Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

There's nothing more classic than a soft and gooey chocolate chip cookie. Coming in all shapes and sizes, chocolate chip cookies can be thick, thin, crispy, or chewy, but will always be sweet and filled with delicious chunks of chocolate. In this recipe, we share a bakery-style chewy chocolate chunk cookie, easy to make at home with just a few common ingredients. This recipe written for 2 dozen large cookies makes enough for a crowd but will go quickly, so you'll want to bake up the whole batch at once. And if not? Freeze the dough for a rainy day and bake from frozen in less than 20 minutes.

Below recipe developer and production baker Michelle McGlinn shares her technique for a perfectly chewy, chunky, and sweet chocolate chip cookie. The key is in mixing the simple ingredients in the right order so that the dough comes together smoothly and cleanly. If you don't own a mixer, you can make these by hand with a little extra elbow grease and a really trusty spoon.

Besides chunks of gooey chocolate, chocolate chip cookies require a good amount of flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter. With these ingredients accounted for, you'll just need a teaspoon of baking soda, baking powder, salt, a healthy dash of vanilla, and some eggs. We don't recommend deviating from the ingredients or the measurements in this recipe, or your cookies could end up dry, crumbly, or flat. The only thing you can have some freedom with is the star ingredient: you can use chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, M&M's, or even white chocolate to fill these cookies.

Sifting the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt helps to ensure your flour is clump-free and the ingredients are evenly combined. This step is optional, but will help your batter to be light and fluffy. If you don't own a sifting tool, simply whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt, breaking up any clumps as you go. Set the fluffy sifted flour aside while you cream together the butter and sugars.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter into the sugars until light and fluffy. Make sure your butter is fully softened for this; if needed, microwave the butter in 10-second increments to soften. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the vanilla. If you're an expert at cracking eggs, you can crack your eggs directly into the mixer, but cracking into a bowl first allows you to remove any unwanted shells before adding to the batter. Slip the cracked eggs into the batter while mixing, one by one, until fully combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure the ingredients are fully combined.

Because sifted flour is light and airy, turn off the mixer while adding the flour in order to prevent a kitchen mess. Add the flour all at once or in increments until fully combined into the dough, then scrape the sides again to ensure all the flour is accounted for. Pour in the chocolate chips and mix gently or by hand until just combined. Don't overmix the chocolate or the chips will melt into the dough.

Scoop the batter with a spoon or a cookie scoop and place 4 inches apart on a sheet tray. Use a 3 tablespoon scoop for large, 4-inch cookies, or use a smaller 1 ½ -inch scoop for small, 2 ½ -inch cookies. Batter can be frozen in ready-to-make scoops and stored flat in a freezer bag or on a parchment-lined sheet tray for up to 3 months. Once scooped, sprinkle with Maldon and bake the cookies in the preheated 325 F oven for about 18 minutes total, rotating the sheet pan halfway through for even cooking. Cookies will be slightly soft but brown around the edges.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack and serve while slightly warm. If needed, sprinkle extra salt on the cookies immediately after removing from the heat. These classic chocolate chip cookies pair best with a glass of milk, warm homemade apple cider, or vanilla ice cream. These cookies are best enjoyed within 3 days, but can be saved for up to a week in an airtight box or bag. If cookies start to stale, pop in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften.