Looking for the best chocolate chip cookies EVER? you’re in the right place. These cookies are BIG, soft, chewy, and totally divine.

Chocolate chip cookies are my weakness. If I were ever stranded on a deserted island, I could be happy with a steady supply of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

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I swiped this recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies from my mom, and now I want to share it with all of you. You don’t want to keep going through life not knowing what’s in the best chocolate chip cookies EVER, do you?

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Well, these wonderful homemade cookies are loaded with some incredible ingredients.

Butter, sugar, vanilla and semisweet chocolate chips are among the usual suspects.

But this isn’t your average chocolate chip cookies recipe! Y’all, this recipe produces some pretty perfect cookies.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the flour, baking soda, and the salt
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, vanilla extract, and the vinegar until smooth.
Beat in the egg just until combined.
Mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until combined. Stir in the chips.
Drop cookies 2 inches apart onto your prepared cookie sheet.
Bake and enjoy!

TIP: In the recipe, I make a note about “barely melted” butter. You want to melt it, but not over melt it, and be sure to let it COOL a bit before putting in with the other ingredients.

Here’s a picture of what your butter should look like!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - Melted Butter in a Bowl

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

The debate on soft vs. crispy chocolate chip cookies is a no-brainer in my book.

I do favor soft and chewy, but these cookies give you the best of both worlds.

The middle of the cookie is nice and soft, and the outer edge has a little crispiness.

And that sea salt on top? Just, wow.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies

A wonderful tip that I picked up a few years ago was to store cookies in an airtight container with one slice of white bread.

The cookies utilize the moisture in the bread and it helps prevent them from drying out. Give it a try, you’ll love the results.

People always ask me if they can freeze my cookie recipes. In this case, yes, you can definitely freeze this chocolate chip cookie dough. Here’s how to do it.

Make the cookie dough as instructed below.
Scoop and place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Just make sure the sheet will fit in your freezer.
Freeze the balls until solid. Usually, 1-2 hours will suffice.
Remove the cookie balls to a large ziptop bag and carefully labeled with the date and baking instructions.
Freeze up to 6 weeks.

Big, Soft, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

To bake your amazing cookies, you can allow the dough to defrost overnight in the refrigerator or a couple hours at room temperature, then just bake as usual.

If you want to bake them from frozen, just let them sit out on a parchment-lined baking sheet while your oven preheats, and then bake as usual adding 1-3 minutes to the baking time.

You’ll just need to keep an eye on your oven to make sure you don’t let them go too long over the original bake time.

Don’t forget, as my instructions note below you don’t want to overbake these cookies. They will look a little underdone in the center but they will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven as you allow them to cool on the baking sheet an additional 10 minutes.

I think you’ll agree that these truly are the BEST chocolate chip cookies!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - Big Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies #Cookies #Recipe

More Great Desserts

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter barely melted but not too hot (see photo above)
¾ cup light brown sugar packed
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 large egg
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips I used half chips and half chunks, but either is fine
Coarse sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and the salt: Set aside.
In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugars, vanilla extract and the vinegar until smooth. Beat in the egg just until combined.
Mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until combined. Stir in the chips.
Using a large cookie scoop (about 2 rounded tablespoons) drop about 3 inches apart onto cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, they will look light brown around the edges and will look underdone in the center. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with a little sea salt. Allow to sit on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a rack to cool.

Notes

You can use a medium cookie scoop for regular size cookies.

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Nutrition

Nutrition values are estimates, sourced from an online nutrition calculator. This information should never be considered a substitute for medical advice. Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: big chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip cookies

Did you make this?

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4.45 from 4055 votes (4,038 ratings without comment)

420 Comments

Jessica Johnson says:

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I see you recently updated this recipe. Where is the old recipe? It didn’t include vinegar and I believe called for different amounts of sugar. Can you email that to me?

1. Crissy Page says:
  
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  Hi Jessica, you are mistaken. This recipe has always had the vinegar and I didn’t change anything about the sugar! :) You must be thinking about someone else’s recipe! The vinegar has always been what made this recipe “different.”
  
  When you see “recently updated” in my posts it doesn’t mean the recipe changed. It just means I may have fixed a typo or changed a photo in the post for SEO purposes. If I ever change recipes, it will be noted in the recipe.
  
Lexie says:

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My go to recipe for the last 6 years! I omit the salt because I don’t like it but it’s the best recipe ever!

1. Crissy Page says:
  
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  Yay!
  
Tanisha says:

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These cookies are delicious but mine always turn out very flat! Any idea why this might be and how to fix it?

1. Crissy Page says:
  
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  Hi, Tanisha! For less flat cookies add a bit more flour. Try 2 1/4 cup.
  
Mamabakes says:

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I love these cookies so much!I made close to a dozen times and they’re always a crowd pleaser. I do struggle a bit with being consistent on the “paritally melted butter”. This last batch, I tripled the recipe as i usually do to keep in the freezer…as I’m cleaning up I found 3 eggs on the counter. I thought they would be ruined but actually they were ok. A little crunchier than usual. Wondering how they are still edible?

1. Crissy Page says:
  
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  Honestly, I think the cookies still work with melted, or softened butter. It’s pretty forgiving! :)
  
Dianne says:

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I love that this has a secret ingredient!! Great recipe and I will make this again and again!!

Pam says:

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Good flavor but spread more than I wanted. Love the touch of salt. Everything was measured precisely as instructions called. Did not melt the butter but set it out overnight. Perhaps I should chill first next time

Amy Keadle says:

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These ARE the best chocolate chip cookies!!! The plate is always empty before the evening is over.

Tammy Dodd says:

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This is the best CC cookie recipe ever!! It has become the family’s go-to! We do have to add an extra 1/2 c flour to the recipe here tho.

Fiona says:

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These were super good! I did semi-dark and white chips and a bit of walnuts. They were simple and for me, nailed the craving (;
Mine took about 11 -12 mins and never got super flat… and that keeps happening so think it’s my flour or my oven? Yum. Thanks!

Tara says:

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Are the ingredients listed accurate? Says 2 cups flour and 1 cup butter, but mine ended up as a gigantic pool on the cookie sheet. More flour or less butter maybe?

1. Crissy Page says:
  
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  Yes, it’s two sticks of butter. I’ve made this recipe a hundred times, and thousands of people have used this recipe. You must have gone wrong somewhere in your process. I’m sorry you had trouble!
  
  1. Teresa says:
    
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    These are the best cookies ! I use a little less chocolate chips and for some reason they take a lot longer in the oven but it’s probably my oven ! It’s my ‘ go to ‘ cookie recipe – Thank you !
2. Sarah says:
  
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  Hi Tara, how soft was your butter? I’ve noticed when I melt my butter too much they spread like crazy. During the summer I leave my butter on the counter until squishy and it turns out perfect
  
  1. Tara says:
    
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    I thought about that, maybe my butter was too melted. I’ll try that next time. Thank you Sarah!!