Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Big butterscotch flavor without being too sweet. These cookies taste how you imagine a chocolate chip cookie should taste!
Texture: The best part! These babies are big, thick, super chewy yet soft on the inside, and crisp at the edges. Perfection!
Ease: Very easy, though I do use two different flours and there is a chilling period so patience is involved. You can make a double batch, shape the dough into balls, chill for a day or two, then freeze the balls. Bake when the cookie cravings come!
Pros: My all-time favorite cookie recipe.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? A thousand times yes, I’ve made this recipe countless times and have extra dough stashed in the freezer at all times.
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I’m super duper excited to share with you my Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies complete with a video to show you exactly how they’re made.
This is a perfect recipe to learn some of the basics of the science of baking because with cookies it’s so easy to see how different tweaks impact the final result!
If you’re anything like the hundreds of people who have taste tested and tried this recipe, you’re going to love it! (Just read some of the comments below!)
Be sure to check out my Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies before you make these!
You may be asking yourself, what makes this recipe the “ultimate?” Well, these cookies have HUGE butterscotch flavor, which is exactly what I adore in a chocolate chip cookie. Beyond the flavor is the texture, which is nothing short of incredible.
These cookies have my version of the ultimate texture combination: thick, super chewy, soft, and a little gooey in the middle, crisp and slightly crunchy at the edges, with gooey chocolate chips throughout. Does anything get better than that? I don’t think so. I would want these cookies to be a part of my last meal on earth, that’s how much I love them!
How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Do you remember my Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies Part 1 and Part 2? That is where I discovered ALL the secrets to making my version of the best chocolate chip cookie.
Why This is the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- This recipe utilizes half bread flour, which lends chewiness to the cookies.
- It also uses a good amount of brown sugar, which lends that butterscotch flavor and thick and soft texture.
- The extra egg yolk in this recipe also helps keep these cookies soft yet chewy and adds richness in flavor.
- You can think of the 24 – 72 hour chilling period as a “marinating” period. The flavors intensify and the texture will become thicker and chewier. It’s pretty amazing.
Do I Really Need to Use Bread Flour?
You don’t absolutely HAVE to use bread flour, but it adds a ton of chewy texture to these cookies that’s worth the extra trip to the store. If you can’t get bread flour, then use all AP flour in its place.
Do I Really Need to Chill the Dough?
- The last key element is the 24 to 72 hour chilling period which is a huge pain in the butt, I know, but it is so completely worth it.
- The flavor and texture improve SO much as the dough chills!
- If you’re absolutely strapped for time, you can bake off some cookies as soon as the dough is done. But I’d definitely encourage you to try chilling and see all the wonders it works on your dough.
- Make the dough and scoop into balls using a cookie scoop. Place in an airtight container and place in the fridge for 24-72 hours. Bake straight from the fridge when ready. Learn more about chilling cookie dough here.
- The colder the dough, the thicker the cookies!
Can you Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookies?
I love cookies straight from the oven. I always keep pre-scooped balls of chocolate chip cookie dough in a resealable bag in my freezer so I can bake cookies off and have them warm from the oven in a matter of minutes whenever I want. Here are more tips for freezing cookie dough.
How to Keep Cookies Soft
- Most cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days. Be sure they are completely cooled before storing.
- To keep your baked chocolate chip cookies soft, you can add an apple wedge, piece of bread, or a tortilla on the top and bottom of the cookies to the container a day or two after baking them, or whenever you find the texture starting to harden.
- The moisture from the bread or apple will migrate to your cookies, making them soft and chewy again.
- A tortilla is a new favorite of mine because it takes up much less room than a slice of bread, and doesn’t transfer any flavors or aromas like an apple wedge, and takes up almost no room!
How to Refresh Stored Cookies
If desired, reheat and refresh the cookies in a 350°F oven for 3-5 minutes. Your toaster oven should work just fine. This improves the texture, and there’s nothing like a warm chocolate chip cookie!
Step-by-Step Video
If you want to watch me demonstrate how to make this cookie dough LIVE, with all of my scientific explanations, tips, and tricks, check out this live Facebook video I did a while back!
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (one of my most popular recipes!)
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Soft Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Giant Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
See ALL of my chocolate chip cookie recipes + tips & insights into the SCIENCE of cookie baking here!
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups (159 grams) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at cool room temperature
- 2 cups (340 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- If baking right away, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a large spring-loaded cookie scoop, divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls.
- If time permits, wrap dough balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours but no more than 72 hours. This allows the dough to “marinate” and makes the cookies thicker, chewier, and more flavorful.
- When ready to bake, place dough balls on prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Although I prefer cookies fresh from the oven, these can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. See pink tip box above the recipe for storage tips.
This recipe was originally published in October 2013 and updated in 2021 with more baking tips and new photos. Photos by Constance Higley.
Tessa OH MY GOSH. This cookie recipe is the best thing I have ever found. It’s now my go to recipe. I made a big double batch so I could have a batch of chocolate chip and a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip and they were a HIT!
I made them without the 24hr chill and with the 24hr chill and freezing them, and let me tell you! Baking them right away gives you delicious cookies, but chilling for 24hrs and baking them from frozen gives you IMMACULATE chewy, complexly flavour cookies that will leave you craving more.
This recipe is something I now make in advance and always have some ready to bake in my freezer.
Bless your heart for sharing this, its now a permanent part of my recipe journal. Guys this is a must try. 100%
You suggest 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie – if I weigh the dough, how many grams per cookie?
Thanks!
Why not weigh out all the ingredients in the recipe?
Hello your recipe looks great I don’t have the bread flour can I make them without bread flour if so just add that amout in flour
Judy
Where I leave is hard to find bead flour, I use all purpose flour instead. My cookies went out very flat, they where golden brown on the sides but the middle seemed a little uncooked . They where on the fridge for 24 hrs. Sooooo my mistake was not to use bread flour?
I have been craving chocolate chip cookies but I feel like my cookies always spread out more than I want them to and come out too flat. Maybe that’s because I’ve been using recipes that call for melted butter? But I saw the pictures from this recipe post and I was like, I HAVE to give these a try. The pictures of these cookies were what I always dreamed mine would turn out like when they come out of the oven. I just baked them yesterday SO… I will never turn to another recipe again because these were the chocolate chip cookies I’ve been looking for! The texture is heavenly, chocolatey, thick and chewy and just YUM!!! No flat lifeless cookies here! It’s a flavor heaven especially the day after you baked them. Thank you for making my chocolate chip cookie dreams come true!
I really wanted these to be great. I followed the recipe exactly but these cookies turned out too oily and thin.
Similar to my own perfected recipe from years ago. Except, i use 100% bread flour in everything. Reason being is because today’s bread flour is yesterday’s all purpose. We’re actually being cheated by companies today selling low quality all purpose. The same applies to brown sugar. Today’s dark brown is actually light brown from years ago.
Hey Tessa love this recipe.
I have a question: Could you skip the white sugar and just use 2 1/4 cups brown sugar? Would it make the cookies softer?
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes and all the testing you do! I know it’s a lot of work!
These are lovely. The brown sugar to white sugar ratio in these makes for phenomenal flavor.
Right after I make the dough can I put it in the freezer right away and then after 2 weeks Or 1 month I want to bake it would it be the same texture ? Pls help. Thank you.
Willow brings grief and grief Green grass in the cold moon Frost is frozen like ice Knowing when the new rain will gradually stop.