Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies on parchment paper.

Get ready for the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies! These cookies have crisp buttery edges, soft centers, and they're packed with chocolate. No chill time required - freshly baked cookies ready in under 30 minutes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 213kcal

Author Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup chilled unsalted butter cut into four pieces
¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark) it should be fresh and soft
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg cold, straight from the fridge
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 heaping cup semisweet chocolate chunks** (or chips) plus more for topping, if desired
¼ cup chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in the middle-upper and middle-lower portions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer* fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined (about a minute or two). Because the butter is cold it won't look as soft and creamy as you might be used to, that's ok, keep beating it. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture until fully combined. Add the chocolate chunks and walnuts, mixing until combined.
Scoop the dough into ¼ cup portions and form into balls. Place on the lined baking sheets with several inches in between each dough ball. If desired, you can press a few chocolate chunks/chips onto the top of each dough ball (this makes a prettier cookie). For thicker cookies leave the dough balls mounded, for slightly thinner cookies flatten the dough balls just a bit.
Bake*** for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to set and the centers are still underdone. The cookies should be so soft that if you tried to pick them up off the baking sheet they would fall apart. Place the baking sheets on cooling racks and cool completely, they will firm up as they cool. See recipe notes regarding optional step of shaping the cookies after baking.

Video

Notes

*This dough comes together easiest with a stand mixer. Since we're using chilled butter the stand mixer helps break down the butter easier than a hand mixer.

** Use chocolate chunks instead of chips creates large pockets of chocolate all throughout each cookie. Our favorite are semisweet chunks from Trader Joes. Optional: coarsely chop a few tablespoons of chips/chunks so that little shards of chocolate disperse all throughout the dough. You can also try a combination of different chocolates. Mix dark, semisweet, and/or milk chocolate.

***Depending on how evenly your oven bakes, you might need to rotate the baking sheets once during bake time.

How to get perfectly round cookies:

Immediately after the cookies come out the oven place a round glass or bowl (larger than the cookie) upside down over the top of the cookie and gently but quickly swirl the glass/bowl in a circular motion. The edges of the cookie will bump against the inside of the glass creating a perfectly round shape. Note: This only works when the cookies are hot, straight from the oven, and still on the warm baking sheet.

Glass bowl over a chocolate chip cookie on a baking sheet,

Make ahead option:

If you need to get a head start on this recipe you can make the dough in advance.

Freeze: Freeze portioned dough balls double wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. For thicker cookies leave the dough balls mounded, for slightly thinner cookies flatten the dough balls just a bit.

Refrigerate: Dough can be portioned, double wrapped, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. For thicker cookies leave the dough balls mounded, for slightly thinner cookies flatten the dough balls just a bit.

Nutrition