Our Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes and Tips for the Perfect Cookie

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

Big & Buttery Chocolate Chip Cookies

My take on the classic cookie is inspired by a bakery in California called Hungry Bear. It's big, thick and chewy—truly the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. —Irene Yeh, Mequon, Wisconsin

Chocolate Malted Cookies

These cookies are the next best thing to a good old-fashioned malted milk. With malted milk powder, chocolate syrup, plus chocolate chips and chunks, these are the best cookies I've ever tasted…and with six kids, I've made a lot of cookies over the years! —Teri Rasey, Cadillac, Michigan

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone who has tried these cookies says they're the best they've ever eaten. I'm sure the addition of pudding mix makes all the difference.

Super Chunky Cookies

Chocolate lovers will go crazy over these cookies that feature loads of chocolate! When friends ask me to make "those cookies," I know exactly what recipe they mean. —Rebecca Jendry, Spring Branch, Texas

Chippy Peanut Butter Cookies

"Hey, these are good!" is the surprised remark I hear when I bake these for the family. As simple as it may seem, all I do is follow directions. This works exceptionally well when it comes to making cookies. —Ian Badeer, Hickman, Nebraska

S'more Sandwich Cookies

Capture the taste of campfire s'mores in your kitchen. Graham cracker crumbs added to chocolate chip cookie dough bring out the flavor of the fireside favorite. Melting the cookies' marshmallow centers in the microwave makes them simple to assemble. —Abby Metzger, Larchwood, Iowa

Wyoming Cowboy Cookies

These cookies are very popular here in Wyoming. Mix up a batch for your crew and see why. —Patsy Steenbock, Shoshoni, Wyoming

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Here's a different version of a traditional recipe. I love these soft peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. — Clarice Schweitzer, Sun City, Arizona

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm one of the cooking project leaders for my daughter's 4-H club, where these soft, delicious cookies were a great hit with the kids. —Marietta Slater, Augusta, Kansas

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Crazy about chocolate chips? This chewy, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie has plenty, not to mention lots of heart-healthy oatmeal. The gang’ll come back for seconds so this big batch recipe is perfect. This is the best 'oat choc chip cookies recipe' you'll ever taste! —Diane Neth, Menno, South Dakota

Mini Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies

I love baking cookies to give as gifts to my family and friends. I created this recipe for my annual holiday cookie platter and it received rave reviews from both children and adults. If the buttercream doesn't come together after all of the butter has been incorporated, add some shortening one tablespoon at a time until the mixture starts to transform. —Julie Thomas, Saukville, Wisconsin

Dad's Chocolate Chip Cookies

My dad, Art Winter, would tuck some of these cookies in the care packages he and my mom sent to me when I was in college.—Art Winter, Trumbull, Connecticut

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

"Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?" inquires field editor Diane Hixon, who credits cocoa in the batter for the double dose of chocolate in her treats. These disappear fast from the cookie jar in her Niceville, Florida home!

Caramel-Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies

These cookies are more cake-like; a nice change from the more common chewier chocolate chip cookie. I've been known to add a little peanut butter to the filling too. —Lauren Reiff, East Earl, Pennsylvania

Chocolate Chip-Cherry Chunk Cookies

My grandmas and mom created this recipe with chocolate chips, cherries and spices, a combo of their favorite parts of different cookies. Then dad made ice cream to turn them into ice cream sandwiches. We'd eat these sandwiches in the summer heat, each bite cooling us as the ice cream melted down our arms. —Wade Rouse, Fennville, Michigan. For more info on author Wade Rouse, please visit www.ViolaShipman.com

Norwegian Chocolate Chip Cookies

My best friend, Amber, taught me how to make these cookies. They are a great mash-up of a sugar and chocolate chip cookie. A pizza cutter is the best tool for cutting into slices after baking. —Bonnie Brien, Surprise, Arizona

Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies

Whenever I used to make cookies, my three boys would always find something they didn't like about them. After some trial and error, I finally came up with a cookie they all enjoyed. —Heidi Cretens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Oat-Rageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

My aunt gave me this recipe, and my family thinks these cookies are delicious. We enjoy all different kinds of cookies, and with this recipe, we can combine three of our favorite kinds—oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chip—in one! —Jaymie Noble, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Crescent Chip Cookies

With their cute curved shape, crescents always make charming additions to a Christmas platter. I dip the cooled cookies in chocolate and sprinkle on walnuts. —Ann Eastman, Sacramento, California

Cherry-Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

My kids love making these home-style cookies. They're so wonderful when warm. —Jaye Beeler, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

"My mom always brightened my lunch with these yummy cookies," shares Tammy Orr of Wharton, New Jersey.

Orange-Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies

I developed this recipe after years of searching for a chocolate chip cookie that would stand out from all others. Orange and cinnamon are tasty additions. —Daniel Kaepp, Coldwater, Michigan

Winning Cranberry Chip Cookies

Chock-full of cranberries, chocolate chips and nuts, these cookies are fun to eat. They offer a change of pace from traditional Christmas cookies...but don't wait until December to make them. My family requests them all year-round.

Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot Cookies

Mandelbrot in Yiddish literally means “almond bread.” The twice-baked cookie made with oil and almonds dates back to 19th century Eastern Europe. There are many variations made of different dried fruits and nuts. My chocolate chip version is more modern-American. —Kimberly Scott, Kosciusko, Mississippi

Air-Fryer Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I am crazy about chocolate chips, and this chewy cookie has enough to satisfy me. My husband and kids love these cookies. This big batch is perfect for our family. —Diane Neth, Menno, South Dakota

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

As a competitive figure skater, I need high-energy snacks to keep me going. These cookies are loaded with nuts, chips and fabulous flavor. Coaches at my skating rink are always sneaking two or three when I bring them in! —Cassandra Brzycki, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Macadamia Nut Cookies

These rich cookies are full of Hawaiian macadamia nuts and chocolate chips. —Mary Gaylord, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin

Cinnamon White & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wanted to put a spin on the traditional chocolate chip cookie, and who doesn't love cinnamon? Depending on what you use to drop your cookies, the quantity served will change. —Cassie Colosimo, Reading, Pennsylvania

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Pizzelle

I've experimented with different varieties of pizzelle recipes, but this is definitely a favorite. My dad likes to help make them so that we don't run out!—Aimee McCullen, Youngwood, Pennsylvania

Toasted Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are almost anyone's favorites and these are sure to please! —Bethany Thayer, Troutville, Virginia