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!
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.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
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.
How to Bake Frozen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
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!
More Great Desserts
- Pumpkin Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Fantasy Fudge
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
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
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Nutrition
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Hi, I have a question. Can I use this recipe for oatmeal and raisin cookies? If so, what am I gonna do? Thank you very much😊 oh! I tried this cookie recipe and we loved it. Gone so fast^^ thanks you for sharing
They are pretty delicious, my granddaughters simply loved them💕
I also had to cook them longer too.
I just made these cookies. You are right, they are the best chocolate chip cookies. However I noted one thing. I set my stove to 350 degrees but at ten minutes they were not even remotely done yet. So I baked them for another 10 minutes. They came out perfect. The second batch I baked for 18 minutes. They are the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever made. Oh, I left out the apple cider vinegar also.
Mine also needed about 15 minutes to be gooey in the center but done on the outside! I did include the vinegar & it helped them raise nicely. Definitely will make again!
Yes to the vinegar! I was very skeptical, but followed the instructions. It added a very subtle flavor. I baked them for at least 10 minutes more than called for. This recipe is a keeper.
I made these today and they turned out just like they should. I’m in Colorado so I always have to use an extra 1/2 cup of flour in recipes for the altitude. I’m picky about my chocolate chip cookies and already knew the tip about not melting the butter completely. I have to admit though that I can’t tell a difference between these and the Nestle tollhouse recipe except for the salt that goes on at the end. Great recipe though!
This is a good tip! I also live in CO and mine were a little flat but tasty.. I’ll try this next time :)
I just made these cookies and they were perfect! I will be using this recipe every time!!
My son has just had his second one! Don’t think they are going to last long!
Been tryin for years to make the perfect cc cookie, tonight I have reached that goal! I swore after trying this recipe if it didn’t turn out I would never make another homemade cc cookie!
Love this recipe! I am super picky about chocolate chip cookies, I was hesitant in trying another recipe . It did not disappoint at all! I used mini chips instead of regular chips & chunks. They are perfect! They honestly remind me of the cookies at Panera Bread. So good!
Holy Toledo!!!! The Best cookies hands down 👏I just ate my first cookie out of the over still warm, yummy omg! I would hold back on some of the sugar next time just my preference but man sooo good! Can’t taste or smell the vinegar at all and believe me I was looking for it. Keeper!
I’ve baked these multiple times and they never fail. They stay soft and chewy for days and do not disappoint. Can i remove the chocolate chips and and cinnamon and sugar to make this a snicker doodle cookie?
Ooooo i think that would be gooood👍👍
I am sorry to say that I tried this recipe today and it did not turn out as expected. I have been an avid baker for years and one of the problems with chocolate chip cookies is that they spread out too much. That is exactly what this recipe did. The taste and flavor of the cookie is absolutely delicious. But for me, the cookie turned out broad, thin and crispy. I am willing to try it again and will let you know what happens. They are extremely good.
Made these today and I was disappointed. Followed directions exactly and they spread out a lot and are super this and just look greasy. So bummed! They look nothing like the picture.
Melting the butter that much is the issue with spreading & being greasy. That’s why many cookie recipes have you refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. This allows the butter to solidify then melt slowly.
Try refrigerating the dough for at least 2 hours (I do mine overnight). Chilled dough makes such a huge difference in spreading vs staying the perfect size. I’ve also chilled in balls so that whenever I have company coming, I can pop this onto a baking sheet and have fresh cookies ready with no prep. Chilling for the win!
Same here just tried it and they look like crepes 😭
Do you use a silicone baking liner? I’d been having the same problem, even with recipes I’d used before, then I read that they will make cookies spread like that.
I would try chilling them for a few minutes so the butter has time to solidify. Or, make sure you don’t melt your butter all the way
Has everyone ensured that they cooled the partially melted butter before mixing? Warm butter makes cookies spread. A quick pop in the freezer for 20-30 minutes will alleviate that spreading issue. Always remember, it’s not so much the recipe as it is about technique.
Same… I tried adjusting the temp and time and still spreads into. One giant cookie….
Maybe try refrigerating for half an hour, then cooking in preheated oven?
I finish my batch a couple hours ago and bad this same issue. I did use silicone liners. Next time i will try without and hope for better results.
Hey! Not sure if this occurred, but often times if your butter is melted too much, the cookies will over spread. A good way to correct this would be to place the dough in the fridge for 30 min before baking. It cools the fat and reduces spending! Hope this helped!
Same thing happened to me! My family always compliments how I get the chocolate chip cookies to come out perfectly but these seemed like they just “melted” on the pan and spread out too far. I’m disappointed because I thought these looked amazing in the picture. They taste great, but flatter than I typically like.