How to make the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookies

How to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies recipe! They're chewy as hell, thick with a crispy crust and some big chocolate chips. Check out my most favorite cookie recipe from my blog and learn my 8 secret tips for successful baking every time.

Cookies are certainly the most favorite of all! And there are thousands of different recipes, such as chocolate cookies, salted caramel cookies. But definitely the most popular recipe of all is the chocolate chip one.

Cookies should always be chewy

And it's not just my point of view, what makes a successful cookie is first of all its chewy texture but let's review this recipe and why I think it's perfect :

1. They are pretty! Yes the greediness starts with the eyes and what makes them successful is also this pretty round shape.
2. Large chips in sight! Big chocolate chips or even chocolate chunks that overflow and as you see are very present inside.
3. A bakery style cookie thickness! Even if I always find that the cookies in bakery are very huge, we find here the perfect thickness and it is a guarantee of success contrary to the flat and dry ones.
4. Chewyness heart! I'm French and I can't think of anything as precise as the inside of the cookie to correctly translate the word chewy, and it's certainly my first choice to define this recipe.

Useful tools for this recipe

• A baking tray, to bake the cookies
• Ice cream scoop to measure the dough and have cookies of the same size.

Ingredients Notes

Flour

I always use wheat flour and the right amount of flour will determine the final texture. I strongly advise to use an electronic scale to measure the quantity rather than a measuring cup.

Tips: As an option, I add cornstarch to the recipe to make it even more chewy.

Butter

The best butter to use when making cookies is unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt added to the recipe and one that contains at least 80% fat. What will also be important is the texture of the butter, it should be soft or possibly melted and cooled a bit.

Egg

Use medium to large eggs and make sure they are at room temperature to get the most even texture possible.

Tips: Take the eggs out 30 minutes before making the recipe, if you don't have the time then simply run them under hot water for a few moments.

Sugar

For this recipe I like to make a combo of 2 different types of sugar, a white granulated sugar if possible fine enough to blend in quickly with the other ingredients. And another whole sugar, preferably a brown sugar, or a cane sugar that adds an extra flavor to this recipe.

Leavening agents

Even though this is a dry cookie recipe, the leavening agents help the dough to grow in during baking and give it that final soft and chewy texture. I use baking soda which is more powerful but you can replace it with baking powder or make a mixture of both.

Salt and vanilla extract

These two ingredients are essential in my opinion in all sweet recipes. I only use sea salt and more precisely fleur de sel which brings out all the flavors and especially the chocolate flavor. Vanilla extract adds alsa a delicious flavor to sweet recipes.

Chocolate chips

The last but not the least, chocolate chips or chocolate chunks are very often made with semi-sweet chocolate. I like to make them myself it is so much easier and cheaper and you can follow my recipe to make homemade chocolate chips. 

How to make Chewy chocolate chips cookies recipe

Make the cookies dough

Start by placing in a large bowl the softened or melted and cooled butter and sugars, the granulated sugar and brown sugar. And mix with a hand whisk (no mixer needed) for about 1 minute until smooth and the sugar is well dissolved.

Then add the room temperature egg with the vanilla extract and whisk again for another minute to obtain a consistent texture.

Finally add the flour and other dry ingredients, baking soda or baking powder, sea salt and cornstarch (optional). And mix again but gently with a wooden spoon or a spatula until you get a well-blended dough.

Finish by adding the chocolate chips to the dough and gently mix them in with the wooden spoon or with your hands.

 

Chill the dough

This is certainly a very common question about this recipe and if you wanted to get the most out of this recipe you chose the one with the chill time and you did well. 

Cover the dough with cling film and let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can also think of making the dough the day before and let it sit overnight.

Recipe without chill

And if you prefer to make this recipe without resting, you are free to do so. In this case, be sure to use softened but not melted butter and eventually place your cookie dough balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking them. This little tip will prevent your cookies from looking flat after baking.

Baking the cookies

Shape your cookies dough balls with an ice cream scoop, also called a cookie scoop. Place them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper, making sure to space them out by about 5 cm as they will rise during baking to prevent them from sticking together.

And bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350°F / 180 °C at half height for about 15 to 17 minutes depending on the diameter.

Check that the cookies are done, they are ready when they have puffed up and have that nice golden brown color. They are still soft in texture, so don't move them right away to avoid damaging them. Let them cool for a few minutes before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely where they also will firm up a bit.

8 Secrets to successful cookies

1 - Softened butter

The texture of the butter is important, it will bind the ingredients together and brings an extraordinary flavor to the cookies.

Use softened or melted and cooled butter in an ointment, so that it blends better with the other ingredients and obtain these cookies with the tasty taste of butter.

2 - Eggs at room temperature

Eggs are also a binding ingredient that is best incorporated when they are at room temperature. If your eggs are cold then spend the few moments under hot water.

3 - Baking soda

Baking soda is a leavening agent that makes the dough grow and brings softness to the cookie. Use baking soda instead of baking powder for very thick cookies, it is 4 times more powerful than baking powder.

4 - Chill the chocolate chip cookies dough

This is the key to successful cookies, rested dough = more flavor ! By letting the dough chill, the flour and sugar will have time to absorb the liquid ingredients and the cookies will taste better. Also baking with a cold dough allows the butter to melt less quickly and the cookies keep their round and puffy shape.

5 - Add seal salt

It is well known in pastry that salt is a taste enhancer, here we use sea salt which brings an incomparable flavor and which combine perfectly with chocolate.

Stir the salt into the cookie dough and sprinkle a little sea salt over your cookies at the end of baking.

6 - Use ice cream scoop

The ice-cream scoop is the key tool for shaping the cookies, it allows you to perfectly dose the dough. Also to have cookies of the same size and above all to have an airy cookie dough compared to shaping with the hands, the dough is less compact, which gives even fluffier cookies.

7 - Do not over-mix the cookies dough

Using a stand mixer to make the recipe or over-mixing the dough at the end of the preparation will make it too compact. And we will lose its fluffy texture.

8 - Do not overbake the cookies

If you like to eat the cookie dough raw you will understand that baking is a key step to cookie success!

You have to find the ideal baking time according to your oven, an overbaked cookie is a cookie that has lost its moisture and will therefore be too dry in the mouth.

The perfect baking of the cookie is when it is still soft and fragile when it comes out of the oven. As it cools down it will firm up and have the perfect texture.

Best tips to store cookies recipes

At room temperature

Cookies can be stored at room temperature like dry cookies, in a storage box with an airtight lid. But you can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to freeze cookies

And another great tip to keep theme for a very long time! For that you have the choice between freezing them before cooking (the best way according to me) :

After shaping the dough balls, place them in a bag and put them in the freezer. And simply put them on the baking tray and let them come back to room temperature before following the instructions for baking.

Or store them in the freezer after cooking:

Once they are cooked and completely cooled, put them in a storage bag and place them in the freezer. And for these two methods you can keep them up to 3 months.

And if you like cookies recipes :

• Brownie cookies recipe
• White chocolate cranberry cookies
• Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

See all cookies recipes

Watch this video to make this recipe

Don't forget to tag @sweetlycakes on Instagram if you make my chocolate chip cookies recipe and to add a link to my recipe if you share it on your blog 😉