Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: This cookie has big butterscotch flavor and the small amount of cream cheese in the dough adds an almost indiscernible tang that takes these cookies over the top.
Texture: Ultra soft and perfectly tender.
Ease: Super easy!
Pros: Perfect for when you’re craving that super soft texture in a cookie.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? I’ve been making this recipe for years!
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This is the only recipe you’ll ever need for SOFT Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The kind of cookies that are ultra tender but still hold their shape and are loaded with tons of ooey gooey chocolate chips.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m obsessed with chocolate chip cookies.
But sometimes I crave different textures. Sometimes I want them to be super soft chocolate chip cookies. Other times, I crave thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies.
Don’t get me wrong, practically any homemade chocolate chip cookie is good with me. It’s just every once in a while, you have a texture craving that must be satisfied.
Which texture of cookies do you prefer? Does your family love soft-batch cookies? Chewy? Crispy? Some combination of it all?! Let me know in the comments below!
How to Make SOFT Chocolate Chip Cookies
There are a few key ingredients to ensure your cookies are ultra-tender and soft.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is hygroscopic, which means it takes in and retains moisture (better than granulated sugar). Adding moisture to your cookie dough can help make it softer and chewier, and stay soft for longer. That’s why I use much more brown sugar than granulated sugar in this recipe. Learn how to DIY your own brown sugar and how to keep it soft in your pantry here.
Cornstarch
Cookies with cornstarch are ultra soft and often slightly gooey and paler in color. It can also aid in lift and height, as it is a thickening agent. Just be sure not to add too much extra cornstarch, otherwise, your cookies will develop an almost glue-like pudding consistency. I find in this recipe, 2 teaspoons is the Goldilocks measurement.
Cream Cheese
Not only does cream cheese add richness and flavor, but it also tenderizes the cookies so they’re super soft, even slightly chewy, without being cakey due to the fat content. I know it’s a bit of a hassle to add in cream cheese here but believe me, it’s these small details that take your cookies from good to GREAT. Be sure to use full-fat brick cream cheese, not cream cheese for spreading on bagels.
How to Bake SOFT Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Be sure your oven isn’t running too hot – learn more about that here. If your oven does run hot, you may want to reduce the temperature slightly to avoid overly browning these cookies.
- Remove these from the oven just before they actually look done baking. The residual heat will continue to cook them and they will solidify as they begin to cool.
- Avoid using a dark-colored baking pan. Learn more about that here.
How to Bake THICK Cookies
The key to making sure your cookies bake up nice and thick instead of flattening into those little sad puddles:
- Make sure your butter isn’t too warm. Make sure your butter is at a COOL room temperature, about 67°F, before creaming with the sugar. Learn more about that here.
- Next, make sure your balls of cookie dough aren’t warm when they enter the oven – otherwise, the dough will melt too much.
- If you experience issues with your cookies spreading too much, try popping the tray of shaped dough into the freezer while the oven preheats.
- If you live in a very humid climate, try adding a couple extra tablespoons of flour to the dough to combat that added moisture.
How to Store Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze your cookie dough balls. Learn more about that, and how to bake from frozen, here.
Science of Cookie Baking
Download my FREE Cookie Customization Guide for quick and easy ways to alter the texture of your favorite cookie recipes. Whether you like soft cookies like this recipe, or prefer cakey, crispy, or chewy, this handy visual guide will show you what tweaks to make to get the texture of your dreams!
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Batch Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- See ALL of my chocolate chip cookie recipes here!
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (349 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 large eggs, at cool room temperature
- 2 cups (340 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- If baking right away, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- If time permits: wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but no more than 72 hours. This allows the dough to “marinate” and for the final cookies to become softer, thicker, and more flavorful. Let dough sit at room temperature until it is just soft enough to scoop.
- Using a medium (1 1/2-tablespoon size) spring-loaded scoop, drop balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, or until barely golden brown. Don’t overbake – the cookies will continue to cook from residual heat. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and recently updated with new photos, weight measurements, and more recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter. Is that 1/4 cup sticks or 1/2 sticks??
Not sure what you mean but 1 1/2 sticks = 6 ounces or 12 tablespoons.
I made these last month and submitted a review, but I ended up here again today because I was notified of another comment submitted. I was reading through some of the comments. In January of 2015 there was a comment about the butter and it says “the recipe calls for 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter….” and your reply didn’t correct her. The recipe I see calls for 10 Tablespoons of unsalted butter — not 12. Was that changed since 2015 or something? Or should it be 12 Tablespoons? Thanks!
Hi Pam! Please see the note in italics at the bottom of the post. This was originally published in 2013 and has been updated and improved since then. I’d recommend referring to what’s inside the recipe box for the latest and most accurate info 🙂
Can toffee chips (heath/ skor chips) be added or would it change the texture of the cookie from soft batch to crispy?
Is both baking powder & soda necessary or can I just use the 1 tsp of required soda & another as a powder substitute? Thanks!
I love all your posts..your experiments aree brilliant..learning alot…thanks for sharing..
I wanted to ask if I can substitute the cream cheese with another ingredient? thankss 😀
After many years of tinkering with the recipe on my own, I finally found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe – thank you!!
How many cookies (approx) does this recipe yield? I bake once a month for a homeless soup kitchen and was wondering how many batches I would need.
Thank you, I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Kim
So pleased with this recipe! We’ve been a strictly Tollhouse or “break-n-bake” house for so long, that I was itching to try something new. We LOVE them!! Thanks so much. I’ll definitely be making these again 😀
Wow! I’ve been searching for a better chocolate chip cookie recipe and I think I’ve found it! Thank you!! One tip – instead of chilling the dough and then scooping it (when it’s firm and harder to scoop), I lined a tray with parchment and used a #24 disher to scoop the just-made (and soft) dough into balls, placing them on the tray. I then popped that into the fridge to chill. Later, when it was time to bake, I simply transferred the chilled dough balls onto a baking sheet and popped them into the oven. The #24 disher is 2.67 Tbsp, so my cookies required a slightly longer baking time (12-13 minutes), and are a nice ample size (3.25″ in diameter). I am thrilled with this recipe!
I made these today and served them to my bridge group, No one could eat just one. They are everything you say they are. They are staying soft and are rich and wonderful. This is a keeper!!!!
That’s wonderful to hear!
HI, In Venezuela I can not found brown sugar , what can I do?, to make Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies? my mail verocaste@gmail.com
you just add molasses to white sugar. there are lots of recipes online. depends on if you want dark or light brown sugar. But try 1 cup white sugar and 1 TB molasses and you can adjust from there.
OMG!!!! After scouring the web for a good choc chip cookie recipe, and many failed attempts this is the best recipe ever! Simply amazing; however I did not have cream cheese but oh well. Definetly my go to recipe now. Thanks so much
I made a half recipe of these and chilled the dough for about 12 hours before baking. I also used salted butter and organic unwashed sugar subbed in for the granulated sugar.
My batch came out very slightly on the cakey side and the cookie part had a very mild flavor. The cookies remained nice and soft, even 12 hours after baking.
I might try these again, but with baking soda as the only chemical leavener.
Cannot wait to try these!! Can this recipe be cut in half?? I tried that recently with the Toll House and it did NOT work! My cookies were flat as a board.
I don’t see why not! Esp since there are two eggs, that makes it a little easier.
FANTASTIC reipe! Definitely a keeper. I didn’t chill the dough as per recipe, and only did half to test my first batch. What I love about these cookies is how they continue to stay soft even after cooling which is not the case with other cookie recipes I have tried. I also like how there isn’t a butter after taste in my mouth. Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.