Classic chocolate chip cookies

This recipe was updated in May 2025 after many rounds of testing to create a truly classic, crisp around the edges chewy in the center, chocolate chip cookie

Is there anything better than a classic chocolate chip cookie? I was so excited to work on this recipe, but not as excited as I am to share the final product! The recipe itself has evolved slightly over the years and this final iteration is one I'm so proud of. This cookie has crisp edges without being too crunchy, a chewy and slightly gooey center, and a deliciously sweet and buttery flavor throughout with the perfect balance of chocolate to dough. There is a long chill time (a minimum of 12 hours) but I promise it's so worth it.

This recipe is a sister recipe to my brown butter chocolate chip cookies but takes on more of the classic elements of the cookies many of us grew up with. They aren't too thick or too thin, and the chewy texture was something I worked tirelessly on (five rounds!).

These cookies still taste delicious and soft the next day, but I highly encourage you to only bake the amount of cookies that you plan to eat within a day or so. They will always taste best when freshly baked! After a day you'll lose some of the crispness to the edges but they'll still be incredibly soft and delicious but nothing beats freshly baked. The scooped dough freezes incredibly well if you don't plan to enjoy the full batch right away, and then you can have a fresh baked classic chocolate chip cookie any time. I'll share instructions for that at the end of the recipe.

I chose to use two different types of semisweet chocolate - chocolate chips and a chopped chocolate bar. You can absolutely go all in on one or the other, but for the perfect chunks of chocolate with a little bit of the classic chips, I like using a mixture of both. My favorite brand of semisweet chocolate is Guittard whenever I can find it. They make great semisweet chocolate chips and I even love their super cookie chips which can be used in place of chopped semisweet chocolate if I have trouble finding their chocolate bars. I've also used chopped semisweet Ghirardelli chocolate in this recipe and it works well especially if you want a slightly sweeter chocolate - I find that Guittard gives a bit of a deeper chocolate flavor with less sweetness.

One key update I made to this recipe in 2025 was to switch from light brown sugar to dark brown sugar. I always hesitated to even test this out, but once I did I was so happy I did. I know it's an extra ingredient that I myself don't always have on hand and so please know that light brown sugar will work well too in a pinch. However, the dark brown sugar brought that classic chew I was desperately searching for and I think really brings these cookies over the top. I also found that when not using dark brown sugar, the edges of my cookies were a bit more crunchy rather than crispy so this brought the perfect balance and helped to achieve the chew all the way throughout. That being said, if you do like a crunchier edge, swapping in light brown sugar would work well.

As part of the testing process for this recipe, I did lots of work not just on the dough itself but also around the scooping and dough shaping technique, chilling time versus freezing and bake temperature.

• Dough shape: I tested a scoop, rolling the dough scoop in my hand to create a smooth ball of dough, the butterfly technique that I use for my brown butter chocolate chip walnut cookies and forming the dough into a disk. In the end, I found that scooping and then rolling the dough in my hands to form a circular ball that's ever so slightly taller in the center prior to chilling led to the best outcome with a more perfectly round bake - and scooping without rolling came in a close second.

• Chilling: It's important to cover your scoops with plastic wrap or to place them into an airtight container while they chill so that they don't dry out. I found that 12 hours was plenty of time to allow the dough to rest and to get a perfectly chewy center with crisp edges, but letting them rest and chill for the full 24 hours will allow the cookies to bake a bit thicker (though they will still be a medium thickness - if you're looking for ultra thick cookies try these chocolate chip walnut cookies or my bakery style chocolate chip cookies). I also did a test round where I chilled the dough for 12 hours then froze for 12 hours. Personally I didn't like this method best, but if you like a thicker cookie with almost crunchy edges, you should try this out and see what you think.

• Temperature: As with a lot of these, you can't go wrong but here's what I'll say. I felt that 375 degrees gave the perfectly crisp edges and chewy center with a golden brown color across the top of the cookie that I was looking for. If you like a slightly softer cookie with edges that are less crisp, I'd highly recommend trying 350 degrees.

So in the end - for this recipe I found that scooping and then shaping the dough into smooth circles, then placing on a baking sheet and covering to chill for 12-24 hours prior to baking at 375 degrees for about 12-14 minutes led to a classic and perfectly delicious cookies that stood out beyond the other methods.

Originally, I wanted this to be a "no equipment" recipe but I found that the best end result came from using a stand mixer. If you don't have a stand mixer, I would recommend using a hand mixer. You can totally get away without a mixer, you just will need to spend a bit of extra time creaming your butter and sugar together by hand and know that the end result may differ. If you're looking for a no equipment cookie, I can't recommend anything better than my brown butter chocolate chip cookies!

For scooping your cookie dough, you'll want to use a scooper that holds about 3 tablespoons, like this large scoop from Oxo. I am still on the search for a new scooper after my old favorite one broke and sadly is no longer sold, so I will update this recipe with details on other recommended scoopers once I've found a new favorite!

Ingredients:

• 16 tablespoons (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup + 1 tablespoons (204g) dark brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (96g) granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract optional swap, use half vanilla bean paste

• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

• 2 1/3 cups (280g) all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup (4oz) semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 cup (6oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped

If you have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend using it for my recipes to ensure you get the best outcome every time.

Prep time: About 15 minutes

Chill time: 12-24 hours

Bake time: 12-14 minutes

Equipment:

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment

• Scooper (3 tablespoons) or a kitchen scale

• Parchment paper

• Cookie sheets

Cooking instructions:

Place your butter and both sugars into your stand mixer with the paddle attachment secured. Bring your stand mixer slowly from a low to medium speed and allow it to combine the butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Pause your mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of your butter and sugar mixture as well as your paddle attachment to ensure that no pockets of butter and sugar go unmixed, and turn your mixer back on for another minute. Scrape down your bowl and mixer attachment again. Your butter mixture should be lighter in color by the end.

Add in your egg, egg yolk and vanilla to your butter and sugar. Slowly bring your stand mixer back to a medium high speed and allow it to combine your mixture for another 2 minutes, pausing halfway through to scrape down the sides of your bowl and paddle again.

Add in your dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, and salt and start your mixer at a low speed mixing until your dry ingredients are about half incorporated. Scrape your paddle attachment and mixer bowl, being sure to reach down to the bottom to catch any uncombined dry ingredients.

Pause your mixer and measure your chocolate. For your semisweet bar chocolate, I recommend chopping into chunks rather than chopping finely but this is baker's choice. Add your chopped chocolate and chips into your dough and turn your mixer back on for about 15 seconds or until your dough has just formed and your chocolate is evenly dispersed. You can always finish this by hand with your spatula to ensure you don't overmix your dough.

Onto a parchment lined cookie sheet that can fit in your fridge, portion out your dough using a cookie scoop or large spoon. It should make about 20 scoops, 3 tablespoons per scoop (about 57g each). After you've portioned your dough, roll each cookie scoop in your hands to form a smooth exterior to each scoop. If you'd like, you can press in some additional chocolate chips to the top of each scoop. Cover your cookie dough with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill for up to 24 hours (12 hours minimum).

When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Space out your dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets, and bake one cookie sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes. You can gently shape your cookies right when they come out of the oven using a round cookie cutter or cup/bowl that are larger than your cookies to gently nudge the edges in for perfectly round cookies. Allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes and then enjoy!

Additional Baking and Storing Guidance

If you want to save some of your dough, you can place some or all of your scooped cookie dough onto a baking sheet and place into the freezer (after you've completed the chill in the fridge) for 12-24 hours. Then, transfer your frozen dough to a plastic bag or airtight container and store in the freezer. To bake from frozen, set your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 14-16 minutes.

If you like a softer cookie, bake your chilled dough at 350 degrees, adding a couple of minutes to the bake time. This will give you edges that are a bit less crisp and a soft texture throughout the cookie. If you like a crunchier exterior with an inside that's still gooey, freeze your dough for 12 hours after chilling for 12 and then bake at 375 degrees for about the same bake time as recommended in the recipe.

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 20 cookies

Carbs per serving (1 of 20): 35

Carbs for full recipe: 712

Carbs from chocolate: 183

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.