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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.
Karen says
Inexperienced baker here. Is there a difference in the outcome if you melt the butter in the microwave vs on the stove? I assume there is since you have specifically called that out in this recipe and your Christmas sprinkle cookies.
Thanks!
Karly says
Hi Karen! I melt on the stove so that I can let the butter brown, but you can definitely just melt in the microwave. ๐
Rose says
Do you think you could sub m&ms for all (or part) of the chocolate chips? ย I wanted to make them a bit more festive for Christmas using the Christmas red & green ones…
Karly says
You totally can! I have a Christmas version here: Christmas Chip Cookies
Maggie Martin says
3rd time for commenting on these cookies:
Son in law and grandson introduced these to my great grandson on his 2nd birthday, now I
have to make them 4 times a week! Keep them mixed up in the fridge and as soon as the last one disappears
bake more and mix more dough!
Outstanding recipe
Thanks again and again Karly.
Maggie
Karly says
Aw, I love that! Thanks, Maggie!
Mary says
I’m not usually a commenter, but OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS these cookies are the best thing on the Internet. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving us a failproof recipe!
Karly says
Yay! So glad they were a hit! ๐
chicook13 says
I just made these again last night & realized I somehow neglected to review them. This recipe is AMAZING! The first time I made them I was skeptical but I had freshly baked cookies out of the oven 30 minutes after I got home from work!!! These are honestly better than most other cookie recipes and they sure are a lot easier! I also love that we only get nine cookies. They’re huge, though, so could definitely make a dozen decent-sized cookies. I haven’t tried that, though. Thanks for this fantastic recipe!!!
Karly says
Thanks for the review! I’m always so excited when people try these cookies – we absolutely love them! ๐
Cathy S. says
I made this recipe into 12 large cookies, added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and cut chips to 3/4 cup. I put 6 cookies per sheet. They baked for 11 minutes, and were slightly gooey in the middle and almost crisp around the edges. Very delicious and quick to make!
Karly says
So glad they were a hit! ๐
kinga says
We love these. Had to add a tad more flour. My new go to. Thanks for a great recipe.
Dawn-Marie Perry says
Hi im in the uk is baking soda our baking powder and also is it plain flour? Want to try these tonight for our bbq tomorrow x
Karly says
Hi there! I’m not sure what products you have in the UK. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, but not sure what it would be called in the UK. I used plain all-purpose flour. Enjoy!
Cessy Hernandez says
I tried it and yes it’s super soft and super yummy! I’m so glad that I found your blog. Honestly, I searched a lot of best recipes for chocolate chip cookies but the result was always fail but when I tested your recipe last week, I told myself I think I found the PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Now, I’m planning to sell cookies using your recipe and I’m really grateful that you’re sharing your recipe to us. Thank you so much! Much love, Cessy from Philippines ๐
Maggie Martin says
Update: I made these June 13th and left a comment. I have made them twice a week since, always double the recipe and my hubby and son in law eat them and fight over the last one so I am constantly making these cookies!!! They are that good.
Thanks again Karly!
Maggie
Karly says
Sounds similar to what happens in my house. Luckily, my teenager has the recipe memorized and she makes them for me as soon as we run out. ๐
Mary says
Best cookies I ever made and so easy!!
Karly says
So glad to hear that! ๐
Marie says
Why do my cookies always spread out so much! Yours are such a perfect little chunky cookie… mine look like theyโve been run over!ย
Xx
Karly says
Hi Marie! Just to be sure – are you talking about with this recipe? Or with other recipes? Assuming you mean with this recipe, are you sure that you’re measuring properly? You should be using a dry measure for the dry ingredients and spooning it in and then leveling it out.
Faith says
These are wonderful, my sons team always request these for game days!
Maggie Martin says
It’s 94 degrees here today and I turned on the oven and made a double batch of these cookies, sans the espresso powder, and they are almost gone already! Ooooo, they were/are good!
Thanks Karly and thanks for the 5 hacks!
Maggie
Karly says
You’re welcome, Maggie!! Glad you enjoyed the cookies! ๐
Courtney says
Looks like a wonderful recipe and I wish I could have one of those cookies right now! Would coconut sugar work instead of white sugar? ๐
Karly says
I haven’t tried it with coconut sugar, but it will probably work fine! ๐
Brandy says
Do you sift your flour? The first time I made these, they were perfect, and I usually sift but cannot remember. The second time I tried a double batch and they came out dry. ?
Karly says
Hi Brandy! I don’t sift my flour. This recipe is finicky when doubling it for some reason. I think that was likely the issue.