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These thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies are irresistable! Crisp, golden edges and a soft, chewy, melty center. They’re generously loaded with chocolate chips and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for the perfect sweet-and-salty bite! If you’re searching for the best chocolate chip cookies, you’ve found them!
There’s thousands of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but let me tell you why my thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies are the best chocolate chip cookies!
This chocolate chip cookie recipe isn’t dry and crumbly, or crunchy. They’re perfectly soft and chewy with crisp edges, just like my sugar cookies. These aren’t small cookies either, they’re big bakery style chocolate chip cookies.
Each cookie has a generous amount of chocolate chips. For the best homemade chocolate chip cookies, I use a combination of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips for a rich, balanced chocolate flavor. Two special ingredients make this recipe truly stand out: espresso powder and cinnamon. They add depth of flavor and enhance the chocolate.
Ingredient Notes
All-purpose flour – All-purpose flour is key to creating a light and tender cookie. It’s important that you measure the flour correctly for the cookies to turn out properly. See my tips below.
Baking soda – Using only baking soda in a cookie recipe creates a less puffy, chewier cookie with crisp edges.
Salt – Cookies need salt to balance out their sweetness and enhance the flavors.
Espresso powder – Coffee naturally compliments chocolate so adding espresso powder to the cookie dough is a great way to deepen and intensify the chocolate flavor.
Cinnamon – My secret ingredient to delicious chocolate chip cookies is a little bit of cinnamon. It adds warm sweetness and depth of flavor to the cookies.
Butter – Melted butter is key to creating the chewiest cookies! It can make cookies too greasy, so be sure you are using the correct amount of flour.
Sugar – Granulated sugar and brown sugar are necessary for a soft cookie. Brown sugar adds moisture, while granulated sugar gives the cookies structure and helps with spreading. Using more brown sugar than white sugar creates a chewier cookie.
Eggs – Eggs bind the cookie dough together. For a super chewy chocolate chip cookie you need to add an additional egg yolk. The eggs need to be at room temperature so they mix well with the other ingredients.
Vanilla – Another key ingredient to insanely good chocolate chip cookies is vanilla, and a good amount of it. Vanilla extract is perfectly fine to use, but if you want to level up your cookies use vanilla bean paste. It has a more intense, pure vanilla flavor.
Chocolate chips – I like to use a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips. You and can use one or the other, but I enjoy the bitter notes of the dark chocolate to balance the sweetness of the cookie.
Tips for Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Measure the flour correctly. Using too much flour or not enough will affect how the cookies turn out. Don’t scoop the flour directly from the bag into the measuring cup. Instead, spoon the flour into the measuring cup then level it off with the back of a knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients so they combine together evenly.
- Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl multiple times to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed together thoroughly.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough. Overmixing develops the gluten and can make the cookies tough instead of chewy.
- Chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough for an hour or even 24 hours helps prevent spreading and enhances the flavor.
- Roll the dough into balls – Once you scoop the cookie dough, use your hands to roll it into a ball. This will give you more uniform, bakery-style looking cookies.
- Don’t overbake. The edges should be set, but the center should still look soft and under baked. They will continue to bake as they cool. Keep an eye on them the last few minutes of baking, even one extra minute can result in a crispier, less soft and chewy cookie.
- Don’t use a warm pan from a previous batch of baked cookies. The heat from the pan can cause the cookies to spread more.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle the tops with a pinch of flaky sea salt. This enhances the sweetness and balances the chocolate. It takes chocolate chip cookies to the next level!
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Store these chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. I prefer to store mine in the freezer to keep them fresh. Pull one out when you’re ready to eat it and let it come to room temperature.
Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls can also be frozen for up to 2 months. No need to thaw the cookie dough balls. Bake them frozen, but add an additional 1-2 minutes of baking time.
FAQs
Why did my chocolate chip cookies spread too much?
If your chocolate chip cookies spread all over the pan the dough was likely too warm or your measurements were off. Make sure the cookie dough chills in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Measure the ingredients accurately and check the expiration date on your baking soda making sure that it’s fresh.
What does espresso powder do in chocolate chip cookies?
Espresso powder enhances the flavor of chocolate and adds depth of flavor to the cookies. Don’t worry, it won’t make them taste like coffee.
Can I freeze chocolate chip cookie dough?
Yes. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and freeze them in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the baking time.
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips I use a combination of both
- flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the melted butter and both sugars. With the paddle attachment, beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.
- Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla bean paste then beat again until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the mixer bowl. Beat on low to start then increase the speed slightly. Beat just until the flour is incorporated and you can no longer see it. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the chocolate chips and beat on low just until the chocolate chips are incorporated. You can also fold them in with a rubber spatula. The dough will be soft and shiny.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate if for at least an hour.
- Use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out balls of cookie dough. Use clean hands to roll them into balls. Place the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet spacing them approximately 2 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 13-17 minutes or until the edges are light brown, but the middle looks soft and under baked. The cookies will continue to bake as they cool. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt immediately after removing them from the oven.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Cookie Recipes
If you make these Chocolate Chip Cookies, please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you and do my best to respond to your comments. And if you’re on Instagram tag @reciperunner so I can see your beautiful creations!
