A soft chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s chewy, gooey, and loaded with melty chocolate! These are the ultimate chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges, soft centers, and incredible depth of flavor.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
12 minutes
Chilling Time
8 hours
Total Time
8 hours 32 minutes
Servings
24 cookies
Difficulty
Easy
Calories *
232 kcal per serving
Technique
Mix dough, chill overnight, then bake to perfection.
Flavor Profile
Rich chocolate with brown sugar caramel notes and a hint of sea salt.
* Based on nutrition panel
These are amazing! The two different chocolates topped with flaky salt make for a perfect cookie. They are chewy and full of flavor. Thank you for my new favorite cookie recipe. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mara
Why You’ll Love This Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie
- The perfect texture. Crisp on the edges, soft consistency, and chewy center, with pools of melty chocolate throughout.
- Dark and milk chocolate. Using both types creates incredible depth of flavor and those irresistible melty chocolate pockets.
- Overnight chill is the secret. Chilling the dough overnight lets flavors deepen and prevents spreading, resulting in thick, bakery-style cookies.
- A sprinkle of sea salt on top. This finishing touch brings out all the rich, caramel-like flavors.
Table of Contents
After years of testing and tweaking, I’m finally sharing my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. These soft chocolate chip cookies have it all: that perfect chewy-crisp texture, deep chocolate flavor, and just the right touch of sea salt. I’ve been making variations of this recipe since I started blogging over 10 years ago, and after countless batches (seriously, so many cookies), I can confidently say these are the perfect cookies!
If you love classic cookies, check out my gooey chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and frosted sugar cookies for more cookie favorites! And if you just love chocolate chip cookies, be sure to check out this chocolate chip cookie dough cake and my sourdough chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Butter
- Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: The combination creates the perfect texture, white sugar helps with spread and crispness, while brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness.
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda: Check the expiration date! Fresh baking soda is essential for proper rise.
- Kosher Salt
- Dark and Milk Chocolate: Use good-quality chocolate bars or chocolate chunks, not chips. Chop them coarsely for those signature chocolate pools. I recommend using both dark and milk chocolate for the ultimate gooey chocolate richness.
- Flaky Sea Salt: For sprinkling on top before baking. Don’t skip this, trust me!
Variations for Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Use different chocolate: Try all dark chocolate for a more intense flavor, or all milk chocolate for sweeter cookies. You could even use white chocolate chips, as I do with my red velvet chocolate chip cookies!
- Add mix-ins: Fold in chopped nuts, toffee bits, or even your favorite candy like M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, or chopped Snickers.
- Bake as a giant cookie: Press all the dough into a skillet cookie or make a chocolate chip cookie cake.
- Make a Brookie! Use this cookie recipe and bake it along with these homemade brownies for a great brookie!
Professional Tips
- Don’t skip the chill time. Chilling the dough for at least 8 hours does three important things: prevents spreading, allows the ingredients to meld together for deeper flavor, and gives the flour time to fully hydrate for better texture. I’ve tested baking right away, and the cookies spread too much and don’t have the same rich taste.
- Use a cookie scoop. Pre-shaping the dough into 1/4-cup balls ensures even baking and consistent size.
- Chop the chocolate coarsely. Using chopped chocolate bars instead of chips gives you those gorgeous, melty chocolate pools, just like in my olive oil chocolate chip cookies.
- Let them cool completely. Hard to do, I know! But the chewy-crisp texture continues to develop as they cool, and you’ll taste more of the nuanced flavors at room temperature.
How to Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use these instructions to make the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! Full measurements and details are in the recipe card.
Step 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
Step 2: Cream butter and sugars. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and paste-like. Don’t overcream; you want a smooth paste like when making these thick chocolate chip cookies.
Step 3: Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract.
Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the butter has been incorporated.
Step 4: Add dry ingredients and chocolate. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in chopped chocolate pieces.
Step 5: Shape and chill. Use a cookie scoop to form 1/4-cup balls of dough. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. This step is crucial!
Step 6: Bake. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place chilled cookie dough balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart. Sprinkle them with flaky sea salt. Bake 12–14 minutes until edges are golden, but centers still look slightly underdone.
The cookies will continue to cook on the baking sheet once you remove them from the oven, so be careful not to overbake.
Step 7: Cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe FAQs
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months, or freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months and bake straight from the freezer!
You can, but chopped chocolate from bars gives you those gorgeous, melty chocolate pools and a more gourmet result. Chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape so that they won’t melt as beautifully.
The most common reason is not chilling the dough long enough. Make sure to refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Also, check that your baking soda is fresh.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 sticks
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup 70% dark chocolate , 4 oz coarsely chopped (cut into ½ – 1 inch chunks)
- ¾ cup 30% milk chocolate , 4 oz coarsely chopped
- flaky sea salt, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and paste-like. Don’t overcream; you want a smooth paste, like when making these thick chocolate chip cookies.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the butter has been incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in chopped chocolate pieces.
- Use a cookie scoop to form 1/4-cup balls of dough. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. This step is crucial!
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place chilled dough balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart. Sprinkle them with flaky sea salt. Bake 12-14 minutes until edges are golden, but centers still look slightly underdone.
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Check out our other delicious cookie recipes like these classic snickerdoodle cookies or these chocolate thumbprint cookies!
These are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! The overnight chill really does make a difference. They came out thick and bakery-perfect with the most amazing gooey centers. I added the sea salt on top like you suggested, and WOW. My whole family is obsessed. Making another batch this weekend!
These are amazing! The two different chocolates topped with flaky salt make for a perfect cookie. They are chewy and full of flavor. Thank you for my new favorite cookie recipe.
Love all the great recipes that are posted and I do make many of them but i’m a little confused as to whose blog this is, STEPHANIE’S or ADDISON’S? LOL.
Hopefully I’m able to make this recipe on Wednesday. Can’t wait!
When I was reading the article, I was trying to figure out where to buy a cookie dough scoop to make ¼ INCH balls. I tried to imagine how they could look and taste ad good as you were saying when the cookies were so small. Luckily the recipe directions saved me! It said to make ¼ CUP balls! Whew!
I’ll have to make these soon. We’ve been craving some chocolate. I will be using no salt added baking soda, Truvia Brown sugar, Truvia Baking Blend, and Hershey’s sugar-free chocolate chips. Let you know how they turn out!
Hi, can’t wait to make your recipe, thank you! Quick question, how many grams are there in a stick of butter? If a stick is equivalent to a cup, is it 250 grams? Many thanks, Deb
Deb, One stick of butter = 1/2 cup = 113 grams!
Hi, thank you for posting the recipe. Is there a possible typo? Directions say to shape dough into 24 1/4 inch balls (that’s very tiny!) and the cookie scoop in your link is 4 tablespoons. Am I missing something here or is the direction incorrect? I’m confused.
Onebadcookie, Ack! You’re right — it’s supposed to be 1/4-CUP balls. 😉 Thanks for catching that! Fixed!