If you’re looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the whole world…I have it right here!
I have made Nestle Tollhouse, Cook’s Illustrated, Paula Deen’s and many other chocolate chip cookie recipes in my life. And while they have all added to my weight gain over the years (ahem), none of them were the absolute perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Some came darn close – but never 100% perfect.
But I finally have found it.
The Master Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.
The recipe that out-does all other chocolate chip cookie recipes. The chocolate chip cookie recipe that meets all my tests, one that turns out perfectly for me every time. One that I can freeze into balls and that would bake up just as good as if you baked them without freezing since I love freezer cooking.
As I have been getting more into cooking more from scratch, finding a recipe that used real butter instead of shortening was a must. But it was hard to get a cookie that didn’t fall flat, or turn out nice and soft in the middle using butter. That was until now. These real ingredient chocolate chip cookies are soft in the middle and a little chewy and crispy on the outside.
Basically the perfect cookie.
This one tops them all. Seriously, my search is over! It’s FINALLY over.
My criteria for the perfect chocolate chip cookie was:
- Must use “real” butter, not shortening
- Must use “real” vanilla, not imitation
- Must taste amazing. Even the next day.
- Needed to be soft and not flat
- Needed to use quality chocolate chips (I love milk chocolate Ghirardelli)
- Needed to be able to be frozen, baked later and turn out perfectly since I am a huge freezer meal gal.
This recipe met all these tests 100% perfectly.
In fact, I will let the pictures show you how good these are.
You can see how beautiful this cookie looks on the inside – a perfect blend of chewy and soft melty goodness.
My personal secret: make sure your cookies are a nice big size. I usually roll mine into 1/4 cup or 4 Tablespoon sized balls. In fact, I use this cookie scoop which is the perfect size.
If you want that gooey center with a bit of chewy outside…make them big.
I love that this chocolate chip cookie recipe is not too flat, and the flavor is to die for. I was given this recipe by a friend who got it from hereistherecipe.com.
If you want to freeze this cookie dough, just form into balls and freeze individually. Then place into a ziploc freezer bag until you are ready to bake. Add a few extra minutes to your baking time and enjoy.
These cookies are pretty much the best thing ever, especially after a big freezer meal cooking marathon…. ……totally hits the spot.
Here is the Master Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that you can print out!
Master Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups real unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 oz Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips or other quality chocolate chips, 11.5 .
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine and set aside.
- Using paddle attachment on mixer, cream butter and sugars together just until blended.
- Add eggs, one a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the vanilla.
- Put mixer on low speed, and add in dry ingredients.
- Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Stir in chocolate chips by hand gently.
- It's best to make bigger cookies for the right texture - so I would recommend using a 4 Tablespoon size scoop to form your cookies.
- Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes. I like mine to look a little undercooked in the middle, then let them finish cooking on the cookie sheet for a few minutes while they cool. Then move them to a cookie rack or plate to keep cooling.
- If you are freezing these cookies: Form into balls, and freeze on a cookie sheet. After frozen remove and add to a Ziploc freezer bag. They will last for about a month in the freezer. To bake just take out and bake as directed, adding a few extra minutes of baking time.
Nutrition
Loved this recipe?
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I want you to bake these cookies and tell me what you think!
Come back to this post and give me your honest opinions. I think it’s the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever and I hope you do, too.
—> See ALL of my Freezer Meals recipes here.
If you love to cook, try these out!
- Karrie’s Favorite Inexpensive Kitchen Gadgets
- Making 50 Freezer Meals in one Day
- Freezer Meal Tips for Beginners
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About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Krista says
Great recipe, Karrie! I made mine gluten, dairy, and soy free. They turned out great and froze well! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It was a hit at our house!
sherry says
ohh – please share – we’re dairy, egg soy and gluten free…looking for the perfect cookie recipe:)
Jenny says
I made these following the directions exactly and my cookies came out flat as pancakes. I used fresh baking soda and powder and even put the balls in the freezer to chill. What did I do wrong?
Eleanor says
Do you sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt?
Karrie says
No, I didn’t sift.
Karrie says
Hmmm..I am not sure why yours turned out flat Jeana, was your butter room temp when you started or melted? I always make sure my butter is room temp first, I think it makes a difference. Also, not sure about your humidity and elevation but I know that can play into it sometimes too.
Steve A. says
I’ve had the same thing happen. Try refrigerating the dough for about 30 minutes before banking. It’s helped with my flat cookie problem.
Adi Cruz says
Hi may I know how many cups of choco chips for the recipe? Thanks.
Michelle R. says
The recipe called for 1 entire bag which is roughly 2 cups.
**Paige** says
I should have read this before I posted. I finally decided to comment tonight after making them several weeks ago. I did bake my cookies around 20 min as the tops were too light. Probably was my old oven. Again, Thanks !
**Paige** says
I too was in search of finding “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.” I looked, researched & finally decided to try yours tonight after contemplating for months. I am 51 yrs old & all I can say is WOW!!! These are not only fantastic tasting, but they look like they came from an upscale bakery where my boyfriend claims has “THE BEST” CC Cookies. They were a hit at his office and now I am labeled the cookie queen with subtle requests for more weekly,LOL! Thank you, Thank you !
Karrie says
Yeay!! So glad you are now famous at the office!
Cyndi says
My grandkids (8 & 6) and I made these today – we had a blast! Then, we truly enjoyed the fruits of our labors. These cookies are AMAZING! Thanks for all your searching and for sharing!
yoko says
i’m SO happy today. i baked this cookie and my family LOVED it!!!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE!!!!!!!!! my searching is finally over too!!
Karrie says
Awesome, thanks Yoko! So glad you loved it. 🙂
Cheryl says
Made these yesterday and they were fantastic! Thank you! Q – I did not pack the brown sugar and they turned out great but just wondering if your recipe meant to pack the brown sugar when measuring?
Karrie says
Hi Cheryl, yeah I do tend to pack it usually. 🙂 So glad you like it!
Julie says
What size bag of chocolate chips?
Caelan says
Hi Julie, it is in the recipe. I use twice the chocolate chips in my recipe, though. 🙂
Mileage will vary. 😉
Trina says
I thought I was using a darn good chocolate chip cookie recipe until I came across yours on Pinterest. Finally got around to making them yesterday. Oh good lord! What a scrumptious cookie! Everything was perfect about it! Loved the slight give in the outside texture which led to the soft, gooey center! I didn’t have milk chocolate chips so used Kirkland semi-sweet chips. Next time will try using milk (or even a mixture of the two) and also add a teaspoon of cinnamon (which I always added to my other recipe). Out with the old recipe…..in with this one! Thank you for sharing!
Karrie says
So glad you liked it!
Amy S says
I made these the day you posted them because it sounded so good. They have been quite a hit- thank you Karrie!! New fave cookie recipe =)
Karrie says
Woo hoo! Thanks Amy for letting me know. So happy you love it!
Trish Y. says
okay, one more then I will stop: I am placing 8 cookies per sheet because as they bake they spread. When they spread they ever so slightly touch which makes for a softer cookie (just like baking biscuits) AND I am leaving them for 4 mins on the baking sheet after I remove them from the oven to allow them to cook a bit longer and hold their shape (and hold together very well) when I move them onto the cooling rack.
Trish Y. says
Well I posted on your fb page so I will just paste over here:
Well we now have tray #4 going into the oven. These are soo good I will be posting them to my page (tri city supper swappers, a group of us that get together and exchange freezer meals) as well as my blog! They are wonderful and chewy, soft, with a slightly crunchy edge. I used a pamperd chef large scoop (about 4 tbs) and put 8 cookies (slightly pressed down) on a baking mat for 18 mins (my oven is about 20yrs old) I took a ton of pics , as I let my 11 and 5 year old make these and they are perfect. A nice flat (no holes, or crumbs nor to crunchy) bottom on the cookie, the chips (I used chunks) to dough amount perfect. It’s the butter to equal brown sugar that is really working here. Also, I used SALTED butter so I reduced the salt in the recipe to 1/4 tsp. Thank you for sharing! I have 5 very happy little girls, munching on cookies this very moment….I don’t think my chickens will be getting any of these leftovers!
*also these are LARGE cookies and I got about 28 out of the recipe posted *
*AND these cookies DO spread out so if you would like them to spread out less, stick them in your freezer 10-15mins before placing into the oven*
2nd batch is 1/2 butterscotch and 1/2 choc. chip. I make then freeze the baked cookie. It is a very handy snack 🙂
Karrie says
Yahoo! So glad you love them and that they turned out for you too. 🙂 Thanks for letting me know, and I actually have never counted how many cookies I got out of a batch (too busy eating…LOL) , so that is very helpful.
NaDell says
Milk Chocolate Chips are the BEST!
trish says
Making these now 🙂
Karrie says
Let me know how they work for you Trish! 🙂
Trish Y. says
Replied underneath (as trish y , instead of trish…? my brain is gone due to eating the best chocolate chip cookies ever)
Grandma Joan says
Thanks for this mindblowing recipe, Karrie – it’s “The Master” the title is apt.
I made a half amount yesterday as a taste test. My Granddaughter will bring
30 cookies to school for her 8th Birthday Party, & she approves wholeheartedly .
My Grandson rated them “it’s THE BEST chocolate chip cookie I ever had.”
Testing: I baked 1/2 directly on a metal cookie sheet & 1/2 on parchment.
The parchment-baked cookies were slightly better in texture and taste.
3 frozen dough balls are baking in the oven right now. Will post if results.
Highly Recommended
Grandma Joan
Niki says
Do you know what the difference would be if I used Salted real butter instead of Unsalted???
Daphne says
You’d be adding too much salt, which could have too much of a chemical reaction with the baking soda and they won’t come out the way you want, and they won’t spread as much. The flavouring would be off because of the excess salt and your cookies would also brown faster as salt help with colouring, gluten developement, etc. 🙂
Elizabeth says
Actually, salt doesn’t affect the chemical reaction in the baking soda/powder or how it spreads. It’s purely a flavor enhancer and they often say to use unsalted butter because it allows you to control the amount salt.
I usually always use salted butter and i used it in the recipe too. I didn’t even adjust the salt ratio and they came out great.
Elizabeth says
It also has no affect to the browning process of the cookie. Again, just a flavor enhancer.
Janice says
The amount of salt in salted butter varies from brand to brand—it can range from 1.25 percent to 1.75 percent of the total weight, making it impossible to offer conversion amounts that will work with all brands. Also, salted butter almost always contains more water than unsalted butter. The water in butter ranges from 10 to 18 percent. In baking, butter with a low water content is preferred, since excess water can interfere with the development of gluten.
– from http://www.cooksillustrated.com
Julie says
If I make them half the size you do, do I still cook them the same amount of time? I like mine more done not so chewy gewy;)
Karrie says
I would try to start watching around 14-15 minutes if you are making them smaller.
Julie says
ok, thanks:)
Daphne says
If you don’t like yours as chewy, there’s a few things you can do;
It depends on the flour you use, pastry flour produces very tender products, all purpose is in between, and whole wheat is more tough, so that’s a consideration (although I’m sure it’s assumed to use all purpose with this recipe).
Sugar is used in baking for more than just sweetening things up. It acts as a colourant, spreader/stabalizer, flavouring, among a couple of other things I can’t remember at the moment. If you want less spread out or less chewy cookies, take some sugar out. (I believe you would replace the amount of salt you take out with either powdered milk or more flour to keep the amount of dry ingredients equal, I would suggest powdered milk over flour though)
If you don’t want to take some of the sugar out of the recipe you can also lower the heat by about 15-25 degrees and keep an eye on them. When you want chewy tender cookies you raise the heat a little so it cooks the outside faster than the inside which gives the outside the crunch and the inside the gooey, lowering the heat allows the entire cookies to bake more evenly then having the gooey inside.
I’m sure there’s other ways but those are the ones off the top of my head. Hope this helps!
Jill says
I use half butter and half peanut butter. You could use crunchy but I prefer creamy. I also add a a couple of teaspoons of almond flavoring. They are a hit every time I make them and for whatever event I take them too.
Karrie says
Cool, Jill! I have never added almond flavoring to my chocolate chip cookies, but I suppose I could try that sometime. It’s such a strange combo – peanut butter and almond that you really have me curious. 😉
Jill says
People will ask whats the secret ingredient. It’s a flavor they love but they can’t name it. Definitely try and let me know what you think. 🙂
Janichkokov says
I tried this with the peanut butter and it was delicious! Meant to add the almond extract, but had a brain lapse and just added more vanilla. Still very good! thanks for the recommendation.
Cher says
I would back off on the 3/4tsp. of alt. maybe just add 1/4tsp. From my understanding salt is a stablilizer. I do like salted butter and I dont put any extra in unless I’m using unsalted butter.
Jen says
Baking is done with unsalted butter. Normally recipes call for about a half tsp – which is to help the baking soda do it’s job because there is a chemical reaction between the two.
Amanda says
I found this on Pintrest and they looked the best out of all the cookies I saw! I just made them for my family and they loved them. I used a crushed up milk chocolate bar because I find them creamier and I think they melt better. They turned out amazing but I ended up cooking them for 25 minutes not 1hr.
Nicole says
Hi! I can’t find any where else to write. You have the nutritional Facts but not the serving size listed. Can you clarify?
Karrie says
Hi Nicole, serving size is one cookie – this recipe makes about 32 cookies. 🙂
Kim Button says
Jill, do you substitute the 2 t. almond for the 2 t. vanilla or do you use both?
GregB says
Hi Jill… I just wanted to point out the not so obvious. If you are making these for your family, there is no problem but…. if making for others, please be clear about the presence of peanut butter.
I am one of those people allergic to peanuts or their by products if I ingest them accidentally. I LOVE, LOVE chocolate chip cookies and they are something I usually consider to be safe from peanut products. If I saw these, I’d be all over them, only to find out the hard way after the fact.
I definiltey intend to try this recipe as my wife makes the toll house cookies but pulls them a bit prematurely from the oven which makes them very soft and chewy which I also like.
Jen says
what, what am I missing? I don’t see nut products in the ingredients …
Jen Letourneau says
She is referring to another comment above where a suggestion was made to add half butter and half peanut butter.
Julie says
Whomever is serving these should tell their guests whats in them. It’s not Karries responsibility to make note of each allergy for her receipts. Give me a break.
Janis says
Karrie’s recipe does not contain nuts. Jill had suggested using 1/2 butter, 1/2 peanut butter. GregB was saying to Jill, or other bakers, to let people (presumably their guests) know that there is peanut butter in the cookies. He was not telling Karrie to mention allergy-inducing products in her recipes. One can look at the ingredients in a recipe to determine the presence of any problem foods.
Before you poo-poo others’ comments, read the whole thread. Give others a break!
Yola says
Thank you Janis! Finally somebody with a common sense here, smh
Bonnie says
When I make anything containing nuts (walnut, almonds, pecan, etc), I always tell the person and say I’m only telling them in case they are allergic to any of them. Only courteous thing to do and, yes, it is your responsibility to let people know what kind of nuts are in the cookies, etc. You never know who might have an allergic reaction to them. If you’ve ever seen someone have an allergic reaction, you will make sure you tell people in the future. I do and it only takes a moment and I always receive a HUGE thank you for caring enough about them to tell them. Enjoy 🙂
Kelli says
Just an fyi…it you want the best/easiest way to make soft choc chip cookies…just follow the recipe on the toll house bag and add 1 packet of french vanilla pudding right out of the box to the ingredients. Dont make the pudding first, dont add any other liquid, just dump the dry pudding in there. You will love, love, love them!!!!
Jean Boocher says
I understand that you pour it in dry, but, is that instant pudding, or pudding that you are supposed to cook? Thank you!
Daphne says
Like, the boxed pudding. The powder that you usually add milk to to make instant pudding, but just put the powder, no extra liquid.
Just wanted to add though, if you’re going to add more dry ingredients, you should take out an equal amount of flour or they’re going to be tougher, but that’s theoretical.