These super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie recipe on my website for good reason. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, cornstarch, and an extra egg yolk guarantee the absolute chewiest chocolate chip cookie texture. The cookie dough is slick and requires chilling prior to shaping the cookies. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally's Baking 101.
Recipe by Sally on May 13, 2022
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT13M
Total time: PT2H45M
Rating
4.7 stars ( reviews)
Keywords
chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients
2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch*
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (170g/12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for 5 minutes
3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Steps
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until combined, then whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be very soft, thick, and shiny. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight to prevent overspreading.
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has chilled for longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop the chilled cookie dough, about 3 scant Tablespoons (about 2 ounces, or 60g) of dough for XL cookies or 2 heaping Tablespoons (about 1.75 ounces, or 50g) of dough for medium-large cookies. Roll into a ball, then use your fingers to shape the cookie dough so that it’s taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 13–14 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is optional and only for looks!
Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Reviews
Julie on 2026-07-28 (5 stars): I followed the recipe exactly as written for 50g cookies. I weigh as much as possible and it is so much easier that way. They look amazing!! This takes the place of my old standby recipe on the bag!
Sondra Allen-Edwards on 2026-07-29 (1 stars): I followed the recipe to a T and they were extremely dry. I was excited to try them, but I am now removing from my pins
Emily on 2026-07-31 (5 stars): The first few times I made these cookies, they turned out perfectly! Third time, they didn't spread as well (I think I had a bit too much flour, didn't measure that last 1/4 cup very well). Even without the spread and soft gooey-ness, they were delicious and cakey. So you really can't go wrong with this recipe, as long as you chill the dough first!
Fran on 2026-08-01 (5 stars): Delicious! I’ll tell you a little secret: tripping from kitchen to suitcase, to car, to kitchen, packing for a family trip, baking your gorgeous blueberry muffins, checking my to-do list, I made these cookies, my head swimming, and I forgot to add the milk! It which was measured and ready with all the other wet ingredients, but I simply overlooked it, and they turned out great! No one will ever know. This recipe is more time consuming due to forming the dough by hand, letting the cookies cool several minutes on the cookie sheet before, but they are delightful and early reviews are great. Thank you, Sally, once again.
Amelia on 2026-08-03 (5 stars): Hi! I already made them when I commented that question and I was waiting for them to cool when it was published. I baked them and they turned out amazing! The only thing that stood out to me was how they were very thick and tall, I don't know if that was because of the flour I used or if I measured something wrong. Overall, these were the best cookies I have ever made! Thank you!
Miranda McIntyre on 2026-08-04 (5 stars): These are the absolute best! They've never gone wrong! I made them gluten full and gluten free and both are a hit!
