Nothing says a cozy night like a warm, gooey, chocolate filled chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven. This recipe is easy, chocolate packed cookies that will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Chocolate chip cookies on a white background.

Is there anything better than a warm chocolate chip cookie with a glass of milk? I don’t think so. As a little girl, I remember coming home from school and finding a plate of chocolate chip cookies my mom hid in our kitchen. It was such a fun surprise to find and those days were always the best!

Over the years, I have tried many different chocolate chip cookie recipes and after a lot of trial and error, I have come up with the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. They are soft, gooey, and thick!

What I love about this recipe is that you can make just about any size cookie. I have included instructions on how to make them in three different sizes.

Ingredients Needed for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Unsalted butter (room temperature) – You can use salted, but using unsalted butter helps control the amount of salt in the recipe.
Light brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Eggs (room temperature)
Vanilla extract
All-purpose flour
Salt
Baking soda
Baking powder
Cornstarch – This helps keep cookies soft and thick.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional, but helps get chocolate into every bite)

Equipment Needed

Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Rubber spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Kitchen scale
Baking sheet
Parchment paper (optional)

How to Make the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

First, you will beat the butter and sugars until they become light and fluffy. Be sure not to over mix as this will cause the cookies to go flat. I use room temperature butter, so it is easier for the butter and sugars to mix. You do not want the butter to be super soft as that will cause a flat cookie. We want our cookies thick and fluffy!
Add and mix eggs one at a time. Adding them one at a time allows them to mix well into the dough. I use room temperature eggs because the egg whites and yolk mix better when they are at room temperature. Add the vanilla.
Now it’s time to add our dry ingredients. Flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cornstarch. I measure these ingredients in a separate bowl before I start mixing anything, so it’s ready to go when I need it.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients about one third at a time, adding the second third as the dry ingredients are just about absorbed and again for the last third. This helps to not over mix the dough.
  - Over mixing the flour will produce gluten, which will create a tough cookie.
- I like to measure flour by weight as this is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and especially flour. Scooping the flour with the measuring cup will most likely give you too much flour. If you do not have a kitchen scale you can spoon flour into a measuring cup for a more accurate measurement.
Once dry ingredients are just mixed, add chocolate chip and mix until they are just combined.
- I like to give it one good mix with a spatula to make sure the chocolate chips are evenly distributed in the dough. We need chocolate in every bite!

Tips for Success

Read the recipe completely before making the cookie dough. This will help you while you are in the process of making the dough. Trust me!
Measure your ingredients before you start mixing. This way you know you have enough of each ingredient and it will make the mixing process go faster.
When making cookies it’s important to not over mix. It’s easy to do and it will cause the cookies to flatten.
I always weigh flour when baking. Using measuring cups causes inaccurate measuring and you’ll typically have too much flour making a drier cookie. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can spoon the flour into a measuring cup to get a more accurate measurement of flour.
Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the correct temperature.