Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe by PJ Hamel
269 Reviews 4.4 out of 5 stars

Soft and moist without being doughy, these are the quintessential soft chocolate chip cookies. They're packed with chocolate chips AND — they're 100% whole grain! Who could ask for anything more?

As a result of reader feedback, we’ve retested this recipe and made some changes from the original; see “tips” (below) for details.​​​​​​​

Prep
15 mins
Bake
9 to 12 mins
Total
26 mins
Yield
24 to 28 cookies
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies - select to zoom
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies - select to zoom
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies - select to zoom
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies - select to zoom

Instructions

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  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

  2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder until smooth.

  3. Scrape down the bowl, then beat in the egg until well combined.

  4. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. 

  5. Stir the flour into the cookie dough, then the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, mixing just until combined.

  6. Drop the dough, by tablespoonfuls, onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. If using chocolate chips (rather than chopped chocolate), gently press each cookie down to about 1/2" high. (Want to make smaller cookies? A teaspoon cookie scoop will yield about 6 dozen 2" cookies.) 

  7. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes (9 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies), until their bottoms are barely starting to brown (gently lift one up to peek). They may appear quite light and "undone;" that's OK, you want them to stay soft, so don't over-bake. Also, if you're using a darker cookie sheet without parchment, they'll probably need to bake for a slightly shorter time.

  8. Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

  9. Store cookies airtight at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

Tips from our Bakers

  • Looking for a gluten-free version of this recipe? Find it here: Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Refrigerating cookie dough for as little as 30 minutes can make a big difference in your cookies’ texture and flavor. See the details in our blog post, Chilling cookie dough.

  • This recipe originally included granulated sugar, honey, and cider vinegar. We found that omitting these additions and increasing the amount of brown sugar yielded cookies with more structural integrity (the dough can withstand either chocolate chips or chopped chocolate) and less tendency to spread, while also shortening the ingredient list.

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