Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

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Top 5 Picks

The best-regarded chocolate chip cookie recipes

Toll House Classic

Easy

The original recipe on every bag of Nestlé chips. Crispy edges, chewy center — an American icon for over 80 years. Reliable, crowd-pleasing, and perfect every time.

⏱ 35 min 🍽 10 ingredients 📋 7 steps

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🧂 Ingredients

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3Beat butter with both sugars in a large bowl until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
4Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Mix in vanilla.
5Gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined.
6Fold in chocolate chips (and nuts if using). Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets.
7Bake 9–11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on pan, then transfer to wire rack.

NYT Brown Butter Cookies

Medium

Jacques Torres's famous recipe from the New York Times: browned butter, extra rest time, and a sprinkle of sea salt on top. Thick, dramatic, and deeply flavored.

⏱ 45 min + chill 🍽 11 ingredients 📋 8 steps

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🧂 Ingredients

2 cups minus 2 tbsp cake flour
1⅔ cups bread flour
1¼ tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp kosher salt
2½ sticks butter, browned and cooled
1¼ cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs + 2 yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
1¼ lbs bittersweet chocolate discs + flaky sea salt

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
2Brown butter in a saucepan until nutty and golden. Cool completely.
3Beat brown butter with both sugars until combined. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla.
4Add flour mixture and fold until just combined. Fold in chocolate discs.
5Press plastic wrap directly onto dough. Refrigerate at least 24 hours, up to 72.
6Preheat oven to 350°F. Scoop into large balls (3½ oz each) onto parchment-lined sheets.
7Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake 18–20 minutes until golden at edges, still soft in center.
8Cool on pan 10 minutes before eating. They firm up as they cool.

Levain Bakery Copycat (Thick & Cakey)

Medium

Monstrous, thick, bakery-style cookies with a soft gooey center and crisp exterior. These are the cookies people line up around the block for in NYC.

⏱ 40 min 🍽 9 ingredients 📋 6 steps

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🧂 Ingredients

1 cup cold butter, cubed
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking soda + 1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Cream cold butter with sugars on high speed until light, about 4 minutes.
2Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined.
3Mix in flours, baking soda, and salt until almost combined. Fold in chips and walnuts.
4Divide dough into 8 large balls (about 6 oz each). Don't smooth them — keep them rough and tall.
5Preheat oven to 410°F. Bake 9–11 minutes until tops are golden but center looks underdone.
6Let cool completely on pan — they continue cooking. Resist eating for 15 minutes.

Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

Easy

Uses all brown sugar for maximum chewiness and molasses depth. No mixer needed — just one bowl and a whisk. Reliably chewy days after baking.

⏱ 25 min 🍽 8 ingredients 📋 5 steps

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🧂 Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg + 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1½ cups chocolate chips

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together until combined. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla.
3Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Stir in chips.
4Scoop 2-tablespoon balls onto sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.
5Bake 11–13 minutes until set at edges. Centers will look underdone — that's correct. Cool on pan.

Salted Caramel Stuffed Cookies

Hard

A classic dough wrapped around a soft caramel center. Bite in and get a surprise flood of salted caramel. Show-stopping at any gathering.

⏱ 60 min + chill 🍽 12 ingredients 📋 9 steps

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🧂 Ingredients

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda + 1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup each granulated and brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
20 soft caramel squares
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp flaky sea salt
1 tbsp butter (for caramel)
Pinch of salt (for caramel)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Make caramel: melt caramels with cream, butter, and salt. Pour into shallow dish. Freeze 1 hour.
2Make cookie dough using standard method. Refrigerate 1 hour.
3Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut frozen caramel into small cubes.
4Scoop 2 tbsp of dough. Flatten into a disc.
5Place a caramel cube in center. Wrap dough around it, sealing all edges.
6Roll into a smooth ball. Repeat for all cookies.
7Place on lined baking sheets, press gently to flatten slightly.
8Bake 11–13 minutes until golden at edges.
9Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool on pan 5 minutes before serving.

🎲

The Wildcard

A good-but-unexpected take you might not have tried

Miso & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Medium

White miso paste folded into the dough adds a subtle savory umami depth that makes you wonder why every cookie doesn't have it. The miso amplifies the butterscotch notes and makes the chocolate taste richer. A sleeper hit at any bake sale.

⏱ 40 min + chill 🍽 10 ingredients 📋 7 steps

🧂 Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¼ cup white (shiro) miso paste
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
1½ cups dark chocolate chips (70%+)
Flaky sea salt for finishing

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Beat butter and miso together until smooth and combined.
2Add both sugars and beat until light, about 3 minutes.
3Mix in egg and vanilla.
4Fold in flour and baking soda until just combined. Stir in chips.
5Chill dough 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6Scoop 2-tablespoon balls, spacing 3 inches apart on lined sheets.
7Bake 12–14 minutes. Finish with flaky salt while still hot.

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The Spin

A creative, unexpected twist — bold but it works

Bacon-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple Glaze

Hard

Replace half the butter with rendered bacon fat and finish with a drizzle of maple glaze. The smoky-sweet-salty combination takes the humble chocolate chip cookie into breakfast-for-dinner territory. Controversial? Yes. Delicious? Absolutely.

⏱ 50 min 🍽 12 ingredients 📋 8 steps

🧂 Ingredients

½ cup rendered bacon fat, cooled
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ tsp vanilla extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda + 1 tsp salt
1½ cups dark chocolate chips
6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 cup powdered sugar (for glaze)
3 tbsp maple syrup + 1 tbsp cream (for glaze)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1Cook bacon until very crisp. Reserve rendered fat and crumble the bacon.
2Cool bacon fat to solid-ish room temperature. Beat with butter and both sugars.
3Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt.
4Fold in chocolate chips and crumbled bacon.
5Chill dough 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F.
6Scoop by rounded tablespoons. Bake 10–12 minutes until golden.
7Whisk powdered sugar, maple syrup, and cream into a thick glaze.
8Drizzle glaze over warm cookies. Serve immediately for maximum controversy.

🌀 Why this spin?

Bacon fat is rich in savory compounds that enhance sweetness through contrast — the same reason salted caramel tastes better than plain caramel. Combined with maple glaze, you get breakfast and dessert in one bite: a chocolate chip cookie that tastes like Sunday morning pancakes decided to crash a bake sale. The concept is wild; the flavor chemistry is rock solid.

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