My Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Chocolate Chip Cookies are a chewy cookie studded with lots of chocolate chips. These tried and true cookies are one of my absolute favorites.
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Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
It was Sunday night and I had to make cookies.
I have been on a cookie kick lately much to my husband’s detriment who is trying to lean up.
He has amazing self control but he even succumbed to these.
They kind of remind me of Paradise Bakery cookies except for they are BIG with a buttery taste.
These are regulars at our house.
WHAT MAKES A COOKIE CHEWY?
The secret is the melted butter which gives them that chewy texture.
WHAT MAKES COOKIES SOFT?
If you want soft cookies, you’ll want to try my other recipe Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies. They aren’t that much different than this recipe but definitely have more softness then chewiness because of the added ingredient of cornstarch.
HOW TO PROPERLY MEASURE FLOUR
In order to properly measure flour, fluff the flour so it’s not packed down and spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Level off the flour with a knife. If you scoop the flour with the measuring cup it packs down the flour and causes you to add too much to the dough.
HOW DO I MAKE COOKIES THICK?
You want to roll the balls of dough taller rather than wide. That makes for one thick cookie! Look how tall those balls of cookie dough are on the baking sheet above.
HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING
There is a great resource for high altitude baking here. There are various things you can do like increasing oven temperature, decreasing sugar, and increasing liquid.
For this recipe, I tried some of the variations. This recipe dough is fairly liquid already so I didn’t want to increase that and they aren’t incredibly sweet so I didn’t decrease the sugar. I tried baking at 25 degrees higher but liked my control group at 325 degrees better. The one change I did find helpful was to increase the flour. King Arthur Flour says this: “At 3,500 feet, add 1 more tablespoon per recipe. For each additional 1,500 feet, add one more tablespoon.” Since I’m at 5,000 ft I added 2 tablespoons of flour.
Look at the difference in the two cookies! Just by making that adjustment.
OTHER COOKIE RECIPES
- Salted Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Salty Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Chewy Coconut Lime Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
My Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. If baking at high altitude, add 2 tablespoons of flour to the flour mixture.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. If your butter was still hot when you added it your dough may be really wet at this point. Let it rest at room temperature for a couple of minutes if this is the case (or chill in the fridge until a little more solid) and then it will be cool enough to scoop into cookies.
- For big cookies, roll 1/4 cup balls of cookie dough and for small cookies roll 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough. Roll dough taller than wider. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, approximately 11-14 minutes for big cookie and 8-10 minutes for smaller cookies. Do not overbake. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool.
- Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
This is most definitely my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. My family asks for them every holiday and get together.
Thank you!
I’ve made these a couple of times now and not sure where people are going wrong. Did you make sure to:
-used PACKED brown sugar?
– NOT scoop the flour out, but use a spoon to place in the measuring cup and then use a knife to level it? Scooping will result in you using too much flour.
-SIFT the dry ingredients?
-Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and STOP mixing/blending as soon as all the flour has been incorporated and the mixture is no longer white appearing? Over mixing can ruin your result.
These are the issues that I can think of that may be occuring for people. I follow this recipe to the letter (except added more extract and sometimes more chocolate) and it has yet to fail. Good Luck!
Thank you Ty!
My cookies came out flat and so big!!š did I do something wrong?
If you have any tips for me please let me know š if not Iāll just make the small ones.
I would try a couple more tablespoons of flour. That same thing happened to me, and that adjustment made them perfect!
If you’re at altitude you’ll need to add more flour. Could that be it? Flat cookies mean not enough flour or too much butter. You can chill the dough for thicker cookies as well.
The only time this happened to me was when I used butter to grease my cookie sheets. Parchment paper or a very light greasing is plenty.
Very good! Makes a good amount. I added a little bit of milk.
Thanks!
I don’t know what I did, but at the end of this recipe the dough was dry crumbles. Ended up adding about 3/4 cups of milk to make it come together into dough.
Definitely sounds like something went wrong. It is a wet dough. Did you have enough butter?
Yum.Followed the directions, except for an extra splash of vanilla extract and using milk chocolate. My big cookies that were done at 14 minutes had a slight crunch at the edge and a wonderfully soft and chewy center.Ā
The cookies that cooked just 1 minute more had a bit more crunch, if you prefer that. It still had the wonderfully soft and chewy center though.
They WILL look a little underbaked, but I took them out as the recipe stated: “when cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden…”and it was just right. TRUST š
Ā I’ve found my chocolate chip cookie Ā recipe.Ā
thank you!
THE BEST Chocolate CHIP cookie! I’ve made this recipe for YEARS. LOVE IT! (I do prefer the original post of this recipe where they were nice and tall)
Thank you!
This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I will use ever again! I started browning the butter recently, and it adds a nuttiness and richness that is just so good.Ā
I do have a question – do you happen to know how long these will keep, if stored in an airtight container at room temperature? Ā Thanks!Ā
Mine never last longer than a few days.
I’ve been using this chocolate chip cookie recipe for over 3 years. I obviously Ā love it, so does my plus +1. He loves cookies, mostly only milk chocolate chip; Ā he’s EXTREMELY Ā picky. Before finding this recipe, I tried ALL the recipes; an easy bakers dozen (or more) other recipes searching for a soft, yet chewy, flavorful cookie; one that doesn’t harden too much the next day. I’ve tried the recipes on the back of the chocolate chip bags, {they’re ‘supposed’ to be the best}. I used to only make the ‘award winning chocolate chip cookie recipe’Ā which calls for instant pudding; but that recipe isn’t as good as this recipe. My Second favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe is the ‘sour dough chocolate chip cookie’ recipe. Sounds crazy, so I HAD TO TRY IT ! š {it did NOT disappoint.} Ā It does involve more planning and time, but that is my second go-to recipe. It’s not the standard cookie taste either, i’d describe the sour dough cookie more of a Ā cake-like cookie, very moist. Of all the cookie recipes I’ve tried, this one is my all time favorite, and I’ve tried SO many as explained š
I make these small adjustments every time and it’s perfect for me šš»
I sift flour when combining the two TYPES of flour. Half all-purpose flour & half bread flour.Ā
Second adjustment, I use half butter and half crisco.
Third adjustment, I use milk chocolate chips. Semi-sweet is good, but milk chocolate is what we like.Ā
I usually double or triple the recipe, making a big batch. Ā Deending on how much time I want to invest, and if I’ have the energy, I’ll prepare the dough in a couple ways.
1. Simplest and quickest:Ā Ā I’ll roll tubes of cookie dough that will fill one cookie sheet.
2. pre-measured cookies- using a cookie scoop, I place cookie size balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, As many as I can fit. Not touching but very close, Cover with Saran Wrap so it doesnt dry or get freezer burn. After it’s hardened, I take out of freezer and place balls into vacuum bags , one cookie sheet for each bag. Ā I vacuum pack bags and pop back into freezer. Ā”DONT FORGET TO WRITE DATE Ā AND TYE OF COOKIES ON BAG!Ā
When ready to cook, I preheat air fryer, pull cookies out of freezer,Ā butter a cookie sheet real good with salted butter and bake.Ā
*If I have a salt craving, I will sprinkle a TINY bit or kosher sea salt over the top before putting in oven to bake.
I love all of your tips Tracie. Thank you!
This is the PERFECT cookie recipe!! I always get comments on how amazing these cookies are. Iāve been using this recipe for 7 years!!
Thank you!!
I’ve tried making chocolate chip cookies for years these are what I’ve always tried to make but all the recipes were horrible….these cookies are what I’m making always….I love the thickness…. perfect…š
Thank you!
Best ones ever made thank you so much š
Good taste but turned out flat and hard after doing recipe to a T twice and with following tips.
Sounds like you are overbaking. If you are at high altitude see my tips
What do you mean by Hugh altitude?Ā
If you live in a city over 3500 ft
Making these for the 2nd time this weekš¬ they are so good! I love the tip about making the dough balls tall!Ā
Thank you!
These are the perfect cookies! My family and friends were drooling over them!
Good to hear/
turned out as promised! chonky, chewy, with a lil crispy edge. great recipe! though… I browned my butter first, figured i’m melting it anyways! if you do– just add a teaspoon of water back into the recipe, as the water boils off browned buttah
One of my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes! Soooo delicious! Thank you!
Thank you!
Good taste but my cookies come out flat. Ā 1 cup of flour is 130 grams so I used 260 grams. Ā Next time I will add 1/4 cup more of flour and see it that works
Are you at high altitude? Adding 2 T of flour can help that and make thicker cookies. See the notes above the recipe.
Any tips on doubling the recipe? My family LOVES these cookies so naturally wanted to make more for a larger gathering. When I doubled it they seemed to come out more flat and a little bit greasy/buttery. Any tips would be appreciated!Ā
I’ve doubled it no problem. Sounds like you might need a touch more flour if they’re flatter.
A very easy recipe to follow! However, I noticed a bitter taste in the cookies – was it the baking soda ? Can I replace with same amount baking powder? Because the recipe doesn’t really have anything acidic for the baking soda.
FYI – one time I chilled the dough for an hour, and another time I chilled it overnight (I live in a very hot and humid country!) and both times the acidic taste was there. I only mention this because to my knowledge, baked goods with baking soda need to be baked immediately while those with baking powder can be chilled for some time before baking.
I’m open to any suggestions!
These were soooooooo good!! š¤© I was a little nervous because I didnāt let the butter cool enough (oops!) But they still tasted incredible 10/10 would do again!
Awesome!
These are my favorite cookies. My daughter is allergic to eggs, any suggestions how to make your amazing cookies without eggs?
Hmm. THat’s a hard one. I’m not sure if a flax egg would work.
Can the dough be frozen before baking? Is a few days to long to freeze before baking?
Of course. They freeze great up to a few months.
An excellent egg substitute is 1/2 cup soft or silken tofu for each egg. Works well in almost every recipe I tried.
These chocolate chip cookies are delicous but they are the exact same recipe as a different one I use. Heres the original link
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/25037/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/
You’re right Henry! Which is why I credit allrecipes in the recipe card.
These cookies taste great, but why did mine turn out with a cakey texture instead of chewy? I did take them out of the oven when the bottoms turned a golden brown. Thanks
Not sure Megan. That’s strange.
Best Cookies Ever! I have made them for years now and everyone says they are their favorite cookies!! I love this recipe
Thank you!
I love your recipe. I make it all the time but my cookies spread. What am I doing wrong?
Add a tiny bit more flour and chill the dough. That will help!
1 TABLESPOON of vanilla?!?!?! Did you mean teaspoon????Ā
Nope. It’s a tablespoon. No typo!
If I were to add dried cherries to the mix should cut the chocolate back to one cup and one cup of cherries, or can I just add the cherries with the two cups of chocolate?
I would probably cut back to one cup of chocolate.
Hi!
These cookies did not turn out fluffy and my dough was a few shades darker and more wet looking. Am I supposed to beat the eggs first and then mix that concoction into the mixture or pour eggs + flavor into the main mixture and then beat all contents together. Other questions I have relate to which steps require a hand mixing and which require an electric mixer? Oh, and about the butter.. should it be melted into a liquid or just softened?
Thanks so much!
You can do it all with a hand mixer but should stir in the chocolate chips. So the recipe says it should be melted into a liquid. Hope that helps.
These are by far the best chocolate chip cookies ever!! I used Trader Joeās chocolate chunks and then made ice cream sandwiches and rolled them in crushed cashews.Ā
Sounds delicious!
I followed this recipe to the T and they just did not turn out. I’m not a bad baker either so I’m confused. I substituted just a little bit of vegetable oil for the tiny amount of butter I was missing and the dough was cooled and everything, and they were just mush on the pan and yet taste floury. Idk if I somehow did something wrong but they weren’t great and I was really looking forward to them XD
Yeah oil will definitely change the whole texture.
These cookies are excellent!! I love baking and despite having found a perfect chocolate chip cookie already, I still like trying others and I must say, this is now tied for the number one spot! Great recipe! I am loving your page. (:
Awesome! Thanks!
I havenāt made these yet but have a quick question – coming from the U.K., is your āwhite sugarā our own caster sugar or granulated? Likewise is ābrown sugarā the same asĀ demerara sugar?
Thanks! Canāt wait to give these a goĀ
Sorry if that’s confusing. It’s granulated sugar.
Alex, our brown sugar isn’t the same thing as demarara sugar. It’s basically granulated sugar with molasses in it. It’s damp enough to stick together if you squeeze a bit of it, but it isn’t gooey. You probably have something similar in the UK. If not, there are recipes online for making a reasonable facsimile.
Seriously the best cookie recipe Iāve tried. In saying that I think something went wrong cause mine look nothing like the photos.
I actually ran out of butter so added 20grams of peanut butter which maybe why. The edges are Still crisp and the centre soft and gooey so definitely not complainingĀ
That was suppose to be five stars āļøĀ
Yes that would definitely be the problems.
The best CC cookies hands down! Texture and density is excellent. I changed it slightly by cooking all the butter Into ghee and letting it cool slightly before beating the sugar in. that cooled it down enough to add in the eggs without cooking them. I also added some toasted chopped walnuts And baked for 14 mins on parchment. Just excellent and no crisco (lol). Perfect!
Yum!!!
Not cakey. Perfectly chewy. Nicely thick. Yup. That’s all folks. Stop here. This is the recipe you’ve been looking for.
I chopped up 2 bars of Gear-a-delly for this baby. When breaking the cookie after letting it completely cool….it was ooey gooey heaven, with right amount of crunch on the edges.
Awesome!
I make these with milk chocolate chips and they are to die for.!!Ā
Milk chocolate would be great!
OMG, it was marvelous the crunchy and sweet of the cookies.
At first didn’t understand if a I meet to mix at hand or not but it turn out pretty well handed. Great recipe I ever found, for the first time the cookies actually turn out chocolate chip cookies.š„°
Great to hear!
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Thank you for sharing.Ā
You are welcome!
I have been baking these cookies for years. They are my go to cookie recipe & come out perfect every time. I just made them now! I do only add 1 cup of chocolate chips though. I have told several people about your recipe & we all love it!Ā
You are right. 1 cup can be enough!
Yummy, thatās all just yummy…oh and perfect!
Thank you Lis!
I have been in love with this recipe since the first time iāve tried it! It works perfectly!!! And this time i did an easter twist to them! I would love to show u the pictures! How can i send them?š„°š„°š„°
Dangit. I would love to see them. I don’t know why it doesn’t let you add. Tag me on Instagram?
Done!!!š„°š„°š„° cant wait for ur feedback!
Thought I browned the butter too much because of the dark brown butter on the bottom of the pan, but they turned out delicious!
Browned butter is magical!
These cookies were just what the family needed, full of chocolate, chewy, tall and sweet. Thank you for the recipe! This will definitely be our go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on! Usually my cookies turn out so flat and greasy. These were gorgeous! They looked like they came straight from a bakery!
So happy to hear that!
I was only able to purchase salted butter with this week grocery supply – would it be okay to substitute and omit the additional salt in the recipe?
Thank you so much!
Yes, absolutely. That’s what I would do.
These cookies were delicious! However, I followed the recipe exactly and cooled the dough before cooking, but when I cooked them the cookies flattened out and werenāt fat like in the picture. Any tips or thoughts on why?
It can depend on the coldness of your butter and if you added enough flour.
These cookies were simply delicious, my question is can I make up the dough and store it in the fridge 2 days before I make them?
Yes, absolutely!
The perfect chocolate chip cookie! This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever tried. I get so many compliments on these cookies every time I make them! Thanks for sharing this recipe!Ā
You are welcome!
I love these cookies! Have been making them for three years and overtime have made the adjustment of using browned butter, adding a teaspoon of cornstarch and using half chocolate chips and half of a chopped up dark chocolate bar. SO SO GOOD!
So glad you liked them!
These cookies are great. Ā Iāve been making both these and your soft chocolate chip cookie recipe for a while now and you canāt go wrong with either. Ā
This particular recipe makes the best cookies to use to make homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches. Ā The kids love them!
I am so glad I stumbled upon your site.
Awww thank you!
These cookies are a sin. I canāt stop eating them. I follow the recipe exactly and they always come out perfectly.Ā
Haha sorry. Time to confess!
These were really great! I did chill the dough first. Also I added 1 tsp of cornstarch to the dry ingredients turned out awesome! Ā
Glad you liked them!
I don’t see where it says to chill the dough, but several comments talk about it. Are you to chill the dough before forming the cookies? Thanks
You can chill before baking but don’t have to.
This is the only choc-chip cookie recipe I use! They turn out AMAZING every single time. Thank you so much for sharing and spreading so much edible joy into our lives!
These are the best cookies I’ve ever made. I refuse to try another chocolate chip cookie recipe, because these always turn out amazing – and everyone who’s tried them thinks I’m a pro-baker (They’ve been hoodwinked!). I made these last night, but instead of semi sweet chipits, I used white chocolate chips, and then I cut up a dark chocolate bar and a white chocolate bar. oh my god, amazing. I will note to other readers that chilling the dough really makes all the difference in these turning out, do not skip that step! Thanks so much for my favorite cookie recipe!
Thank you Kira! Love your changes.
I have been making these cookies for a few years or so now– this is my all time favorite cookie recipe! I think it’s the 1 tbsp of vanilla and 1 cup of brown sugar that seal the deal for me!! Thank you for sharing!!
Oh my goodness they baked up beautiful my husband is going to love these. Perfect! This is going into my go to recipe box
So glad you loved them.
Canāt really rate these cookies yet cuz, Iām going to make them today. You say in your write-up they are chewy because of the added ingredient corn starch, yet the recipe doesnāt call for corn starch. How much?
I think you misread it. I’m referring to another recipe of mine with cornstarch in the cookie dough.
I was worried about 1T of vanilla but have to say it wasn’t too overpowering and the overall flavor was great. This made 25 cookies using a regular sized cookie scoop (I don’t do messy hands, lol!). Will definitely be making these again soon.
Glad you liked them!
Made these but am questioning the TABLESPOON of vanilla? Ā Seems a teaspoon would be quite enough.Ā
Try it! You’ll never go back.
Can you tell me how much cornstarch to add? Itās not in the ingredients but itās mentioned in your post. Thank you!
The cornstarch is for the soft cookie recipe. This is the chewy cookie recipe.
Ā This is literally the best chocolate chip cookie recipe Iāve ever made. Everyone absolutely loves them. If they donāt come out right, youāve done something wrong.Ā
Ha thanks. I’m glad you love it!
Hi Christine!
If I brown the butter, do I need to increase the amount of butter? I read that browning the butter reduces the volume. Thank you!
Nope. You should be just fine browning the butter.
What adjustments would I make to this recipe for high altitude. I live in Sandy, Utah and have trouble with cookies going flat and spreading.
Shoot. Sorry. I don’t know how to adjust for high altitude.
Wow! These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made! I did do a couple of things differently: I used a mix of chocolate chunks and the chips just for variety. I let the butter cool for a good 15-20 minutes & then cooked the dough for 15 minutes (may be my gas oven… but the edges weren’t brown until then).
But yum. Thanks for sharing!
I made a comment on this post about 15 minutes ago but I don’t see it. If it needs approval. No big deal but I wanted to edit the comment to say that Not only does my dough come out dry and crumbly but my cookies are not actually cooking in the middle. And I’m leaving them in for the full 14 minutes. in the past, that would have been too long.
I have made these probably 20 times and other than today and the last time I made them a couple of months ago, they have always come out perfect. As far as I can remember, I’m not doing anything differently.
Help!
So glad they worked out for you Gina!
These are by far the BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever made! Ā They are now my go-to when I need to bring a dessert to a party, need a treat for my kids, or a special surprise for my coworkers! Ā It’s a simple recipe that I now have memorized but I always double it! Ā Thank you for posting it!
Wow. Memorized? That’s impressive. Glad you like it!
The cookies turned out very flat and were a bit too buttery but my family and I were still able to enjoy them immensely, even if I could not serve them at the event I was making them for because they were too miss shapen.
Sorry to hear that.
My cookies are flat. I donāt know why?!
Any tip for it?
More flour? Chill the dough?
Hi!! I love this recipe! However, the last few times Iāve done it, my cookies came out flat as a pancake. They still tasted great, but I donāt know what Iām doing wrong. Also, I just noticed you mention cornstarch to help with the chewiness in your blog post, but you donāt include it in the ingredients. Was that a mistake?Ā
The cornstarch is referring to my soft chocolate chip cookies if you see the link in that sentence. These are supposed to be chewy. You make need to add a couple of tablespoons of flour.
I made these today, and, they came out fantastic! I hate a flat cookie and these didnt disappoint. They came out fluffy and ooey gooey! This will be my go to recipe.
Awesome!!!
Are they supposed to be light.
YEs!
These cookies are AMAZING!!!!!!!! Thanks for this keeper!!!
!
You’re welcome!
I tried this recipe twice, to a T, and both times the cookie is flat. I even left the dough in the fridge for 24 hours and nothing, still flat cookies. ;_;
Mine too, girl!! Still trying to figure it out. Butter too hot and melted or too little flour? I just donāt know. š¬
Wow, just made these, did everything wrong and they still turned out great. No sifting just whisked around dry ingredients and then did not melt butter just softened it in microwave. Threw in sugars , butter and eggs as well as vanilla into flour mix rather than dirty another bowl. Used a mixer just to combine and my dough was crumbly. Added in about 1/2 cup of dark chips, butterscotch chips and chopped walnuts, dug my hands in and mixed it up, put large plops on a parchment paper cookie sheet and popped in the oven at 325. 15 minutes later I had some huge, thick, soft cookies. Taste and look awesome. Definitely a keeper.
It’s pretty forgiving and between you and me, I never sift. Haha
Amazing cookies! I have been trying different recipes for years trying to find the perfect one. (I even researched what each ingredient does and tried to adapt recipes to create my own. Those turned out o.k.) This recipe is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
You’re so welcome!
Iām going to try these tomorrow. Should I change anything for high altitude? TIA!
I haven’t baked at high altitude. Shoot. Wish I could help.