THE ONLY chocolate chip cookies recipe you will ever need! These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are crispy around the edges, with soft, buttery centre. Studded with pools of melted chocolate for the ultimate chocolate cookie experience!
Hello friends!
Happy March!!! Spring is at the doorstep, the air smells different and the days are getting longer! So many reasons to be happy and cheerful! As if all of that wasn't enough, I also have amazing recipe to share with you all today! Trust me, this one is a real corker!
If you follow me on my Instagram, you know that over the last few weeks I've been on a quest to find a perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Many batches of cookies have been baked, dozens of cookies have been eaten. The results are in. I'm ready to share them with you!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Any self-respected food blogger/ baker will have their favourite recipe for chocolate chip cookies on their website. So you can only imagine my surprise, when I discovered that I actually don't have one!!! (I have plenty of other cookie recipes tho, like these dulce de leche cookies or chocolate salted caramel cookies or these sugar cookies)
Almost 4 years into blogging, and no sign of the chocolate chip cookie recipe over here. How the heck did that happen, I honestly do not know. But better late than never, right?
So over the last few weeks I've been testing, testing and testing some more. CCC (chocolate chip cookies) are such classic, and one of these things that everyone loves and can easily make. Let's get to it!
Why this recipe is special?
Firstly, it is super easy to make! You need only 10 basic ingredients to make them. Secondly, these ingredients are super simple and the chances are you already have all of them in your kitchen.
They're crispy around the edges, but the middle is nice and soft. Buttery texture, studded with pools of melted chocolate. Perfect for sharing, or keeping them all to yourself. You decide...
As well as searching for the right taste, I've been obsessed with finding the right texture. And I will share my hack with you, which will result in a perfect texture of the cookie every time!
Before I move on to the ingredients, let me just tell you that I have searched the width and the length of the web on this quest. I've read tens, if not hundreds, of my favourite baking blogs to gather all the tips and tricks for best CCC. I took different bits and bobs from all of them, including ingredients and techniques, and basically combined them to create this recipe.
It's been a time- consuming (and very delicious) process and I have done it all, so you don't have to! This is literally, honestly, 100% the ONLY recipe you will ever need for this type of cookie!
Closer look at some of chocolate chip cookies ingredients
As with many good cookie recipes, the ingredients are simple and very basic. Butter, sugar, egg, flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate. Easy! Let's take a closer look at some of these ingredients:
- Butter- make sure it's at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you are planning on making this recipe. You know it's ready when pressed finger leaves an indentation on the surface of the butter
- White and brown sugars- we are using a mix of white caster sugar and light brown soft sugar. White sugar makes cookies browner (by caramelising) and crisper (by absorbing moisture from the dough). Brown sugar makes cookies moister and chewier.
- Plain and bread flour- we are using a mix of these two flours. Bread flour has the higher protein content, and it produce more gluten, resulting in a chewier cookie!
- Chocolate- use variety of different types. I like using chopped dark chocolate (70%), because it creates these lush, big, pockets of melted goodness along with milk and dark chocolate chips.
How to make these chocolate chip cookies
If possible, use the standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. But if hand-held electric mixer is all you have, then go ahead and use that!
The important thing is to make sure to beat the butter and both sugars until they have pale, light and fluffy texture. It should take about 3-4 minutes, on a medium-high speed. Once that is done, add the egg and vanilla. Keep scraping the bottom and the sides of the bowl, so all the ingredients can combine well.
Place both flours, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and mix them well. Turn your mixer to low speed, and slowly add the flour mixture. It's SUPER important not to over-mix your dough at this stage. You should be able to still see some strokes of flour. Over-mixed dough will produce tough and dense in texture cookie.
Lastly, add the chocolate and mix it into the dough using a spatula or a wooden spoon. Mix until it is evenly distributed in the dough. Cover the cookie dough with kitchen wrap or a tea towel and place it in the fridge for at least couple of hours (I like to chill my dough overnight).
Why to chill cookie dough?
Chilling cookie dough before baking controls spread. It also solidifies the fat (butter) in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled dough takes longer to melt than room temperature fat. The longer the fat remains solid, the less cookie will spread!
Please, please, please do not skip this step! It's sooo worth the extra time, and you can thank me for it later.
Ready, steady, bake!
Once the dough have been chilled, preheat the oven and line two large baking trays with some baking paper. Use a cookie scoop or a measuring spoon to create equal size balls of the cookie dough and place them on a baking tray. Make sure to leave plenty of space between the cookies (about 5 cm). Place the baking tray in the middle shelf of the oven and bake them for about 10 minutes, rotating half way through.
The cookies are ready to come out of the oven when their edges are just beginning to brown up and the middle is still looking a bit undone. Sprinkle some sea salt flakes on them while they are still a bit warm (this helps the salt to stick to the cookie).
The genius hack for best looking cookies!
Now, here's the cool trick I've recently learned while trying to achieve that perfect texture and look of the cookie: tear and stack the dough for perfectly rippled chewy cookies!
If you want that 'perfectly imperfect', Insta-worthy looking cookie with chewy layers, simply tear each cookie dough ball in half and stack it. So simple, but soooo effective! Try it and you will never look back!
Thanks so much for tuning in and reading today's post! As always, feel free to leave me a comment and a rating below!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 2 baking trays
- baking parchment
- electric mixer
- cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 225 g unsalted butter (cubed, room temperature)
- 110 g caster sugar
- 160 g light brown soft sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 175 g plain flour
- 150 g strong bread flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 200 g chopped chocolate or chocolate chips of choice (use mixture of dark and milk chocolate)
- 2 tablespoon sea salt flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Add the butter and both types of sugar into a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or a handheld electric mixer with standard beaters) and mix on medium- high speed until light, pale and fluffy. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat all together. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are combined nicely.
- In a large bowl, mix together both types of flour, baking soda and salt. Turn the speed on your mixer to low, and slowly, start adding the flour mix. Mix until JUST combined. Do not overmix! You should have few strokes of flour remaining, that is absolutely fine.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, and using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, mix in the chocolate/ chocolate chips. Mix it all together until the chocolate is nicely and evenly distributed in the dough. Cover the dough with some kitchen wrap and transfer to the fridge to chill for minimum 2 hours (or overnight for best results!).
- When ready to bake, heat the oven to 170 C (fan). Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Using a cookie scoop or a measuring spoon, scoop the cookie dough and arrange on baking trays, leaving plenty of space between them (roughly about 5 cm).
- Bake 1 tray at a time, in the middle shelf of the oven for about 10 minutes. Make sure to rotate the baking sheet half way through the baking. The cookies should be slightly golden brown around the edges, but the middle should be still a bit soft. Take them out of the oven, sprinkle with sea salt flakes while they are still warm, then and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Notes
- make sure your ingredients are at room temperature
- if you don't have any bread flour, simply replace it with plain flour
- use different types and sizes of chocolate
- chill cookie dough for at least couple of hours, but ideally overnight
- make sure to bake one tray at a time, in the middle shelf of the oven
- the cookies are ready when they still look a bit undone but the edges are turning golden brown
- sprinkle some sea salt flakes on the cookies while they are still warm
- you can freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months
Nutrition
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Irish
Hi again, forgot to ask. When is the perfect time to scoop the dough? Before or after you chilling them? Thanks!
Marsha Ramsdell
Hi, Anna. My cookies came out picture perfect and delicious. Family loved them still warm out of the oven and everyone went home with a bag.
Anna
Hey Marsha, that is so lovely to hear, I'm so happy that you and your family enjoyed these cookies! Thanks for taking time to leave this comment and review!
Aline
Best chocolate chip cookie ever!!! They came out exactly the way I love - crispy on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside!
annabanana
Hi Aline, how awesome is that! Thank you so much for trying the recipe, I'm over the moon to hear that you like them! x
Kelly Anthony
You had me at crispy edges and buttery center. These chocolate chip cookies look absolutely perfect for any day of the week.
annabanana
The absolute must-have two attributes of a good cookie, IMO! 😉 Thank you Kelly, I hope you will give them a go, let me know if you try the recipe!
Elaine
I was craving cookies before I've stumbed upon this recipe... Now I can't imagine how I can go on without making them ASAP. These are too good not to rush to the kitchen!
annabanana
Hey Elaine! Thanks for your lovely comment, these cookies really are too good to miss out on! Once you've tried them, there is no coming back to any other CCC recipe! Hugs!
Pam Greer
These are seriously the best chocolate chip cookies ever!! Using those different types and sizes of chocolate makes them so special!
annabanana
Thank you Pam! So happy to hear that you like them! Hugs!
Charla @ That Girl Cooks Healthy
These cookies look picture perfect. There’s nothing quite like gooey cookies with a tall glass of milk.
annabanana
Thank you Charla, that's so lovely of you to say! And yes, love dunking these in some milk! Yummo!
Denay DeGuzman
Chocolate chip cookies are a classic! I love your unique spin on this recipe using a variety of chips and chocolate in different sizes. Mmm…they look so good!
annabanana
Thanks so much Denay! Glad you like it! Different types and sizes of chocolate really make the cookies more interesting and add more delicious chocolate flavours to it!
Connie
Love that you’ve done so much research to find the perfect cookie because these do look lovely! Love the pools of chocolate rather than having a solid chunk. LOL.
annabanana
Hey Connie, thanks for stopping by! It took many batches of CCC to nail this recipe, but it was totally worth it! Hope you will enjoy the recipe and give it a try some time soon!
Tara
Definitely a winner according to my nephews! They said that it was the best they ever had!
annabanana
That is fantastic news! Thanks so much Tara, it's great to hear that you guys have enjoyed this recipe!
Leslie
Chocolate Chip cookies are my love language! Hands down best dessert ever in my opinion. I'm totally with you on the mix of chocolates. I pinned this so I can make these the next time I bake cookies, which will be fairly soon! haha 🙂
annabanana
Aww thanks so much Leslie! I couldn't agree more, CCC are my all-time favourite snacks! And different types and sizes of chocolate chunks really makes a difference! Hope you will enjoy the recipe!
Tammi DuBridge
Can you put the recipe in regular cup amounts. I don't know how much 0.99 is or some of the other amounts. Thank you
annabanana
Hi there, the option to convert units is just there. Sorry if it's not good enough, perhaps trying kitchen scales instead of cups will help?
Amanda
These cookies couldn't be more perfect! I love the mixture of chocolate, and the sea salt makes the perfect finishing touch. So delicious!
annabanana
Thank you Amanda! Sea salt flakes add such a lovely touch, I love their crunch and they add nice balance to the sweetness of chocolate.
Paula Montenegro
When it seems I can't find new ways to improve on a chocolate chip cookie, this post comes along! I love this recipe and all the tips. And the photos are gorgeous! So beautiful!
annabanana
Hehe, thanks Paula, never too many recipes for chocolate cookies, right? Glad you like the recipe and the photos! x
GUNJAN C Dudani
These are absolutely delightful treat. Loved all the ingredients especially the addition of chocolate. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
annabanana
Thanks so much, glad to hear you like the recipe!
Analida Braeger
I love any kind of chocolate cookie and these were a favorite with my family! Thanks for all the great tips to make them
annabanana
Pleasure all mine Analida, I'm so happy to hear that you guys enjoyed these cookies! I hope they will become your go-to! hugs!
Irish
Hi. What if I don’t have a strong bread flour, do you think it will affect the recipe if I’ll use a regular bread flour? Lastly, what size of ice cream scooper are you using? Tia 🙂
annabanana
Hello there! You can use bread flour, or just a regular all-purpose, plain flour. Bread flour has higher gluten content so it creates chewier texture, but either will work. The cookies may be a bit less chewy with all purpose flour. My scoop is 2Tbsp in size, and you can scoop the dough before or after the chilling process. It will be a bit easier to do it before tho, as the dough will be softer at this point. Hope this helps! Happy baking!
Linda
Wow! I love the way you did all that testing for us so that we could eat up some pretty scrumptious cookies! 🙂 I love that these cookies have that soft ooey gooey center but still crisp on the edges. Some of the best CCC I've had!
annabanana
Hey Linda, that is lovely to hear, I'm so happy that you think so! And yeah, all that testing did pay off at the end! Thanks for trying the recipe, hope it will serve you well in the future!
Bernice Hill
Well it looks like the 'research' paid off! I absolutely love how they look and I bet they taste even better. Pinning for when I get that cookie crave!
annabanana
Thanks so much Bernice, it turns out that patience does pays off! 😉 I hope you will enjoy these cookies as much as I do! They're THE BEST.