truely are as good if not better than the cookies you buy at one of those gourmet bakeries. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! ♡
I saw a comment by a Bekah if I believe and she kind of outlined what she did in this recipe and how she made it work for her and I thought it was a good idea! So I will do the same :D.
I have baked these cookies a handful of times and (not counting the first time) they have ALWAYS turned out great :D. Yesterday when I made them I discovered I didn’t have any salt (who runs out of salt!?) and I crossed my fingers hoping it would turn out okay but it did :D. So for anyone out there who for whatever reason doesn’t have any salt, the world is NOT going to end ~.~.
I do pretty much exactly what the recipe tells me to do. Initially I add in the whole egg with an additional egg yolk. But I am super anal about over beating or mixing so after that step I take out my hand mixer and carefully whisk in the flour mixture. Oh and also, when you melt the butter, be sure that you sit in the fridge for a good minute. You don’t want to add in the chocolate chips in when the dough is really hot from the melted butter because then the chips melt lol. This hasn’t happened to me, but my dad was making a healthier version of cookies and he didn’t cool the coconut oil before adding everything else in and that happened to him. I should add that the recipe he made still turned out great! (except for some reason the next day the natural sweetener he used was completely over bearing to taste). This is just a cautionary statement :).
I believe when I made these cookies the first time I just added the the egg plus one yolk. But for some reason those cookies….were a bit off. When I tasted the dough before putting them in the oven it tasted really grainy to me. My mother reported the same thing to me. They were still thick and chewy and tasted amazing but there was that minimal difference. So what I do to prevent that from happening is that after I whisk in the dry ingredients if I taste it and its a liiiiiiiitle too grainy for me I add in a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle bit more egg white. Just a tad! And for some reason, wallah, the dough is just perfect for me lol. I then with my freshly washed hands (don’t forget underneath the nails!) work the chocolate chips in with my hand. Using the whisk for that is just annoying to me because the chips get stuck in between the wires. But that’s my preference.
Recently I have had the amazingly bright idea to sit my dough in the freezer so it can harden. I have found that after all of the ingredients are blended in if I put them in the oven they will flatten out very easy. Still good! But flat. So I roll the dough in some plastic wrap and throw it in the freezer. Then I just take out fairly big chunks with a tablespoon. I tried the method outlined in that picture once but I find that my rough chunks that I spoon out give me the same results :). I don’t really want to roll the dough balls because I don’t want them to be perfect looking.
Finally, I take them out and set them on a wire rack once I see the BOTTOM of the outer edges are brown and crispy but the sides of the edges aren’t brown but to the touch they are firm and puffy at the same time. They aren’t hard. I feel it is important to let them cool down on the wire rack because as the pan cools over time it is continuing the slow process of baking the cookies even further in the middle just enough so they are really thick and chewy and just….just…just heavenly.
These cookies generally don’t last a day. I eat a few straight out of the oven because they are amazing that way. But you can store them in a container or do like I do and put them all on one plate and wrap it in plastic wrap lol. I put them in the fridge because my parents just…always seem to put them in the fridge but I just pop them in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds so they get all gooey and warm again. Tastes amazing. Thank you Michelle for giving us this recipe! Sorry this was a long post but I figured someone could benefit from what I did :).
Happy Baking! <3
Lol, I made these but forgot the half cup of white sugar! I didn’t realize it until I reread the recipe after they were baked. No wonder hubby wasn’t so trilled about them. I thought I had over baked them because they were browner than usual. Since they have less sugar, I decided to try half a cookie. They taste okay and are a little cake like. Ah well. The batter was amazing though, lol. I will have to try the recipe correctly another day. Thanks for sharing!
I just made these cookies tonight and they are freaking amazing. By far the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. I have no idea why so many people had problems with this recipe. I followed the instructions pretty much to a T and they turned out perfect. Thank you!
I had stopped making chocolate chip cookies altogether because all my attempts resulted in flat, ugly looking cookies. I tried your recipe reluctantly…and was so pleasantly surprised!! These cookies were absolutely perfect-they looked like the pictures of cookies that I see in cookbooks but could never make myself. And they taste delicious! This will now be my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe twice in about one week and they were amazing! The first time, I waited too long to remove them from the oven and they spread a bit, but were still tasty. But the second time, I removed them sooner and made sure my butter had cooled entirely and they were so delicious. They looked and tasted just like a bakery cookie. I got a lot of compliments. I will definitely make them again, but when I have time I’m trying the infamous NY Times recipe.
These cookies are simply the best.
I’ve now made them twice now. As a matter of fact, my second batch is in the oven right this moment. Every lady should have a perfect cookie recipe to make for her little ones someday, and I’ve just found mine!
These cookies are everything your recipe promises– they are soft, chewy, delicious, and a visual delight!
You, my dear lady, are a wonder. I’ve already passed this recipe on twice.
Well done!
Well….
Tried this recipe today. I reduced the butter by 1/4. Then used 2 tbsp shortening along with the remainder of the (unsalted) butter.
Convection oven at 325 degrees.
Cookies were sensational! Fine easy recipe! Thanks!
These were fantastic! However, when i followed the recipe exactly, they were super flat. I had to add more flour to turn the batter into a thicker batter. You know you have added enough flour if you can pick up a chunk of cookie dough with two fingers and not have the batter slide back into the bowl from your fingers. These cookies were probably the chewiest I have ever had and were as thick as the picture! I omitted step 4 because 1/4 cup of cookie dough per cookie would make a small dinner plate sized cookie. I just did about 1 1/2 tablespoon of batter per cookie and they were a little larger than the palm of my hand. I also didn’t understand half of step 4. haha I also did not worry about moving the cookie sheets around in the oven. I just let them be on a middle rack. I hope this helps!
I made these cookies a few weeks ago and they were delicious! I followed the directions “to a T” but found that while my cookies were chewy (I like them that way…) they were not “thick”. My cookies did spread a bit.
Any helpful hints? What did I do wrong?
Thank you, Brown-eyed Baker… you are a cookie angel!
Hi Lisa, Make sure you allow the butter to cool down to room temperature before using it. Also, I recommend parchment or a silicone baking mat versus greasing the pan. Good luck!
I measured flour in cups and when the dough was ready I saw that I have to add more flour otherwise they would become thin. next time I will weight the flour. The only thing I did differently I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. In my oven I had to bake them for 25 minute and they still stayed very light in color almost pale. May be it because I use less sugar, but usually I cut sugar in American recipes for cookie in half and they are sweet enough. I shaped them with ice cream scoop, received 20 big cookies.
Thank you for the recipe!
I guess my search for the best chocolate cookie recipe stops here at your blog. Thank you so much for sharing especially on how to shape the cookies and produce the jagged edges.. Love it and it is a Must! :)
I really like how the people who comment here acknowledge that they may have done something wrong during the baking process when their cookies turn out bad or environmental factors may have played a part, and they are going to try again. I was searching for chocolate chip cookie recipes on Allrecipes and some of the comments on the recipes said how the cookies were disgusting, awful, was nothing like what the author stated, they were never going to make them again, etc. They’re saying it’s the recipes’ fault for their bad cookies when they may have done something wrong. As stated here in the comments, there are a number of factors that could cause bad cookies: faulty oven temperature, not using baking paper, not cooling the butter enough, over mixing the dough, etc.
Can I use Cake Flour instead?
Hi Clarina, I would not recommend it, as the texture of the cookies will be significantly different.
thanks so much for this recipe. the cookies came out perfectly, thick and chewy. my family gives it a “double thumbs up”! Normally my cookies are hard and crispy, which every one in my family does NOT enjoy. You made me a winner this batch! YAY!!
I used this cookie recipe and put oreos in the center and they are AMAZING! Best chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever made! :D Thanks!
I love love love this recipe!! People rave for these cookies, though I do make some modifications. I only use brown sugar anywhere from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup, and that’s it.. no more sugar. Also I use whole wheat flour and only 2 cups, without those 2 extra tbsp, though I’ve made them with white flour and still I only use 2 cups.
Ok I just made these and followed direction. The flavor is fantastic. Beautiful and thick when right out of oven BUT then after cooling on cookie sheets they are FLAT! I didnt over mix when adding dry ingredients to wet. What went wrong? This is a recipe I would like to make again but only if they turn out thick and chewy. HELP!
A couple of things could have happened – the butter could have been too warm… also, did you use parchment paper or did you grease a cookie sheet? Greasing cookie sheet usually imparts way too much fat that can get soaked up into cookies, resulting in flat cookies that spread.
OMG these were amazing… I used white chocolate chips (preference thing) and wow. Sidenote: I have never in my life made cookies, period. This was my first hoorah and it was far better than I could have imagined. Thank you!
Hi, does it matter if the brown sugar has molasses as an ingredient? Thanks
All brown sugar is actually made by adding molasses to white sugar, so you’re fine.
Just made these and they are delicious! I added walnuts and just rolled them into balls, the size the recipe suggested. BUT I don’t think they taste that different from my usual recipe, which is the NESTLE tollhouse recipe. In a taste test, I don’t think many would be able to tell the difference. My recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag comes out just as chewy as these too, they’re just smaller.
This is almost identical to the cookie recipe I’ve come up with over my years of tweaking. I’ve always used 1 cup of butter and think they turn out a little greasy (I’m the only one who thinks this). I’m going to cut my recipe back by 1/2 stick and see how it goes. Thanks!
Great recipe!!! I just made these and they are going in my favorites… Turned out perfect… I used measuring cups/spoons not weights… Followed instructions, only had salted butter and didn’t pull them apart… Just rolled into balls about the size of a golf ball, still looked like bakery cookies… Little tip::: I didn’t over mix and folded chocolate chips with my hands… Baked at 325 for 15 mins, no more, no less… Thanx, Luey…
I left the mixer going, tossed the chocolate chips in there and then proceeded to go check on the kids, forgot about it for a good 5 minutes, so it was way over mixed, but still turned out perfect. Only difference was the roughed up tops didn’t stay as obvious after baking, but that 15 minute suggestion was spot on with how long I did mine and they were amazing.
QUESTION! I made these last night and the dough was so crumbly I couldn’t make cookies. It reminded me of moon sand. I am at 8500 feet altitude and I’m guessing that maybe I need more egg? I tried to salvage the dough and make blondies out of them but with all the butter the outside cooked and the inside stayed doughy. Any suggestions would be great because I think these could be my new favorite!
Thanks!
Yikes, it definitely sounds like it may be an altitude issue, as most times these cookies lean towards the other end of the spectrum – the batter being a little too much on the soft side. I have never baked at high altitude; I know there are a lot of guides and suggestions out there that you could consult. If you have any standby alterations that you make to recipes, you could try that too.
These can be shaped into balls and frozen. When you want one (or 7), pull out the desired amount, place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 300, turning half way through the baking time.
Love this recipe but I was wondering if there’s a way to make it with whole wheat flour. It’s currently all I have in my cupboard but my first attempt left the cookie dough dry and crumbly. :c
Hi Josie, I normally don’t recommend using whole wheat flour unless a recipe has been specifically formulated for it. If you’ve already tried it and found the dough to be dry and crumbly, my guess is that it’s not going to work. Usually, you can only substitute up to 1/2 whole wheat for all-purpose flour and still hope to have decent results.
Oh well thanks anyway. I was actually able to make it work my second time around but, I’m still going to play around with it. I think the only reason it came out dry and crumbly the first time was because I had followed the recipe the whole way through. Unfortunately that doesn’t work well without making changes. So I will continue to make changes until I run out of flour. c: Thanks for this great recipe and your feedback. :D
Awesome recipe, I have tried too many CC cookie recipes with average results. I am a huge fan of large chewy cookies, and these turned out amazing! Thanks for the post! Keep up the good work. Do you have a place to submit pictures? I like seeing hows others turned out so I’m sure others may too!
I too have been on the hunt for a new “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe. I found a few that I liked “ok” that claimed to be the BEST, but always found them lacking something… I tried this recipe for the first time this week and they were amazing. My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I took them to work with me and my team loved them as well. I am making them again as we speak. I thought the recipe was super easy to make. But a couple of notes from my end, I don’t have a kitchen scale, so I just measured as always. When I tried to do the ball rolling, split apart method, I found the dough was way to sticky for that (refrigerating for a bit probably would have helped). I ended up with cookie dough stuck pretty well all over my hands. I am not complaining… can’t say that I mind licking delicious cookie dough off of my hands. So instead of the pull apart method, I just used tablespoons and made big spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. They still came out looking like the picture. Nice and crackly. The final note from my side is that I cooked the batch first for 8 minutes, then rotated. But then instead of 8 minutes on the final part, I watched the cookies like a hawk. I think it ended up being more like 5-6 minutes. Cooled as directed and they were perfection. Gone in 24 hours. Thanks again.
A couple other notes on my process with these cookies since I have made the recipe no less than 20 times now… (yes I have a problem with chocolate chip cookies). :D I use sea salt instead of iodized and love this because every now and then you get a little chunk of salt that make such a nice balance with the sweet of the cookie. If you like “salted caramel anything” this is the way to go. Also I only use really good butter. This makes a big difference. I don’t usually cool the butter all the way down. I like how the warm butter caramelizes the sugars… Plus I don’t like to have to wait. The only other thing I should say is that these cookies truly are THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE. And I have been hunting for a long time. Everyone I make them for tells me I should be selling them on the street and can’t stop eating them. So thanks again for the recipe. Changed my life forever. :D I won’t be making another chocolate chip cookie again, and I know this recipe will be passed along for generations in my family.
Found same recipe via America’s Test Kitchen. I was hopeful. Gooey and yummy out of the oven last night but even though in airtight container…hard as rocks today.
Made these cookies a couple of weeks ago and they are excellent! I had a few mishaps however. I found the dough to be a bit dry, then my DD accidentally added another 3/4 bag of chocolate chips making them super duper chocolaty. I then baked them a bit to long so they ended up more crispy but I found that they didn’t really spread out at all and I still had more mounds than flat cookies. We still ate them and sent some over to DD friends houses. Tonight I am making them with coconut oil (12 TBS is ALOT!), shredded coconut in place of the chocolate chips and the 1/4 bag of chips we have left over. Hopefully they will turn out well, they are in the oven now!
I finally made these cookies after months of bookmarking the recipe!!! I followed the recipe to a T , but I did not have a Full cup of light brown sugar so I topped it off with dark brown sugar. The melted butter was cooled to Warm as stated. I do not have luck with parchment paper , it burns it our oven so I used the cookies sheets that my mom has used for DECADES, so the non stick is no longer. The cookies were soft in middle at first after cooling but hours after being in air tight container they were crisp all way thru. What did I do wrong? Some comments state that the butter is to be COOL . Which is correct.. warm or cool completely? The cookies were soft in middle when taken out of oven..How soft should they be at this point?? To make sure of not over baking them??
Still YUMMY!!
On the brown sugar bit…I don’t keep brown sugar in my house simply because I don’t use it very often and I hate the rock of a disaster it becomes after a while so I make my own brown sugar when I need it. I just mix the amount of white sugar called for with some molasses mixing it until there are no more molasses lumps…seems to work out fine for me. So if you have molasses and no brown sugar there is an option for you.
Hi Gail, I usually melt the butter before I do anything else, and then go about getting all of the other ingredients ready, prepped, etc. By then the butter is usually about room temperature, which seems to work well. When you take the cookies out of the oven the cookies shouldn’t even be baked the whole way through in the middle – they should be lightly brown and set around the edges, but still very pale and puffy in the middle. If you were to put your finger on the middle, it would just be goo. However, the residual heat from the baking sheets helps to finish baking the cookies as they set up.
Made these this afternoon…fantastic they were! Hoping for enough to go in my grandkids’ lunches this week.
These were AWESOME!! I have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but didn’t have all of the ingredients to make it…I searched and found this recipe.
I have a new favorite <3
These were amazing, and the illustration was very helpful! Thanks, Michelle!
These are sooooo good! My husband, friends, neighbors beg me to make them:) also, if you are looking for a thick cookie, using baking powder instead of baking soda and cook them a bit longer than the recipe says. I did that on accident and they came out thick and so yummy! I still prefer the original recipe though;)
Quick question. I have made these before and they are my all time FAVORITE cookie; however, I have lost the recipe. When I finally found it again, or at least what I thought was the original recipe, on the ATK Feed their measurements for flour are 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 2/3 ounces) and your recipe calls for 10 5/8 ounces. The recipe at http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipes/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/ looks like the original one; however, they do not pull the cookies apart in this one and to me that is what makes the cookie! Any feedback would be helpful as I am making several batches of these cookies for friends and family for Christmas and want to make certain I get it right because I weigh all of my ingredients and know that it can make a huge difference if it is off. I really LOVE your blog!!!!
Hi Cynthia, I’m not sure if ATK modified their recipe since originally publishing this one, but this version is the only one I ever use. Enjoy!
Got lucky to have the cookies turn out great on the first try! Highly recommended, the instructions were very easy to follow- especially for an amateur baker like me :) So proud of my cookies. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I have made these several times and they are always delicious. So yesterday I made them with white chocolate chips, walnuts and chocolate chunks. I do not think I have ever ate a better cookie! The teachers at my school loved them too. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I have shared it many times along with the website.
Ok second go around with the recipe. Got demands from work to make more! This time I used the correct flour and the dough looked right this time. First batch out of oven…we will see if they retain their chewy texture after fully cooling…wish me luck!
Hi,
Can I make this dough ahead of time and freeze individual balls to bake a week later? Thanks!
Hi Gena, Yes, you may just need to add a minute or two to the baking time.
Oh and I forgot to mention that my chocolate chips kept falling to the bottom of the mixing bowl and not really sticking in the dough…what did I do wrong?
Hi Jen, By adding flour, too much may have been absorbed by the cookies, which could have made them hard. These cookies usually stay soft and chewy for days (up to a week) before they get a little stale. I always recommend using parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, to ensure that there are no extra ingredients being absorbed by the baked goods.
Not sure what you mean by adding flour….do you mean maybe I added too much? I want to try these again bc even tho they were hard everyone loved loved loved them!!
Hi! Tried the recipe today and they looked perfect. They we soft and chewy right out of the oven after cooling for a minute. But one I put them on the plate and they were out for fifteen minutes or so they were hard and crispy and not chewy. I used baking spray with flour on the baking sheets. Any suggestions as to why they turned hard? Thanks!
hi, i tried making them, but the dough was buttery, is that the way its supposed to be? and i noticed that when i use a parchment paper it seems a little oily on the bottom. that’s the only “problem” i seem to have, and my melted butter was actually at room temperature already. do you think it has to do with humidity? I live in a tropical country :) Other than those two things, I think these are the bomb!
Hi Nina, While the dough is a little buttery, there shouldn’t be any oil left on the parchment paper. I’m not sure what you mean that the melted butter was already at room temperature? What you want to do is melt the butter, then let it sit until it cools back down to room temperature.
I have been searching for the perfect chewy choc. chip cookie. My family is very picky about their cookies. I made “cookie A” this morning and they were perfect! A huge hit. Thanks so much for the recipe!
What is the difference between creaming butter and sugar, and just mixing it like this recipe says?
Hi Katherine, Creaming the butter and sugar results in a little bit more of a lighter, crisper cookie. Mixing it as the recipe describes is part of what gives it that thicker, gooey texture.
If I wanted to make them smaller, how long should I bake them??
It is a great recipe!
Hi Stephanie, It all depends on how small. Depending on the size you use, I’d probably start checking them around the 8-minute mark.
Hi I am in England and want to use thus recipe however you are using measurements in cups and sticks can you please advise in ounces or grams please
Hi Tracey, Most of the ingredients above are actually in ounces; the amount of butter would be 6 ounces.
Made these today. They are amazing! Trying to talk myself out of eating ALL of them. So chewy and awesome!
And to all the people who are getting thin batter, I think I have solved your problem. When you mix the melted butter and sugars together you need to mix it for a couple of good minutes. When you mix it more it thickens a bit and starts to get a lighter, creamy look. After that just add all the rest of your ingredients as you would and they should turn out fine :)
Oh, and be generous with the brown sugar. FIRMLY pack it and you’re good to go :)
This was not good! I got chocolate chip disks!!!! Followed directions perfect! These are not thick and chewy!
These were awful. I followed the recipe exactly and they tasted like butter. Even the consistency of the cookies were awful. No I did not overcook them. I’m very upset with how much of my baking stuff I wasted making these. I will not use this recipe again.
I’ve tried it last night with my som and it was so tasty but a bit hard which I think that eather the temperature was a bit high or it was cooked too long.. I kept it for 18 min with switching up to pottom but want to know the temp to use for next time…. Thank you so much as I’ve searched for such recipes long ago…<3
Did I pay attention to let the melted butter cool? Nope. But it wasn’t scorching hot either. I just used a standard 1/4 c. ice cream scoop. Why didn’t I pull apart and re-squish them?? Too lazy I guess. They still came out absolutley perfect. I won’t make another chocolate chip cookie other than this one.
looks great! would love these recipes in metric too for ease but il convert for now.. !
And add oatmeal to this?
I would not recommend adding oatmeal, as it will definitely affect the texture of the cookie. I do have some oatmeal cookie recipes that you can add chocolate chips to; I would recommend going that route.
Hey can I refrigerate this dough for a day also?
Yes, you can refrigerate it!
Update: The cookies looked perfect right out of the oven, but as they cooled, they started to deflate. Am I baking too long, or not enough? I baked them for 15 minutes. Please help! They still have an awesome flavor, but I really like a THICK cookie. Thank you!
I have tried another similar variation of this recipe & they did not turn out. This one, on the other hand, turned out perfect! I done everything you stated to do, except weighing the ingredients, as I don’t own a scale & wow, I’m so pleased with the results. Thank you so much!
This recipe is awesome! Like everyone else, I’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. The brown sugar to sugar ratio is key here (2:1). I did not refrigerate the cookie dough as others did and they came out perfect. I cut the recipe in half because we didn’t need all of those cookies. ; )
Took me about a dozen tries before I got these cookies soft and gooey yet quite crisp. The texture was retained finally after it has cooled. My son enjoyed rolling the cookie dough into balls as much as eating them after they were done. Great recipe.
I think this is the first recipe on your site that I’ve tried & don’t like. Just finished making your dark chocolate cupcakes w/ the cream cheese icing from your red velvet cupcake recipe and these turned out wonderfully! The cookies on the other hand were thin, crispy on the outside and too soft on the inside, and way way too sugarery!! I made them exactly as the recipe dictated, even put them in the fridge so I could form the balls better, as well as tried extra baking soda in one of the batches…but they end up so thin each time that they fall apart when I pull them off the baking sheet. After 4 tries, the remainder batter is in the fridge… Any suggestions for really thickening these up? Thanks!
I just made these for my daughter’s volunteer school project. I normally make sugar free cookies, because I personally can’t have too much sugar. But she informed me that I couldn’t get “healthy” on these because they asked for regular chocolate chip cookies. So I came across your recipe on Pinterest and gave them a go. I followed your instructions to a T, even weighing everything, and I have to say, these are the best freakin cookies I have ever made/ate!! Yes, I did eat a 1/4 of one. I want more, but I know it’ll make me sick, so I am refraining. I wanted to try to make them sugar free, but with the precise measurements I was afraid of the conversion ratio. Would you perhaps have any suggests?
Hi Dora, I’m glad the cookies were a hit! I generally don’t do sugar-free baking so I’m not sure how you could eliminate the sugar in these and still get the same flavor/texture. You could try using Splenda as a substitute… I haven’t tried it, but if you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
THE MOST delicious chocolate chip cookie ever…hands down!! Thank you for the recipe. They turned out perfect. I can’t wait to try making them with chopped up Reese’s PB cups instead of the chips! These will be the hit of the bake sale for sure :)
I tried this recipe. It was good but the dough was super buttery. I noticed its the same as the white chocolate macadamia recipe, except this one has twice the butter! Is that a mistake?
BTW, the white chocolate macadamia recipe is TO DIE FOR! I pinned both of these recipes on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing! Love your blog!
Hi Emily, Not a mistake! Make sure to let the melted butter cool completely before proceeding with the recipe. It can make a big difference in the final outcome!
I made these 3 days ago and it will definitely be my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and they baked up perfect and are STILL soft today (3 days later!!!). I did notice that they work best if you make them pretty big. The smaller ones seemed to spread and flattned a bit more. Absolutely fabulous!
Do you have a recommendation for adapting to a high (5000 ft) elevation?
Hi Peg, There are some general guidelines for high altitude baking on the FAQ page: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/baking-faq/
I’ve been using your recipe for over a year using softened butter & had not noticed my mistake! I often thought, your recipe was chewier than all the other CCC recipes I’ve tried so it became my fav CCC recipe, though I felt it was lacking in the chewiness I was looking for. Today, I had someone to copy down the recipe for me from your site & I noticed “melted” after the word butter, I’ve never made cookies with melted butter before, so I checked your site myself to confirm it was copied right. I made it with the correct instructions today & got abit worried when dough turned out wetter than the avg cookie dough but the end results it was superb! Definitely was waaaayyyyy better than with softened butter. The chewiness I was looking for! :D & it’s so easy to make too, I don’t even use my mixer, I just use a whisk! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. It would be great if you could come up with different variations of your amazing CCC.
Amazing.. easy to follow recipe.. cookies turned out thick,crunchy on the outside .. chewy and cake like on the inside. Added both white and milk choc chips.
WOW – paroxysms and mega-backflips!! These are rock-your-world splendiferous. Seriously, impossible to come up with the appropriate superlatives to describe these cookies. Tender, yet chewy. Resistant, yet yielding, melt-in-your-mouth loveliness. Butter ramps up the delightfulness. A taste of the dough left me skeptical, as it had megawatt sweetness. I was concerned. But the angst was unnecessary. Once baked, they’re perfectly sweetened. Leave it to the folks at Cooks Illustrated to find the ne-plus-ultra, holy grail of chocolate chip cookies.
I’m not sure what I did wrong but these cookies turned out REALLY oily and flat. Like you bite into them and you can feel the grease. :(
Hi Rosie, A couple of things could have happened… It’s important to make sure that the melted butter has completely cooled before proceeding with the recipe; if it’s too warm, the cookies will spread. Also, it’s best to line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; if you greased the sheet with butter, shortening or spray, that could have contributed to the cookies spreading and tasting greasy. Finally, if your oven temperature is off, it could definitely affect the final outcome of the cookies. I always recommend getting an oven thermometer (they’re less than $10) to make sure the temperature is accurate.
I finally baked this recipe, and they are A M A Z I N G ! ! ! Even though I had run out of my “good” vanilla, and even though I used off-brand chocolate chips, they are absolutely delicious. FYI, I chose to use dark brown sugar for the added “deep” flavor it would impart, and I roasted and caramelized sugar on a handful of pecans, which must have increased the yummy factor exponentially. According to my 26-year-old son, they shouldn’t be legal : ).
Thank you for this recipe! It is absolutely wonderful, and I was glad for the weight measurements since I recently got myself a digital scale and I wanted to try it out. Although I have to say this cookie is a tad “too” sweet for some people (me included), but I did use dark brown sugar, so I don’t know if that affected it, I’ll just have to omit the white sugar next time.
I was able to yield about 40 cookies from these using a tablespoon of dough.
Wow, I’ve just tried this recipe and the cookies came out great! I think this is probably the first time I’ve succeeded with a cookies recipe, haha, so thanks a lot!
My cookies didnt turn out good. I have tried different recipes and I always get cakey like cookies, not chewy. Any body can give me advice? Thanks
Hi Isabela, If you are having the same result with different types of recipes, you might want to check into getting an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature is correct. That could definitely be the issue. If they are dry, it could also be an issue with overmixing the batter.
I was so excited to try this recipe! I was so disappointed when it came time to shape them, then split and rotate 90 degrees. My dough was too sticky and runny. But I STILL tried to do it because it sounded so ‘professional chef-like’, ya know! lol. Obviously, that didn’t work seeing as the consistency was so off. I tried adding a little bit more flour and sugar. I saw that many people warned about over-mixing and I’m assuming I had done that! Adding the flour and sugar really had no effect. lol. BUT, they did come out of the oven deliciously. In fact, they were a LOT like the chewy chips ahoy cookies, which I love! So yay for that! lol. 2 days later, I’ve just finished the last of the cookies and it still tasted delicious. I definitely intend to try this recipe again without using my mixer! I’m going to stir by hand this time and HOPEFULLY I won’t over-mix and it will turn out just right! Either way, it’s my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve found thus far! Thank you sooo much! ^_^
These were FANTASTIC!!!!!
We didn’t have unsalted butter so we just used salted. We also used 2 cups of Chocolate chips. And used a largish cookie scoop to make the balls. These really were the very best cookies we’ve ever made. We were very careful not to over mix. I think if anyone has problems with this recipe that that may be the problem. Can’t wait to make these again. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Can you sub margarine instead of butter?
Hi Alli, I would not recommend it. The flavor will be dramatically different and I can’t guarantee that the texture would turn out the same either.
I am impressed with this recipe and I don’t think I’ll ever roll another chocolate chip cookie again. I love how they look with that pull apart method. So glad I found your site! Thanks!
I love this recipe! Whenever I have a craving for cookies this is my go too. Every time I make them they get better and they look so gourmet. I prefer using dark chocolate chips and I have even chopped up the chocolate truffles from Costco and made a chocolate chunk version. <3
AMAZING COOKIES!
sooo easy to make and they are simply delicious!:)
thank you for the recipe!
ps: i am no expert baker I think anyone could make this recipe! i chilled mine for a little bit in the fridge and used hersey chocolate chunks because I did not have any chocolate chips!
I made these cookies today with mixed results. Let me start by saying these are unbeliveably tasty, and the flavor is not at all the problem I had. I followed the recipe to the tee, going so far as to weight all the ingredients, and mix by hand so as to be sure not to over mix. I weighed each cookie to 62 grams, and it did indeed make identically sized18 cookies (first time that’s ever happened) . I rolled them, then pulled them apart then squished them together again, and they really did have that uneven look i’ve always tried to get. That’s the good part, however, despite the fact that I did all of that, and I rotated the sheets and timed them to 18 minutes (because no way was 15 enough) and took them out before they looked done to me, the first 2 sheets came out looking great, then they cooled and flattened out like all my other cookies do. The 3rd sheet was different. I actually wound up cooking them for about 20 minutes somewhat by accident, and they are PERFECT !!!!! So, now I know, my oven is 20 minutes.. i also sprinkled with cinnamon and sea salt. Some may think this is weird, I can assure you, it is not. Try it, you might be surprised. In short don’t over mix or under bake.. and they will turn out awesome. I can’t wait to make them again !!!!! THANKS !!!!
I could not agree more with the importance of weighing your ingredients, especially when baking. Thanks for the recipe. The pic looks amazing!
OMG – these are the most perfect chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten . thank you
Simply amazing! Debuted these lovelies on 4th of July and not a crumb left. This is simply fab with Ghirardelli chips and pecans! I’m definitely the cookie champ! Thanks a dozen times!
Oh nooooes. I ran out of parchment paper so I had to put them an inch apart! I hope it doesn’t….oh ….nevermind its kinda already….yeaaaaaah these are NOT going to be perfect looking cookies. I wonder if I should take them out…. and space them….
Okay, It turned out alright :) Not ALL of the cookies touched together…..But I will say this…..
THESE COOKIES ARE THE BOMB DOT COM!
I have never made a cookie in my life. I barely even like chocolate chip cookies because to me they have always been very boring and too chocolatey and too sweet at times. But after I followed all your rules, and tried them once they cooled. OH MY GAWD it was like an explosion of chocolatey goodness. These cookies are amazing. THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. And I haven’t even tried any other recipe. I don’t have to. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this recipe :) I got many compliments on it.
These look great! I looked these up because I needed them for your homemade cookie sandwiches that looked delicious too!
We made these today and they turned out really wonderfully. I didn’t have unbleached flour or unsalted butter, but they were still excellent. I did substitute 1 teaspoon almond flavoring for one of the teaspoons of vanilla, but it was fine.
Can’t wait to try some more recipes from your site! Thanks.
Made these last night and they were AWESOME. Anyone having problems with flat cookies is most likely not making their cookies large enough; this is one recipe where you have to accept that you will only get 18 cookies; trying to stretch the batter to get 24 will result in cookies that aren’t thick and chewy.
Thanks for the recipe and I can’t wait to try more recipes from this site :-)
I’ve been using this recipe since last year and never have never failed! I love Baking Illustrated ’cause I’m learning a lot with them (I am a self-studied baker)… I use 1 1/2T cookie scoop (just enough for a regular-sized cookie) and still it comes out thick and really chewy everytime… I always add 1/4tsp of ALMOND extract for an extra goodness… and for others that has the dough not-workable (very sticky), what I do is I add the dry ingredients mixture in 3 batches… There’s a science about that but I can’t explain :D just google it! And of course, bringing all the ingredients into room temp is one of the most important thing in baking cookies! :)
oh! and I used this ratio of sugar, white sugar (6Tbsp), light brown sugar (5Tbsp), and dark brown sugar (5Tbsp)… Perfect less sweeter cookies! That is just about 1cup of sugar (1cup=16tbsp)…
This is my second time making these- absolutely perfect! The texture is awesome and produced a very pretty cookie. I added white chocolate chips to the mix too, love them! Will always use this recipe as my standard chocolate chip cookie go-to!
These cookies are fantastic, my doctor told me I had to cut down on my cholesterol, so now I used Butter Flavoured Crisco 10 Tablespoons and Carob Chips, they turned out great (of course butter and chocolate is better, but these were close and doctor friendly) and no cholesterol.
How come on every website I found postings of people who are saying their cookies are not that thick? I have tried it so many times to back them and also my cookies are flat. How come we see them on a picture always thick and soft, but the majority deals with the same issue. I have had the dough in the refridge for 2 hours and they came out a little bigger. But I want that thick cookie! None of the recipes online gives me the effect.
I hear you! Try this. Use a non, non stick pan. (silver pan with no coating). Use parchment paper, to prevent spreading. Use only one stick of butter instead of 1 and 1/2 (they won’t spread as much). Take them out of the oven at 15 minutes, even if they don’t look done. Any longer, they spread. They continue to cook when out of the oven. No one tells you all of these things. All of these things make a difference. Oh, only put 6 cookies to a half sheet. I hope this helps you. I have researched it to death. Good luck!
@ Marianne,
I use a non stick and parchment paper! I think I will go for less butter this time. Do you think mixing the butter with crisco shortening will help? also I will try 6 cookies in stead of 9 this time and keep the dough refridged for a couple of hours. Thanks for the tip! Very much appreciated.
I think cutting down on the butter will work for you and 6 cookies to a half sheet. The Cisco ? I’m not a fan, I don’t use it, so I don’t know what that will do. Let me know if cutting down on the butter works for you. Also, from another suggestion, I used bread flour, with the recipe as is and they came out thick. I prefer to go by the recipe and use only 1 stick of butter, they come out thick that way. If all else fails, use bread flour, it WILL make a thick cookie. Good luck!
I am continuously looking for the perfect cookie. I finally found the perfect oatmeal cookie and NOW I found the perfect chocolate cookie recipe! I did change it a little. I used less sugar. I decreased BOTH the brown and white sugars by the same amount (2 TBSP). I also refrigerated my dough before baking and I kept it cold (this little secret I learned for the perfect oatmeal cookie). THANK YOU so much for revealing HOW to make them chewy~the ragged edges!!!! Reading through some of the negative comments, I wonder if they allow the butter to cool but not congeal or if they used it when it was too warm. I sincerely appreciate negative comments because I learn so much. In my quest for the perfect cookie, bread, roll, pita, etc. I have discovered weighing is the key. Thank you again for this recipe! This will be a part of my repertoire of tasty desserts!
Made these today…OMG…..the BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever made!!!
This will be the ONLY recipe I use. Thanks!!!
Hi Michelle :)
I finally tried these cookies! They came out perfectly–> crispy around the edges and chewy/gooey in the middle! However the next time i tried them, i accidentally put baking powder into the batter instead of baking soda..On realizing my mistake I added the baking soda too :P So that batch didn’t come out well :/ My question is how do I get the cookies perfect everytime?
I did last week and it’s so yummy!
But it is too sweet for me, so I did again today with 2 tbsp white suger and 1/4 brown sugar. However, the cookies didn’t end up flat. But the taste is still very good.
I hate flat cookies. I discovered if I cut back on the butter by about one-third of what the recipe calls for…they come out thick and chewy. Give it a try. If a recipe calls for one-and -a-half sticks of butter, I cut it back to just one stick.
I’ve been looking for an ultimate choco chip cookies recipe for a while, and trying lots of different ones. I’m Russian, and that is not the traditional cookie for us, but my boyfriend loves them and he is very particular and picky- so it was super important to get them right. The cookies that I made turned out to be the absolutely best cookies i ever tried. And that’s what he said too :) It’s absolutely fantastic. I didn’t have vanilla, so replaced with caramel extract, and it worked just right too. I don’t know what people who failed it did wrong. The recipe is easy to make, and handcrafting part is fun. Thank you so much for sharing this! I will check out your other stuff for sure.
Just finished making a batch of these – WOW – they are my new favorite cookie! I used King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and got perfect results. The break apart method really did wonders for the texture. Thanks for sharing this!
This recipe is so PERFECT. I cooked some and my brother’s friends happened to be over and they ate them all up! Not without me taking two of them, though ;). Thank you so much! This recipe is amazing!
-From a HS baker :)
The best cookie ever! crounchy on the outide, soft and chewy in the middle! beautiful! Supposed to take to a bonfire tonight, but I might eat them all by then! ONE THING THOUGH : When rolling into balls DO NOT do the break in half thing, just roll it in a ball and leave. I made 1 batch rolled in balls and one done how the recipe said, the ones I broke in half ruined in the oven and the rest were fine! ***** 5 STARS!!!!!
I made these the other day (minus the shaping technique…hard to do with a 2 year old helping!) and they were AWESOME! So chewy, moist and delicious. Nice and thick, just like you described. My daughter loved them, and they smelled SO amazing baking. I’ll be making a batch of these when we try to sell our house in the fall. I know they say to do that when potential buyers come in. I figure I’ll leave a few on the counter as well for them to try. YUM! Thanks for posting. I think I’ll be trying your Peanut Butter Cookies recipe today as well.
I came across these cookies on pinterst! Yummy. I didn’t do the shaping the way you write though. I just rolled the dough into balls – slightly smaller than a golf ball and they turned out perfect. After 3 days they (well the 2 cookies that were still not eaten) were still soft and chewy. Now I’s off to check out your other cookie recipes! Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love this recipe!!! i made them for my boyfriend and we both agreed they were the best chocolate chip cookie recipe i have ever used! thanks so much!!! :)
Wow- i made these cookies today because i wanted to try and recreate a gourmet cookie i tried downtown.
They turned out wonderful! though i only used a stick of butter and i used white chocolate, macadamia, and lime zest, and a dark chocolate drizzle on top. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe, ill definitely use it again !
Hands down the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had and I’ve made countless recipes. I would LOVE to put chocolate chunks in it with premium chocolate. Perfectly chewy and with a touch of crisp on the outside. Love the technique to make it appear more gourmet. The next day the cookies are still chewy even without being in an air tight container. Thank you!
Just made these and they came out PERFECT! This is such an easy and fool proof recipe, love love love :)
Thanks for sharing!
Lizzie
placeclevertitlehere.blogspot.com
For those who want to make big cookies, make one in a spring form pan it makes a great chocolate cream pie topping, serve with ice cream….yummmmmm!!!!
i have been making these cookie every chance i get, and i love this recipe, but i always hate putting in batch after batch, so on my moms b day i just decided to make it as one huge cookie it turned out awesome i baked it in a circular pan for about 25 minutes, my older sister tried them for the first time and she said they were better than store bought cookies :) (i think that’s a compliment)
Loved the cookies!!! Big hit!
I tried these cookies again. I omitted the white surgar. I used bread flour (researched online), put them in the refrigerater and the cookies came out perfect. Not thin like before. Yes, thin cookies have always been my issue. Apparently with the bread flour, you will not have flat cookies! Now I’m very satisfied, and now have my favorite cc cookie! Thanks!
I just made these and they turned out perfect! Best chocolate chip cookie I have ever made!!
I just finished making these. The first two batches (on a half sheet) I put 6 on each pan. They came out great, but a little thin. The last batch (on a half sheet) I put 2. They came out much thicker. Could that have something to do with how much they spread? I,too, am trying to get a thicker cookie. The taste and texture is exactly what I want. I will try 4 to a half sheet next time and see what happens.
I make these cookies all the time, and they are a family favorite! I was wondering if I could make these in a toaster oven instead? Please let me know ASAP. Thanks:)
Hi Rebecca, I’ve never used a toaster oven to bake (just mostly for toast and reheating pizza!) but I believe they can be used for small batches. I think as long as the temperature is correct and you use only as many balls of dough as will fit on your tray, you should be fine.
These cookies are amazing!!!
I made them using all white whole wheat flour & used Smart Balance instead of butter. I reduced the brown sugar to 1/2 cup. Even with all these substitutions, the cookies tasted amazing and were SO CHEWY!! Thanks for my family’s new favorite cookie recipe. :)
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made and eaten. They came out perfect. Followed the directions to the t and they were the best. The hardest part was waiting for them to cool down. Thank you for sharing the recipe and beautiful pictures along with the great tip to melt butter and cool.
I made this with pecans and chocolate chips today, and they were delicious! Thank you!
For those concerned about the cookie dough being too soft, (and not able to be patient enough to wait for it to harden, like me :P ) I used an ice cream scooper to scoop it onto the baking tray. I didn’t use Michelle’s way. Hope this helped =)
i feel the need to share my story
you see i am fourteen and i have always tried out recipes i find online and frankly none of them have ever been great some were passable but my mom was getting pretty of me wasting ingredients on things that didnt even taste good so when i found this recipe and saw all the good reviews i thought i would give it one last shot and so i asked my mom to get some brown sugar but she never did! i was getting kind of mad when i saw in our pantry that we already have some! so i made the cookies this morning and they were delicious! i didnt have any trouble with it at all but i did use just regular butter and i put in a little bit more flour to make it more workable :)
These cookies have become a staple in my household.. everyone goes crazy for them and they really do taste like bakery cookies! I am officially obsessed with your blog… tried your cracker jack recipe out last week and they were beyond amazing. Thank you!
I tried these and they became very hard the next day :( not sure why. Also i would prob describe these as cakey and not chewy so much.
Hi Jen, It sounds like you either overbaked them, let them sit out too long before storing them, or didn’t store them in an airtight container. They definitely stay soft and chewy if baked and stored appropriately.
I agree with Michelle. My cookies stay soft and chewy for days after baking.
I was very excited about the recipe and followed the instructions exactly. The end result was a delicious cookie right out of the oven, but a rather dry and ordinary cookie once cooled. I liked the technique info regarding breaking them in half and exposing the torn centers, which yielded a pretty cookie. Not bad at all, but lets just say I will continue my search for the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie.
I haven’t made these in a long time and finally whipped up a batch today. Everyone in the house is going crazy! I am going to have to ration out the cookies or they will be gone before the day is over.
From Italy. This blog is just fantastic. I’m in love!
So, I just made these cookies today and they taste great but they are not thick :( I’m not sure what I did wrong. But any suggestions? They are more like thin and semi chewy/crunchy.
Hi Katie, It sounds like perhaps your butter was too warm, which would have caused the cookies to spread a bit and become more crunchy. Next time make sure that your melted butter is completely cooled before proceeding with the recipe.
During Christmas season, I followed directions to the ‘t’ and had awesome cookies. I made 75 cookies, 5 per box and was asked if they were home-made or if I bought them at a bakery! Score! I haven’t made them since because those cookies are HUGE! Do you think they will be just as chewy if they were smaller; maybe half the size? I guess I’ll experiment but hoped you’d already tried it and could comment.
Thanks again, love your website, your photos and your writing style. Keep it up!
Alicia
Hi Alicia, I actually have done this because a friend of mine wanted these over the holidays, but didn’t want them so big. I just used a medium-sized cookie scoop (about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons) to scoop out the dough (didn’t do any special shaping) and baked them for a handful of minutes less. They were delicious! Still very chewy and soft.
Is anyone having problems with the dough being too crumbly? When I mix in the chocolate chips, they don’t adhere to the dough and all wind up at the bottom of the mixing bowl. I feel like I’m wasting chips. I’ve made this recipe about 10 times and same results. The cookies turn out fantastic, but the chip problem persists.
I ended up making one giant cookie and used heart cut outs for valentines day they puffed up perfectly!
These were as amazing as they looked. I will never go back to the tollhouse recipe again. Soft and chewy and gone within a couple of days. :)
I love this recipe! I followed every step exactly except I used half melted butter and half softened butter — I’ve had bad luck with all-melted butter chocolate chip recipes before so I got a little hesitant. The recipe turned out exactly like the picture…beautiful, soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges! Next time, I will try all melted butter! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have been browsing and saving recipes for days and I was pretty sure I had the perfect recipe for chewy cookies, but right before starting baking, I ran into this recipe and I’m glad I decided to go with yours.
My first chocolate chip cookies and my husband said they were perfect.
I had bleached flour and I had pure cane sugar…. I didnt realize it wasnt brown sugar and it was too late to run to the store so I took the chance. There was no problem. They were very soft… melted in my mouth. I baked one shaped like a golf ball and the other ones using the instructions. I think I prefer the round one. The other ones have a slightly crunchy crust on top, while the round one is all the way soft. I baked them for around 20 minutes and they werent all brown, but they were cooked.
I highly recommend the recipe!!
I made these for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe for my blog and absolutely loved them! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
I (too) have been on a quest for the quintessential chocolate chip cookie. This one is a keeper! Followed the recipe to the letter and….perfection! Chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Don’t let the “wetness” of the dough scare you. I did, however, cook at the same time for just about as long using my convection oven those of you wondering how convection would differ.
Very good texture and flavour in these cookies. Thanks for sharing it.
For shaping them to get the pull apart look try chilling for 30mins so it’s a bit more firm then form the dough into a ~1.5″ diameter log and pinch off pieces from the end and dropping on baking sheet. No smooshing back together. Takes a little practice to get consistent sizes but this is how I did it when working in a bakery.
This is the first homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made and they are AMAZING!!!! Now I feel like I should try other recipes just to compare, but I don’t know if I ever will because these are so perfect! I am the kind of person who eats the whole roll of Pillsbury dough and never bakes a single cookie, but with this recipe, the dough and cookies are equally as amazing! I added mini-m&m’s and cinnamon, along with the semi-sweet chocolate chips… mmmmm. I also let the dough sit in the fridge for a day for the second batch and the cookies were even better (saw that tip on another site). YUM!!!!
I have made this before and they were such a big hit that now my husband wants these for his birthday! Do you think you could make them the same way but put them in a cookie cake pan and it will be just as good?
Hi Amanda, I’m glad you guys enjoyed the cookies! I’ve never made these in a pan as a “cookie bar” so I couldn’t say for sure how they would compare, but if you try it I’d love to know how they turn out!
Hello… I just baked these fat cookies. I followed all your instructions, weighed the dry ingredients, cooled the melted butter, weighed each cookie – mine at 2.2oz. They turned out great, crispy on the edge and chewy in the inside. I baked the first batch for 16 minutes, once they were cooled, my husband took the first bite and the middle still under baked. So I baked the second and third batches for 18 minutes. Thank you for the recipe. I wish I could share the pics here.
I am not at all surprised that there are 289 comments on this post !!!! i guess i get to be 290 ?? :)
I too was on a search for a “go-to” chocolate chip cookie … i have a chocolate-chocolate brownie type cookie, but its not the classic and i really wanted one. So of course, as a HUGE HUGE fan of your blog i decided to give these cookies a try.
and so, i baked these tonight for my brother’s birthday party… i followed the recipe exact – pulling the balls apart to make the jagged edges. oh my lord — they were PERFECT !!!!! they looked exactly like those bakery of coffee shop jumbo cookies, and they were so perfectly chewy and yummy …. i am ECSTATIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay !!!
thank you for this ….
and of course, tomorrow i’m making a second batch for my sister in law – since the 18 cookies got eaten VERY quickly :) :)
you have the BEST BEST food blog ….
yum :)
Ok first off let me say that you are a genius and these are by far the best chocolate chip cookies I have EVER made. I too was on the hunt for the perfect recipe and this is definitely it! As much as I love cooking and eating I am constantly dieting and pretty much end up giving everything I make away or have my husband eat them. These cookies however are simply irresistible! Is there any way you could tell me the nutrition info on these cookies like calorie count , etc. If you could I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you! I look forward to making some more of your fabulous recipes.
Hi Yvette, I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies! I am actually working right now to implement nutrition facts so you should begin seeing them on here within the next month or so!
My son gave me the ATK 10 years of shows cookbook for Mothers Day last year. These cookies were the first recipe I tried. Wow! I immediately chucked my 25 year old tried and true recipe. These are THE best cc cookies ever!
I got this recipe from my friend. I’ve made them twice and I’m realizing im doing something very wrong. My cookies always cool hard as rocks and they are really white. ANd the chips are hard too. What am i doing wrong!??
Hi Jen, How long are you letting the cookies cool before storing them? It sounds like they may be left out too long or that they are being over-baked. I can’t really speak to them being white, that’s odd – perhaps you’re using a flour that is really bleached?
MUST BE STORED AIRTIGHT!!!
These are sooooo good! I made the mistake of leaving them on the cooling rack overnight and they were rock hard the next morning. I salvaged them by putting them into an airtight container with a few wet paper towels. After a few hours they were soft again.
I also didn’t weigh anything (don’t have a scale) and used jumbo chocolate chips (bought accidently – a glorious mistake). They are sooooo yummy! Thank you for sharing!
I love this recipe. I have already made 8 batches of this cookie recipe. My kids love them. They like them with mini M&Ms in them.
This recipe is a keeper!!!!
Thank you for this recipe! I made it for my office last night and was a little worried the cookies wouldn’t remain chewy the next day, but they did, and have been a huge hit. I made sure the cool the butter as instructed, used sea salt in place of regular salt, and semi-sweet chocolate chunks instead of chips. I also made smaller, more bite-sized cookies instead of large ones, so I only needed to bake for about 13-14 minutes. Perfect!
Will using bleached flour make a big difference?
These look so good!
Hi Leah, No, not at all. I just prefer unbleached flour for baking because, really, why ingest more chemicals than we need to? :)
It’s official…I have found my go to chocolate cookie recipe. I was a skeptic at first, but these are amazing!! Great recipe!
Wow that’s ALOT of comments on one recipe! I am sure no one will ever scroll all the way down to view this one …but thought I’d add my 2 cents anyway. Due to diet accommodations I used spelt flour, earth balance/canola oil, enjoy life non dairy choc chips, only used 1 c. br sugar (no white at all), They turned out fine. I even forgot to refrigerate the dough so my cookies ended up very large and thinner but totally acceptable. These are going to be even better when I chill the dough next time. I think I’m in love!
Literally the best chocolate chip cookie that I’ve tried, I’m definitely sticking to this one ;)
My husband (NOT a baker) made them the other night and they were unbelievable. I thought *my* chocolate chip cookie recipe was the best. Guess I was wrong. I promptly replaced it with this one. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the recipe – hands down the best! I’ve made it several times recently!
Hi Michelle,
I love your site! And after reading all this, I really want to give this ccc recipe a go. However I am from Holland and since everything is about the measurements… is an American tablespoon that you mention the same as ours? Or do you have a specific measurement tool for teaspoons, tablespoons and cups? Please let me know, cuz I’ m dying to make these delious cookies of yours!!! :))
Greetz,
Diana
Hi Diana, I’m not sure if ours are the same as yours; we do have specific measuring cups and spoons for these measurements, such as these: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-stainless-steel-measuring-cups-and-spoons/. You may be able to Google for metric conversions.
Not good at all. Sorry just my opinion.
These cookies were WAAAAYYYY too sweet! I did like the chewy-ness, but honestly 2C flour to 1 1/2C sugar (total brown/white) is ridiculous. I’m surprised not to see someone else say the same thing. I love sweets, but this was too much for my taste.
Most cookies can be shipped, but if you want them to arrive in good condition, wrap them well in cling wrap first in pairs (this will minumize them rubbing together) then you will have to use a strong corrigated box with some packing chips, Bon Voyage!
I’ve been looking for a good cookie recipe that will hold up in the mail. Do you think these would be a good choice to bake and ship???
Hi Rebecca, Yes, definitely! I have actually shipped these multiple times, all with good results. Just wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap, and then place in a ziploc bag (keeps them fresh), and make sure you have packing bubbles or some type of padding.
I found this recipe and it looks awesome – I’m concerned about the amount of butter – in my previous experience with butter, because it is so “thin” (in comparison to Crisco) it causes the cookies to flatten and get overly crispy on the edges – so I’ve mitigated this by going half and half with butter and Crisco. What about this recipe prevents the butter from doing this to the cookies?? Is it the extra egg yolk?
Hi Erin, The extra yolk definitely adds some “heft” to the cookies. These cookies definitely aren’t flat, just make sure you let the melted butter cool before proceeding, and you’ll be good.
I can’t thank you enough! Finally, a chocolate chip cookie recipe that has worked!! I’m enjoying some thick and yummy cookies as I type. I’m soooo glad I found your blog.
I recently stumbled on your blog and I am loving it ! Everything looks so amazing especially these chocolate chip cookies! Yum yum .
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have been looking for this forever!! It is so disappointing to take the trouble to make chocolate chip cookies, only to have them turn out well, just not right! And then eat bad cookies anyway because you are craving them so much! If you are gonna eat all those calories it had better be worth it and these cookies are SO WORTH IT!!!! Love them!! These are the definition of what a chocolate chip cookie should be.
I switched butter out for Crisco, they stayed softer longer. :)
Just made these tonight & they are amazing!! Great recipe, thanks so much for sharing!! First time in forever that I made a chocolate chip cookie I didn’t feel needed any tweaking!!
Whipping up a batch right now – can’t wait to see how they turn out! They look so thick and yummy! My nieces took a look at these cookies and quickly begged, and begged me to make these. They look amazing, chewy, soft, and thick! So excited an can’t wait. Any tips on how to make these would be great, thank you!
A friend made these today and OMG these are the best cookies I have ever tasted! Yummy, yummy, yummy! I will definitely make these. They are the perfect combination of chewy and crunch and sweetness.
Wow these look very yummy. Mmm my mouth is already going. They look perfect- not way to chewy, not to soft, not to thick, not to thin. I can’t wait to bake this – they will be perfect for my Halloween Party coming up. (I’ll be using your cupcakes for that too!)
I use Guittard chocolate chips. They are by far the best I have tried. Way better than Nestle or Ghirradelli. I’m going to try these cookies tonight.
These were by far the best chocolate chip cookies i have ever made!! i just pulled my first batch out of the oven as we speak and they are perfect! :) FINALLY!! a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that are actually what they say they are! thanks
Prior to making these a few months ago, my very favourite cookie recipe for about 10 years was the copycat Mrs. Fields recipe. It was fantastic. So I cannot BELIEVE that I have found a recipe that I like more! I cook them until they are just cooked on the edges and quite raw in the middle. Then after cooling down a bit they are sooooo chewy. And they taste even better the next day.
On a side note, I accidentally forgot to melt the butter once when I made them and just creamed it the traditional way, and they tasted EXACTLY the same.
I love this recipe!! I sang praises to the heavens when I found this! I had searched for years for a Choc Chip cookie recipe that didn’t end up cakey or flat. After reading how they tested it, I gave it a shot. I was in awe of the stunningly beautiful cookie that resulted! This is the only choc chip recipe that I will ever use!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Chocolate chip cookies are my husband’s favorite. I like to think that he loves me because of my excellent cooking :), but he has always preferred store bought chocolate chip cookie dough. I made these, and they were AWESOME! I finally have a recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookies that are better than store bought dough!!
I wonder if you can give me some advice, I know this probably sounds like a really stupid question but how do you mean by “rotate 90 degrees”? Is that when you’re rolling the balls in your palm? I tried the recipe a while ago and I don’t think I shaped them correctly because they ended up very small, domed and cakey instead of chewy and craggy :/ but I’m so eager for it to work because yours look amaaazing! Hopefully you can enlighten me! :)
Kind of confused on the shaping method… So you split the ball into two pieces and then keeping one pieces jagged look you form the other ball back into the first one? so then it is one ball again with a jagged edge? Wouldnt it be easier to take a bigger ball (amount of two cookies) and split them in half and place both jagged edges up?
This cookie looks UNREAL and perfect :)
Hey!
I have tried to make this recipe as well as an Alton Brown on foodnetwork.com, both times my cookies spread too thin and the edges got crispy while the middle was fine. but the chocolate chips stayed in the middle too. the taste is good, the cookies just don’t look, well… good. Any tips!? would using parchment paper make a difference? my pans are stone, non-stick already, so idk. I really want to get these right!
thank you so much!
Hi Julie, Usually when cookies spread thin it’s because of too much fat. Make sure that you really allow the butter to cool before you proceed with the recipe, or spreading will definitely happen. Also, I don’t bake cookies and things like that on stone – it might hold in more heat, which would cause the fat to activate too much as well, causing the spreading. I like regular cookie sheets with parchment paper – always have success with that combo.
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing. After reading through all the comments, I was afraid the cookies were going to be hard and crusty. So I did the following:
Used chilled/soften butter instead of melted butter. The reason is I was afraid the melted butter will sink to the bottom of the cookie. Also, soften butter will add air to the batter when it bakes so it’ll cause a chewier cookie.
Finally, this dough is great in freezing as well. I put the dough in some parchment and rolled it into a dowel-shape. Put some plastic wrap around it and put it in a ziplock. I think it’ll freeze well up to several months. Whenever you like some cookies, bring out the dowels and cut into 3/4 inch shapes and bake for around 19 minutes (alittle longer because it’s frozen…)
Love these cookies made them today! Thanks!!! Best website ever!!!
Mine came out super dry!! I followed the directions exactly! I added another egg. They’re baking now, so we’ll see how it turns out. =(
This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever tried! I have tried so many different recipes over the years, but this one is exactly what I was looking for and it’s the only one I’ll ever use. I like to use sea salt for these to give them a salty crunch, and I like the chocolate to be chunky. Incredibly yummy!
Used margarine instead of butter, not sure if that’s exactly what went wrong, but all i had to do was add more flour and they turned out perfect:)
I found this blog a few days ago and I absolutely love it! I’ve written down a list of desserts I’ve found on here that I gotta try! I’ve made these cookies twice in the past few days and my family and I absolutely love them! Thank you so much for such an awesome blog and recipe! :)
These were really good! My daughter had seen a recipe about making chocolate chip cookies that look like turtles. We layed out 5 whole pecans to look like the head and legs of the turtle and put a ball of this cookie dough on top, baked it and then drizzled chocolate and carmel sauce on top! They were delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!!!
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, my boys love eating them!
I love making these cookies, they are a hit every time. I made them for the umpteenth time last weekend and I would like to make them a bit sweeter. How can I sweeten them up with out loosing that chewiness? Add more brown sugar? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Hmm I honestly am not sure. I think they’re super sweet as is, and once you add more sugar you need to start playing around with the other ingredients to make sure you maintain the same consistency. If I give it a try I’ll let you know what I find, but I don’t think I’d add more sugar to this particular recipe. Maybe try milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet? That would up the sweetness factor.
Thank you for giving weight measurements. I’m in Culinary Arts school, and in baking we only weigh our dry ingredients. Often times the wet ingredients as well. It really does make a huge difference in the outcome of the product. I rarely measure dry ingredients in measuring cups anymore.
I am grateful for the tips on how to make those huge bakery cookies!
I followed the recipe and decided to form the balls two different ways: rolling the cookie dough into a ball and breaking it apart and forming the ball with the jagged side up. The jagged-side-up cookie looks so professional!! I wish I would have known about this trick sooner! The cookie itself was delicious and one of the best I’ve ever had. I will be using this recipe from now on. Thank you so much!
I’ve tried dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes and this one is now my new favorite.
Is there any links to videos for the cookie shaping method?
Hi Kim, No video, but that is a great idea! I’ll work on it!
oh yes please! i would really appreciate that. it seems like a really good technique for plenty of cookie recipes but i can’t quite grasp it.
These cookies are the definition of perfect! Most certainly my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe forever and ever.
I posted about it here, along with a few tips I learned along the way :)
http://thisistolove.blogspot.com/2011/06/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Tried these last night and subbed chocolate chunks for chips (I too, am a cholate freak) – SO SO good, my coworkers can’t seem to get enough! The technique of seperating the dough balls really seals the deal. My new go-to!
Thanks for sharing!
LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies! I have made many chocolate chip cookies, and my family agrees with me, these are a winner! Currently trying to gain a little meat on my bones, so I had no problem helping myself to two:) SO rich and delicious.
Just made these & they’re amazing! I even subbed 1 cup of all purpose flour for a cup of white whole wheat flour as I’m always trying to use more whole grains in my baking… still turned out fantastic! Might be my new go-to recipe for CCCs! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! I’ve been visiting your site now for a few months and I just attempted this cookie today. It came out looking exactly like yours – superbly thick with tonnes of chips and chew in every bite. I’m very pleased with how these looked so professional! i’ve tried a gazillion recipes but they always come out looking sad and flat, albeit delicious. thanks for the inspiration!!
I just want 2 say that these are my FAVORITE cookies! and that i have tried recipes before and they turned out plain awful! and i tried THIS recipe and LOVED THEM!!!!!!! and i made them with Butterscotch chips and they are to die for! thank you so much for this recipe! :)
Michelle, I want make a huge batch of this recipe..I want to ask you one thing..Is it better to freeze the dough or the baked cookies?
I have never frozen this cookie dough, but I have frozen the cookies, and they thaw out wonderfully. I do this often!
Hello. (:
I just done baking my first batch of your recipe.
and? It is one the the best CCC i’ve ever tasted! love it!
still, i dont get the “joint-the-base-of-the-halves” thing.. so i just use ice cream scoop to do the work (: and i have to flatten my dough first before baking it, since my first baking sheet does not comes out as yours,
but, honestly, thanks (‘: it’s a really nice CCC
I can halve this recipe right? How could I do that with the egg and egg yolk thing?
(I’m asking because I wanna make more and I only have 1 stick of butter left, LOL!
Hi Finn, I have never halved the recipe so I can’t vouch for the results (some recipes are more/less temperamental than others when halving or doubling). When I halve eggs and/or yolks I break it into a bowl, beat lightly to break it up and weigh it, then use half of that weight.
You were right, a scale is important to have! Thanks, Michelle, I’ll try that today!
THANK YOU!!!!
My husband loves these so much, he makes all these faces while eating them, LOL! Definitely the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. I make them with the tablespoon scoop and bake them for exactly 9 mins on 325 and they are absolutely divine. This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I will ever need. Brown Eyed Baker, my family thanks you.
I’m so happy I found Brown Eyed Baker, your blog is a real treasure.
These turned out perfectly…they were truly wonderful and this will be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on. Thank you for sharing!
I just made these and they definitely turned out thick and chewy :) however they weren’t sweet enough (well for me at least lol) This recipe is definitely a keeper. I love them!
I made these cookies yesterday and even though they didn’t turn out thick, I love them. Why? No need for room temp. butter and this morning, they’re still soft, slightly chewy and absolutely delicious. I couldn’t handle the hand tearing method, I need to use a scoop so they’re all the same size. That might be why they turned out flat, but I’m fine with that. They’re very pretty, perfectly smooth on top and they look like they were made in a professional kitchen.Thanks for this recipe! Btw, I used mini chips too, they were a great choice!
Hi,
HELP! I made these this morning and they were definitely not thick. I followed the recipe exactly and I am an experienced baker. What did I do wrong? They taste awesome so I’m not exactly dissapointed but what made me want to bake them was the “thick & chewy” part.
Any thoughts or advice?
Thanks,
Kristin
Hi Kristin, I think perhaps the butter wasn’t cooled completely before proceeding with the recipe. I have done this before when I wasn’t paying attention or impatient, and it definitely causes the cookies to spread out and be flat. I would give it another try and make sure the butter is cool!
Thank you for the tip, I will double check next time!
Hi,
HELP! I made these this morning and they were definitely not thick. I followed the recipe exactly and I am an experienced baker. What did I do wrong? They taste awesome so I’m not exactly dissapointed but what made me want to bake them was the “thick & chewy” part.
Any thoughts or advice?
Thanks,
Kristin
These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever. :) I made them for the first time today. While I was at work, my husband ate the whole batch. That means they were great!
I am making these again today!! The absolute best choc chip cookie recipe ever! Aaaaand…I am using my new cookie scoop!! yaaaay! So much fun! :D
BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER!!!!!!! They are addicting!
-Your blueeyedbaker;)
I made these tonight and added Macadamia nuts to them. I weighed all of the ingredients and wow does it ever make a difference. I don’t know if my measuring cups are wrong or if my scale is off, but I was shocked by the difference, especially with the brown sugar. I’m glad I went with weight because the cookies turned out perfectly. My mother in law even complimented my cookies :) thank you for posting. Now to try some of your cupcake recipes
hey dis is a wonderful recipe..but cud u pls demonstrate dat pulling in2 half,rollin it 90` n den joinin,facing jagged surface sumthn lol cud u mayb post a video of dat :)
i’d very much appreciate it thanku :)
Hello!
I just found your blog recently and made these when my husband was craving some homemade cookies. THESE ARE AMAZING!!! The best I have ever made…and I have made some recipes! I also have your sweet and sour chicken in the oven for tonight and I am making your stuffed peppers and squash soup tomorrow! I am really excited to try all these recipes because it all looks so yummy!! Thanks for making this blog!
Amy
I just made these and ohmygoodness are they the best cookies ever! Thick, soft, and chewy, which everything I’ve been looking for in a good cc cookie recipe!
I was a little nervous how these would turn out when I noticed that the batter wasn’t sticking to the chocolate chips, but after rolling the dough into balls the problem was solved. In addition to adding dark chocolate chips, I also added some shredded coconut and toffee bits to the dough for a little variation — Yum!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My search for the perfect cc recipe is finally over!
oh my these are so yummy i dont even know where to begin…maybe just a huge thank you…my tummy is very satisfied….my hips not so much. I used a 1 1/2″ cookie scooper and baked for 9 min and they came out beautiful
Ok, I am stupid and don’t understand the “Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up”…..when you rotate the halves 90 deg, you basically join at the sides? If so, then how do you get a “ball” again? You have 2 round halves butted together isn’t going to form another ball….this step is confusing the way it is written….I think I will just do it as “Kaitlin March 27, 2010” did and “rolled 1/2 cup dough balls and pulled them into halves, which resulted in the same crinkly texture on top”.
Hi Rick, Yes, you join at the sides, exactly. You just push them together. You don’t really want another “ball” – the resulting shape will be flatter than a ball, but still round when pushed together and jagged on top.
Wow, these are AMAZING!! This was my first time to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I found the recipe to be very clear and these were so simple to make. And they are absolutely perfect. Mine were crispy on the edges, gooey in the center, little salty with the sweet (I may have used too much salt, but it actually worked!), and I love that there are just a TON of chips in there. Perfect!
Michelle, I made these last night and they were soooo melt-in-your mouth delicious! Plus very easy and quick to make. This is the new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe in my house now! By any chance, do you have a “healthy” (or “healthier”) version of these? Love the cookie but am a little scared of ALL that butter & sugar…! :)
Hi Rashmi, So glad you loved these! I don’t have any “healthier” versions of this cookie, I just enjoy them in moderation :)
Hands down the BEST recipe for CCCs.
I just made these, and they are amazing! Simple and quick to make, and finally I’ve managed to make a light, chewy, crisp-on-the-edge choc chip cookie! Thanks for the recipe!
WOW! I’ve been planning on trying these for a long time and they exceeded my expectations! Absolutely the best ccc I’ve ever had. I brought a bunch to an event at work and several people said the exact same thing. No need to try any others, this is the one. Thanks, Michelle!
I’m always looking for the best chocolate chip recipe. I tried Alton Brown’s off Food Network and I’ve been pretty pleased with those. When I saw your recipe while browsing your site (a wonderful way to waste some time by the way!) I just had to try these cookies. I just pulled them out of the oven and I know already they are going to be a huge success. I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe, seriously. You’re a life saver. Now, if I can bake some more cookies before eating the rest of the dough then other people can enjoy them too! I’ll be posting my pictures on my blog later this week :) Hooray!!
**CAN BE REFRIGERATED!** I was sent over here by my friend who says this is the best cookie recipe she has ever made so I decided to go ahead and try it out. Well, these really ARE the BEST cookies! When I melted the butter I actually let it cool for about 15-20 mins and our house was about 70 degrees all day. After I made the dough, I put it in the fridge, crossed my fingers and hoped that it will still be puffy. And they were! I also just used a TBLSP cookie scoop and just made them look kinda uneven so they get that crinkly look to them. I baked them for 10 mins like that and they were perfect! Thanks so much for sharing this. Toll House needs to scratch the recipe off their bags and replace it with this one!
These sound fantastic! I’ll definitely try them!
Finally! I have been searching, as you have, for the perfect CCC recipe, and this one is wonderful… massive, crunchy outside, chewy inside. My husband and I like more cookie than chocolate chip, so I stayed toward the 1 cup, and it is perfect. Thanks for the post!
Also, I tried sprinkling sea salt over the cookies, and we agreed that it would be better inside the cookies. I’ll be adding probably 3/4 or 1 Tsp. next time, instead of the proposed 1/2 Tsp. To form the cookies, I used 2 cookie-scoopers of dough mashed together. They can’t help themselves but crinkle and split on top, it’s the nature of the cookie. My husband said that if he has me and these cookies, he’s in good shape ;)
Just came over here from your pancake recipe and I have to agree with you on this one. I’ve been making this recipe for several years…probably close to 7…and I still love them the most.
Wow, they look delicious! I’m gonna try those for myself.. Thanks for the recipe!
Made these last night, so good! My husband had one before I went to bed, and when I talked to him the next day the first thing he said was “omfg those cookies are good!” LOL. Thank you for sharing, this will replace my old recipe!
I have made these cookies previously but am just now getting around to leaving a comment. They are so delicious and chewy. I love these cookies and will be making them again today. They are really tasty. Followed the directions exactly and came out with a perfect cookie. Thanks this is a keeper.
I made these today (to bring to a Super Bowl party tomorrow) and I have to say I love the consistency and texture. Mine kind of have a flour-y taste to them, which I can’t figure out. But, oh well, they’re still delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe around! I used my baking scale for the first time with this recipe and it came out perfect. I added some toffee bits for a little extra treat.
Followed the recipe exactly, did not refrigerate. Came out perfect. Best cookies ever!
Perfect.
I thought I posted here already but don’t see that I did- these are THE CCC for me. Perfect and easy. I refrigerated the dough overnight because I ran out of time to bake that day and they were awesome so I will continue to refrigerate first if I can! Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chips are hands down the best (in my opinion :) and really add the extra goodness to this cookie. Might try adding nuts next time. Thanks for posting this family fav!
i make these cookies all the time and they are absolutely delicious. They are so buttery and chewy. I baked them at 330F for 13-15 minutes.
These were so great!! I added a few spoonfuls of peanut better per someones recommendation–YUM!!! I can’t wait to try them without the peanut butter as well. Oh, and, we sprinkled the last batch with some sea salt–so delicious! :) Can’t wait to try even more of your recipes!
I am ADDICTED!!! I want to make these everyday!! My only change/addition is I used sea salt in the batter and sprinkled the tops with sea salt when they came out of the oven…yummo!!
What does the sea salt do to the cookie?
“This is the best chocolate chip cookie EVER. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my wife” – says my husband who is a die hard CCC fan. Thank you for an amazing recipe that made me the super wife! =) I substituted regular salt for sea salt and it was amazing! Every now and then you would get a bite of chucky salt and it balanced out the chocolate really well! I also used a mix dark chocolate chips and regular semi-sweet ones. MMMMMMMMMMM!
Best cookies ever! I just made a batch for my boyfriend, and…wow. That’s all there is, just wow. Of course, he’s allergic to chocolate (I know, I don’t know how he survives either, poor thing) so I substituted butterscotch chips for chocolate chips. It didn’t seem to affect the results, except for the fact that I failed to take into account how much sweeter butterscotch chips are than the regular semi-sweet chips. So now I have a batch of incredibly lovely, and ridiculously sweet blondies. Oh, well. They still taste great though, and I’ll just have to remember to reduce the sugars a bit if I make them with butterscotch again. Definitely plan on making a batch of regular chocolate chip for myself sometime soon. This recipe’s too good not to! :) Thanks for such a great (and versatile) recipe!
YUM. i just made these and they are divine. your site is one of my go-to places for never-fail recipes like this! thanks!!
I ABSOLUTELY adore America’s Test Kitchen-They by far have the best recipes for everything from pot roasts to baked goods. At 19, I love to bake, and everyone asks how do my baked goods turn out to well? My secret-America’s Test Kitchen recipes.
I’ve been making the Thick and Chewy recipe for a few years now, and I always get rave reviews. They bake perfectly, and have such a “unique” taste that I feel Toll House lacks. They also freeze very nicely, and cook up great when you just want “one” cookie.
My other favorite’s include: Ultimate Banana Bread,Pumpkin Bread, Blondies and Tiramisu!!
I tried this recipe last week, not thinking that it would be any different than the claims of other “Thick and Chewy” cookies. After making these, I don’t think I will ever find a better recipe. Everyone that has tried the cookie, said it is a winner. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
We had a snow day down South today and I was inspired to bake these cookies. They turned out fantastic! Mine always taste good but look terrible and these taste great and look even better. Thanks for sharing!
I’m happy to report that I finally got around to re-trying this recipe after I messed it up several months back. This time, I let the butter cool completely (in fact, I put it in the fridge to cool and let it go just a little too long – it was still stirrable but starting to solidify – I just set the bowl on top of the oven vent while the oven preheated, and voila! Problem solved!). The only other thing I did was add 1/2 tsp of baking powder and used mini chocolate chips since it’s what I had. And… they turned out picture-perfect, just like yours!! Guess it pays to be patient with the melted butter :-) Thanks for an awesome recipe – it’s my new go-to CCC!!
I just wanted to say that I just tried this recipe and its fantastic! A keeper, and I’m a chocolate chip cookie lover. Its the fourth thing I’ve made from your site, and each of them have been great . . . I’ve been emailing friends the link :)
This is the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies. The only one I use. People think I bought them at a store they look so beautiful! :) Enjoy!!!
Okay –
Michelle R – You’ve inspired me to try ’em again!! I’ll make another batch of delicious, “best choco chip cookie recipe hands down!” and report back!! (Well, at least I’m optimistic, right?!)
:)
hey shasta, hope u try them again cause they r bomb! the first two x’s i made them they came out perfect! i was so happy. however third time i made them they came out thin and spread out wAy too much. i am attributing this to personal error b/c i was in a super rush so i probably mis-measured. also i didnt chill the dough which i did the previous times. so keep ur optimistic attitude and give it another shot! hope all works out well :-)
OMG shell this is the best choco chip cookie recipe hands down! Luv it!!! I’ve used the whole melting butter and adding egg yolk concept as a base for other cookies and it works out wonderfully. I love the low baking temp….it really adds to the recipe b/c we used to melt the butter for cookies in my food science class, but the cookies never came out this fantastic. thanks again :-)
I:( don’t know what I did wrong?? The dough is very dark- and not delicious….mine doesn’t look like the picture at all. I threw out the first batch – obviously, I underestimated the overcooking!! I did use light brown sugar, so I’m not sure WHY they’re so dark colored? And, I typically know my way around a recipes…….so…………………?
The cookies are still in the oven but the dough is AMAZING, the best I’ve ever tasted. Thanks for this!
I made these last night….sent them to work with my honey. Made more today…these stayed at home with me! :) So good! Definitely more vanilla-y than my signature chocolate chip cookies, good thing I LOVE vanilla! Delicious and so easy to make, they stayed soft and seriously looked like a cookie you would pay $3 for at a bakery!
these are so quick and easy, and so so good
I made these last night for the first time and they turned out PERFECT! And usually my luck with cookie baking is hit or miss, haha. I sprayed my baking with sheet with canola oil and used a quarter measuring cup to measure the dough. These are by far the best CCC I have tried, including cookies from bakeries. I took a sample cookie to work for someone to try and it got very positive reviews. Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m baking your peanut butter-chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies now!! Yay Christmas baking!!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
I just recently found your website, while looking for a good French onion soup recipe, and after great results with that, I tried this CCC recipe, and I am soooo glad I did! These are the best CCC I have ever baked, and I am a very avid baker, but these blew away every other recipe in my box! Thanks so much for not only sharing the recipe, but also your technique! I followe the recipe exactly, and got perfect results.
Hi,
I used greaseproof paper however the second batch didnt stick I think I took them out prematurely. Also I tried the cookies whilst they were hot :) so once slightly cooled the flavour settled. Sorry about that!
I will hopefully try them with glace cherries, should I rinse them first? Also should I halve them or into smaller segments?
Cookies were a delight :) thankyou for such a great which was so easy to follow!
Hi,
I have just made my first batch of these and the recipe is great!! easy to follow and with great results. However mine stuck to the sheet a little and some of the mixture seemed to be on the tray, should I give it some more time?
Also can I swap the chips for nuts or cherries? and if so what weight?
Finally…. :) I could slightly taste the sugar am I using too much or should i increase the vanilla.
Many thanks, I love this recipe! the method is brilliant. I have read other comments and I agree that leaving the butter to cool is key, granted the recipe is follwed then the results are great!!!!
Hi Maya, I’m glad you enjoyed these!
You say they stuck to the sheet. Did you line the cookie trays with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray? I’m a big, big believer in using either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat like Silpat.
You could substitute nuts and dried fruit for the chips, just use the same amount (1 to 1-1/2 cups).
I’m not sure what you mean by saying that you could taste the sugar. In any case, I wouldn’t adjust it or the vanilla quantities.
I made these and they were awesome. Just the way I like them; thick and chewy. I made mine a little smaller and ended up with 2 dz cookies. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
You’re welcome Hanaa! Everyone deserves perfect chocolate chip cookies :)
This looks very similar to the one I got from Joy the Baker (and that she got from Alton Brown) – it makes for a fabulous cookie (and sinful cookie dough…)
OMG! Michelle, these were incredible. I baked them last night and deliberately only baked 4 as I have no will-power and would have eaten more if they were there. We ate them whilst they were warm and kinda chewy inside and wow – I will never go back to my chocolate chip recipe again. Thanks for all the tips, they were really helpful. I now know what I will be baking for my cookie exchange!
Woo, so happy you liked them! Good idea to only make 4, I go way overboard on these!
Having always been disappointed by thin, flat (yet tasty) chocolate chip cookies, I was desparately searching for denser, chewier ones. My husband stumbled upon this website, while googling recipes for thicker cookies, and he said the reviews were great.
So, I just made these and they do NOT disappoint. The cookies are moist, chewy, thick and really tasty. I had to use two different types of baking sheets, so I think that changed the edges on one of the batches, and only had milk chocolate chips but otherwise I pretty much followed the directions. I will be making these again this weekend for my nephew’s birthday party and again for my daughter’s birthday celebration in school, but making them a bit smaller because these were insanely large cookies!
What a great cookie recipe!
YAY, thanks for the glowing review, they are by far my very favorite chocolate chip cookies!
Tried these first without melting the margarine…tasted great but fell completely flat.
Then I followed the directions.
Refrigerated the dough for about 6 hours when I was at work, so it was a little hard to work with later, but WOW are these amazing. Hoping they stay soft for the event tomorrow!
These truly are the BEST chocolate chip cookies. The batter looked a bit buttery, so I added about another 1/3 cup flour. Still looked oily, but I didn’t want to add more incase I ruined it, so I baked one test cookie.. It turned out perfect, so thick and chewy and professional looking, and it tasted even better! Now I’m just waiting for the oven to heat up again to bake the rest. Thank you so much, this is only the second recipe I’ve tried, and it is perfect so now I won’t have to search and search..
So glad you love these Taylor! If your dough was a little oily, next time make sure that your butter is completely cooled after melting it – that can cause a big difference in texture once it’s all mixed together.
Have made these again a couple of times, they are even better with a tablespoon or so of cocoa powder, for a double choc chip cookie – yummo
Wow! I just made these, and let’s just say that the Toll House recipe is going out and (if I don’t stop eating these), my dress size is going up! I made smaller balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoon), and ended up with 30 x 2 1/2 inch cookies-perfect for sharing at work! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I definitely ditched all other chocolate chip cookie recipes once I made these!
I made these over the weekend for my family and they turned out perfect and everyone loved them. I think I’ve finally found the perfect chocolate chip recipe! So nice to have cookies that didn’t spread out all over the pan while baking then have frisbies instead of cookies. Thanks so much.
Yay! These are definitely my favorite too!
I made these today and took some to work, and everyone RAVED about them! Yum yum yum!!! (Believe me.. nurses love, and know their snacks! We sure get enough of them!) So THANK YOU! This recipe has a spot in my personal cookbook now. I even passed it on. :-)
You are welcome! It really is the BEST!
My first sheet is in the oven right now…they look puffy and delicious! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe, and this may be just the ticket!!!
These are a great cookie, I had made them from another food blog but also found over sixty thousand followers at allrecipes.com had used this minus the trick of pulling the ball of cookie dough apart and only using one teaspoon of vanilla! I didn’t measure too carefully and the recipe was very forgiving. Other sites said you must chill batter at least an hour before baking, what’s up with that??? Good choice that could adapt to additions such as peanut butter, nuts, or other types of chocolate chunks!
Hi Paula, Not sure about chilling the dough, I’ve never chilled this dough. It’s perfect as-is as far as I’m concerned!
I made these cookies this weekend for my brother’s birthday dinner and they were a BIG HIT!! I left the first batch in the oven just a little too long and they weren’t quite soft enough, but I learned my lesson by the 2nd round. Perfect!!
Woo for birthday cookies! Happy birthday to your brother!
I have to tell my story:
i am just like all of you, in search of the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe. but to tell you the truth, i gave up YEARS AGO because i was convinced there was no such thing.
*THIS RECIPE IS THE DEFINITION OF THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE!*
i au pair for a swedish family, now in luxembourg and for over a year i have wanted the children to experience real, authentic chocolate chip cookies. i did a lot of lecturing on how we might be dissapointed with this recipe, but there was no need for that as we had chocolate smeared on our lips, and the gooey cookie pieces in our mouths!
I AM SHARING THIS RECIPE WITH EVERYONE I KNOW! YOU ARE A GODDESS AND I LOVE YOUR CREATIVE IDEAS!
keep them coming!
XOXO
wishes from luxembourg!
Hi Colette, waving to you in Luxembourg! Thank you so much for sharing your story and the rave review of these cookies. I agree, they really are the best!
I agree with you!
Hi! I made these a few weeks ago and they were amazing! However… I have made them twice since then and both times, they have spread out so much and are SO flat!! I am so disappointed because they were so good the first time I made them. Do you have any idea what could be going wrong? I can’t figure it out and it’s so frustrating!!
I was just going through some old comments and found someone with a similar problem, and I read your response to them. Perhaps I didn’t let the butter cool enough, I just don’t know!
Hi Bailey, That was going to be my suggestion. I’ve had it happen to me too and the flattening seems to always happen when I’m impatient with letting the butter cool. Also, do you grease your pans or use parchment? If you grease there could be extra fat getting into the cookies, causing them to spread.
I just made these cookies and I must say that although mine aren’t as beautiful as the one’s posted on you site (I did follow your directions for rolling and pulling apart the dough), they are still beautiful in their own way. This is now my go-to site for baking recipes…I rave about this site to my co-workers!
So glad you loved these Tykisha, and thank you for giving me a shout out to your coworkers! :)
Have you ever tried sea salt in these cookies? I’ve made some chocolate chip cookies with sea salt before and they’re wonderful in terms of the salty-sweet flavor, and added texture. I’ve notice you’re pretty into salty-sweet, so maybe just a suggestion?
Hi Reanna, I haven’t made these with sea salt but I’m definitely a fan of sweet/salty so I will give it a try next time. Thank you!
I make these using a 1/2 tsp of sea salt instead of regular salt. They are fantastic.
Oh my God!
If you think that you don’t have the time to make these cookies, then let me say something, sweetie – you are crazy. I made these cookies for September 1st, and I don’t need to say that people threatened to kill me if I didn’t give them the recipe :D.The cookies had the PERFECT concistency – they were chewy and thick. I added a handful of pecans and they added a nutty and superdelicious taste to the cookies. Definitely a keeper!
I have tried MANY chocolate chip cookie recipies, but, WOW. this one was DEFINITLY the best. its the chocoalte chip cookie we always try to make but never can-finally!!!! you are the best :)
I’ve made this recipe several times and this last time I did the lazy way and dumped the whole batch on a 1/2 sheet pan with silpat lining it. Baked it for 30 minutes and they turned out great although I think the next time I’ll go for 25 mins instead as they weren’t quite as chewy as I like. Took them to a family get together and they disappeared.
Oooh great tip, Kathy! Thanks for sharing! Great to know that these make great cookie bars too!
I printed out this recipe a year ago, jiminy cricket! LOL And just made them tonight.. Sooo disappointed– they taste great but they came out paper thin.. just like a Nestle Tollhouse cookie.. Guess my search for that thick CCC will continue :(
Melody, after reading your comment I thought I would share what happened to me. I probably used the butter when it was still too warm so when I mixed everything together it was too buttery and shiny. I added about 1/4 flour and it reached the proper cookie dough consistency. I formed the cookies and baked them and voila, they turned out perfectly.
These were exactly right! Chocolate cookies to die for. Will make them again and again! Thanks so much!
These are THE BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies! I am throwing out my Tollhouse recipe…no more flat Chocolate Chip Cookies! Thank you so much!
I made these today… well, I actually made the dough Saturday afternoon and baked them today (Monday). The dough was loose when I finished mixing (by hand, mind you) – much too loose to be shaped into anything resembling a ball. So I put it in the refrigerator until today. It was sticky but somewhat workable. I couldn’t get the “pull-apart” method to work though, the dough just wouldn’t hold its shape well enough. After baking, the cookies are delicious – but look NOTHING like the pictures. They more closely resemble the kind of cookie I get with the Nestle recipe – spread and thin. I was really hoping for a thick, chewy, craggly cookie like the one pictured. Any ideas where I could have gone wrong or what I could try next time? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Katy,
I’m sorry you had a less-than-stellar experience with this recipe! The most important step in this recipe is to make sure the melted butter has been cooled to the touch before you mix it with the sugars and proceed with the recipe. If you add it when it is too warm, the dough will be much wetter and less manageable than intended. I’ve had this happen to me before and it seems to be the one variable that can keep the cookies from being perfect. They definitely should not be thin. The other thing too is to make sure you don’t overbake them (or yes, they will spread). You should take them out of the oven when the edges look set but the middles are still a very pale brown and puffy. They won’t look done, but they will finish baking on the warm baking sheet when your remove them from the oven. I’m not sure if refrigerating the dough could have had an impact on the outcome, as I’ve never refrigerated this dough. Oh, one other thing – did you butter the cookie sheet or line with parchment or a silpat? Sometimes buttering a cookie sheet can cause too much extra butter to get into the dough once in the hot oven and can cause spreading too.
I hope you’ll give them another try, they are hands down the best cookie recipe I think I’ve ever made!! Let me know if you have any more questions and how the next batch turns out!
Hmm… let’s see. I might not have let the butter cool enough, I get impatient. :-) I’m pretty sure I didn’t overbake them, they were still a little gooey when I took them out (I’m really not a fan of overdone cookies, so I tend to err on the side of underdone since they continue to bake a little after coming out.) And I don’t grease cookie sheets when making cookies, nor use parchment or Silpat liners. So the only variable I see that might be the problem is the melted butter. Just very strange that they came out so differently from the picture… I’ve been baking (sweets) for a long time and nothing has baffled me more than the basic chocolate chip cookie. Thanks for all the ideas! I guess I’ll just have to give this another shot… darn, more cookies!
Hi, I just want to mention again that so many ovens loose their calibration quickly. I suggest that everyone buys a oven thermometer just to see what the oven is actually at. They are not too expensive and will stop a lot of frustration on either conventional or convection ovens, not to mention food waste.
Ditto this!
I keep my flour in the fridge because of the little worms that are in flour, just natural, but, I keep it in there. After I melt my butter I just mix and the cool flour does the rest. Nut, if I did’t I would just stick to the recipe. It is the best!
Hi there!
I’m a long time follower on and off. I avoid following a sweet blog until I really have to make something because I LACK SELF CONTROL.
I tried this CCC with only one variation. I omited the 1/2 cup white sugar. And I don’t know its because the dark brown sugar I use is quiet sweet or what but I think it is of perfect sweetness without the white sugar. And its now my most requested cookies and loved recipe. What do you think ?
Ofcourse, using the brown sugar kind of makes a much darker looking cookie but its yummy! I was planning to switch things up and try using white sugar next time. What do you think should be the ratio considering I use both the sugars ( assuming my dark brown sugar is way sweeter??). I was planning to start of with 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar.
http://journeykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/perfect-chocolate-chip-cookie.html
I hope I made sense. :)
Hi Kulsum,
So glad you enjoyed these cookies with the variation you created! If you add back in white sugar, I would encourage you to keep the ratio the same (2:1 brown sugar to white sugar), otherwise if you use more white sugar than brown sugar, you will end up with a much crisper (not as thick or chewy) cookie. It might still be good, but just know that switching up the ratio will result in a very different texture.
Let me know how they turn out!
These cookies were really good! I am taking half to my friend and her family to get them out of the house so we don’t eat them all! Curious to see how they taste after sitting a day. One recipe I have for choc chip cookies taste better after a day (uses pudding)… wow three BEB recipe in two days :p
OMG!! These cookies are so fantastic!! I have my own chocolate chip cookie recipe that my husband loves, but I will never use it again. These are crunchy and chewy and perfectly cooked. I also love the way you form them before cooking – very cool. I love your website as well. A great find!
Well, I must say this is a pretty tasty cookie recipe you have there.
When still warm they were perfect, but unfortunately they don´t seem to “age” as well as I hoped. (I would give them an 8/10 one day after baking them)
I used a natural vanilla bean instead of the vanilla extract though, since you can´t buy the latter over here.
Greetings from Germany !
I was really looking forward to making these and seeing if they would be chewy. I added maybe 3/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter. Unfortunately they didn’t come out very chewy. I’ll admit I didn’t let them cool on the pan, which was supposed to make them chewier (I only have 1 small baking sheet to use), and I made these smaller than the recipe asked for—does that last factor help make them chewy? I’m thinking about trying it again but I want to get other opinions as to what I should tweak? Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)
I’ve used this exact recipe for the last 10 years! i love it!!! I’m known for my chocolate chip cookies!!!
Oh my goodness, I just made these cookies and they are my new favorite by far! Thank you SO much for the recipe! I was wondering what makes them so fat? I feel like in other cc cookies I’ve made I have to chill the dough and be very careful not to let the butter get too soft so I don’t end up with flat cookies. The dough for these was so soft I was worried they would flatten in the oven. But, miracle of miracles, they didn’t at all! Any insight you may have would be greatly appreciated =)
Hi! I want to thank you for this recipe:-) I tried this cookie recipe last weekend! :-) I was really amazed by the results! In the philippines, i used muscovado sugar and it has a very distinct flavor. :-) I made a half a dozen pieces for my great love.. weee!! i’m sure he will love it :-) Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try the others. :-) Salamat! It means Thank you in Filipino :-) I am now your avid fan :-)
Me and my Boyfriend made these last night cause he has been craving chocolate chip cookies, We added some peanut butter chips to them as well, the dough was really gooey and messy ( but tasted fantastic!!) and the cookies turned out great…but my tops didnt turn out good like yours which means i better practice and make some more ;)
Hi Angela,
I actually just made a Triple-Chocolate Chip version (from the same cookbook), and am planning on posting it this coming week, so be sure to check it out! I hope you’ll enjoy!
I’m eating one of these now – they’re delicious. :] I formed the first nine dough balls according to the instructions (“pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface”) but for the next nine I used a bit of a shortcut; I just rolled 1/2 cup dough balls and pulled them into halves, which resulted in the same crinkly texture on top.
wow, so you do really use 1/4 cup of cookie dough per cookie??? just wanted to make sure before i try them out…..
Hi Irene, Yep, 1/4 cup! They are awesome!
Hey Michelle,
I was just wondering if maybe I could add in some cocoa to make these cookies double chocolate cookies? And if yes, about how much would you recommend me to add in?
THANKS.
I just made these and they are delicious. The texture is perfect! I’m printing the recipe out and putting it in my favorite recipe binder :) Thanks for the great post.
one word-INCREDIBLE! loved these! yummy and the salt really makes them,thanks has gone in my recipe book! x
i made these cookies today and everyone loved them.
they are so good!
thanks for the recipe, it’s the first chocolate chip recipe that i’ll DEFINITELY be making again :)
I made these yesterday! Beautiful and delicious! This is a perfect chocolate chip cookie :)
Wow, these turned out amazing! I just baked them as part of Christmas gifts (I’m doing chocolate chunk cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies in cute little boxes) and they turned out perfect!
That comment was meant for Sarah. Oops!
Cindy – in the list of ingredients it notes that the butter must be melted and cooled until warm.
Hi! I just wanted to say that I tried out your recipe, but I added cinnamon and used mini M&M’s instead. They came out awesome. They will be a go to cookie recipe for me from now on! Thanks for the inspiration. Your site is pretty awesome. I am a huge lover of cookies (when I was younger whenever anyone asked me what my favorite food group was, I promptly answered: cookies!). Thanks again!
Stephanie – I’m thrilled you’ve found your new go-to chocolate chip cookie dough! Thanks so much for stopping back to share your thoughts on the recipe.
I agree — this is now by go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. They had a chewy dense quality that was exactly what I was looking for! I’m not sure I got that twisting thing though…
The secret to cake-like cookies is to make them bigger! You can use some cake flour too, if you like. The Times did a great article on chocolate chip cookies this time last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html
The attached recipe is fantastic! It calls for special chocolate pieces and stuff, but regular semi-sweet works fine. The proportions are about the same as Michelle’s recipe here, but they use some cake flour, and call for 36 hours of chilling.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html?ref=dining
Hi Ashley, Thanks so much for coming back and reporting on the cookies! The addition of peanut butter sounds so good, I am going to try that the next time I make these! So glad you liked them :)
Oh my god, this recipe is great! I added about 1/2- 3/4 cup peanut butter to the dough and they turned out so good! Mine were, I am happy to report, much thicker than the ones in the pic, and so chewy! Yum, yum, yum! Perfect recipe!
Do you know how to get the cookies to be “cakelike” and not crispy? They came out beautifully thick.. but still crisp. I wanted them like a cake? Does anyone know the secret?
Thanks!
It needs less fat, more moisture. I achieve cake-like when I use a portion of applesauce in the place of the oil, as well as a higher ratio of flour, baking powder, etc.
Don’t cook it for as long they look a bit too soft when they first come out, but as the butter solidifies, they become perfect.
Make these and search no more for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. These really are out of this world. (And this coming from someone whose favorite cookie is not chocolate chip cookies.)
My hint: Use Toll House Mini Morsels – they make it even better!
Hi! I’m just wondering a bit… the nestle toll house recipe results in super flat and oily cookies, based on my experience. I never liked that recipe. I’m wondering how this turns out to be thick when it calls for only 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour. do you melt the butter? it doesn’t say anything about melting the butter in the directions. Please let me know, I’m still dying to achieve the best home-baked cookies. Thanks!!! :-)
Sarah
It states right in the list of ingredients that the butter should be melted.
hubby and I tried your recipe, but added 2 oz of pecan pieces with it and it turned out divine….thanks so much for the great night of baking! =)
Thanks for posting this recipe! I made these for work today and everyone is raving about them!
I just made these… and trust me, after taste-testing, it is taking all my will power not to eat the entire batch tonight! Thanks Chelle, this is definitely the best choc chip cookie recipe I have ever found!
these look so delicious! i have to say, your soft and chewy recipe is a staple in my house. we love love love it. but i may be trying this recipe soon. i love trying new cookie recipes.
WOWZA! These are some dang fine cookies! The batter seemed a little loose and I was a tad concerned, but it was all for naught. Delicious, tender, chewy — perfect!
I used a 1/2 cup scoop and twisted them in half — they were a little more than 2.5 ounces each and made for a hefty cookie. Thanks for sharing!
These look incredibly delicious!
YUM! these definitly make you want to go and make a batch of them right now! They look delicious!
i think we’ve found a new way to make chocolate chip cookies and melting the butter is a key step, along with lowering the oven temp. this is great. i found a peanutbutter cookie recipe that uses alton browns tips to make them soft and chewy too that’s posted on my log. that has been my quest, soft pb cookies!
Kate – Thanks so much!! That’s a real compliment! :)
This is a great post. One of the reasons I love Alton Brown is his science behind the recipes – just like what you’re doing here!
This is my favorite cookie recipe – hands down! They’re also delicious when adding a big scoop of peanut butter to the batter. My husband and I have been known to polish off a batch in 24 hours! :)
excellent idea! im gonna try these!!
Hi Amanda,
I really love the Baking Illustrated book. America’s Test Kitchen basically takes tons of recipes and tests, tests, and retests in terms of ingredients, equipment, and methods until it nails the best way to make a certain recipe. I have honestly never been disappointed in a recipe of theirs that I have tried – everything has been spot on and amazing. They have a show on PBS that I think runs on Saturdays if you want to look up your listings – you could check out a couple of episodes and see what they’re all about.
How is that Baking Illustrated book? I have never seen/read about America’s Test Kitchen besides what I read from other blogs but people rave and rave about it.
Definitely count me in as one who continues to try recipe after recipe, even though I’ve tasted perfectly wonderful choc. chip cookies. I think it’s just so fun to experiment!
You are making me crave cookies now! Those look delicious!