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.

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.

Save This Recipe?

Enter your email and we’ll send it straight to you + get all our latest recipes.

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?

I would love to hear from you! Make sure to leave your review below and follow on Pinterest for more!

4.46 from 4114 votes (4,038 ratings without comment)

495 Comments

Rose says:

at

Curious what does the cider vinegar do to the cookies?

Kelli says:

at

Do you use salted or unsalted butter? This has been my favorite cookie recipe for several years! When I bake the cookies recently, they turn out very flat and I can’t figure out why!? Help please!

Brooke says:

at

I love this recipe! You have truly captured the perfect cookie. I was thrown off by the apple cider vinegar, but they turned out great. I use this recipe for events and gifts all the time. I appreciate the serving adjustability for larger quantities of people as well! Well done.

Sara says:

at

This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I use! Works every time and turns out so yummy! 😋

Felicia says:

at

Last year I tried a lot of different Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes and hands down everyone said this was the best

1. Katy M says:
  
  at
  
  I made these for the first time when I was in Denver visiting family. They were perfect! The whole family loved them. When I got back home to Tucson, I tried another batch and they seem to bake differently. I’m not sure why we’ll have to try them again, but I think I might use half the chocolate chips next time. When I first made them, they were flatter and chewy this time they were more puffy and seemed to be more dense.
  
  1. Caroline says:
    
    at
    
    You have to adjust recipes for different altitudes
John Doe says:

at

Made a little more than how many you said it would make but they were very good.

Jewel Jones says:

at

My brother is obsessed with my chocolate chip cookies. Every time I make them he eats them all in one sitting. He cannot stop raving about them🤩 he tells all of our friends and family that my chocolate chip cookies are the best! I don’t use any other recipe so thank you!!!

Jan Schultze says:

at

Best chocolate chip cookies I ever made. I used the chocolate chunks and they were delicious. The secret ingredient must’ve been the apple cider vinegar. It was a winner.

Rhonda G says:

at

Took the cookies to our Thanksgiving Day family get together. Everyone absolutely loved them. My husband is begging me to make them again!

Debra says:

at

These cookies are amazing! I’ve made them exactly as written and I’ve also tweaked the recipe to add a little molasses. The original recipe makes the perfect cookie–chewy and soft inside, crisp around the edges. I like to make a double batch and freeze some dough for later. A family favorite!