Learn how to make homemade chocolate chip cookies with this quick and easy recipe. With crisp edges and soft, chewy centers and gooey chocolate chips, these cookies are sure to become a family favorite. One batch makes about 24 cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate go-to dessert recipe in my house. I almost always have all the ingredients I need and it doesn’t make a huge mess all over my kitchen. Of course, the best part is I can get these made and baked in less than 30 minutes, which is great for when I need a quick chocolate fix!
Sometimes it’s just extremely comforting to know that, at any given moment, you are less than thirty minutes away from fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Trust me, cookies make everything better and this easy to follow guide will give you the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever!
Now let’s get baking! First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit so it can get up to temperature while you work. Next, you’ll want to gather all the ingredients this recipe calls for. Like I said, the ingredients list for this recipe is pretty basic so you’ll probably already have everything you need!
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
If by some chance I don’t have all the ingredients I need, I don’t get too worried about making some easy substitutions. If I’m running low on brown sugar, I’ve been known to substitute granulated white sugar mixed with a little molasses. If I only have salted butter, I just omit a little of the salt called for in the recipe.
If I’m in a hurry, sometimes I’ll even soften my butter in the microwave on half-power for a few seconds at a time. Check out our How to Soften Butter blog post for more info.
Missing something else? Check out our list of full ingredient substitutions below!
Step 1: The magic starts once you grab your measuring cups and spoons to begin combining all of the dry ingredients in one bowl. Add in your flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: Then in a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugars with an electric mixer until it’s turned into a light and fluffy creamed mixture.
You should actually be able to see a change in color here. If your mixture hasn’t lightened at all, it’s not quite ready yet – keep beating! If you don’t have a mixer, you could do this by hand – it’ll just take a little extra elbow grease.
Step 3: Once your butter and sugar are sufficiently fluffy, beat in egg, add vanilla extract and mix it all up well. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of your bowl as needed!
Step 4: Next, go ahead and add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until combined. Make sure you start your mixer on a low speed – I’ve had a cloud of flour puff up in my face one too many times, so I always try to be patient here.
Step 5: Now it’s time for the most delicious part – adding in your chocolate chips. I like to use semi-sweet chips for these, but you can always experiment with whatever is in your pantry. You could even make a custom mix of chip flavors!
In the past, I’ve even chopped up a chocolate bar for a quick substitution. This is also the time you could dress up your cookies with other ingredients like walnuts, if you’re into that sort of thing. I usually stir these in by hand, just because it’s a little gentler, and I really like to see those nice, big chunks of chocolate in my cookies.
Step 6: Next, drop your dough in rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie pan or lined baking sheet with parchment. I usually use a small cookie scoop for this, just to speed things up.
You should get about two dozen cookies out of this recipe, but you can obviously double it or triple it depending on how hungry you are (or how nice you want to be to your friends)!
Step 7: Pop these in the oven for a baking time between 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
At this point, your kitchen will be filled with the absolutely magical aroma of fresh cookies, which is always an added bonus.
Step 8: Once they’re done, take the pan out and let your cookies cool for 3 minutes on the pan, then move them to a cooling grid or a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature. Or at least as long as you can stand to wait!
Flour Substitution Suggestions
If you don’t have all-purpose flour you can use gluten-free flour instead, or combine all-purpose with whole wheat flour to get the full 2¼ cups. Whole wheat flour is ‘thirstier’ than all-purpose flour, so don’t be surprised if you also need to add a little more liquid to get your dough to the right consistency.
Other Simple Ingredient Substitutions
If you find yourself without baking soda, sugar, or eggs, never fear! These easy substitutions can help you in a pinch.
Of course it’s important to keep in mind that substituting ingredients may mean your final cookie may taste or look different than you originally intended, but it’s better than no cookies at all, right?
Baking Soda Substitution
If you don’t have baking soda while it’s not a perfect substitute, you could use ½ teaspoon baking powder, or just leave the baking soda out completely (your cookies may not rise as well, but they’ll still taste great!).
Table Salt Substitution
If you don’t have salt you can use equal parts kosher salt or sea salt.
Unsalted Butter Substitution
If you don’t have unsalted butter you can use 2 sticks salted butter, just omit the salt from the recipe. You can also use equal parts margarine or vegan butter instead.
Sugar Substitution
If you don’t have granulated or brown sugar you can use either all granulated or all brown sugar, or you can substitute dark brown sugar for light. You can also make brown sugar by adding 2 to 3 teaspoons molasses to every cup of granulated sugar.
Egg Substitution
If you don’t have eggs use ¼ cup applesauce or mashed banana
Vanilla Substitution
If you don’t have vanilla leave it out or use a vanilla bean, vanilla paste or vanilla sugar. If you’re not opposed to a little booze, you can also sub in 1 teaspoon bourbon, which pairs perfectly with chocolate!
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips Substitution
If you don’t have semisweet chocolate chips use whatever chocolate you’d like! If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can chop up a chocolate bar or baking bar, or use chocolate candies or nuts.
If you come up with any ingenious add-ins for these cookies, please feel free to share in the comments – I’m always on the hunt for fun ways to switch up my cookies! I hope you enjoyed our bakealong using this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe! Now grab yourself a glass of milk and bask in the fruits of your labor – you’ve earned it.
If you’re sharing a picture of your chocolate chip creations on social media, be sure to tag us @wiltoncakes so we can see how they came out!
Looking for more delicious cookie recipes? Check these out:
Easy & Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter 2 Sticks, Softened
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Dark Brown Sugar Firmly Packed
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg and add vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of your bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until combined. Start your mixer on a low speed.
- Add in chocolate chips.
- Drop your dough in rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie pan or baking sheet with parchment.
- Bake in the oven for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- When they’re done, take the pan out and let your cookies cool for 3 minutes on the pan, then move them to a cooling grid to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Use a cookie scoop to form the ball of dough and turn out perfectly even cookies
- Do not chill the dough before baking
- To freeze baked cookies, layer them in an airtight container or freezer bag with parchment paper or waxed paper in between the layers of cookies for 3 to 4 months. Check out our How to Freeze Cake and Other Baked Goods for more info!
- To freeze cookie dough for later use, simply form the dough into balls and freeze, uncovered, until solid. Once frozen, place in a resealable plastic bag and keep in the freezer for 6 to 8 weeks (you can also keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days). No need to defrost these, they can go from freezer to oven for those late-night cookie cravings!
- Substitutions
- Flour Substitution Suggestions: use gluten-free flour or combine all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to get the full 2 ¼ cups
- Baking Soda Substitution: use ½ teaspoon baking powder, or just leave the baking soda out completely (your cookies may not rise as well).
- Table Salt Substitution: use equal parts kosher salt or sea salt.
- Unsalted Butter Substitution: use 2 sticks salted butter and omit the salt from the recipe. You can also use equal parts margarine or vegan butter instead.
- Sugar Substitution: use either all granulated or all brown sugar, or you can substitute dark brown sugar for light. You can also make brown sugar by adding 2 to 3 teaspoons molasses to every cup of granulated sugar.
- Egg Substitution: use ¼ cup applesauce or mashed banana.
- Vanilla Substitution: use vanilla bean, vanilla paste or vanilla sugar. If you’re not opposed to a little booze, you can also sub in 1 teaspoon bourbon.
This recipe calls for imitation vanilla. Why imitation? Is it because of the clear color?
Hi Claudia – You can use imitation or real vanilla extract for this recipe! I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this as well. Happy baking!
One of the best recipes around. Thanks it was a great exprience.
I just loved it, and i made it.
I tried this chocolate cookie for the first time and it was damn amazing I loved it absolutely. You taught it the best way to make it.
Hello, I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for providing feedback. 🙂 Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect go to dessert when you have a sweet tooth.
For substitutions for egg, I have used 100% pure canned pumpkin, 1/4 cup per egg. My grandson is highly allergic to eggs so I always have to substitute. I found this works well and doesn’t change the taste of your recipe you are making.
Hi Judy- That is a great suggestion! Thank you for sharing.
Made these today and they are delicious better then any pre-made dough or cookie!! I used semi-sweet chips and a dove dark chocolate bar to make them more chocolate chunk, to die for!!
Hi Shell, I’m glad you enjoyed them! The Dove chocolate bar add-in sounds delicious. Thank you for sharing.
When I use self-rising flour I omit the salt and soda.
Re: Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Your recipe says All-Purpose Flour. Is this the US All-purpose flour at 12% gluten or the UK Plain flour at 10% gluten.
If the former, should we use UK Strong flour as a substitute?
Thank you.
Hi Evelyn- We are referring to US all-purpose flour in this recipe. We haven’t used UK strong flour in the test kitchen but it seems that UK strong flour is more similar to US all-purpose.