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Perfect chocolate chip cookies that bake up thick and chewy every time and they’re ready in just 20 minutes. No chilling or softening butter required!
I know. The internet does not need another chocolate chip cookie recipe, right? I mean, who do I think I am showing up here and claiming to have perfected such a simple cookie.
Well, I’m a person who literally has spent years searching for and experimenting with cookie recipes that proclaim to be “the best.” I ate a lot of cookies that were good. Many that were great. Not so much on the perfect though.
I mean, some of them were super close, but they required hours of chilling and I’m sorry, when I want a cookie, I want a gosh darn cookie.
I don’t want a cookie in an hour. I don’t want a cookie tomorrow. I want a cookie NOW.
So, I set out to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies that didn’t need to be chilled. In doing so, I came across a recipe on Allrecipes that calls for melted butter and no chilling. Say what? That’s basically the opposite of every good cookie recipe, but what the heck. Doesn’t hurt to try.
After all, my dad broke all the rules with his famous homemade biscuits, so maybe breaking the rules is the way to go with cookies too.
I changed the recipe up a bit each time I tried it, writing down what changes made things better and what made things worse. I finally ended up with this recipe.
Why these cookies are perfect:
The cookies are huge. I don’t want to eat five small cookies. I want to eat one big cookie. It’s just my preference. Mostly because bigger cookies allow for more softer, chewier middles.
These are soft. Like, soft soft. Super soft. The edges don’t really get crisp, so if you’re looking for crispy edges, keep moving. These things are soft all the way around and all the way through. I love it!
No chilling! You go from cookie craving to cookie making to cookie eating all in just 20 minutes.
No pudding mix in these guys! I like pudding cookies just fine, you guys. They’re good! But I don’t always have pudding mix on hand and I also think they taste not quite as “classic” as a cookie without pudding.
The butter gets melted! What’s the big deal about melting the butter? Well, that means you don’t have to panic because you forgot to leave butter out on the counter to come to room temperature. You don’t have to attempt microwaving it for 8.342 seconds, because any shorter leaves butter that’s too hard, but any longer leaves butter that is melted through. Just melt the dang butter and be done with it!
It’s a small batch! Okay, okay. This one could go either way. I mean, I like having a cookie jar full of cookies, for sure. But I really like my cookies fresh from the oven! This recipe just makes 9 cookies, so you’ll still have a few leftover for tomorrow, but maybe the next day you can make a fresh batch and get them fresh from the oven. It’s the best of both worlds.
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:
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Dry Cookie Dough Ingredients – You’ll need some standard baking ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and brown sugar. We use more brown sugar than white in this recipe to keep the cookies extra soft and chewy!
Wet Cookie Dough Ingredients – Melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract for flavor!
Espresso Powder – My secret ingredient! It’s optional, but I promise it’s worth adding! It enhances all the flavors, especially the chocolate.
Chocolate Chips – You can use any variety you like. Milk chocolate, semisweet, or dark chocolate chips will work in these cookies!
What Readers are Saying!
“I’ve been searching for the perfect cookie recipe and I’ve got to say.. this is IT. So extremely easy to make and the thickness & softness is to die for. So good!!” – Victoria
How To Make Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Butter: The first step to making this chocolate chip cookie recipe is to melt some butter! We usually just heat it in a saucepan, but you can use the microwave too.
And sometimes if we’re feeling fancy we’ll let the butter continue cooking on the stove until it has turned a nice golden brown. Browned butter adds some extra caramel flavor, but these taste great either way!
Mix: Next up you can add in the sugars and the espresso powder (optional, but trust me it’s good) to the butter and mix well before beating in the egg and vanilla.
That espresso powder will give an extra depth of flavor to these cookies without making them taste like coffee. Skip it if you don’t have it on hand. To finish making the cookie dough add in the remaining ingredients and combine with the chocolate chips. Save a few of the chips to top the cookies.
Bake: When your chocolate chip cookie dough is ready and the oven has pre-heated you can scoop the dough into equal sized portions onto a baking sheet. We make nine large cookies with this recipe. They’re the perfect size, in our opinion.
Eleven minutes is the magical number for these perfect chocolate chip cookies. If you make smaller cookies, adjust the bake time accordingly, but do not overbake!
Once they’ve finished baking allow them to cool and serve!
And, in case you’re wondering, I also have a recipe for perfect homemade brownies and perfect homemade blondies on the blog! There are some pretty perfect monster cookies, too! Oh, hey, there’s brookies too!
FAQ’s:
Each of these chocolate chip cookies contains about 361 calories. These are big, bakery style cookies!
Our recipe was formulated to make thick, soft cookies that don’t spread. Be sure to measure the flour properly (use a dry measure and spoon the flour in, then level it off – don’t pack the flour in) for the best results.
In a cookie jar, of course! They’ll keep for at least 5 days at room temperature, and even longer in the fridge.
Yep! Let them cool completely before transferring to a wax or parchment paper lined freezer safe container or bag. They’ll last up to a couple months.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES!
We’ve got lots and lots of cookie recipes, so maybe check some of these others out too!
- Biscoff Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
- Kit Kat Cookies
- Biscoff Oatmeal Crunch Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Leave a review!
Did you try these cookies? Please leave a star review and a comment down below to let us know what you think! We love hearing from you. 🙂
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 2/3 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips, any variety
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add butter to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Alternately, melt in the microwave. (Optional step for extra caramel-y flavor: Brown the butter! Keep cooking after the butter has melted. The butter will foam and bubble as it cooks. Once the liquid becomes golden brown remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer and let cool for 2 minutes. Use 1 additional tablespoon of butter if browning it to account for evaporation.)
- Add the brown sugar, white sugar, and espresso powder to the butter and beat until well combined.
- Beat in the vanilla and egg until just combined.
- Gradually pour in the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips by hand, reserving a few to press onto the tops of the cookie dough, if desired.
- Portion into 9 large balls of dough and place on a large baking sheet. Dot the tops with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 11 minutes exactly. Cookies will still be slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven. Do not overbake. Let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack or eating.
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
these cookies are GORGEEEEOUS-such perfection!
Thalia says
I am so craving a chocolate chip cookie right now! these really do look perfect Xx
Calista says
Oh my goodness, the internet DEFINITELY needed your chocolate chip cookie recipe. These look sooooooooo soofftttt and delicious!!! I am with you all way about melted butter in my chocolate chip cookies! Ugh, I need to make these ASAP!
Julie says
Thank you so much for this recipe! The only cc recipe I have ever made consistently that did not spread too flat was the Cooks Illustrated cookies but they really are fussy to make. This small batch was PERFECT for us and were just as thick, chewy and delicious as promised. And SO quick to put together/bake. I will absolutely make these again…possibly doubling for when I need a larger batch. Thanks Karly! 🙂
Karly says
Glad to hear you enjoyed these, Julie!
Nina says
I made these last week and they were indeed soft and thick and chewy! I thoroughly enjoyed them. Thank you SO much for this recipe! I have tried so many chocolate chip cookies that I almost gave up. You have now given me hope and will be using this recipe often. Thanks again!
Glenda says
I made these today and WOW! They really are the perfect cookie. They are everything she says they are and more! I have been looking for a cookie recipe like this forever!! They are huge, thick cookies, these do not spread out at all! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Karly says
Yay! So glad they were a hit!
Teresa filauri says
Can you double this recipe
Karly says
You sure can!
Gina says
Well, because I’m anti-chill but my “go-to” – “perfect every time” cookie recipe is one that must be chilled 24 hours- I’m going to have to give this a go. I’m not one to turn down a cookie- especially one that sounds like it will solve all my cookie woes 🙂 Thanks Karly!!!!
Kim says
Lovely, perfect chocolate chip cookies Karly! I’ll take a dozen…or two!
Karly says
I’ll admit that I could totally knock out a dozen of these in one sitting. 😉
Stephanie | Worth Whisking says
Karly, like you, I’m always a little skeptical about any recipe that claims to be the “best” anything. That said, these chocolate chip cookies look AMAZING. I’ve used the melted butter technique before, and it typically results in soft and chewy cookies, which these definitely appear to be. Definitely want to try these!
Karly says
Hope you love them!
Chelsea | Whole Bite Blog says
This is such an interesting technique! I’ve never made cookies like this with melted butter and I would love to see how they turn out! These look absolutely delicious!
Karly says
I hope you give them a try!
Blair says
Gah…these DO look perfect!!! And I totally agree — one larger cookie with a soft center is THE BEST! I need to try this version!
Karly says
Bigger is always better when it comes to delicious cookies! 🙂
Tara says
Hah, so funny you mention the Allrecipes CCC recipe…that’s my go-to! What’s even funnier is the only thing I’ve ever changed about it is adding in chill time. I’m definitely interested in trying your version, though. I’m all about the ooey, gooey chocolate chip cookie.
Karly says
Oh, I hope you’ll let me know how you think the two compare!
Tara says
Made them today! They were a super fast to make and a huge hit!
Karly says
Yay! Glad to hear that! 🙂
Carlee says
I’ve been thinking I needed to go on the hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, but if these are perfect it could be a short search! I love soft cookies and I really love giant cookies so I think you may really be on to something here. And I’m with you, the pudding cookies are good but I basically never have that stuff on hand and when I want a cookie, I want it now!
SaraLily says
No apologies necessary! I love finding new “perfect” cookie recipes to try! Yours gets bonus points because there’s nothing fancy like pudding in them and no chill time!? Yes!! Easy peasy and perfect? Yes, please.