How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Katie BandurskiUpdated: Mar. 29, 2022

Taste of Home

Learning how to make chocolate chip cookies is easy. We'll show you the best methods for making the dough, toasting the nuts and baking 'em to perfection.

Who doesn’t love a warm chocolate chip cookie? The classic treat perfectly blends simple ingredients with rich, gooey chocolate and (if you’re lucky!) perfectly toasted nuts.

Here at Taste of Home, we set out on a mission to find the most delicious version of milk’s best friend. We tried many, asking are these the best cookies ever? Recipe after recipe, taste after taste, we narrowed it down, and folks, I’m happy to say we found a winner. This big and buttery cookie is simple, perfectly chewy and chock full of delicious mix-ins. Enjoy!

Find more sweet and melty chocolate chip recipes.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (Here’s the best brand to buy.)
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

Step 1: Mix Wet Ingredients

Start by mixing all of the wet ingredients together. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until well-combined.

Editor’s Tip: Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin. Not only is it much easier to beat the butter, but the eggs will aerate the dough better if they’re not straight from the fridge. Psst! If your butter is hard, soften it quickly with these easy methods.

Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients

Next, combine all of the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Step 3: Add the Dry to the Wet

To form a dough, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Then, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Editor’s Tip: You’ll want to toast your nuts before adding them to the dough. Simply bake in a shallow pan in a 350° oven or cook in a skillet over low heat until lightly browned—about 5-10 minutes. This step brings out a deep, roasted flavor in the finished cookie, and it can be done in advance. Just the toast the nuts and pop ‘em in the freezer until a craving hits. Want to take this recipe above and beyond? Check out this secret technique.

Step 4: Shape and Chill

This next step is a bit unusual, but it’s well worth the wait. Start by shaping ¼-cupfuls of the dough into balls. Flatten each ball into a 2-1/2 inch disk, smoothing edges as necessary. Place the shaped dough in an airtight container—with parchment paper or waxed paper separating each layer—and refrigerate overnight. This step allows the butter to solidify, so when you go to bake the cookies they won’t spread out as much. It also helps the sugars in the dough absorb moisture from the eggs and extracts, creating a condensed flavor. This is the same secret we use to get tender, tasty shortbread.

Editor’s Tip: If you don’t have time for the dough to rest overnight, you can bake the cookies after two hours in the fridge. The flavors won’t be quite as pronounced, but you’ll still yield a tasty treat.

Step 5: Get Ready

Once the cookie dough is well-chilled, preheat your oven to 400°. Place dough disks two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

Editor’s Tip: We recommend using parchment paper because it will help your dough spread less, resulting in a thicker cookie. The color of the paper (either white or brown) does not matter.

These are our favorite ways to use parchment paper.

Step 6: Bake and Enjoy

Place the cookies in the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown—about 10-12 minutes. Cool on the pan for a few minutes, then use a cookie spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Flavor Variations

These cookies are deliciously on their own, but you can add a little extra oomph with these fun flavor variations.

Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce vanilla to 1 teaspoon and add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Substitute toasted almonds for the walnuts.
White Chip Cookies: Substitute white baking chips for the chocolate chips and toasted hazelnuts for the walnuts.
Cranberry Nut Cookies: Substitute dried cranberries for the chocolate chips.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute 1 cup chopped dried cherries for 1 cup of the walnuts.

Can’t get enough of cookies? Try our easy cookie recipes for even more ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.

How to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

To treat a last-minute cookie craving, skip step #5 and #6 to keep a stockpile of dough in your freezer. Then, whenever the mood strikes, bake up fresh cookies. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough:

Once you’ve shaped and chilled the dough, place disks on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer. When the disks are completely frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag.
Make sure you label the freezer bag with baking instructions and a use-by date. Frozen cookie dough will last for up to 6 months.
When you’d like to use the dough, remove cookie disks and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 3-4 minutes longer than the recipe suggests. You can also thaw the dough in the refrigerator before baking.

You can find more information on freezing cookies here.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies

Once the cookies are baked, you’ll want to store them properly so they stay nice and fresh. Follow these tips to keep your treats tasty for several days:

Cool cookies completely before putting them away. Warm cookies stored in a sealed container will create steam, softening your baked goods—and not in a good way.
If you prefer crisp cookies, store them in a container with a loose-fitting cover. If you prefer soft, cake-like cookies, store them in a container with a tight-fitting cover.
To prevent cookies from sticking to one another, store with a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper between layers.
Give your cookies that freshly baked taste by popping them in a 300° oven for 3-5 minutes.

Planning to mail your cookies? Follow these cooking mailing tips.

Next, learn how to make molasses cookies.

More Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

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How to Make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are one of our go-to bakes. Our Test Kitchen regularly whips up these big and buttery cookies (and they are an office favorite!). But there are lots of ways for you to create your version of a great cookie at home. Check out all our tips right from our Test Kitchen pros and cookie enthusiasts.

Perfect chocolate chip cookies, baked eight different ways.

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Don't Be Afraid to Play with Your Favorite Recipe

Making small changes to your go-to cookie recipe can turn it into the best-ever chocolate chip cookie. If you love a crispy cookie, try melted butter instead of softened or all brown sugar in the dough. For chewy cookies, try chilling. Here are our Test Kitchen's tips for making the best chocolate chip cookie.

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Use a Cookie Scoop Sick of the mess that comes with scooping cookies with a spoon? Invest in a good cookie scoop. This gadget comes in all kinds of sizes so you can get the perfect sized cookie for you. This scoop is so handy and keeps your fingers cookie dough-free. It's one of our editors' favorite cookie baking tools.

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Don't Overmix

While you can beat your sugar, eggs and butter as long as you like, be sure not to overmix your cookie dough once you add the flour. Overworking the dough at this stage can make your cookies tough. Instead, mix until just combined then mix in the chips by hand.

Shutterstock / SewCream

Chill the Dough

Chewy cookie fans, take note. Chilling your cookie dough for an hour (or even overnight) could be your new secret to the best chocolate chip cookies. By chilling the dough, you help control the spread of the cookie. The less the cookie spreads, the chewier it is. This technique can also produce slightly sweeter cookies, so good news for you with a sweet tooth!

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Experiment with Mix-Ins

You don't need to limit yourself to semisweet chocolate chips for a good chocolate chip cookie (though if you do, try our Test Kitchen's favorite brand). Try other baking chips, chopped nuts, sprinkles or even chopped chocolate, like with this internet-famous recipe. These changes can give new life to your go-to recipe.

Hot freshly baked chocolate chip cookies are cooling on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Shutterstock / LeeAnn White

Keep Cookies Soft

If you're a chewy cookie lover, it can be a big disappointment to bake up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and find them hard and crunchy the next day. If this happens, all is not lost! It's easy to soften up cookies—just drop a slice of bread into your container. This will revive your cookies and soften them up.

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The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Everyone has a favorite type of chocolate chip cookie—a little crispy, a little chewy—but they all have to begin with a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is the best place to start! —Megumi Garcia, Milwaukee, Wisconsin