Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe! A chewy chocolate chip cookie loaded with chocolate chips! Make the dough ahead, freeze, and bake anytime.
BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe for you today! How could anyone ever resist a warm ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven?? If you can, please tell me your secret because I can NOT!! These chocolate chip cookies may not scream out CHRISTMAS or HOLIDAY cookie, BUT they are the best chocolate chip cookies ever in my opinion! And over the next week or two, I’m going to show you how you can take the basic dough from this recipe and change it up to create completely different cookies! By adding some different ingredients to the finished dough and cooking the dough in different shapes, you will soon have a bunch of different cookies perfect for the holidays and no one will know it all came from ONE dough!!! So make up a big batch of this dough and get ready for my very own holiday cookiepalooza!!
Sorry this is a long write-up but I have lots of important details for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe ever! I realize everyone has a different idea of what the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie is. To me the best chocolate chip cookie is not too thin, not too thick, and not too cakey. It’s a little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They’re a little sweet and salty, and they are ooey-gooey right out of the oven!!!! That is perfection in my book!
I will start by saying I am NOT a food scientist, so I have no idea if this information is 100% accurate but it worked for me! I looked at some of my favorite and popular chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years and decided to combine what I liked about each recipe to create my own. Some of the recipes had a little more salt than others, and since I like a little salty flavor, I went with a higher salt ratio. I used more brown sugar than granulated sugar for a softer texture, as well as more egg yolks than whites and cornstarch to also help keep the cookies moist and soft.
Some recipes also use different kinds of flour such as pastry flour and others. I figured out the protein content of those flours then tried calculating what I would need so that I could use all-purpose flour. All flours are not equal so to speak. I used an unbleached all-purpose flour with a 10% protein ratio. It’s nothing fancy and you should be able to easily find one at your grocery store.
If you’re not sure about your flour look at the nutritional information. My flour had 3g protein per 30g serving size (10%). Your cookies will turn out slightly different if you use different flours. I also weighed my flour. If you do not have a scale, I highly suggest one! One cup of flour can vary a lot between people and to make sure you get similar results every time when baking, a scale is a must! I also think a scale is a lot quicker than measuring things out. If you MUST use measuring cups, I added the approximate amounts.
You can double, triple, quadruple, etc. the basic dough recipe and make multiple cookie recipes at the same time. I made a huge batch of this dough and made completely different cookies out of it as you will see over the next week or so. The finished dough is best if refrigerated for at least a few hours but better if you can wait overnight or up to 2-3 days.
You can also make the finished cookie dough, ball it up (see below), and freeze the balls in plastic bags for a few months then take out what you need and bake for fresh cookies anytime!!! I like to keep a few bags of cookie dough in my freezer JUST in case I need cookies!!!
I used Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour and weighed it. You can find good kitchen scales all over, but this one is from Williams-Sonoma.
Whisk all the dry ingredients together and set aside.
Mix the sugars, butter, eggs, and vanilla for a few minutes until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Once the basic dough is done, you can add your add-ins. For this chocolate chip cookie recipe of course you’re going to add a lot of chocolate chips! Buy the best chocolate you can afford! You can use semi-sweet, dark, bittersweet, or your favorite chip!
Scoop the dough out and place on lined baking sheets. I like to put dough balls on silpats but you could use parchment or wax paper for this. An ice cream scoop works great for scooping! Cover the cookies with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least a few hours, but better yet, overnight or up to 2-3 days.
OR you can not cover the dough balls and place the sheets in the freezer and after a few hours when the dough is hard, place the cookie dough balls in resealable bags and freeze for up to a few months. Then you can pull out what you need when you need it. As long as you keep the cookie dough balls frozen they will not stick together!
Bake up your cookies! The colder they are the longer they will take to bake so you may have to adjust the baking time. You can bake the dough right from the freezer or you can place the dough in the refrigerator overnight to defrost. The chocolate chip cookies may be a little more “puffy” if baking right from the freezer and not spread as much but they’ll still taste great!
You’re going to want a big glass of milk with these chewy chocolate chip cookies! Or serve with a fun cocktail like this Pink Squirrel!
Hope you enjoy this Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe! Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Hope you enjoy! You might also like these Italian Lemon Cookies!
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Basic Dough:
- 14.42 ounces all-purpose flour (408.75 g or about 3 cups + 6 1/2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose (10% protein) flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 7.62 ounces light brown sugar (216g or about 1 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 5.93 ounces granulated sugar (168g or 3/4cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted & cooled (2 sticks)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Add-ins:
- 12 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until well combined; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add egg, egg yolks, and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
- Beat flour mixture into wet mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough (or use ice cream scoop) in 2 tablespoon balls on baking sheets that have been lined with silpats (or parchment paper or wax paper).
- Cover cookie dough balls with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least a few hours but better overnight or up to a few days. Or do not cover dough and place dough balls in freezer for a few hours until dough is hard then place balls in resealable bags and back in freezer.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place cookie dough balls in batches on baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper (or silpats). Bake refrigerated dough for about 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and look slightly undercooked (about 17-22 minutes for frozen dough), turning pans halfway through baking. Cool cookies on wire racks.
Notes
Nutrition:
(Nutrition data is provided when available for informational purposes only and calculated using an online nutritional calculator. For the most accurate information please calculate based on specific ingredients and brands you use as well as any changes you made to the recipe. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician and any nutritional information provided should only be used as a general guideline and estimate.)
James Jones says
Where can you find 10% protein flour?..
Never heard of it, only have seen and used AP flour, bread flour, unbleached flour, cake flour and pastry flour..
Lisa Huff says
It won’t say on the front of the package. You’ll have to look at the ingredients/nutrition info. But I’d just use any all-purpose flour you have.
Anna says
I like their appearance. The bumpy texture almost makes it looks as if they have peanut butter in the dough.
Jennifer says
How many choc chip cookies does the recipe make (approx)?
snappygourmet says
Jen, it makes 2 1/2 dozen. The yield is at the top of the recipe but small print and hard to read. :) Hope you like them!
Jennifer says
Eric made them! The dough balls are in the fridge. They look VERY yummy!
Simply Tia says
Awesome recipe and tips!! I can’t wait to try it!! Your cookies look fabulous!
snappygourmet says
Thanks, hope you enjoy the cookies!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
I love chocolate chip cookies! These look thick and delicious!
Shauna says
Awesome Awesome Awesome!!! I can’t thank you enough for this and your detail is a blessing for me!! I am a TERRIBLE baker… my cookies always turn out flat, so the detail in this is SO NEEDED for someone like me!! I can’t wait to try these!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
snappygourmet says
Shauna, you are very welcome. :) I hope they turn out for you. Lots of reasons why your cookies could be flat. Don’t substitute any of the ingredients in the recipe if you can. I should have mentioned in the write-up that you should also always check and make sure your baking powder and baking soda are not expired. AND even if they are haven’t “expired”, test them out. Add a little baking soda to a small glass of something acidic (vinegar, lemon juice, etc) and it should bubble. Same with baking powder but with water. Also try to get the 10% protein flour. Hope you enjoy!