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! 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 some patience is needed – but I promise, they’re worth the wait!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: My all-time favorite cookie recipe. I have extra dough stashed in the freezer at all times.
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I’m super excited to share with you my Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re my version of the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie!
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!)
You may be asking yourself what makes this recipe “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!
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! Learn more about that just below.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
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 a thick, 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 and I promise it’s worth the wait.
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.
Why? The flavor and texture improve SO much as the dough chills!
If you’re absolutely strapped for time, you can bake off some cookies right away – but I’d definitely encourage you to try chilling and see all the wonders it works on your dough.
How to Chill the 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, so 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 Store Cookies & Keep Them Soft
The 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 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 will migrate to your cookies, making them soft and chewy again.
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 recipe 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 – my most popular recipe!
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Soft Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Giant Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- See ALL of my cookie recipes + tips on the SCIENCE of cookie baking here!
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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.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in October 2013 and has been updated with more baking tips and new photos. Photos by Constance Higley.
These are delicious! I’m working my way through all of your chocolate chip cookies, have done the brown butter toffee (also recommend!). Next in the line up is Bakery style. Thank you for sharing your recipes and tips. I followed the recipe exactly but used a mix of dark and light brown sugar. Read all the tips and tutorials for trouble shooting and you can’t go wrong. Chill your dough! I cant upload a photo because I don’t have any left.
So thrilled to hear that you enjoyed these cookies, Patti, and we love that you’re baking your way through all Tessa’s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes! You’ll have to let us know which is your favorite, once you’ve tried them all 🙂
these really are perfection! I used all AP flour. Kosher salt. Scooped a dozen to freeze and baked frozen. SO good! This recipe is a KEEPER! Thanks so much!
I looked around the Internet and saw these and decided to make them to take on my Family Christmas vacation. I kept them frozen so they would be warm and fresh with each batch. I have never cared much for Chocolate Chip cookies but these cookies are delicious. This will be my go-to forever cookies. Thank you for this recipe, Tessa. It’s a keeper!!
Hooray! So glad to hear that these were a hit for you, Nancy! Thanks so much for the comment 🙂
Hi!! I was wondering if this recipe is good to obtain a soft baked cookie like the ones in the photo? If not, which of your recipes you would suggest (or any changes to some of your recipes to obtain that consistency with a dough that marinate overnight)?
Thanks!
Chiara
Hi Chiara! I think you’re looking for a recipe like our Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe 🙂
Hi…my cookie was still a bit underbaked in the center (the batter was still wet) even though i baked it for 15 mins. Is it because my cookies were too big? I used a cookie scoop that holds 65 gram of dough for each cookie
Hi Cass! Lots of things can influence the bake time of a recipe, such as larger cookies like you mentioned – or your oven and baking pans can even interfere with this, too. We always recommend following the sensory indicators in a recipe (like this one states to bake ‘until golden brown’) more closely than the time listed because of these common variances. Here are a couple of resources that may help with this:
– Tessa’s Oven 101 article here, and
– Best (and WORST) Baking Pans
I hope that helps, and I hope you still enjoyed your cookies! Happy baking 🙂
Hello, I was wondering what the difference between all purpose flour and bread flour is, I don’t think I’ve ever seen “bread flour” in my country 🙁
Could I use all purpose instead? Or what extra ingredients could I add to compensate so the recipe doesn’t fail? Thanks 🙂
Hi Yeni! Tessa talks about this in the pink tip box (above the recipe). Check out the answer to your question, along with countless other great baking tips for this recipe, there! If you can’t find bread flour, you could try Tessa’s Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies instead. Let us know what you think of these cookies once you give them a try! 🙂
I like coconut in my chocolate chip cookies. How can I do this while maintaining the texture? I like less sweet cookies so do i use unsweetened? Would I replace some of the flour with the coconut? Thanks!
Hi Wendy! We haven’t tried this, so we can’t say for sure – but I recommend checking out Tessa’s Chocolate Coconut Cookies recipe here to compare for your experiments. Good luck and let us know how it goes 🙂
Tessa, have you ever used super fine sugar for the granulated sugar in any of the cookie recipes. Are there pros and cons to using it ?
Thanks Scott
Hi Scott! No, we haven’t tried using superfine sugar in our chocolate chip cookie recipes. Feel free to experiment! Happy baking 🙂
Hi, I am baking so many different cookies for Christmas I am wondering if these will freeze well. They sound amazing.
Thank you in advance.
They sure will, Nancy! Check out this article here for all the info you need 🙂
Bonjour,
J’ai vu certaines recettes sur internet qui remplacent le beurre par de la margarine car la texture serait beaucoup plus moelleuse et meilleure avec celle-ci.
Avez-vous déja testé une recette de cookies avec de la margarine ?
Et y’a-t-il vraiment une différence au niveau de la texture?
Hi Sevda! Margarine is oil-based, so we don’t recommend using it in place of butter – but feel free to experiment if you like! Happy baking!
This is a fantastic recipe! Worked amazingly well the first time round. Don’t think I’ll ever buy cookies from the store ever again.
Tessa, I haven’t tried it yeah, but I read something about replacing 1/2 stick of butter with 2.6oz of cream cheese. Have you ever tried cream cheese in any of your CC cookie recipes ? What to you think it would do ?
Thanks,
Scott B.
Hi Scott! We haven’t tried that with this recipe, but Tessa’s recipe for Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies uses cream cheese! Read more about that in the pink tip box (above the recipe)! Happy baking 🙂