The Best Big, Soft, and Chewy Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
There are few things more comforting and universally loved than a warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. And these aren’t just any cookies; these are truly exceptional. These big, soft, and incredibly chewy chocolate chip cookies stand out as one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes. What elevates them to such a remarkable status? It’s the thoughtful addition of Kosher salt, which perfectly balances the sweetness of the chocolate, creating a flavor profile that is simply irresistible and earns rave reviews from everyone who tries them. If I had to pick just two cookies to enjoy for the rest of my life, it would undoubtedly be these decadent chocolate chip cookies and my beloved soft and chewy peanut butter cookies. Prepare to be amazed by the texture, the flavor, and the sheer joy these cookies bring.
Why These Are Truly the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
I know what you’re thinking – everyone claims their chocolate chip cookie recipe is “the best.” But trust me, this particular method has been our family’s undisputed favorite for years, consistently delivering perfect results. The magic truly lies in the details, especially the careful selection of ingredients and precise baking techniques. The Kosher salt isn’t just a seasoning; it’s a flavor enhancer. It provides that tiny, perfect hint of saltiness that cuts through the richness of the chocolate, making each bite an unforgettable experience. This harmonious blend of sweet and salty is what makes these cookies so addictive and hard to resist. The combination of flours also plays a crucial role, contributing to their signature big, soft, and delightfully chewy texture that keeps people coming back for more.
Essential Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients: Crafting Perfection
Achieving the perfect chocolate chip cookie means understanding the role each ingredient plays. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need for this incredible recipe:
- Dry ingredients – Our secret to a superior texture involves a blend of flours. You’ll need cake flour, which provides a tender crumb, and all-purpose flour for structure. Additionally, we use baking soda and baking powder for optimal lift and spread, and a generous amount of Kosher salt to highlight the chocolate flavor.
- Wet ingredients – These form the rich, flavorful base of our cookies. Unsalted butter (always at room temperature for proper creaming), light brown sugar (for chewiness and moisture), granulated sugar (for crisp edges and spread), large eggs (for binding and richness), and pure vanilla extract (for depth of flavor) are key components.
- Chocolate – The star of the show! High-quality chocolate chips are essential, or for a more artisanal touch and varied melt, feel free to use finely chopped chocolate. Dark, semi-sweet, or even milk chocolate can be used based on your preference.
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To ensure your baking process is smooth and enjoyable, having the right tools on hand makes all the difference. Investing in good quality kitchen equipment not only makes baking easier but can also significantly improve the consistency and quality of your results. Here are some helpful baking tools that I recommend for these cookies:
- Stand mixer or hand mixer: Essential for creaming butter and sugar evenly and efficiently, ensuring a light and airy dough.
- Measuring cups and spoons: Accurate measurements are crucial in baking, especially when working with different flours to achieve the perfect texture.
- Sifter: Sifting dry ingredients helps to aerate them and remove any lumps, resulting in a smoother, more uniform cookie dough.
- Insulated baking sheets: These are fantastic for preventing over-browning on the bottom of your cookies, promoting even baking and a perfectly soft interior.
- Silicone baking mat: A reusable alternative to parchment paper that offers excellent non-stick properties and helps with even heat distribution.
- Ice cream scoop: Ideal for portioning out large, uniform cookie dough balls, ensuring consistent baking times and beautifully shaped jumbo cookies.
- Wire cooling rack: Allows air to circulate around the cookies as they cool, preventing them from becoming soggy and promoting a crisp exterior while maintaining a soft center.
- Spatula: A sturdy spatula is indispensable for mixing, scraping down the bowl, and for gently shaping the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven.
Expert Cookie Baking Tips for Flawless Results
Baking perfect chocolate chip cookies involves more than just following a recipe; it’s about understanding the nuances of technique. Here are some invaluable tips to help you achieve cookies that are truly out of this world:
- Achieving Your Desired Texture: If you love a cookie with slightly crunchy edges and a soft interior, bake your cookies for the longer end of the suggested baking time range. For those who prefer a supremely soft, chewy cookie throughout, bake them on the shorter side of the range. They will only be lightly browned, and the center will appear slightly underdone, but they will set perfectly as they cool.
- Precision with Ingredients: For the most accurate and consistent results, especially when using a blend of flours, I cannot stress enough the importance of using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients. Volumes can vary significantly, but weight ensures precision every time. Remember to place an empty bowl on your scale and “tare” or reset it to zero before adding each ingredient.
- Shaping for Perfection: As soon as you remove the cookie sheet from the oven, while the cookies are still hot and pliable, use a spatula to gently tap and shape the edges of each cookie. Work your way around to create a perfectly round and even shape. This small step makes a big difference in the final appearance of your jumbo cookies. It needs to be done immediately, before the cookies begin to cool and set.
- Softening Butter Correctly: Proper butter consistency is vital for creaming. To correctly soften butter, remove it from the refrigerator and cut it into tablespoon-sized pieces. Allow it to sit on the counter for about 20-30 minutes, or until it’s pliable but still cool to the touch (it shouldn’t be greasy or melted).
- Baking Regular Sized Cookies: While this recipe is designed for big, jumbo cookies, you can easily adjust it for standard sizes. If you prefer regular-sized cookies, use a standard cookie scoop (about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of dough) and reduce the baking time to 8-11 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as they bake.
- Avoid Overmixing: Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix only until just combined. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to tough, dry cookies instead of the desired soft and chewy texture.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Pan: Give your cookies plenty of space on the baking sheet. Large cookies need room to spread, typically leaving at least 2-3 inches between each dough ball. This prevents them from merging and allows for even heat circulation.
How to Make the Best Big, Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
Let’s get baking! Follow these detailed steps to create your own batch of truly exceptional chocolate chip cookies:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Prepare your insulated baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This helps prevent sticking and ensures even baking.
- In a medium bowl, combine your dry ingredients: sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and Kosher salt using a wire whisk or a sifter. This step ensures there are no lumps and helps distribute the leavening agents evenly. Set this bowl aside.
- In the large bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream together the softened unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed. Continue mixing until the mixture is very light, fluffy, and pale in color, which should take approximately five minutes. This step is crucial for incorporating air and creating the ideal cookie texture.
- Add the eggs to the creamed mixture, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is well combined. Then, stir in the vanilla extract until just blended.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the dry ingredients mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix just until the flours are barely combined and no dry streaks remain. Be careful not to overmix at this stage, as it can lead to tough cookies.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer. With a rubber spatula or a sturdy wooden spoon, gently fold in the chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- For consistently big and perfectly portioned cookies, use an ice cream scoop. This ensures each cookie is a generous size and bakes uniformly.
- Scoop generous balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving ample space between each cookie to allow for spreading. Bake in the preheated oven for 14-19 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are still soft.
- As soon as you remove the baking sheet from the oven, grab your spatula. While the cookies are still hot and malleable, use the spatula to gently push the outer edges of each cookie inwards, shaping them into perfectly round, even circles. This technique helps create that desirable thick, uniform shape.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. This allows them to set slightly, making them easier to transfer without breaking. After 5 minutes, carefully transfer the cookies to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Enjoy these incredible big, soft, and chewy chocolate chip cookies!
Can I Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?
Absolutely! Freezing this chocolate chip cookie dough is a fantastic way to prepare ahead or ensure you always have fresh-baked cookies on demand. I highly recommend flash freezing the dough balls first. Here’s how to do it effectively:
Measure out your cookie dough into individual balls using your ice cream scoop and place them on a baking sheet or plate lined with waxed paper or parchment paper. Arrange them as close together as possible without touching each other. This separation is key to preventing them from freezing into one large, unmanageable clump. Place the entire tray in the freezer for about 2 hours, or until the dough balls are firm to the touch.
Once frozen solid, remove the dough balls from the tray and transfer them to a freezer-safe, airtight bag or container. Label the bag with the date. Flash freezing them individually ensures that the dough balls remain separate and easy to grab one or two at a time when you have a craving. The frozen dough can be stored for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to bake, you can bake the frozen cookie dough directly from the freezer. Simply add an extra 2-4 minutes to the baking time. Keep an eye on them to ensure they cook through and reach your desired level of doneness. This makes it incredibly convenient to enjoy warm, homemade cookies whenever you like!
If you’re a fan of delicious homemade cookies, be sure to expand your repertoire beyond these chocolate chip favorites. You absolutely must try my peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, which offer a delightful blend of textures and flavors. Don’t forget my classic oatmeal cookies for a comforting treat, the fun and colorful monster cookies, and the cinnamon-sugar delight of my Snickerdoodles. Each recipe is a guaranteed winner, and you won’t be disappointed!
Explore More Delicious Cookie Recipes
The world of cookies is vast and wonderful! If you’ve loved this recipe and are looking for more sweet treats to bake, here are some additional cookie recipes from my collection that are sure to become new family favorites:
- Neiman Marcus Cookies: A legendary cookie recipe, rumored to be incredibly rich and flavorful.
- Reeses Pieces Cookies: For peanut butter and chocolate lovers, these vibrant cookies are always a hit.
- Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie: A giant, warm cookie baked in a skillet, perfect for sharing (or not!).
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Tower: An impressive dessert that’s as fun to look at as it is to eat.
- Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies: Recreate the famous hotel cookie experience at home.
- Toll House Cookie Recipe: The classic that started it all, a timeless favorite.
Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
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Ingredients
- 8 ½ ounces cake flour 2 1/4 cups
- 8 ½ ounces all purpose flour 2 cups
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- 2 ½ sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- 10 ounces light brown sugar 1 1/4 cups packed
- 8 ounces granulated sugar 1 cup, plus 3 tablespoons
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 15 oz chocolate chips or chopped chocolate 1.5 bags
Things You’ll Need
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Stand mixer
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Measuring cups and spoons
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Sifter
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Insulated baking sheets
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Silicone baking mat
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Ice cream scoop
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Wire cooling racks
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Spatula
Before You Begin
- If you like crunchy edges, bake your cookies on the longer side of the suggested baking time. For soft chewy cookies, bake them on the shorter side of the range, they will only be lightly browned.
- For BEST results be sure to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients using the weights in the recipe. This is the most accurate way to get the perfect cookies. Remember, place an empty bowl on your scale and reset the tare to zero before adding the ingredients.
- When you remove the cookie sheet from the oven, shape the cookies using the spatula, gently tapping the edges, working your way around to shape the cookie. It has to be done right away while the cookies are hot, before they begin to cool and set up.
- To correctly soften butter, remove it from the refrigerator and cut it into tablespoons. Allow it to sit on the counter for 20 minutes.
- To make regular sized cookies use a cookie scoop and bake for 8-11 minutes.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line insulated baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
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Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl with a wire whisk. Set aside.
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In bowl of electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until very light, about five minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips with rubber spatula.
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Scoop dough into balls using an ice cream scoop onto sheet. Bake 14-19 minutes.
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As soon as you remove the baking sheet from the oven, use a spatula to shape the outer edge of the cookies to make them nice and round and even.
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Allow cookies to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.
Nutrition
The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.
This post originally appeared here on Aug 3, 2012.