The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1¼ cups granulated sugar; 1¼ cups firmly light brown sugar (packed); 1½ cups salted butter; ¼ cup light corn syrup; 2 teaspoons vanilla; 3 large eggs; 4¼ cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 2 to 3 cups chocolate chips (divided)

By Courtney ODell

4.80 from 5 votes

Aug 26, 2024

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There is absolutely nothing like a chocolate chip cookie that is soft and chewy – with that perfect partly crisp, slightly gooey texture your teeth sink right into – and this chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe always delivers! I designed it to be easy to follow and simple to prepare – not fussy – so you can have the best chewy cookies, every time you make it!

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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!

How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tips To Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Other Easy Desserts

chocolate chip cookies on a wood platter

Easy Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you love perfect, soft, chewy cookies with a crispy, crunchy bottom and a hot and gooey center – this will be your next favorite cookie recipe!

Pour yourself a tall glass of ice cold milk, and get ready for a stack of cookies with a classic taste just like from grandma’s kitchen. (Though one of my grandmas, my great-grandma Curly, was famous for serving us raisins and Kool-Aid instead of cookies and milk – but that’s a far less interesting recipe, I assure you.)

These chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite – so easy and the perfect when you’re in the mood for a classic.

This recipe was a request from my friend Adam for his friend Vanessa who was in search of the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie… while this is not the coolest shoutout of his week, I hope these cookies are the tastiest part! We tested a few different methods of chocolate chip cookies, and settled on our tried and true method below for the absolute perfect cookies – we hope you love them!

If you love this recipe, be sure to check out our best soft sugar cookie recipe and easy lofthouse cookie recipes too!

We love this easy, classic recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies – it is simple enough for even beginner cooks to make perfect, every time!

These cookies have the perfect nostalgic cookie flavor – just like grandma used to make them!
Chewy chocolate chip cookies don’t require any special equipment – if you have a mixer you can use one, but a spoon does the trick, too.
These cookies don’t require any chilling time – no chill time means chewy chocolate cookies fast!
You can make a big batch and freeze cookies individually so you can bake one fresh anytime the craving hits.
Be sure to have a big glass of cold milk to dunk these cookies in – it’s practically required to have cookies and milk!
These cookies are meant to have a hot, gooey center with a crunchy base for chewy cookies that are melt in your mouth delicious!

How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

To make these super-chewy chocolate chip cookies, we will use the following ingredients:

1¼ cups granulated sugar: Granulated sugar is used to add sweetness to the cookies. It also promotes a crispy texture due to its ability to draw in and retain moisture.
1¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar: Brown sugar contributes to both sweetness and moisture. The molasses in brown sugar attracts water, which helps keep the cookies moist and chewy. It also adds a depth of flavor with its subtle caramel-like taste.
1½ cups salted butter: Butter provides flavor and richness. It’s also key for the texture. When beaten with sugars, it creates air pockets that make the cookies tender and light. Butter also helps in browning and spreading.
¼ cup light corn syrup: Corn syrup is a type of invert sugar, which means it retains moisture and prevents crystallization. It helps keep cookies soft and chewy. It also adds a bit of sweetness.
2 teaspoons vanilla: Vanilla enhances the flavors in baked goods. It adds a depth of flavor that complements the sweetness of the cookies.
3 large eggs: Eggs help to bind the ingredients together and create structure within the cookie. The water in eggs also provides steam for leavening (or rising). The fat in the yolks adds richness and flavor.
4¼ cups all-purpose flour: Flour provides the basic structure for the cookie. The protein in the flour mixes with the water in your recipe to form gluten, which gives the cookies their body and shape.
2 teaspoons baking soda: Baking soda is a leavening agent. It reacts with acidic components (brown sugar and corn syrup in this recipe) in the dough, creating carbon dioxide gas and causing the cookies to rise and become light and tender.
½ teaspoon salt: Salt enhances flavor by balancing out the sweetness, and it also strengthens the protein structure in the dough.
2 to 3 cups chocolate chips, divided: The star of the show! Chocolate chips add flavor and texture to the cookies. The “divided” part might mean that some are mixed into the dough, and some are placed on top before baking, so that you get a nice distribution of chocolate in every bite.

Add these ingredients to your Instacart here!

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following process:

Prep. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees – it is absolutely essential the oven is preheated properly for your cookies to bake evenly.
Mix. Cream together butter and sugar well before adding in eggs, one by one. Add dry ingredients to a bowl to mix before adding into sugar, butter, and eggs – mix in 3 separate additions to ensure and even, lump free dough. Stir in two cups of the chocolate chips.
Bake cookies. Form into cookies and bake on ungreased cookie sheet.
Add extra chocolate chips to top after baking! Press additional chocolate chips into top of cookies while still hot for additional chocolate flavor! They will melt slightly into cookie and make your cookie look great from the top.

Tools you might need to make these cookies:

Two mixing bowls – one medium sized and one large
Long, sturdy spoon like a wooden spoon; stand mixer; or hand mixer
Nonstick baking sheet (any metal sheet will do, but we like nonstick kinds since we will not be using baking spray or greasing the pan in any way)
Metal wire cooling rack
Cookie scoop – not mandatory, but makes measuring even cookies easier

Tips To Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

While these classic chocolate chip cookies are super simple and easy to make, there are a couple tips to make them perfect, every time.

Use ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using an ungreased sheet will give a slightly crispy bottom to your cookie, with a soft, chewy, and gooey middle.

Use parchment for puffy cookies. For puffier cookies, you can use a sheet of parchment paper underneath the cookies – but they will not have the classic crunchy bottom and gooey center.

Corn syrup adds to the texture. Don’t skip the corn syrup – corn syrup gives these cookies the classic chewy texture and flavor!

Add extra chocolate chips after baking! You can press additional chocolate chips into the top before or right after baking for a really loaded chocolate chip cookie that kids LOVE! This makes up for the extra 1 cup of chocolate chips per batch, which is optional.

Quality of Ingredients: Use high-quality ingredients. The flavor of your cookies is largely determined by the ingredients used. Go for good quality chocolate chips and pure vanilla extract.

Measure Accurately: Use the right measurements for your ingredients. Baking is a precise science, and a little more or less of something can drastically change the results.

Don’t Overmix: Once the flour is added, mix just until it’s incorporated. Overmixing can lead to tougher cookies because it develops more gluten.

Chill the Dough: For thicker, chewier cookies, chill the dough for at least an hour, or even overnight if possible. Chilling the dough solidifies the fats in the dough. As the cookies bake, the fats take longer to melt than they would at room temperature, allowing the cookies to rise before spreading.

Room Temperature Butter and Eggs: Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature before starting. Room temperature ingredients bond together very easily since they’re warmer, creating a seamless and evenly textured dough.

Brown Sugar: The recipe you have uses both white and brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, contributing to a chewier texture.

Baking Soda: Make sure your leavening agents (like baking soda) are fresh. They help the cookies rise and give them their texture.

Don’t Overbake: To keep the cookies chewy, don’t overbake them. They should be just golden around the edges and look a bit undercooked in the middle when you take them out of the oven. They will firm up as they cool.

Cookie Sheet: Use a cool, not warm, cookie sheet. A warm cookie sheet could cause the cookies to start spreading before they start baking.

Resting: Allow the cookies to cool and set on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. This helps them firm up and enhances the chewy texture.

When are chewy chocolate chip cookies done?

When the edges around the cookies have browned, and the sides have started to brown a bit, the cookies are done – just at about 10 minutes.

What makes cookies more chewy?

Chewy cookies owe their texture to a combination of ingredient choices and baking techniques. The key to achieving that delightful chewiness lies primarily in the moisture content of the dough. Using more brown sugar, which contains molasses, helps retain moisture better than white sugar, giving the cookies a soft and chewy texture.

Melted butter also plays a role, as it leads to a denser, more compact dough compared to softened butter. Additionally, adding an extra egg yolk enriches the dough, contributing further to the chewiness.

The type of flour matters too—bread flour, with its higher protein content, encourages gluten development, resulting in a chewier cookie. Baking time and temperature are also crucial; slightly underbaking the cookies and using a lower temperature allow the centers to stay soft while the edges set, enhancing the chewiness.

Finally, while optional, chilling the dough before baking not only improves flavor but also helps maintain moisture, resulting in a cookie with the perfect chew!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe FAQs

How long do chocolate chip cookies last?

You can keep cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature.

Should I grease cookie sheet for chocolate chip cookies?

We tested this recipe numerous ways and found for a crunchy base and gooey center, it is important to bake on an ungreased cookie sheet with no parchment paper.
If you’re concerned with cookies sticking, you can use a nonstick metal cookie sheet – but don’t use cooking spray or butter!

Can you freeze chocolate chip cookies?

We recommend making cookie dough and scooping with a cookie scoop and freezing as individual cookie dough circles – then you can place them directly on a baking sheet and bake when you want fresh baked cookies!
Baked cookies can be frozen for up to four months. Since you’ll need to bake them to reheat – or let them thaw for a few hours – we prefer just freezing dough and baking cookies fresh from frozen dough instead.