How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two steps decide whether these come out chewy or flat and greasy: creaming the butter and sugar long enough to go pale, and chilling the dough before it hits the oven. Neither takes skill, both take patience. This makes about two dozen — crisp at the edge, soft through the middle, and deliberately pulled from the oven looking slightly underdone.
The short answer
Chocolate chip cookies bake at 375°F for 9–11 minutes and make about 24 cookies. Cream 1 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated and 3/4 cup brown sugar for a full 3 minutes until pale, beat in 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla, then fold in 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt followed by 2 cups chocolate chips. Chill the dough at least 30 minutes — cold dough spreads slowly, which is what keeps the cookies thick. Pull them while the centres still look underdone; they finish setting on the hot sheet.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies, step by step
- Cream the softened butter with both sugars for a full three minutes, until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
- Fold in the flour mixture just until it disappears, then stir in the chips.
- Chill the dough at least 30 minutes — this is what stops them spreading flat.
- Bake at 375°F for 9–11 minutes and pull them while the centres still look soft.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Serves 24 · 30 min plus 30 min chill · ≈210 cal per cookie
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
- Beat the softened butter with both sugars for a full 3 minutes, until noticeably paler and fluffy. This whips air in and is most of the reason good cookies have structure.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low just until it disappears. Stop there.
- Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
- Cover and chill at least 30 minutes — overnight is better. Cold dough spreads slowly, so the cookies set before they flatten.
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Scoop 2-tbsp balls onto lined sheets, 2 inches apart.
- Bake 9–11 minutes, until the edges are set and golden but the centres still look underdone. They finish on the hot sheet.
- Cool on the sheet 5 minutes before moving them.
Macro note: Browning the butter first and cooling it back to room temperature adds a lot of depth for no change in macros.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my cookies spread flat?
Butter that was too warm, or dough that went in unchilled. Softened means it dents under a finger but holds its shape — not melted, not greasy. Chilling for 30 minutes fixes most spreading on its own.
Do I really have to chill the dough?
For thick, chewy cookies, yes. Chilling firms the fat and hydrates the flour, so the cookie sets before it can spread. Skip it and they will still taste good, just flatter and crisper.
How do I know when they are done?
Pull them when the edges are set and browned but the centres still look glossy and underbaked. They carry on cooking on the hot sheet for another few minutes. A cookie that looks done in the oven is overdone on the plate.