Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies with crisp golden edges and soft centres, made by creaming softened butter with brown and white sugar.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- No chilling step, so the dough goes straight from bowl to oven.
- More brown sugar than white, which is what gives the soft centre and the slight chew.
- One bowl for the wet, one for the dry, and about thirty minutes start to finish.
Recipe
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Crisp-edged, soft-centred chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2. Beat the 115 g butter, 150 g brown sugar, and 75 g granulated sugar until creamy.
- Step 3. Mix in the egg and 5 g vanilla.
- Step 4. In a separate bowl, combine the 220 g flour, 4 g baking soda, and 3 g salt.
- Step 5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir just until combined.
- Step 6. Fold in the 170 g chocolate chips.
- Step 7. Scoop portions of dough about 35 g each, or roughly 2 tablespoons, onto the baking sheet. Leave space between each cookie.
- Step 8. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden but the centers still look slightly soft.
- Step 9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack.
Notes
- Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears. Beating the dough after that develops gluten and makes the cookies tough.
- They will look underdone in the middle when the timer goes. That is correct — they set on the hot tray for another five minutes and finish soft.
- For even cookies, weigh the dough at about 35 g per scoop. Eyeballed portions bake at different rates on the same tray.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/classic-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Ingredient Notes
- Butter, softened
- Softened means it gives when pressed but still holds its shape. Melted butter makes the cookies spread thin and turn greasy; butter straight from the fridge will not cream properly and leaves the dough stiff.
- Brown sugar
- The 2:1 ratio of brown to white sugar is what makes these soft rather than crisp. Brown sugar holds moisture and is slightly acidic, which reacts with the baking soda. Swapping it for all white sugar gives a thinner, crisper cookie.
- Baking soda
- Not baking powder. The soda reacts with the acidity in the brown sugar and encourages spread and browning. Substituting powder gives a cakier, paler cookie.
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Electric mixer or wooden spoon
- Cookie scoop
- Wire rack
Substitutions
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped chocolate from a bar melts into pools and streaks rather than staying as discrete chips. Both are good, but chopped chocolate looks more like a bakery cookie.
- Unsalted butter
- Salted butter works — reduce the added salt to about 1 g so the cookies do not end up too salty.
- All-purpose flour
- A cup-for-cup gluten-free blend containing xanthan gum works, though the dough benefits from resting 10 minutes before scooping so the flour hydrates.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. A slice of bread in the container keeps them soft.
Freezing: Freeze scooped dough balls on a tray, then bag them. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my chocolate chip cookies spread too much?
Usually butter that was too soft or partly melted, or a tray that was still warm from a previous batch. Softened butter should hold its shape when pressed. If your kitchen is warm, chilling the scooped dough for 20 minutes stops the spread.
Why are my cookies flat and thin?
Too little flour, over-softened butter, or too much white sugar relative to brown. White sugar encourages spread; brown sugar holds the cookie together. Measuring flour by weight rather than by cup solves most of it.
Do I need to chill chocolate chip cookie dough?
Not for this recipe — it is written to bake straight away. Chilling for 24 hours does deepen the flavour and reduce spread, so it is worth doing if you have time, but it is not required.
How do I make chocolate chip cookies chewier?
Pull them a minute early, while the centres still look soft, and let them finish on the hot tray. Increasing the proportion of brown sugar also helps, since it holds more moisture than white.
Can I use salted butter?
Yes. Reduce the added salt to about 1 g, roughly a quarter teaspoon, to keep the balance.
Why are my cookies hard the next day?
Overbaking is the usual cause — they continue cooking on the tray after they come out. Storing them in an airtight container with a slice of bread also keeps them soft for several days.
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