My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe. Chewy centers with just the right amount of crispy edges, and all of it with puddles of dark chocolate throughout. Definitely a perfect version of a classic dessert.

What is a food blog without a chocolate chip cookie? I don’t know if it even counts as a food blog, you know? So I’ve decided to fix that little omission on this blog right here, right now. I present to you my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

Here’s where I’ve always gotten tripped up before–there are literally millions of chocolate chip cookie recipes on google. 93.5 million, to be exact. That means that it’s hard to create anything original, and even harder when you have a recipe (or four) that you really love. Add on the fact that everyone has their own definition and standard for perfection in what is one of the most classic, perfect American desserts, and it’s enough to leave any baker feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So instead, I’m sharing a recipe that I absolutely love, with a few minor tweaks. The recipe is based on one from Stella Parks (aka Bravetart) on Serious Eats, and it checks all of the boxes. Chewy centers with crispy edges, dark chocolate throughout the dough, and it doesn’t require any time in the fridge. You can just mix, bake, and have perfect cookies in minutes. Literally.

I did make a few tweaks to the recipe (if you’re reading this, sorry, Stella). I almost always use salted butter for my cookies–I think it gives them a deeper flavor. To make up for it, I slightly reduced the amount of salt in the recipe. Also, the original called for a bit of nutmeg. While I understand how it works to enhance the flavors, I just can’t get behind nutmeg in my cookies. Also, I used slightly less chocolate–feel free to up it to the original 14 oz., but I tend to like a bit less.

One more thing… I think I’m supposed to warn you off eating the cookie dough. Food safety, and all that. And while I would never wish to offend your conscience in the matter, I’m just going to say that the dough is superb. As in, hide it all from me or I might not get any cookies baked. So you have permission, and even my blessing, to eat some of it. Or lots. or all.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Start by weighing or measuring out all of your ingredients and chopping your chocolate bar. This simplifies everything as you’re making the cookie dough. Preheat the oven to 350f.
• Your butter should be soft, but not at all oily. Combine it in the bowl of a stand mixer with the white and brown sugars, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder & soda. Beat it with the paddle attachment on low until it’s all mixed, then turn it up to medium and beat until light and fluffy.
• While the mixer is beating, toss about half of the chopped chocolate in the flour.
• Once the butter is beaten, add the egg with the mixer still running. Beat just until barely combined.
• Turn off the mixer and add all of the flour and chocolate ate once. Mix on low until combined completely into a stiff dough.
• Portion the cookie dough out into 2 oz. portions and space 6 evenly on baking sheets.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden brown. If you prefer your cookies a bit on the crispier side, let them bake for another 2 minutes.

Tips for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

• I may sound like a broken record, but I highly recommend weighing your ingredients for consistent results. While it’s more natural for American bakers to reach for their measuring cups, scales are a good option to have in your kitchen for more confident baking. Here’s the scale I use–it’s under $30, and a very reliable scale.
• Let the butter and sugar cream until it’s all really light and fluffy–it makes all the difference in the texture of your cookies since the sugars will be more dissolved and the mix will have lots of air whipped into it. Stop the mixer and scrape the edges of the bowl a couple of times while beating to make sure that everything is getting the works.
• For the same sized cookies that bake evenly, use a portioning scoop. But don’t do it all at once, or you won’t have any to snitch while they’re baking. And that would be tragic.
• Make sure to put a nice large chunk of chocolate on top of your cookie dough balls to get the large, melty puddles on top. See photo below for reference. And wipe your chin, dear.

Chocolate Chips vs. Chocolate Bar

In case you’re asking “Can I use chocolate chips instead of a chocolate bar?” the answer is… yes. But your cookies won’t be the same. And you won’t have swimming pools of chocolate on the tops of your cookies.

Commercially made chocolate chips are actually a different product from a high quality chocolate bar. Chips have fats other than cocoa butter in them and tend to be slightly waxier and have a higher sugar content than a bar of chocolate. Also, when you mix the chopped chocolate with some of the flour, it helps the cookies hold their shape and not spread everywhere during baking.

If you’re not sure what kind of chocolate to buy, I recommend using some that’s around 70%. Trader Joe’s has a 70% Pound Plus bar (the nut free one is in a red package) and I absolutely love it because the whole thing is $5 and I can get almost two batches worth of cookies from it. But any good brand should do the job– Ghirardelli, Lindt, and Guittard are just a few of the options that work great!

Like I said before, these cookies are simple, quick, easy, and perfect. And I hope they become your favorite chocolate chip cookies, too.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy:

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from any links in the post Good Things Baking Co. will receive a small commission at no added cost to you. Thank you for being here, and helping support good recipe to make and eat!

Print