Whether it’s a festive occasion or just a regular sugar craving moment, chocolate chip cookies tick all the boxes when it comes to an ultimate comfort sweet treat.
Let’s be honest - there are not many better things than classic chocolate chip cookies. In fact, there’s only one - chocolate chip cookies that you can make yourself at home. After all, the smell of freshly baked cookies filling up the house is something that can’t be beaten.
To satisfy your cravings, we’re coming to you with a reliable recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies that both kids and adults simply adore.
No crazy ingredients, no complex baking techniques - just a simple and straightforward method to achieve delicious chocolate chip cookies that are perfectly crispy and chewy.
Read on and learn about the best chocolate chip cookie recipe to make at home. And get ready for baking!
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies - Ingredients
To make 36 chocolate chip cookies, you will need:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (you can also use gluten-free flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (you can also use unsalted butter but make sure to taste the dough to ensure it’s salted enough for you)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Top tip: If you prefer your chocolate chip cookies to be more gooey on the inside, switch the chocolate chips to chocolate chunks. The chunks tend to melt smoother, resulting in more chewy cookies that are perfectly textured on the outside and delectably moist on the inside.
Although this chocolate chip cookie recipe is truly one of a kind, you can still experiment with mix-ins.
Feel free to swap the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks for sprinkles, peanut butter, coconut flakes, or almonds.
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies - Recipe
Once you’ve got all the required ingredients at hand, it’s time to turn them into the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever tried. Here’s how you can make them step by step in less than 20 minutes. Let’s get started!
- The first step is to combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and sugars) in a medium size bowl. Make sure that your flour is measured correctly! In order to measure it, use a measuring cup designed specifically for dry ingredients (not a Pyrex liquid measuring cup).
- Next, mix softened butter and sugars together using a Kitchen Aid or a hand mixer to create a smooth cream. Make sure there are no lumps! Your butter should be taken out of the fridge at least 2 hours before preparing the cookie dough to ensure it’s soft enough to blend with with the sugars. If your butter is still a bit hard despite that, you can put it in a microwave for a few seconds, but be careful not to melt it.
- Once your butter and sugars are blended well, add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat thoroughly to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to the mixture and stir until combined. Keep in mind not to overwork it, as it may cause the cookies to harden and become flat.
- Add chocolate chips or chocolate chunks and stir until they are evenly distributed in the cookie dough.
- Once your dough is finished, preheat your oven to 375 F. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough. Using an ice cream scoop guarantees that your cookies will be the same size and will bake evenly.
- Place your cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure to leave about 1.5-inch to 2-inch space between the balls to allow them to spread.
- Put the baking sheet with cookie dough balls in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes. At this point, it’s crucial not to overbake the cookies as it may result in your cookies being hard. Generally speaking, you should bake your cookies until they just barely look done. The perfect cookies will be slightly brown on the edges and still doughy inside when you take them out of the oven.
- Once your cookies are baked, let them set and cool down before serving. You can also eat them slightly warm when the chocolate chips are still melted.
- Finally, make a cup of hot tea or coffee and enjoy your fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies!
How to Freeze Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies?
If you want to make the cookie dough in advance, for example, before Christmas, or just to simply have some dough ready for a bake-off in case a sugar craving hits, you can freeze it.
The most hassle-free way of freezing cookie dough is rolling it into balls and placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving enough space between the balls to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Next, put the cookie dough balls in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until they are slightly frozen. You can then take them out of the freezer, place them in an airtight container or a zip-lock plastic bag, and freeze them for up to 2 months.
Don’t forget to put a label with a date on the container or a bag to make sure your dough is still fine to use when you feel like baking the cookies.
How to Bake Frozen Cookie Dough?
If you want to use up your frozen cookie dough and bake some delicious chocolate chip cookies, there are two ways to do so:
- Let the cookie dough thaw first. Take the dough balls out of the freezer and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover them with a light cloth or napkin to allow them to thaw. Don’t forget about keeping enough distance between the balls. Once they reach room temperature (after 1 or 2 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen), bake them as advised in the recipe - around 8 minutes at 375°F.
- Bake the cookie dough from frozen. Take the dough balls out of the freezer and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350°F and put the dough in the oven straight away at the beginning of the preheating time. From the moment you put the dough balls in the oven, set the timer for 15 minutes or bake until the cookies are slightly more brown on the edges than usual. Although they will look a bit more ‘done’ than if you baked them from the freshly made dough, they will still keep their softness and chewiness.
How to Store Baked Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies?
If you have any leftover chocolate chip cookies, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To keep your cookies soft, you can put a slice of bread in the container. The bread will absorb the dry air in the container, which will prolong the freshness of your cookies.
If you want to keep your baked cookies for longer, you can also freeze them. Place the cookies in an airtight container or zip lock bag with a label attached and keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer and let them thaw before eating. Alternatively, you can pop them in the oven or microwave to slightly warm them up.
Why Didn’t My Cookies Spread?
One of the essential steps of baking homemade chocolate chip cookies is letting the cookie dough balls spread evenly to be able to enjoy their delectable texture both outside and inside.
However, sometimes your cookies may not flatten as expected. There are a few reasons why this may happen:
- Your cookie dough was too cold. Cookie dough tends to spread easiest when kept at room temperature. If you’re baking the cookies from previously frozen cookie dough, make sure to let it thaw properly before putting it in the oven, or bake the cookies from frozen, which requires a slightly longer baking time.
- You used too much flour. Too much flour in your cookie dough may result in the mixture being too cakey and unable to spread. It’s crucial to always use the right measuring cup to measure your ingredients correctly.
- The temperature of the oven wasn’t correct. The required oven temperature for baking the chocolate chip cookies is 375 F. If the temperature is too low or high, the cookie dough may react in a negative way and not flatten as desired.
- The butter-sugar mixture wasn’t creamed well. The cookie dough will spread properly once all the ingredients are well combined. Make sure your butter-sugar mixture is formed into a smooth and consistent paste with no lumps, as it will guarantee the best end results.
The Bottom Line
There’s no denying that the best chocolate chip cookies are the ones we can make from the comfort of our homes. Especially when they require using only simple ingredients and a very short baking time.
Our recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies is sure to satisfy the cravings of an entire family. Enjoy the cookies freshly baked, or make the cookie dough in advance to always be prepared for some cookie time.
