How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Co-authored by Mathew Rice

Last Updated: March 29, 2022 Approved

The perfect chocolate chip cookie is within your reach. Once you've mastered the art of the chocolate chip cookie from scratch, there'll be no going back to the frozen tubs! This article offers a few ways to make chocolate chip cookies––give yourself the luxury of trying out all of them to work out which is your favorite. You can even customize your own toppings to put into your cookie dough.

Ingredients

Basic Super Chocolatey Chip Cookies

Yields: 5 dozen (60) small cookies

2 ¼ cups (270 g) of flour
1 teaspoon (6 g) of salt
1 teaspoon (5 g) of baking soda
2 sticks (230 g) of butter
¾ cup (130 g) of packed brown sugar
¾ cup (150 g) of granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 mL) of vanilla extract
1-2 cups (170-340 g) of chocolate chips

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: Approximately 5 dozen (60) medium sized cookies

2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
2 cups (4 sticks) of butter (softened)
6 cups of self-rising flour (adapt this for elevation and humidity as needed; make sure the cups are level)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1/4 cup milk
4 cups of chocolate chips

Vegan Dairy- and Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: 40 cookies

2 cups (470 ml) flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 cup (240 ml) margarine
³⁄₄ cup (180 ml) brown sugar
³⁄₄ cup (180 ml) vegan sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract (essence)
Egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs (Ener-G Egg Replacer works best, but you can also mix together 2 tsp. cornstarch and 1/4 cup water)
12 ounces (340 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

' Yields: 18 cookies '

2 ¹⁄₂ cups (590 ml) (315g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon (2 ml) salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon (1 ml) baking soda
¹⁄₂ cup (120 ml) (100g) white sugar
¹⁄₂ cup (120 ml) (110g) brown sugar
²⁄₃ cup (160 ml) (150g) butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract (essence)
1 ¹⁄₂ cups (350 ml) bananas, mashed
2 cups (470 ml) (335g) semisweet chocolate chips

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Making Basic Super Chocolatey Chip Cookies

1
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
2
Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. To reduce clumpiness, sift through a sifter or sieve. Gently mix these together, then set the bowl aside.

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3
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, then beat in eggs and vanilla extract. The coarseness of the sugar granules will help break the butter down, so be sure to do this first. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix again until completely combined.

Expert Answer

Q

When asked, "How do you get softer cookies?"

Mathew Rice
Professional Baker & Dessert Influencer
Mathew Rice has worked in restaurant pastry kitchens across the country since the late 1990's, and currently owns Pink Door Cookies in Nashville. His creations have been featured in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Weddings. In 2016, Eater named Mathew one of the top 18 chefs to follow on Instagram. In 2018, he appeared in season 18 of the Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay and won his episode.

EXPERT ADVICE

Answer from Mathew Rice:

Mathew Rice, pastry chef, responded: "When I'm working on my dough, I use room temperature butter and room temperature ingredients, and I don't mix the dough too much after after I add the flour. These are all variables for better cookies."
4
Gradually a cup at a time add the dry ingredients from the medium bowl to the wet ingredients in the large bowl, then add chocolate chips. Pour a cup of the dry ingredients, stir, and repeat until the dry and wet ingredients are totally combined. Fold the chocolate chips in until fully incorporated. At this point you should have a moderately thick cookie dough.
- Do not over-stir the dough. While the dry ingredients should be added gradually, don’t do so little at a time that your dough turns to brick. Aim for adding the dry ingredients in four or five batches.
5
Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a pre-greased or a lined baking sheet. Leave at least an inch of space between the cookies because they'll spread out when they bake. You can usually fit 12 cookies on a full-sized cookie sheet at a time.
6
Bake for about 10 minutes or until barley golden brown around the edges. Do not over bake; if you do the cookies will be dark brown and burnt. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies rest on the pan for 10 minutes. This will cook the cookie thoroughly while they will remain chewy.
7
Let cool for about 5-7 minutes. Using a spatula, lift cookies off and place onto wax paper, a plate, or a cooling rack.
8
Go ahead and eat! Eat when hot and steamy or cooled and slightly crisp. If you like you can pipe a small swirl of icing or whipping cream on top and add some sprinkles to make it look fancy.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Making Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1
Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
2
Add the vanilla, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and butter.
- Use coarser sugar for thicker, chewier cookies. When sugar dissolves, it acts as a tenderizer that interferes with dough structure. This increases spreading because finer sugar dissolves more easily than coarser sugar. So if you want your cookies to remain thick and chewy, use coarse sugar (or use fine sugar for the opposite effect). If you decide to use powdered sugar for extra crispiness, make sure it doesn't have corn starch in it, or you'll get unexpected results.^{[1]
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- Mix these ingredients until creamy.
3
Add the flour, salt, and baking soda/powder.
4
Mix until fully blended; add the milk to achieve a smoothly blended dough. After blending the mixture, add the chocolate chips.
5
Apply cooking spray to the pan so that the cookies won't stick to the baking pan. Alternatively, line the pan with baking paper.
6
Roll a small ball for each cookie.
7
Place the cookie balls on the baking pan.
8
Flatten each cookie with a fork. This will leave distinct ridges and flatten the cookie neatly.
9
Put cookies in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Don't overdo the cooking, as they'll continue to cook after you remove them from the oven.
10
Take the cookies out of the oven and let them sit on a wire cooling rack for about 15 minutes to cool. Be careful not to burn yourself on the melted chips when transferring the cookies to the rack - use a spatula. The cookies are ready to eat when the chocolate chips solidify again.
11
Store in an airtight container, or eat the cookies once they've cooled.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Making Vegan Dairy- and Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1
Oil your cookie sheet lightly as you preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2
Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
3
Cream together the margarine, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla and egg replacer mixture in a large bowl.
4
Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until the ingredients are well combined.
5
Add the chocolate chips and mix them into the batter.
6
Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes.
7
Cool the vegan chocolate chip cookies on a wire rack once you take them out the oven.
8
Serve warm or put them in your cookie jar once they've cooled for later.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Making Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

1
Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
2
Sift and combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
3
Use a mixer to cream the sugars and butter together in a large bowl.
4
Combine the eggs, vanilla, and mashed bananas thoroughly in the butter mixture.
5
Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon and add the chocolate chips in last.
6
Place spoonfuls of the dough on a pre-greased or parchment paper layered cookie sheet.
7
Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes.
8
Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I still make cookies if I don't have brown sugar?

Community Answer

Yes. Substitute the same amount of white sugar for the brown sugar needed and incorporate a spoonful of molasses.
Question

Can I make it with baking soda instead of baking powder?

Community Answer

Baking powder already contains all of the ingredients necessary to make them rise. If you are using baking soda instead, just make sure there is sugar and/or lemon juice in your recipe.
Question

What if I don't have vanilla extract or vanilla essence?

Community Answer

You can still make the cookies, as it won't affect the way they cook. They just might not taste quite as good.

Troubleshooting Problems: Trying to Fix Your Cookies

My cookies turned out dry and burnt... Chocolate chip cookies turn out dry for lots of reasons. Sometimes you over-mix the dough too much and they start to dry and harden. Avoid mixing the dough too much for better effects. Adding a little water or butter prevents the dough from getting dry or burnt as well. You may also need to reduce your heat on the oven, all ovens are different and vary. One more note: Because of the heat and temperature in your house, cookies continue to bake, even after you take them out of the oven. Try under-baking cookies for better results.
My cookie dough is crumbly... Remember the temperature of your ingredients is important when making cookies. The butter must be at room temperature and should be soft. When adding the flour, mix slowly and never over-mix, even a little. This always ruins cookies and makes them crumbly. Another thing, follow each requested ingredient that this recipe is asking for. If it says use granulated sugar, use it. Don't go and switch to caster sugar, this ruins the cookie dough.
The bottom of my cookies are burnt... Be careful of rolling your cookies too large. The time it takes to cook the larger cookie will burn the bottom. You might also want to see the cookie tray you used. Dark non-stick trays make cookies bake faster so this could be the case. Another problem could be the rack in your oven. If it's too low, the heat on the bottom gathers into the cookies and bakes faster as well.
My cookies are raw but the edges are brown... Your oven is too hot! Cookie dough takes time to bake, but the edges usually brown quicker since they catch the most heat. Take the cookies out of the oven and lower the temperature on your oven. Have the cookies sit on top of the oven, they'll still bake outside of the oven but without getting the edges burnt. Another tip: Try freezing the dough before you bake them, since the colder dough won't spread and bake as fast.
My cookies won't get off the tray... First, have the cookies cool before trying to tackle them. Next, use a spatula and slowly pick them up. If the cookies break mix it with ice cream. In the future, spread non-stick greasing spray or butter/margarine on the cookie tray before using it. Parchment paper can work as well.