These soft and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies have the perfect balance of texture and delicious buttery flavor. It's a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe with whole eggs, no brown butter and lots of chocolate chips. They have a lovely vanilla butterscotch flavor and bake up so soft all the way through. I have a lot of versions of chocolate chip cookies on this site, and this one is for purists. I was a Pastry Chef at a fine dining restaurant and the chefs always requested that I make these for staff dinner. The sous chef called them my "World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies". If you love making cookies, try my Bakery Style Double Chocolate Cookies with crispy caramelized edges and gooey centers, and my Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with rich caramel undertones. It comes from my debut cookbook called "Scientifically Sweet". Be sure to read down below in the post to learn about cookie science and see my expert baking tips for achieving the best chocolate chip cookies.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Easy to make - the recipe is simple and I actually find the best results come from when you mix it by hand with a wide spatula.
- Vanilla butterscotch flavor - these cookies have a clean buttery brown sugar flavor that is not overly sweet with underlying notes of natural vanilla.
- Soft gooey middles - if you like soft cookies, then you will really love these! They have a soft texture all the way through and they are even a bit gooey in the middle.
- Dark chocolate chunks - I use a mix of chopped chocolate and these discs ("feves") instead of chips to create big melty pockets to take these cookies to a whole other level!
COOKIE SCIENCE: HOW TO MAKE THE SOFT & CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
You can certainly expect some secret tips from me since I am a Food Scientist after all. The secret to soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies comes down to chemistry. Firstly it is about ingredient ratios. The amount of butter, sugar, flour and egg is very important.
- Ratio of Butter: Getting the right amount of butter to egg and flour ratio is very important to achieve the soft texture and even spread for a cookie that doesn't spread too thin, but also doesn't stay as a tall dough ball. Too much butter and not enough flour in this particular recipe make them spread out more and be too crisp while too much flour can make them dry and bland.
- Sugar ratio: Chocolate chip cookies should have a high ratio of brown sugar:granulated sugar as this is what differentiates it from a regular sugar cookie. I always recommend dark brown sugar as it has twice as much molasses compared to light brown sugar. Molasses will give these cookies their characteristic butterscotch taste as well as contribute to the soft and chewy texture.
- Egg ratio: The liquid in egg serves to help dissolve sugar in the dough and this recipe has more egg compared to my Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies to keep them soft.
- Amount of Flour: It is so important to either weigh your ingredients using a scale, or measure your flour correctly without packing it into your measuring cup. Too much flour will lead to thick cookies, but they will be more doughy and less gooey. Too little flour will make a very soft dough that will spread too much and lead to crispy cookies.
- Baking soda: Not only is baking soda important to help the cookies spread, but it also gives them color. Baking soda is an alkaline ingredient (the opposite of an acid), and the Maillard Browning reaction is encouraged in an alkaline environment. Too much baking soda means the cookies will spread too much and may burn too quickly, while not enough means the cookies will not spread much at all and will be pale in color.
- No baking powder: I say it in my cookbooks all the time, but I don't trust a chocolate chip cookie recipe with baking powder (haha). Baking powder will lead to a paler color, less flavor development and sometimes cakier cookies. You only need baking soda to raise and spread a good chocolate chip cookie dough because the acid from the brown sugar is enough to react with it while leaving just enough residual unreacted soda to encourage Maillard Browning (see below).
- Chill the cookie dough: This cookie has a high liquid ratio and requires time in the fridge for the flour to hydrate and absorb this moisture while also letting the butter firm up to delay spreading.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAKING POWDER AND BAKING SODA?
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, which is an alkaline (basic - high pH) compound that will react with acids when when dissolved in liquid to react rapidly and create carbon dioxide gas bubbles. In generally creates a more coarse, open texture.
Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and powdered acids so it does not need additional acid ingredients to react. Once it comes into contact with a liquid, the powdered acid and base dissolve and react with each other to create carbon dioxide bubbles. Most retail baking powder products are double acting, which means that they contain two different powdered acids that react at different speeds and with different stimulants. One reacts immediately upon mixing with water while another only reacts after exposure to heat during baking. Baking powder generally creates a finer, more crumbly texture.
WHAT IS MAILLARD BROWNING?
Maillard Browning or the "Maillard Reaction" is a delicious chemical reaction between the amino acids in proteins and certain sugars (called reducing sugars) that creates the beautiful brown color and flavor of chocolate chip cookies. When the proteins from egg and flour react with these sugars, they form brown compounds that taste like caramel, toffee, roasted nuts and toasty bread. YUM! This is the same reaction that happens when you sear a steak or bake bread.
INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- Butter - there is no substitute for butter in chocolate chip cookies in my opinion! It is the foundation of the rich butterscotch flavor after all. In this recipe, you can use salted or unsalted butter, but if you choose salted then I recommend reducing the added salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- Granulated sugar - this recipe uses a combination of simple white granulated sugar and brown sugar. White sugar helps create the crunchy caramelized edges. I wouldn't recommend reducing the sugar because it will compromise the chewy texture.
- Brown sugar - I highly recommend dark brown sugar for this recipe as it has twice as much molasses as light brown sugar and will make a big difference to the flavor. It will also make the dough more acidic which means it will react more thoroughly with the baking soda so that you won't be left with a soapy taste (a defect I find common in many chocolate chip cookie recipes)
- Egg - you'll need two whole eggs for this recipe. It's the perfect amount of moisture to make these cookies chewy and not cakey.
- Pure vanilla extract - good vanilla is absolutely essential to making delicious chocolate chip cookies. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
- Salt - don't leave out the salt! It really elevates the rich buttery, caramel flavors! It also enhances the chocolate taste and balances the sweetness. I also love to top these cookies with flaky sea salt after they're baked and while the chocolate is still warm.
- All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour makes the best chewy chocolate chip cookies in my opinion.
- Dark chocolate chunks - this is important! I highly recommend chopping chocolate from a bar instead of using chips. Why? That's because chocolate that is made into bars, also known as "tablets", has a higher cocoa butter content so that it can be poured into molds at the factory and it typically melts smoother than chocolate chips to give you puddles of chocolate in the cookies. I love this effect! Chocolate chips will hold their shape and spread less.
WHY BAKING SODA IS BEST FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
My preferred chocolate chip cookies are golden, chewy and slightly gooey inside with crisp edges. The reactions that make all of this happen are accelerated in alkaline conditions which are created by the addition of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). There is enough acidity from the molasses in brown sugar to react with it and the residual bicarbonate will help keep the dough slightly alkaline so that delicious Maillard Browning reactions are encouraged. Baking soda produces cookies that are more deeply brown with a denser texture. One of the most important ways to control your cookie shape and texture is by changing the quantity of baking soda (see the FAQ section below to learn how to make thicker cookies with less baking soda).
Chocolate chip cookie recipes with baking powder typically take longer to brown and don't spread which often leads to over-baking in order to achieve a darker color so that the resulting cookie is dry. Baking powder generally produces puffier, cakier cookies that rise higher during baking, producing a more crumbly texture from the fine air bubbles. They also have smoother, shinier tops and a muted flavor so the cookies tend to be more bland.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- STEP 1). Mix together butter and sugars. Combine soft butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes using a handheld mixer until smooth and a bit fluffy, but still a bit grainy like a damp sandy paste. Over-mixing at this point would make more crisp cookies.
- STEP 2). Mix in egg. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated after each addition. It will take 10-20 seconds per egg.
- STEP 3). Combine dry ingredients. Blend flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and whisk it to blend evenly. Then, add it to the butter mixture and mix it in until evenly combined.
- STEP 4). Fold in chocolate. Before all of the flour is incorporated, add the chopped chocolate and chocolate chips and fold them in gently until evenly distributed. The dough will be soft and moist but not sticky.
- STEP 5). Refrigerate the cookie dough. This is crucial to developing the chewy texture and rich caramelized flavor and golden color. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap well without pressing it down or compacting it. Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Ideally you would refrigerate for 8 hours for best results. Do not skip this step - it's worth the wait.
- STEP 6). Bake until golden on the edges and still soft in the middle. Do not over-bake as they will continue cooking on the hot baking tray.
EXPERT TIPS FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- Don't skip the salt. The right amount of salt is so important to enhance the flavor and balance the sweetness for chocolate chip cookies.
- Use regular large size eggs. Large eggs weigh 57g. Using an extra large egg will add up to 2 teaspoons more liquid to the cookie dough which can throw off the moisture balance and make the cookies spread too much.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough for ideally 8 hours. Refrigerating cookie dough serves several purposes: 1) Flour hydration - time in the fridge allows the flour to fully hydrate from the moisture of the egg and the water in the butter. If the flour is evenly hydrated, the cookies will be thicker and they will bake more evenly; 2) Flavor development -as the baking soda becomes more evenly incorporated with the flour hydration, the cookies will brown more evenly which will help them develop flavor more quickly; 3) Chills the butter - butter in the cookie dough will also firm up in the fridge so that the cookies wont be so greasy after they've baked. Chilled fat will also spread less readily during the initial stages of baking so the cookies won't spread uncontrollably; and 4) Increases shelf life - chilled cookie dough makes cookies that stay chewy longer and slows staling.
- Use couverture chocolate. Couverture chocolate is chocolate that is designed for enrobing, coating and dipping. It is the chocolate used by professional chocolatiers because it has a high cocoa butter content to make it more fluid. This extra cocoa butter gives chocolate excellent meltability so it will melt into the cookie dough during baking which helps it to spread and creates these glistening puddles of chocolate at the surface. It also creates a laminated effect of layers of chocolate between cookie dough as opposed to chocolate chips which have less cocoa butter and remain unchanged, holding their "drop" shape in the cookie dough. These couverture chocolate discs are incredible, or you can also chop chocolate from a couverture block.
- Use a kitchen scale. For best results, weigh your ingredients according to the measurements in the recipe card below using a kitchen scale.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion dough evenly so each cookie bakes at the same rate.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH CHEWY TEXTURE:
- Do not overdo the creaming step. Mix the butter with sugar only until smooth and like a damp sand, but not until pale. Over-beating will make cookies that are crisp, but not as chewy.
- Use baking soda only - not baking powder. Baking soda is alkaline and promotes browning through Maillard reactions (delicious flavor reactions) to produce a nice rich flavor. Baking powder is more acidic and creates a cakier texture as well as a more pale color.
- Measure flour accurately. Too much flour will leave you with dry and more crumbly cookies that will taste more doughy than butterscotch-y and caramel-like.
- Do not over-bake. Cookies will continue to cook on the hot baking tray, so don't wait for them to get completely golden all over in the oven. Once they are golden brown around the edges and puffed on top with cracks, the are ready. They should still be soft in the middle and will deflate as they cool.
RECIPE FAQ
Chilling this cookie dough is so important for the best results. Of course you can bake them right away, but they will not be as golden, as thick or as chewy and flavorful as they could be if you chill the dough. Ideally you would chill the dough for a minimum of 2 hours, and overnight (8 hours) will lend the richest flavor and chewiest texture. Chilled cookie dough also makes cookies with a longer shelf life so they will stay chewy for longer and be slower to stale.
If you don't chill the cookie dough, then the cookies will be slightly more puffy and less dense and chewy. They will spread a bit more and be less golden. The flavor will also be milder.
If your cookies spread a lot, then it could be that the dough wasn't chilled long enough, there was too much honey added (you only need just 1 level teaspoon), too much baking soda, or you did not add the right amount of flour. Too little flour will mean the cookies will not have enough structure to hold their shape and the dough will be too wet. The best way to measure the flour is using a scale to ensure you use the right amount. Too much will make the cookies thick and less chewy, but too little will mean they will be crispy and thin.
The short answer is yes, however, I prefer dark chocolate to balance the sweetness and I like chocolate chunks. Dark chocolate with a higher cocoa (vs. milk chocolate with more sugar and milk solids) will melt better to give these luxurious pools of chocolate. Chips will hold their shape and won't melt into the cookie. I find milk chocolate too sweet for these cookies and they also don't melt as well due to the high sugar content.
For the best results, use dark chocolate with over 60% cocoa solids, and use a high quality block of chocolate that you chop into chunks.
To get melted puddles with irregular shapes like in these photos, use chopped chocolate from a bar with over 70% cocoa solids. The darker the better when it comes to meltiness because the higher the total cocoa content, the more cocoa butter it will have and that high fat content is what makes chocolate melt and spread easier. Also, block chocolate is tempered as a block that you will break up and expose all sorts of jagged edges whereas chips are tempered in a specific shape that will stay in place.
When you chop chocolate from a block you make a variety of different shapes and shards that will get in all the crevices of the cookie dough. So, use your favorite dark chocolate - the kind that you snack on. Using block chocolate instead of chips will also give you better texture in the cookies. Block chocolate has a higher cocoa butter content so it will melt more evenly and readily to create pools of chocolate that will melt into the crevices. It also helps the dough spread. You can also use dark chocolate feves, callets or discs which are often made from couverture chocolate (high cocoa butter chocolate).
STORAGE AND FREEZING
These cookies are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They stay nice and soft and chewy!
Just place the cooled cookies in a resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. They just need 5-10 minutes to thaw.
You can freeze the cookie dough two ways:
1) Wrap all of the dough (or any leftover dough) in plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, thaw the dough and bake as directed.
2) Scoop and portion the dough into balls, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze individually. Once frozen, place them in a freezer bag and keep frozen for up to 3 months.
With nothing more than a tall glass of cold milk!
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Video
Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (320g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (220g) packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon (7ml) pure Bourbon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (120g) coarsely chopped bittersweet dark chocolate (I also love these bittersweet callets)
- ¾ cup (120g) semisweet chocolate chips (55% cocoa)
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
- Combine soft butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes using a handheld mixer until smooth and a bit fluffy, but still a bit grainy like a damp sandy paste. It shouldn't be too fluffy or the texture will be less chewy. If mixing by hand, use the "creaming method" with a wide rubber spatula to stir and spread the butter/sugar mixture along the bottom of the bowl until a bit fluffy. If you use a stand mixer. secure the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated after each addition. It will take 10-20 seconds per egg.
- Add the flour mixture all at once and fold it in by hand until mostly combined. Some flour should still be visible since you will continue to mix the dough when you add the chocolate. Before all of the flour is incorporated, add the chopped chocolate and chocolate chips and fold them in gently until evenly distributed. The dough will be soft and moist but not sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap well without pressing it down or compacting it.
- Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Ideally you would refrigerate for 8 hours for best results. Do not skip this step - it's worth the wait.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 375°F depending on what size and texture you want (read the details in the article above). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from fridge about 10 minutes before baking if you've chilled the dough for longer than 4 hours so it is easier to work with. Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough into 14 pieces (about 2 oz or 56g each) and roll into smooth balls. Or scoop up 1 ½ to 2-oz mounds of dough and roll into balls in the palm of your hands. Place them onto prepared trays, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each dough ball if desired and bake 6 cookies per baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375°F or 9-12 minutes at 350°F until golden around the edges and lightly golden on top but still very soft in the middle. The cookies will continue to cook and brown as they sit on the hot tray. Transfer the baking sheets to a cooling rack and let cookies sit for 3 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Marcelle
Hi! Is this recipe available in any of your published cookbooks?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Marcelle, yes this recipe is in my debut cookbook (the one with the chocolate caramel tart on the cover).
Marcelle
Thanks for the reply! Follow-up question: do you have any plans to release your debut cookbook as an ebook? Debating whether to pull the trigger on the physical book or wait for the ebook!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Marcelle! Yes, the ebook version of my first book is still something I am working on that hopefully I can get around to soon.
Priya
Second chocolate chip cookie from this website and my goodness - this was brilliant too. My husband wanted chocolate chip cookies with "not a whole lot of chocolate chips" (to figure!). So I added 175gms of that, lowered the white sugar to 75gms and stuck to the rest. 350degs for 12 mins did the trick for a soft, chewy cookie. And she absolutely is 100% correct - do not reduce the salt, it makes all the difference! Thank you for the amazing recipes here - my go to for all my baking!
christina.marsigliese
You are welcome Priya! Glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Athena
I completely forgot to put vanilla extract on my dough and i already put it the fridge. Should I brush a water mixed with a hint of vanilla on top of the cookie (after i roll it), or should I just bake it without the vanilla?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Athena! I would probably just bake and save your good vanilla for the next batch. 🙂
Brian
I made the recipe and these cookies were delicious! I only had light brown sugar, so not exactly the same recipe, but I followed the recipe exactly otherwise. I ran into the issue that the dough balls spread out and became extremely thin when baked at 350. Any ideas on what I might have done wrong.
? I definitely want to try this recipe again as the taste and texture were amazing!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Brian! Please see recipe FAQ for tips on excessive spreading. Did you use a scale to measure the ingredients?
Ann
This turned out amazing. Thank you! Just a query though, the cookie started releasing butter/oil after cooling. Why is that so? Is that normal?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Ann! It could be related to not chilling the dough long enough or overbeating the sugar and butter.
Jess
Can this recipe be halved? I cant eat that many cookies fast enough to make the full recipe.
christina.marsigliese
Hi Jess! Yes it can. I recommend to use a scale for accuracy and best results.
Linda
This is the soft cookie recipe I’ve been looking for. They are perfectly thick and so chewy with soft centers. Great recipe so it’s a 10 for me!
christina.marsigliese
Thank you Linda! Glad you enjoyed the cookies 🙂
Greg S
These cookies are great! But is there an error in the ingredients? I do everything by weight and the 320g of flour comes to meaningfully more than 2-1/4 cups!
From the package, from the internet, and doing it myself that amount of flour is closer to 2-1/2 or 2-3/4 cups .. and my dough and cookies came out firmer than yours look. Not exactly ruined (still good cookies!) but I do think this throws the recipe off in a way you don’t intend. Can you clarify the proper amount?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Greg, if you are using sifted flour the cup weight will be around 120g, whereas unsifted flour will be around 142g. I also test everything by weight which is why I recommend using a kitchen scale.
Greg S
Aha! That explains the discrepancy, and a great tip to watch out for in future recipes, thank you!
Mae
If I'm using flour that is labeled pre-sifted and is 120g per cup.. would I still go by whatever your gram measurement is for recipes or by the product package I'm using?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Mae! Follow the gram weight in my recipe.
Aqsa
Hi, can I freeze the dough for 2 days and then bake on the third day?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Aqsa! Yes you can freeze the dough. Let the dough warm up a bit before scooping.
Lulwa batarni Batarni
Hi, in the recipe you wrote dark brown sugar but on the video i saw that you used light brown sugar
christina.marsigliese
Hi Lulwa! I can confirm it was dark brown sugar as per the recipe, with 6% molasses content. Could it be that dark brown sugar is different where you are located?
Stephanie
These cookies are life! I used mini chocolate chips instead and I loved it. This is one of my go-to to recipes. Thank you!
christina.marsigliese
You're welcome Stephanie! I'm so glad you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Noel
Can I make the cookie 112 grams? If yes, how long should I bake them for?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Noel! Increase baking time to about 16-18min, or until golden around the edges and lightly golden on top but still very soft in the middle.
Mary
Planning to try this recipe! I want to add walnuts. Ideas on how much would work well?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Mary! 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts would work well.
Micheon
These are simply the best cookies I have ever made. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
christina.marsigliese
You're welcome Micheon! I'm so glad you like the recipe.
Yasmin
Christina can do no wrong!! Every single recipe of hers is so amazing. Seriously no misses! Now I can’t decide if this cookie, the bakery style cookies, or brown butter cookies are my fave! These are chewy and soft in the middle with the best cookie flavor
christina.marsigliese
Thank you so much for the kind feedback Yasmin! I'm so glad you enjoyed all the cookies!
Shan
I have baked a lot of cookies in my 67 years, and these are THE BEST I’ve ever made! They are heavenly…
christina.marsigliese
Wow! That's a great compliment. Thank you Shan!
.el DeVille
Made the dough yesterday and baked this morning.
I reduced baking soda to 1/2 tsp
I like more spread in my cookies.
I baked half at 350°, and half at 375°.
The 350° baked, almost perfect identical circles. Thinner cookie and larger.
Visually the 375° has that rippling around the outside, and a more rustic/ organic shape, with that bit of thickness.
They're both equally delicious, but with sublte differences.
Definitely another amazing success from Scientificallysweet.com!
Thank you Christina!
christina.marsigliese
Thanks so much! I love that you tried both bake temperatures too.
Anna
Made these today and we loved them! I can always use another great chocolate chip cookies recipe 😉
christina.marsigliese
Thank you Anna! So glad you guys loved the cookies!
Julie Soroka
The dough is delicious! I haven't baked them off yet. Could I roll them out and then place in fridge or freezer?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Julie! Yes, you can. Be sure to wrap the tray of dough balls well so they don't dry out and bring them to room temp before baking.
Sasha
Another amazing cookie recipe from Christina! These are exactly as described - insanely soft and chewy and everyone loves them!
christina.marsigliese
Thanks Sasha! So glad you liked the recipe.