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.
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
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
- See ALL of my cookie recipes + tips on the SCIENCE of cookie baking here!
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
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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.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in October 2013 and has been updated with more baking tips and new photos. Photos by Constance Higley.
This was a great cookie. I also added 2 tablespoons of cream cheese when creaming the butter and sugar. I read on King Arthur that it could help make sugar cookies more cake like so I decided to try with the chocolate chip!
Hi Tessa, I have been searching for months for the perfect ccc recipe – and not being a certified baker I wondered why some recipes turned out differently to others even though only small changes were happening – after reading your blog I now understand a little more of what is happening – THANK YOU! My question is this … I would like to make a reversed ccc – ie: add cocoa to the mix and use white chocolate chips – how would you suggest I do this – take out 1/4 cup of the flour and put in 1/4 cocoa? Your expert opinion/advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers From New Zealand …
Thank you! I have not tried to transform this recipe into a double chocolate chip cookie one but you are definitely on the right track. Whatever you do, just know that adding in cocoa will change the composition of the cookie dough and will basically always make it slightly more dry and crumbly than a regular chocolate chip cookie.
Waiting for 24 hours torture. And i skipped the part with preheating the oven today…
What do you mean by two sticks of butter ? Could you give a measurement instead.. I don’t use sticks .
Bless you. You sure are patient with commenters who don’t read the recipe fully, or make their own substitutions and wonder why their cookies aren’t just like yours.
Haha!! I think this is my favorite comment 😉
Hi Tessa, Thank you so much for such a great sharing. Could you please provide the recipe in grams? I was trying to do the conversion myself but there are so many conversion formula out there and they are all different. Thank you!
Thank you for doing this experiment! I was so fed up with making cookies that turned out way too puffy. I want them with a good spread and gooey. I am a fabulous cook but my cookies need some work. I appreciate this article a lot. Thanks again! Well done 🙂
hi, i was wondering, if i do not want to bake all the cookies on the same day, what do i do to preserve the cookie?
Baking mine at 375 has made all the difference!!
I love the butterscotchy and crisped brown sugary texture…the flavors are just right!
I definitely like the higher ratio of brown sugar too…now I will mix in some bread flour and see if it’s the next level of cookie bliss:)
Would there be a spot for Tenderflake in a cookie?? Or is that all about pie crust?
Hi, I just put in COARSE sea salt instead of FINE. So the cookie has chunks of salt in it.. I made the batch to give it as a thank you gift for my recommender. Is there anything I can do about this??
Thanks
I think it should be fine, maybe just a little bit salty here and there.
I have been searching and trying soooo many different cookie recipes to find the “perfect” cookie. Some were good but not what I considered perfect. Something was missing…. So I started to think there was no such thing as a perfect cookie until I found this recipe! I don’t have a kitchen scale or oven thermometer but they came out AMAZING! These are definitely the perfect and ultimate cookies. The only recipe I will EVER use from now on
Oh that’s so wonderful to hear!! I’m thrilled you love the recipe. Thanks so much for your comment.
How about walnuts? I love walnute
Sure!