This is the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Thin, chewy, crispy, buttery & loaded with chocolate. A favorite tried-and-true cookie recipe.
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe, you say? Yes. The BEST. Well, I think so at least. So does my son, who learned to make these around the age of 13 just so he could ensure a consistent supply.
Ok. I know this isn't the best chocolate chip cookie recipe for everyone. It really depends on your definition of what makes a chocolate chip cookie great. Light and fluffy, or thin and crispy? With or without nuts? Lots of chocolate or just a moderate amount? Chewy or tender? Soft and caky, or crisp and crunchy?
I prefer my chocolate chip cookies to be very thin, not cakey at all, both chewy and crispy, buttery, and loaded with chocolate.
Sometimes I add roasted almonds to these chocolate chip cookies. Other times I add dried cherries. Occasionally, I get all wild and crazy and add both. Other times I bake these cookies without anything except a lot of chocolate. It's all good.
You do have a decision to make with this chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Use all brown sugar or part brown sugar and part granulated sugar. Either way is delicious. Using all brown sugar makes them ultra thin and chewy-crispy. Using some granulated sugar still produces a gorgeous thin, chewy cookie, but not quite as thin as using all brown sugar.
Also, using part granulated sugar makes the cookies a bit more tender and a bit less chewy. Personally, I prefer to use some granulated sugar when I'm planning to add anything else to the batter besides chocolate chips. If I'm in a purist mood, like I was here, I use all brown sugar.
Whichever way you go, you'll want to make a lot. These chocolate chip cookies will go fast.
📖 Recipe
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Thin, chewy, crispy, buttery & loaded with chocolate. A favorite tried-and-true cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips (approximately 2 ½ cups)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.
- With an electric mixer, cream the butter sugars, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt with a wire whisk. Stir flour into butter mixture, just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Drop by rounded generous tablespoon size balls of dough onto the baking sheets, spaced 3 inches inches apart. These will spread out quite a bit.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden brown and mostly set in the center.
- Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool. These are very fragile when warm, so let them cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet before gently moving them to the wire rack to cool completely.
- Stored in an air-tight container for up to a week. These also freeze well, sealed in freezer bags.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 190Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 185mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 3g
Rebecca says
Hi! I doubled this recipe and followed all the steps... my cookies are coming out way too flat and flimsy... any idea why?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! This recipe does make chocolate chip cookies that are quite thin... if your were overly so, it could be that the butter was super soft. To prevent the cookies from spreading too much, you can simply refrigerate the dough for a bit. This will harden the butter, causing the cookies to spread a bit less while baking. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Valerie says
Been looking for a good recipe and came to find yours! Hands down the best I’ve made! Thank you!!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear that you liked this recipe Valerie! Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to let me know. I truly appreciate it! xo
karen says
This is probably one of the best cookies I have ever tasted in my lifetime and I have been around for quite awhile. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe. I can't wait to try more!
Anna says
Cookies came out amazing! Thanks for the new go to chocolate chip cookie recipe!!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear this Anna! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know! I appreciate it more than I can express. xo
Christine says
Did you have a cookie recipe where you put corse salt on top? Can't seem to find it, but I was wondering if it would work with this one as well.
Rebecca Blackwell says
You can sprinkle a bit of coarse salt on top of pretty much any kind of cookie (or brownie) before baking. It's one of the easiest ways to get that sweet-salty combination (my favorite!). PLUS, if the salt is coarse enough, it'll add a bit of crunch, which is also delicious. xo
Hannah says
Tried making these today. However, mine didn’t come out thin, they were like normal cookies. I followed the recipe, what did I do wrong?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Hannah! Thanks for your question. I'm not entirely sure why your cookies didn't come out thin, but I would guess that one of the following things could be the culprit: When measuring the flour, it might have been too packed into the measuring cup, resulting in too much flour in the dough. This can happen if your flour has been sitting in its container for a while; also, the flour at the bottom of a container can get kind of packed down. I'd suggest scooping some flour into a bowl and aerating it with a wire whisk. Then use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup, being careful to not pack it down, and leveling the flour off with the back of a butter knife. The other thing that might have caused the cookies to not spread out is the temperature of the butter and/or the dough. If the butter was cold, or the dough had been refrigerated, it might prevent the cookies from spreading out. I say this with slight hesitation because I have refrigerated this dough before and the cookies still spread out when I baked them. Still - the temperature of the butter and the dough in many cookies can affect how much they spread out. So.... if your dough was cold, that may be a factor. Does that help?
Hannah says
It might have been the flour. I’ll have to try again and make sure it’s not packed down! The dough was not refrigerated, as far as the butter goes, does it just need to be softened, so just take it out of the fridge a little bit before you actually need it?
Rebecca Blackwell says
You're correct. The butter should be at room temperature, soft enough to blend with the sugars, egg and vanilla easily. But, my first guess is still that the culprit was the flour rather than the temperature of the butter. Another thing you might try is using slightly less flour than the recipe calls for - maybe just 1 3/4 cup. Bake 2 or 3 cookies to see how they come out. If they spread too much, just stir the last 1/4 cup of flour into the dough. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help! I wish I could just come to wherever you are and bake a batch with you! 🙂 And, please let me know how these come out the second time around. xo
Hannah says
I will try the flour thing and let you know how they turn out! Thank you!
Missy Anderson McCorkle says
I really like this recipe! LOVE the cinnamon! Still playing with the time since my oven seems to cook faster. Should I be cooking these on the center rack?
Rebecca Blackwell says
So glad you like this cookie recipe! My family loves it too... which makes me think about how long its been since I baked a batch. I'd better get on that! 🙂 To answer your question - yes, I'd suggest baking the cookies on the center rack of your oven. Baking things for the right time is always a bit tricky, because not all ovens are the same. But, baking them in the center of the oven will help air circulation. Just keep a careful eye on them and take them out right before they look all the way done for extra gooey chocolate chip cookies. Happy Baking! xo
Phyllis says
Great recipe. Thank you so much!
Rebecca Blackwell says
You are most welcome, Phyllis! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it! xoxo
Katie says
I LOVE these cookies! They are the best I have ever had! 10 out of 10 for sure!!