This Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie is the only recipe you will EVER need. Soft, chewy and oh so addicting, we dare you to try and eat just one. Actually, don't. It's not worth taking the dare. You are definitely going to need more than one cookie.
Paired with a tall glass of milk, it is hard to find anything more comforting and delicious. These bad boys are just like the ones grandma or grandpa use to make. The kind of recipe that has been used for decades. The kind of recipe that is tried and true.
When I say this recipe has earned it's spot on my top favorites list, it is for a reason.
Though I do have many, many favorites. Sunshine Oatmeal cookies, Strawberry Lemonade cookies, Pumpkin Spice cookies and these classic Sugar Cookies are just a few.
🥘 Ingredients
Another reason to love this classic recipe is that I usually have all the ingredients on hand at all times. Which totally makes these the best cookies to whip together with a moments notice.
All ingredients fall into one of two categories - wet ingredients or dry ingredients.
Wet Ingredients
- Softened Butter - Room temperature butter is key for a richer and fluffier dough. Butter at just the right temperature helps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
- White Sugar
- Brown Sugar - Dried, clumped brown sugar is missing vital moisture needed for chewy cookies. Be sure your brown sugar isn't lacking moisture or your cookies may take the hit for it.
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
Dry Ingredients
- Flour - Measuring with accuracy is key! (Read how below.)
- Salt
- Baking Soda - Be sure to check for freshness. (Read how below.)
- Chocolate Chips - Semi-sweet chips, dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, mini chips or chocolate chunks are all great additions to this recipe. For real knock it out of the park cookies try using more than one kind of chip!
If you have ever attempted to bake chocolate chip cookies you know what goes in to achieving the perfect cookie. You also know not everyone has the same definition of the perfect cookie.
My perfect cookie, is epically soft, with a thick chewy center and crispy edges, loaded with extra chocolate chips. And that's just what this Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie is.
My philosophy when it comes to cookies is, even if a batch isn’t exactly your definition of perfect, at the end of the day - it is still a cookie. And when it comes to cookies, is there really such thing as a mistake? I don't think so.
Unless maybe you accidentally mistake the salt for sugar ... and then we may have bigger problems. Have no fear though, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to help achieve the kind of cookie perfection we all dream of.
🍳 Step by Step Instructions
Cream Together Wet Ingredients
Firstly, combine softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer cream the butter and sugars together fully.
After those come together entirely add the vanilla and eggs to the large bowl and combine with a hand mixer.
Add the Dry Ingredients
Afterwards combine all the dry ingredients for your Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie dough together in a bowl. Gradually add half of the dry ingredients, roughly a cup and a half, to the wet ingredients in the larger bowl.
Fold in the dry ingredients using a spoon to be sure you do not over mix the dough.
When flour is mostly mixed in add the last of the dry ingredients and chocolate chips to the large bowl of dough. Again fold in flour and chips till the Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie dough comes together. Avoid over mixing.
Scoop Dough on to Baking Sheet
Then using a large cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough and place evenly spaced on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. For true Bakery Style Cookies add additional chocolate chips to the tops of your Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie dough.
Bake Cookies
Place baking sheet into a pre-heated oven and bake, watching carefully. The secret to the softest and chewiest cookies, is pulling them out of the oven just before they are completely baked.
That's right, your Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie should be just barely golden brown on the edges, puffy and still a little gooey in the center.
Chewy cookies are only possible to achieve when they can finish baking on the pan, after being pulled out of the oven.
8 minutes seems to be what works best for me, but ovens do vary, so check at 8 minutes and if still looking doughy you could need to stick them in for up to two more minutes.
💭 Top Tips
Parchment Paper
This is one of those tricks my mom swears by with her cookies. She fully believes it is one of the contributing factors that makes all the difference in the end product. So skip the non-stick spray and grab the parchment paper next time you are in the kitchen.
By lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, you ensure a more even bake. It also helps to prevent cookies from cracking or crumbling when transferring.
Parchment paper prevents over-browning from occurring, especially if using a dark colored cookie sheet which absorbs more heat.
If you find yourself with a hankering for warm, fresh Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies but don’t have parchment paper on hand, you can use aluminum foil instead. Just make sure to place the foil so the dull side is right side up on the baking sheet.
Measuring Flour
I grew up watching my mom make this old fashioned chocolate chip cookie recipe. Every time she would measure flour I wondered why she made it made measuring flour so difficult.
Instead of using a measuring cup to scoop flour directly from the bin into the bowl, she would spoon flour into the cup and use the spoon to level it off before adding it to the bowl.
Short of weighing flour on a food scale, spooning flour by small increments into a measuring cup is the most accurate way to measure flour. If you scoop up flour using the measuring cup itself, the flour compacts and you end up with too much flour in your dough.
So, moral of the story ... take the extra 10 seconds and spoon your flour into the measuring cup. You might be surprised what a difference this makes.
📋 FAQ's
How can you soften butter quickly?
Taking the butter out of the fridge and placing on the counter an hour beforehand seems to do the trick for softening. But if you don't have an hour and need a quicker way to soften up butter grab a cheese grater. Carefully grate the stick of butter directly into the bowl. It's a little messy but it does the trick beautifully!
How do you test baking soda to see if still fresh?
Unless you are an avid baker, it can take a long time to use up a box or can of baking soda. If you can't quite remember when you purchased and opened your container you may want to test its leavening ability.
Have no fear! It only takes a moment to check your baking soda. All you need is a glass, ½ a cup of warm water, ¼ teaspoon vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
Add water and vinegar to a glass and stir. Add baking soda to the glass. If it fizzes you are good to go, the leavening agent is still active. No fizzing - it is time to get a new container of baking soda.
Should cookie dough be chilled?
There's a lot of debate on whether or not cookie dough should be chilled before baking. While it is true, chilling dough does allow the flavors to fully combine, honestly it isn't something that is necessary with this old fashioned chocolate chip cookie recipe.
I have found by not chilling your dough it does a few things:
- One, you can enjoy your cookies that much faster.
- Two, having room temperature dough helps the cookies to spread perfectly.
- Three, non chilled dough makes for a more even bake. When chilled, the cookie edges seem to cook faster than the center, making for a crispier edge and a center not quite cooked enough.
Does cookie dough freeze well?
Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie dough freezes perfectly! Shape dough into balls using a small to medium scoop. Place on a cookie sheet to put in the freezer. Once partially frozen, transfer each ball to a freezer safe container. Cookie dough can store in the freezer for up to 12 months. When ready to use, pull out of the freezer and bake for 10 minutes. Now you can have fresh cookies with little to no effort, anytime you want!
How do you keep leftover cookies soft and chewy?
To keep your leftover baked cookies nice and soft toss in a slice of bread, any kind, along with the cookies in an air tight container. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread which will help keep them chewy, fresh and soft for longer.
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie
Soft, chewy and oh so addicting, this cookie is the kind of tried and true recipe, used for decades. Pair it with a tall glass of milk and it is hard to find any cookie more comforting or delicious.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2½ cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- In a large bowl use a hand mixer to cream butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.
- Add eggs to mixture in large bowl and combine with hand mixer.
- In small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt.
- Gradually add half of the dry ingredients, roughly a cup and a half, to the wet ingredients in the larger bowl. Fold in the dry ingredients using a spoon to be sure you do not over mix the dough.
- When flour is mostly mixed in add the last of the dry ingredients and chocolate chips to the large bowl of dough. Again fold in flour and chips till dough comes together. Avoid overmixing..
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a small or medium cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough on to the baking sheet. Lightly press an additional 4-6 chocolate chips in the top of each scoop of dough for optimal presentation.
- Bake cookies in oven for 7-8 minutes. (7 minutes is what works for me, but ovens do vary, so check at 7 minutes but they could go as long as 10 minutes.) Biggest thing is when it starts to turn just barely golden pull them!
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet on top of wire racks for 5 minutes before moving the cookies off the sheet and on to the wire racks to finish cooling.
Notes
- *When it comes to flour you may need a little extra or less depending on elevation and humidity levels. We have found that drier places require less flour (closer to 2 ¾ cups) and more flour for more humid locations (like 3 ¼ cups).
- Be sure to use fresh brown sugar when baking. If brown sugar is older and dried out it is missing vital moisture the cookies need. Fresh brown sugar is necessary for perfectly chewy cookies. Dried brown sugar results in a cakier cookie.
- Butter needs to be softened NOT melted. To bring to room temperature set out an hour beforehand on the counter .
- Using a spoon, scoop flour into the measuring cup to prevent using too much flour in the recipe. If using the measuring cup to scoop flour directly from container the flour will be compacted, putting too much flour in the cookies. Scooping the flour gives the most accurate measurement short of weighing out the flour.
- Use parchment paper to line the baking sheet do NOT use cooking spray.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 279Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 212mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 3g