1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, plus more for topping*
Steps
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the cooled melted butter and the sugars with a hand-mixer for about one minute. Then, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix briefly, just until there are no flour clumps left. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to an hour.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°F, making sure you have the racks in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.*
Scoop 1/4 cup of cookie dough at a time and roll into balls. Then, tear the balls in half by pulling gently on both sides. Smush the two halves together again, but this time have the lumpy, torn sides face upward. Place on the prepared baking sheet, making sure the cookies have plenty of space to spread. You should be able to fit 6-8 cookies on each tray.
Bake for about 10-14 minutes, rotating half-way through, or until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden, but the centers of the cookies still look soft and undercooked. Every oven is different, so I recommend starting with just one or two cookies on the tray to see what baking time works best for you!
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until the cookies are firm enough to remove, about 15 minutes. As the cookies are cooling, press additional chocolate chips into the tops for a more bakery-style look.
Repeat with remaining batches, until all cookies are baked. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk!
Reviews
Tegan on 2020-10-23 (5 stars): Hey Morgan! Did you always have 1 full cup of brown sugar in the recipe or was it ever 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar? Also why change it at all?? They were positively the best cookies ever!
Bethy on 2024-01-31 (5 stars): What salt do you recommend?
JoAnne on 2017-04-25 (5 stars): Hello I made these yesterday followed the directions to the t except for the butter i used margarine. The didn't spread well and came out puffy or fluffy. Either way they are the best cookies i have had in forever great recipe. Thank you for sharing it.
Shari on 2017-06-16 (5 stars): I was a huge fan of my last "best ccc ever" recipe, but yours puts it to shame!! They have the exact same ingredients , but the melted butter puts it over the top. I have officially been converted!
Luzanne on 2017-08-28 (5 stars): The best I've made in years!!!!
mary on 2017-12-22 (5 stars): i forgot to refrigerate... they still taste awesome but have a more cakey texture. :) . thank you for the recipe. :D
Isabelle Zammit on 2017-12-29 (5 stars): I want to make these cookies and send them to someone by post in another country. Do you have any idea if they will be fine after 7 days if packed in an air-tight container?
Sascha on 2017-12-29 (3 stars): Looking for the perfect ccc for a long time, tried several recipes, but none where perfect… Today I tried yours... They all turned out to be very fluffy and cakey, with a lot of air inside. I followed the recipe to the T... :-(
Justin on 2018-01-14 (4 stars): I followed the recipe EXACTLY, and found that the cookied didn't spread out very well - they were much thicker than the photo.
Amber on 2018-02-04 (5 stars): These cookies are AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I made them for a Christmas party and I've had family and friends begging me to make them since. My husband is addicted to them haha. This recipe will definitely be a staple in my family for years to come!
Leah Gerwien on 2018-02-25 (5 stars): After failing numerous times to find a good enough chocolate chip cookie recipe, here I am. this is the best recipe ever and the cookies are flawless. Seriously so good and perfect. Thank you!!!
Nancy C on 2018-05-07 (5 stars): These cookies are amazing and I hadn't made them in a while. I do prefer to bake them at 325, so I'm sticking with that temp. Always a favorite. I grind a little sea salt on top before I put them in the oven. Perfection!
Dhaf on 2018-07-19 (5 stars): Hands down the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! I've been following this recipe for years and everyone loves them so much! Thank you!
Jen T. on 2018-11-12 (5 stars): The best chewy chocolate cookie recipe I've found! Made these at least 15times and they are always a crowd pleaser! Thank you!!!
Andrew C on 2018-12-23 (5 stars): Great recipe, my family begs for it every year but its my holiday secret haha
Just wish the print button formatted the printout properly the way it looks this webpage.
Simon on 2018-12-26 (5 stars): Would it be possible to get the ingredients in grams? I know I could just convert it, but I'd rather be sure ;)
Keitha Barbet on 2018-12-30 (5 stars): I absolutely love this recipe I actually followed your directions verbatim and my family and my picky kids and husband actually loved it I've not ever make cookies on point..it was always missing something.It just tastes better than any cookie I have ever made! I give you 5 Stars up if I can give you 10 I would..lol.. thank you so much Morgan you rock!
Celeste on 2019-02-17 (5 stars): These are the best cookies. The batter stays soft so that you can scoop whenever you want one. I use a small cookie scoop to make them and they are like what Friehoffer cookies used to be like. I highly recommend.
Lindsey Osborne on 2019-03-27 (5 stars): I have made hundreds of chocolate chip cookies trying to find my all time favorite! I have found my favorite recipe with this one!!! These are so tasty! Easy to make! Chewy and soft and not cakey. It is not flat and have beautiful volume! Yummmmmmyyyyyy!!!!
Julie B. on 2019-03-31 (5 stars): These are delicious!! This will be the recipe I use from now on! Thanks!
Shelley on 2019-05-07 (5 stars): I absolutely love this recipe! I made these a year or two ago for Christmas and took them into work and people have been asking me to make them ever since!
Farzi on 2019-07-07 (5 stars): I really love how they turned out <3 chewy n dense n yum :) Tanxxx for the recipe
Michael on 2019-07-07 (3 stars): Cookies were good and everyone liked them, but it sits at merely being good and definitely not a great cookie with anyone in my crowd.
The texture was definitely the high point, but the overall taste just didn’t wow anyone...it was just a decent tasting chocolate chip cookie. I have had other people (with closely guarded recipes, darn them!) who have blown my socks off with both flavor and texture.
This is a good cookie, but not a great one as there was nothing in the flavor profile that was amazing at all.....sorry :(
Jonathan on 2019-09-18 (5 stars): This recipe is amazing, thank you Morgan. I halved it, made a batch and noticed that my cookies came out a little on the flat side (not too flat) and slightly greasy (but not too greasy). Everything else was perfect. Would the solution here be to add another 15g or so of flour?
Michelle on 2019-10-23 (3 stars): cookies looked amazing, however I did not enjoy the cookie. The flavor fell flat. I am doing a CCC Challenge and this was week 8 and the first week we did not love the reecipe
Natasha on 2019-12-03 (5 stars): Delicious!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Jennifer on 2019-12-04 (5 stars): My new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I've been making the original Cook's Illustrated recipe for years, and these small tweaks make so much difference! My biggest issue was that while the cookies started out nice and chewy, they didn't stay that way (I always double or triple the recipe, so we had LOTS of cookies on hand). This recipe though? I left one cookie out on the counter, uncovered, for two days and it was still just as soft and chewy. THANK YOU!
Justin on 2020-02-19 (5 stars): This recipe looks amazing! My girlfriend and I have been making cookies for months now and we've found some amazing recipes on Pinterest! We will have to try this one for sure!!
musaki on 2020-03-27 (5 stars): Hi Morgan!
I found this recipe through Reddit years ago and bookmarked it. Today I finally tried it, and the cookies were amazing! I am just a college student who occasionally bakes so I'm not the best at it, but these cookies may have been the best thing I've ever made :) thank you so much!
Debbie C on 2020-03-27 (5 stars): I made the recipe as stated, the cookies were amazing!!! Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely be making them again and again:)
Brigid on 2020-04-18 (5 stars): I having been baking CCCs for over 30 years and these were the best cookies I ever made! Found this recipe on a whim and decided to give it a try. Followed the recipe exactly - chilled the dough for just over 30 minutes. The cookies were PERFECT! Rich taste, chewy texture with slightly crisp edges. Thank you so much for all of the testing that went into creating this absolutely perfect cookie recipe!!
ktkaboom26 on 2020-05-03 (5 stars): This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. I like baking yet am not a sweets fan. But i have to say, this recipe will convert anyone into a fan. I make it all the time so it's past time for this review! Thank you so much for posting and perfecting this recipe. it's also SO easy. I don't have to wait for butter to soften because the butter is melted then cooled. And because of that, I don't use room temp eggs either (like you would for other cookie recipes) which helps keep the batter from getting too soft. I can whip it up any time my kids have a craving. I do stick it in the fridge for at least an hour before baking which helps it slowly spread to the perfect size when baking. And because I do about 2.5 TBSP scoops, mine cook for 18 min. Thanks again!
Rollo on 2020-05-06 (5 stars): These cookies are extraordinary. Thank you for this service to humanity.
Vienna on 2020-06-29 (3 stars): I want to be honest. I followed everything. Texture within cookie perimeter is nice but the middle is too soft. And my gosh! You well get diabetes with just one bite. Okay it’s a figure of speech. But it’s so sweet. Eew. Feels like a pack of sugar with sprinkle of cookie. I’m sorry just being honest.
Stacey on 2020-08-16 (5 stars): Are these okay to freeze before baking
Kat on 2020-10-29 (5 stars): These are truly the very best chocolate chip cookies ever! I could never find a recipe that worked out right. I tried your recipe around 4 years ago and was completely blown away. They not only looked like gourmet cookies.. they tasted gourmet. For that.. I am truly grateful that you have shared this recipe. Everyone that has tasted them loves them. My husband even learned to bake them because they are that good! Again, from a mother of four young girls who love chocolate lol, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Kelly on 2020-12-29 (5 stars): Favourite cookie recipe! We’ve used chocolate chips, skor bits, fruit and nuts, whatever people want. Just the best base for cookies!
Victoria on 2021-01-31 (5 stars): I just wanted to say thank you for this incredible recipe! This has been my go-to for years and EVERYONE thinks they are magnificent. I have added different chips (butterscotch, m&m, andes mint chocolate chip chunks) and they are always a success. Thank you so much for giving the world this incredible recipe. These are the only chocolate chip cookies I will ever make again.
Rachel on 2021-02-04 (5 stars): Best cookies recipe I’ve ever tried, my new favorite! Will definitely be using this and only this recipe From now on.
Jackie on 2021-02-17 (5 stars): I’ve been using this recipe for a couple of years and I love it. Have you ever tried making cookie bars with this recipe? Just wondering what if any modifications would be needed.
Karen on 2021-05-06 (5 stars): Amazing! These work really well with gluten free all purpose baking flour as well! Thanks so much Morgan for this new family favorite!!!
Ashley Brown on 2021-06-01 (5 stars): no surprise but these came out PHENOMENAL. The only things I did differently was for part of the 1.5 cups of choc chips, I chopped up a hershey special dark bar and mixed that with semi sweet chippers. And then while the cookies were still on the pan cooling, I sprinkled thick kosher salt on top. Also, I did one batch with King Arthur Gluten Free flour and those came out EVEN BETTER than those with regular flour.
Kate on 2021-07-22 (5 stars): These were great, but I wanted to make the second batch less sweet. Would you suggest I just reduce sugar? I see in the comments that someone else did that, and it messed up their recipe. I'm not much of a sweet tooth, so there were definitely way too sweet for me from the get-go.
Thanks!
Jim Barry on 2021-10-15 (4 stars): I gave these a go. Only thing I found was the batter was too soft to handle after refrigeration so I attempted to roll/divide/squish at least half, then gave up on that and just scooped out the second half. Neither pan had any textured top. They baked ok, a bit soft in the center for my likely but nice flavour.
Terry on 2022-03-26 (5 stars): Making these now! Dough is refrigerating. What is your thinking behind the rollout instructions? What does the process of pulling pieces apart and then recombining them?
Kyle on 2022-12-19 (5 stars): These are the best cookies ever. Sadly our hand mixer broke, are you able to make these in a stand mixer?
Smurfette on 2023-02-26 (5 stars): Oops I totally made mine with a stand mixer today 10/10 recommend.
Claire Shope on 2023-01-29 (5 stars): Just wanted to pile on to say how delicious these cookies were - I made them yesterday and they were the hit of the party. So chewy, so flavorful *chefs kiss*
Tori on 2023-03-10 (3 stars): To clarify, I'm at high altitude. I always bake by weight seeing as cup measurements can lead to results that are all over the place. I used 250g AP flour and added 40g of bread flour as this usually helps give my cookies more chew and structure.
I followed everything else to the letter and ended up chilling my dough for about 48 hours (this often works great for cookie dough). I weighed my dough to 70g (roughly 1/4c) and baked for 14 minutes. The edges got super done, they spread a ton (like pancakes), and the centers were doughy and see through (that's how much they spread).
I couldn't have baked them longer since the edges are super dark as it is.
WITH THAT BEING SAID- the edges do taste great. I just have to caution anyone high altitude!
Could just be that this recipe is not suited to high altitude. If I try it again, I'm going to up the flour by at least 25g more and reduce baking soda to 3/4t.
Rosie on 2023-04-05 (5 stars): I HAVE FOUND MY NEW CHOC CHIP COOKIE RECIPE!!
I’ve made these a couple of times in the past week because OH MY GOODNESS! They are sooo delicious! They make such a yummy soft cookie and have been an absolute hit with everyone that’s tried them.
I love to use a mix of dark, milk and white choc chips which makes them extra yummy and for Easter and roughly chopped some speckled eggs and used these and that worked great too.
Thanks for giving me my new fav recipe! Gone straight to the family recipe book.
Sophie on 2023-05-01 (5 stars): This recipe sounds awesome and i’m literally dying to try it. Just wondering if you have tested these with brown butter?
Iqra on 2023-06-13 (4 stars): Great recipe! They came out soft and chewy on the top and a bit crunchy on bottom. I cooked them for 15m at 200°C in my gas oven. I eat less sweets so it was a bit too sweet for me, will reduce the amount of sugars next time otherwise perfecttt.
Randi Hofmann on 2023-09-17 (5 stars): So I’ve made my share of CC cookies but these are a 10 out of 10. Crispy bite then soft chewy cookie. You can’t get better than that.
Rachel B on 2023-10-24 (5 stars): These are truly THE BEST EVER. I have been making them for years now (not sure when you originally posted the recipe!) but they are perfect EVERY TIME. The dough is delish, you can half it, make tiny cookies instead, etc… it’s just the best. They’re in the oven currently & I’m pumped. Thank you. :)
Melissa on 2023-10-28 (5 stars): These are our absolute favorite cookies. Family requests that we bring them to every event and holiday. They are big, soft, and scrumptious.
lewarcher on 2025-07-16 (5 stars): Top notch recipe: have made a few times now, and your recommendation of baking two test cookies was the right suggestion: I've followed your ingredients and instructions to the letter, and exactly 10 minutes (with a tray turnaround at the 5 minute mark makes these the perfect golden brown. They continue to cook a bit after they come out of the oven, which I've noted to myself after making these the third time.
Like others, found your page on reddit: thank you for sharing this with us all!
Donna on 2025-12-27 (5 stars): I don't think you ever did say...are you using Salted Butter or Un-Salted Butter???
