Nestlé Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nestlé chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate classic treat—perfectly chewy, buttery, and studded with melty chocolate in every bite. Beloved for generations, this famous recipe delivers sweet nostalgia and crowd-pleasing flavor every single time. Enjoy warm with a glass of milk, and store extras in the fridge for a week or freezer for up to two months.

Love More Chocolate Chip Cookies? Try My Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies or this Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookies next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Crispy edges, soft gooey centers, and loads of melty chocolate chips make these cookies irresistible. They taste just like bakery-style cookies but cost a fraction to make at home, and they disappear fast whether it’s kids sneaking them before dinner or adults grabbing one late at night. Even the pickiest eaters love them, making this recipe a true crowd-pleaser every time.

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Ingredient List

Dry Stuff:

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (don’t use self-rising, learned that mistake)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt (table salt works fine)

Wet Stuff:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks, leave out for an hour)
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, doesn’t matter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (real stuff, not imitation)
• 2 large eggs (medium works too)

The Good Stuff:

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (Nestlé obviously, but store brand works)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (totally optional, my kids hate nuts)

No nuts? Add 1-2 extra tablespoons of flour so the dough isn’t too wet. I use whatever chocolate chips are on sale. Mini chips spread out better if you want chocolate in every bite. Sometimes I do half regular chips, half mini ones.

Why These Ingredients Work

Brown sugar has molasses in it which makes cookies chewy and gives them that deep flavor. White sugar makes the edges get crispy and golden. Both together gives you the perfect texture – crispy outside, chewy inside.

Soft butter creams up fluffy with the sugars. Hard cold butter makes lumps that never mix right. Melted butter makes flat greasy pancakes instead of cookies. Learned that the hard way when I was in a hurry once. Room temperature means you can easily poke your finger into it but it’s not melting.

Baking soda makes them puff up and spread just right. Too much and they taste weird and soapy. Not enough and they’re dense little hockey pucks. The salt brings out all the flavors and balances the sweetness. Don’t skip it even though it seems like a tiny amount.

Eggs bind everything together and make them rich. Adding them one at a time keeps the batter from curdling. Vanilla makes everything smell amazing and taste more complex than just sweet.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• 2 mixing bowls (one big, one small)
• Electric mixer (hand mixer totally fine, stand mixer if you’re fancy)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• 2 baking sheets (ungreased)
• Wire cooling racks
• Cookie scoop or regular spoon
• Wooden spoon for stirring chips

Use what you got. My hand mixer is 15 years old and sounds like a dying cat but still whips butter fine. Don’t stress if you don’t have wire racks – I used to just cool them on paper towels on the counter.

How To Make Nestlé Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1: Heat That Oven

Set oven to 375°F. Actually wait for it to preheat completely – that little beep means it’s ready. Don’t rush this part.

Step 2: Mix the Dry Stuff

Get your small bowl and dump in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk it around good so there aren’t any lumps of baking soda hiding in there. Set aside.

Step 3: Beat the Butter and Sugars

In the big bowl, throw in your soft butter, both kinds of sugar, and vanilla. Beat the crap out of it for 3-4 minutes until it looks fluffy and lighter colored. Don’t rush this – properly creamed butter and sugar is what makes these cookies amazing instead of just okay.

Step 4: Add Those Eggs

Crack one egg in, beat it really well until totally mixed. Then crack the second egg and beat again. Don’t dump both in at once or the batter might curdle and look weird. Still tastes fine but looks gross.

Step 5: Mix in the Flour

Add your flour mixture about half at a time while mixing on low speed. Stop mixing the second you can’t see any white flour streaks. Seriously, stop. Overmixed dough makes tough chewy cookies that nobody wants.

Step 6: Stir in the Chocolate Chips

Switch to a wooden spoon and fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if using. I always save a handful of extra chips to press on top of each cookie before baking. Makes them look bakery-perfect and gives you more chocolate.

Step 7: Scoop the Dough

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Leave about 2 inches between each one – they spread when they bake. I learned this when 12 cookies became 3 giant cookie monsters that hung off the sides of my pan.

Press those extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie. Trust me on this.

Step 8: Bake and Watch

Slide into oven for 9-11 minutes. Set a timer. Don’t open the door to peek – it drops the temperature and screws up the baking. They’re done when the edges look golden brown but the centers still look slightly underdone and soft.

Step 9: Cool Down

This is the hardest part. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for exactly 2 minutes. They’re still cooking from the hot pan. Then move them to wire racks with a spatula. If you try to move them too soon they’ll fall apart and break your heart.

You Must Know

Take butter and eggs out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before you start. Cold ingredients don’t mix right and you’ll get lumpy cookies that bake unevenly.

I always press extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie before baking. Looks professional and gives you more chocolate in each bite. People think I’m some kind of baking genius but it’s just this one stupid trick.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Never open the oven door while they’re baking. Temperature drops and messes up the whole batch.

Want thicker cookies? Chill the scooped dough balls in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. They won’t spread as much.

Use parchment paper on your baking sheets. Makes cleanup easier and cookies brown more evenly.

My biggest mistake for years was overbaking them. Take them out when the edges are golden even if the centers look underdone. They keep cooking on the hot pan for those 2 minutes.

Rotate your pans halfway through if your oven has hot spots like mine does.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Mix half milk chocolate chips with half semi-sweet for a more mellow flavor.

Add 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder to make the chocolate taste deeper and richer.

Throw in some shredded coconut if you’re feeling tropical.

Tiny pinch of sea salt sprinkled on top before baking is incredible.

White chocolate and dried cranberries instead of regular chips.

Add 1 cup old-fashioned oats and reduce flour by ½ cup for oatmeal chocolate chip.

Substitute ¼ cup cocoa powder for ¼ cup flour for double chocolate cookies.

Make-Ahead Options

Make the dough and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Brings the flavors together nicely.

Scoop all the cookies onto baking sheets lined with parchment. Freeze solid, then transfer to freezer bags. Bake straight from frozen, just add 1-2 extra minutes.

Baked cookies stay fresh in an airtight container for a week. Put a slice of bread in there to keep them soft.

Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. They thaw perfectly at room temperature.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies, which sounds like a lot but they disappear fast. I usually make a double batch and freeze half the dough.

Live at high altitude? Add 2-4 more tablespoons of flour and reduce the sugar by 2 tablespoons each. Bake at 385°F for slightly less time.

Want to make cookie bars instead? Press all the dough into a greased 15×10 inch jelly roll pan and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes until golden.

For slice-and-bake cookies, form the dough into logs, wrap in plastic, and chill until firm. Slice and bake as usual.

Don’t use dark baking sheets – they make the bottoms burn before the tops are done.

Serving Suggestions

Obviously amazing with a tall glass of cold milk. That’s not optional.

My kids love them crumbled over vanilla ice cream with hot fudge.

Pack them in lunch boxes but wrap individually or they’ll get stale.

Perfect for bake sales, potluck dinners, teacher gifts, new neighbor welcomes.

Make ice cream sandwiches with slightly underbaked cookies that stay soft.

Dunk them in coffee like my dad does even though it’s weird.

Crumble over yogurt and fruit for “healthy” breakfast.

Gift them in mason jars tied with ribbon. People lose their minds.

Storage Tips

Room Temperature Storage

Keep in airtight container on counter for up to 1 week. Add a slice of white bread to keep them soft – sounds crazy but works. Replace the bread every couple days.

Don’t store crispy and soft cookies together – the soft ones make the crispy ones soggy.

Freezer Storage

Baked cookies freeze beautifully for 3 months. Layer between parchment paper in freezer containers.

Cookie dough freezes great too. Scoop onto sheets, freeze solid, then bag. Bake from frozen.

Reheating

Pop day-old cookies in 300°F oven for 2-3 minutes to make them taste fresh baked again.

Microwave for 10-15 seconds if you want them warm and gooey but don’t overdo it.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Cookies Too Flat and Spread Out

Butter was too warm or melted. Let it cool down and try again. Dough was too warm. Chill it before scooping. Old baking soda that’s lost its power.

Cookies Too Thick and Cakey

Too much flour (measure correctly – spoon and level). Overmixed the dough after adding flour. Oven temperature too low.

Cookies Too Hard

Overbaked them. Watch the timer next time. Too much flour. Old ingredients.

Uneven Browning

Oven hot spots. Rotate pans halfway through. Dark baking sheets. Use light colored ones. Cookies too close together on pan.

Allergy-Friendly Substitutions

Gluten-Free

Use 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Bob’s Red Mill works great. Don’t use straight almond flour or they’ll be weird.

Dairy-Free

Vegan butter sticks work but taste slightly different. Earth Balance is my favorite brand. Make sure chocolate chips are dairy-free too.

Egg-Free

Replace each egg with 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water. Let sit 5 minutes first.

Nut Allergies

Just skip the nuts and add extra flour. Check your chocolate chips don’t contain nuts either.

Questions Everyone Asks Me

Why did my cookies turn out flat and greasy?

Your butter was too warm or melted. Needs to be soft but not liquid. Also could be too much butter – measure carefully.

Why do my cookies turn out thick and cakey instead of chewy?

Probably too much flour or you overmixed after adding the flour. Also check your oven temp.

Do I have to use vanilla extract?

You can skip it but they won’t taste as good. Don’t use imitation vanilla – tastes fake and chemical-y.

How long do these actually last?

About a week in a sealed container but honestly they never last that long at my house.

Can I freeze the dough?

Yes! Scoop it first, freeze on sheets, then bag it. Bake straight from frozen with extra time.

💬 Made these? Tell me how they turned out. Did your family fight over the last one too?