Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies bake up with golden, crisp edges and soft, chewy centers. A little cornstarch keeps them tender for days without drying out. Packed with rich chocolate chips, they’re the ultimate homemade treat!

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

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These cookies stay thick, soft, and chewy for days—perfect for dunking or savoring with a sigh of happiness on the first bite. They’re rich, bakery-quality cookies without the hefty price tag, and they’ve even been known to sell out at bake sales in minutes. A secret touch of cornstarch is what makes them unforgettable every single time.

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Ingredient List

Dry stuff:

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (spoon it in, don’t pack it down)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons cornstarch (this is why they work)
• ½ teaspoon salt

Wet stuff:

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted then cooled 5 minutes
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, doesn’t matter)
• ½ cup regular white sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 extra yolk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

The good stuff:

• 1¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I buy Ghirardelli when it’s on sale, Nestle when it’s not)

Why These Ingredients Work

Cornstarch stops the cookies from getting tough. Regular flour develops gluten when you mix it, cornstarch doesn’t. Less gluten means softer cookies. Also soaks up moisture differently than flour, which keeps them chewy longer.

Figured this out by accident but looked it up later. Makes total sense when you think about it.

Melted butter gives you crispy edges but keeps the middle soft. Don’t use it hot though – learned that the hard way. Hot butter scrambles your eggs and you get weird chunks in your dough. Had to throw out a whole batch once.

Extra egg yolk makes them taste richer. Whole eggs are mostly water, yolks are fat and protein. More fat means more tender cookies. Got this tip from some fancy cookbook my sister gave me.

More brown sugar than white keeps them from drying out. Brown sugar’s got molasses in it, white sugar doesn’t. Molasses pulls moisture from the air so your cookies stay soft instead of turning into hockey pucks.

Tried different ratios before I got this right. Too much brown sugar makes them spread all over the pan. Too much white sugar makes them crunchy. This combo gives you thick cookies that don’t fall apart.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Two big bowls, whisk, something to mix with, cookie sheets, parchment paper, wire racks. That’s it. I use a cookie scoop but any spoon works.

What I really use: Got these heavy ceramic bowls as wedding gifts fifteen years ago. They’re perfect because they don’t slide around when you’re whisking like the lightweight ones do.

For cookie sheets, I buy the heavy aluminum ones from the restaurant supply place. They don’t warp when they get hot and everything cooks evenly. Worth the extra money.

Parchment paper’s a must. Those silicone mats are fine but parchment gives better results. Don’t even think about greasing the pans – cookies stick every time.

Nice but not necessary: Kitchen scale for weighing ingredients. Makes cookies turn out exactly the same every time. Cookie scoop – I use the #24 size for big cookies. Stand mixer if you’re making huge batches, but I usually just mix by hand.

How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix the Dry Ingredients

Put flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Whisk it till everything’s mixed evenly. Don’t bother sifting – not worth the extra dishes. Just make sure you don’t have any cornstarch lumps.

Combine Wet Ingredients

Different bowl. Whisk melted butter with both sugars till it’s completely smooth and not grainy anymore. Takes about a minute of actual whisking, not just stirring around. Add the whole egg, extra yolk, and vanilla. Keep whisking till everything looks shiny and well mixed.

Make the Dough

Dump the wet stuff into the dry stuff. Stir just enough to combine everything. Don’t go crazy with the mixing or you’ll make the cookies tough. Dough looks shaggy at first, then comes together. Fold in chocolate chips carefully.

The dough’s way softer than other recipes. That’s exactly how it should be.

Chill the Dough

Cover with plastic wrap – press it right against the dough so it doesn’t get a skin. Stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Overnight’s even better. I usually make dough after lunch for evening cookies.

Cold dough holds its shape better when it bakes. Gives you thick cookies instead of flat ones.

Prep for Baking

Heat your oven to 325°F, not 350 like most recipes say. Lower temperature cooks them more evenly without burning the edges. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Don’t skip this – cleaning burnt cookie bits off pans is a nightmare.

Shape the Cookies

If dough’s been in the fridge more than 2 hours, let it sit out 15 minutes so it’s not rock solid. Scoop into balls – I use about 3 tablespoons for big cookies, 2 for medium ones.

Here’s the important part – make them tall, not round. Like little towers or footballs standing up. This is what makes them thick instead of flat pancakes. Space them at least 3 inches apart because they spread.

Bake

13 to 14 minutes till the edges just barely start turning golden. Centers will look completely raw and underbaked. That’s right. They look totally wrong when you take them out but trust me on this.

Don’t overbake them or they’ll be crunchy instead of chewy.

Cool

Leave them on the hot cookie sheet for exactly 10 minutes. Don’t move them before that or they’ll fall apart. They’re still cooking from the heat of the pan. After 10 minutes, move them to cooling racks.

I press extra chocolate chips on top while they’re still warm because it looks fancy and the kids love it.

You Must Know

Don’t skip chilling the dough. I get it, waiting sucks when you want cookies now. But warm dough makes flat cookies that spread all over the pan. Been there, had to scrape cookie pancakes off the sheet.

Room temperature eggs mix way better than cold ones. They blend in smoothly instead of making lumps.

Personal Secret: I shape the dough balls tall instead of round. Like making little footballs standing up. Figured this out by accident when I was rushing to get cookies in the oven before dinner. The tall ones baked up way thicker.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Forgot to take eggs out? Put them in warm water for 5 minutes. Brings them to room temperature fast.

Your cookies look underbaked when you pull them out – that’s good. They keep cooking on the hot pan after you take them out of the oven.

Get a kitchen scale if you don’t have one. Measuring by weight instead of cups makes cookies turn out exactly the same every single time.

Check your oven temperature: Most ovens run hot or cold. Get a cheap oven thermometer. Mine runs 15 degrees hot so I set it lower. Makes a huge difference.

Don’t peek: Opening the oven door lets all the heat out and makes cookies bake unevenly. Set your timer and leave it alone.

Burnt bottom fix: If your cookies always burn on the bottom, stack two cookie sheets together. The extra layer keeps the bottom from getting too hot.

Spacing trick: Trace circles on the back of your parchment paper as guides for where to put each cookie. Keeps them evenly spaced.

Chocolate chip hack: Toss chocolate chips with a little flour before mixing them in. Stops them from sinking to the bottom while cookies bake.

Flavor Variations / Suggestions

Double chocolate: Add 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, take out 2 tablespoons flour. Makes really rich, fudgy cookies.

With nuts: Replace half the chocolate chips with chopped walnuts or pecans. Toast the nuts in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes first—it tastes way better.

Fancy pants: Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top before baking. Makes people think you know what you’re doing.

Coffee shop style: Add 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder. Doesn’t make them taste like coffee but brings out the chocolate flavor.

Breakfast version: Replace some flour with old-fashioned oats. Makes them heartier.

Holiday: White chocolate chips and dried cranberries for Christmas. Mini chips and dried strawberries for summer.

Cake mix cheat: Replace ½ cup flour with vanilla cake mix. Makes them extra soft and sweet.

Gourmet upgrade: Brown the butter in a pan before cooling and using. Adds nutty, caramel flavor that makes cookies taste expensive.

Make-Ahead Options

Raw dough keeps in the fridge for 3 days covered tight. Gets better after sitting – all the flavors blend together.

I make huge batches on Sundays. Scoop dough balls onto cookie sheets, freeze them solid, then dump into freezer bags. Write the date on everything because frozen cookie dough all looks the same.

Bake straight from frozen, just add an extra minute to the time.

Freezing tricks: Freeze dough balls on parchment-lined sheets first so they don’t stick together. Double-wrap everything or it gets freezer burn. Keeps for 3 months.

Baked cookies: Let them cool completely before storing or they get soggy. Layer with parchment paper in airtight containers. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Gift idea: Portion raw dough into balls, freeze, then pack in mason jars with baking instructions tied on with ribbon. People love having fresh cookies ready to bake.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Cornstarch’s what makes these special. Without it they’re just regular cookies that get hard overnight. Buy it in the baking aisle – it’s cheap and lasts forever in your pantry.

I bake at 325 instead of 350 because they cook evenly without burning. Higher heat cooks the outside too fast before the inside’s done.

High altitude: If you live above 3000 feet, cut the baking soda in half and add 2 more tablespoons flour. High altitude makes cookies spread more.

Humid days: When it’s really sticky outside, cookies might spread more. Add 2 extra tablespoons flour if your kitchen feels humid.

Pan prep: Never grease pans when you’re using parchment. Makes cookies brown unevenly.

Timing: Set timer for 12 minutes, then check every minute. Cookies go from perfect to overdone really fast.

Serving Suggestions

With milk – duh. Classic combo that never gets old. My kids crumble them over vanilla ice cream. Great in lunch boxes too – stay soft all day unlike store-bought garbage.

I wrap them in clear bags with ribbons for teacher gifts and new neighbors.

For parties: Put them on tiered stands to look fancy. Serve with different kinds of milk – chocolate, strawberry, vanilla almond.

Grown-up pairing: Goes great with coffee or wine. Sounds weird but chocolate chip cookies with red wine is actually amazing.

Breakfast hack: My teenager sometimes eats these with Greek yogurt for breakfast. Not the worst thing she could eat.

Ice cream sandwiches: Let cookies cool completely, sandwich vanilla ice cream between two, roll edges in mini chocolate chips. Wrap in plastic and freeze.

How to Store Your Chocolate Chip Cookies

Keep them in an airtight container on the counter for about a week. Though they never last that long here. Stick a piece of bread in the container – old trick my mom taught me. The bread goes stale but keeps the cookies soft by keeping moisture in the container.

Best containers: Those plastic ones with the tight lids or glass jars that seal well. Don’t use metal tins – they don’t seal right and cookies dry out.

Stacking: If you’re layering cookies, put parchment paper between layers so they don’t stick.

Freeze baked cookies for a couple months if you wrap them well. I use freezer bags with all the air squeezed out, then stick those inside hard containers so they don’t get crushed.

Raw dough balls freeze for 3 months easy. Label everything with dates because after a while it all looks the same in the freezer.

Reheat leftover cookies in a 300 degree oven for 2-3 minutes to make them taste fresh baked again. Don’t microwave them – makes them tough and chewy in a gross way.

If cookies get hard: Put a damp paper towel in the container overnight. They’ll soften right back up.

Allergy Information

Contains: Gluten, eggs, dairy

Substitutions:

• No gluten: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend, add 1 extra tablespoon
• No dairy: Melted coconut oil works instead of butter
• No eggs: Mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water per egg, let sit 5 minutes

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My cookies spread all over and went flat.

Dough wasn’t cold enough when you baked them, or your butter was too hot when you mixed everything.

Can I use chocolate chunks instead of chips?

Yeah, they’re actually better. More chocolate in each bite and they look more homemade.

They came out cakey instead of chewy.

Too much flour or you mixed the dough too much. Make sure you’re spooning flour into the measuring cup, not scooping.

Don’t have cornstarch, what can I use?

Just use more flour but they won’t stay soft as long.

Why 325 degrees instead of 350?

Lower temperature cooks them evenly without burning the edges before the middle’s done.

💬 Made these? Tell me how they turned out! Post a picture – I love seeing your cookies.