Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you’re anything like us, you’re often itching to get your hands on some hot gossip. If it smells like tea, we want to dive in headfirst. Well, freshly-baked homemade chocolate chip cookies may not smell like tea, and it isn’t exactly a secret that chocolate chip cookies are considered royalty in the dessert world. 

That still won’t stop us from wanting to take a swim in semi-sweet pools of chocolate enveloped in browned butter dough. Let’s leave the tea to TikTok and get to baking these scrumptiously perfect chocolate chip cookies. 

Don’t worry; you can still scroll during the 12 to 15 minutes that these beauties are in the oven. Talk about multitasking!

How the World Was Blessed With Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who invented the chocolate chip cookie, and can we give them a medal? It is said that a woman named Ruth Wakefield popularized the chocolate chip cookie in the late 1930s while working at the Toll House restaurant (does that name sound familiar?). 

The story goes that Ms. Wakefield was mixing up a batch of cookies in her restaurant when she was struck with the genius idea to add chocolate to the batter. She popped these newly coined chocolate chip cookies into the oven; the rest was history. 

Ruth Wakefield probably didn’t know that she was making history then, but we are sure thankful for her intuitive creativity!

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The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This classic chocolate chip cookie recipe may just be what we have long been searching for — a well-rounded cookie that goes perfectly with a glass of milk, coffee, or plant-based milk. These chocolate chip cookies have earned the title of our new favorite cookie, and we just know that you will be singing the same tune once you try this recipe. 

Sometimes when the craving for chocolate chip cookies strikes, we don’t have a lot of time. Put down the phone and step away from Uber Eats! You can bake a batch of these classic chocolate chip cookies in a short amount of time and on a budget. 

Thankfully this recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies requires minimal prep time, and the cook time for these yummy cookies to bake in the oven is about 15 minutes. This makes the total time to whip up some cookies shorter than an episode of Real Housewives. You’ve got this!

How To Make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Begin your chocolate chip cookie quest by setting your oven to preheat at a toasty 350 degrees (that’s 175 degrees Celsius for those on the metric system). Once you preheat your oven, you’re ready to make the cookie dough. You will want to begin by combining your dry ingredients of flour and leavening agents in a large bowl. 

Here’s a hot tip from us to you: using dry measuring cups for dry ingredients is important, as using a liquid measuring cup for flour could result in the ratios being off. After combining your dry ingredients, whisk up brown sugar, white sugar, and softened unsalted butter using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer. 

Vanilla extract and eggs join in on the fun before you mix the wet and dry ingredients until well incorporated. Here comes the fun part of inviting chocolate chips to this cookie dough party. Our chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for either semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips, but the sky's the limit in terms of chocolate varieties! 

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Cookie Mix-Ins

Other types of chocolate chips and mix-ins would go well in this chocolate chip cookie recipe. Dark chocolate chips are a sophisticated option – antioxidants, anyone? You can even shake things up with the addition of white chocolate chips! 

For chocolate chip cookie purists, though, stick with semi-sweet. Other popular mix-ins that can elevate a classic chocolate chip cookie are:

• Chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans
• Pretzel pieces
• Dried cranberries
• Mini marshmallows
• Sprinkles
• Raisins
• Coconut
• Candy bar pieces
• Peanut butter cups

Now that your cookie dough mixture is ready, it’s go-time! Grab some cookie sheets and line them with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop for perfectly proportioned cookies that Crumbl would be proud of. A cookie scoop ensures that each cookie is the same size and ratio! 

Space the cookies apart evenly so they don’t stick together when baking because they will spread a little while in the oven. You might need to use multiple cookie sheets depending on the size of your oven because crowded cookies mean you’ll miss that lovely circular shape worthy of your Insta story.

Even though you may be tempted to lick your fingers or the bowl for some of that irresistible cookie dough, don’t do it! All-purpose flour should always be fully cooked before consuming it. Food poisoning isn’t cute, and we promise these chewy chocolate chip cookies are worth waiting.

Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can choose your own adventure with these chocolate chip cookies, too! If you crave buttery cookies that are a little underdone, you’ll want to have the cooking time closer to the 12 to 13-minute mark. If you like your cookies crispy, you can stand to let these balls of dough bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes or a tad longer. 

Keep an eye on them until they reach a tantalizing golden brown color. The nice thing about these cookies is that they are pretty forgiving, so if you feel like they need just a few more minutes in the oven, you can pop them right back in! 

Once these cookies are baked to your liking, let the cookies cool for a few minutes on a wire rack once they are out of the oven. About five to ten minutes is the ideal amount of time to let your chocolate chip cookies cool to a temperature where the gluten structure is perfectly formed, yet the chocolate chunks are still ooey gooey. 

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Storing Leftover Cookies

Once any leftover baked cookies have cooled to room temperature on your cooling rack, you can store them in an airtight container on your kitchen counter for a couple of days (if they last that long!). Make a double or triple batch of these chocolate chip cookies and store baked cookies in freezer bags inside of your freezer for delectable homemade cookie bliss whenever the craving hits. 

Simply grab a cookie or two from your freezer and microwave in 30-second increments, or stick them in a 350-degree oven for a couple of minutes to thaw. Just like that, you can have a kitchen always stocked with homemade chocolate chip cookies on hand.

Serve these chewy chocolate chip cookies with your favorite beverage, or sandwich a scoop of ice cream between them a la Levain Bakery. These toffee-colored chocolate chip cookies are chock-full of melty chocolate chips, chewy thanks to the flour mixture, richly sweetened from granulated sugar, and perfectly balanced with pure vanilla extract and a dash of sea salt.

Find chocolate chip cookie nirvana with this chocolate chip cookie recipe. These cookies are foolproof, easily customizable, and come together easily so you can have dessert on your plate in no time. With a few pantry staples and a piping hot oven, this recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies is ready to be your new fave.