Soft, thick, and comforting, these classic Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies are ready in 20 minutes. Melty, gooey on the inside with golden brown crispy edges.
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It's important to have a little bit of chocolate in your life sometimes. That's where these chocolate chip cookies are perfect!
They're bakery-quality cookies with a soft, tender finish and the perfect amount of chocolatey goodness. Best of all, even beginner bakers will be able to pull off this go-to recipe and make the best chocolate chip cookies!
Pair them with Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies or Cowboy Cookies to make a fun cookie platter that's sure to please any crowd.
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Why this Recipe Works
With classic ingredients and a tried-and-true baking method, these homemade chocolate chip cookies turn out perfectly every time.
You probably have most of the ingredients on hand already, which makes them a great option when a sudden craving hits. It takes less than 20 minutes to prep and bake, which means your cookies are hot and ready in no time.
Plus, the cookie dough is so easy to make and can even be frozen to bake later on!
Ingredients Needed
- Unsalted Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter so I'm able to add as much or as little salt as I want later.
- Granulated Sugar: Also called white sugar (or just "regular" sugar), you probably have some of this in your pantry already.
- Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar may have slightly different results, but the cookies will turn out delicious either way!
- Vanilla Extract: Adds another dimension of sweetness and flavor.
- All Purpose Flour: This is another ingredient you likely have in your cupboard already, and is a classic choice for cookies. You could also use cake flour or a blend of all-purpose flour and cake flour for a lighter, softer cookie.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Using both of these leavening agents ensures that your cookies will be light and tender and won't get hard as they bake.
- Salt: Helps balance and enhance all of the sweet flavors.
- Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips are the typical choice for cookies, but you could go with milk chocolate chips or even a darker chocolate chunks if you prefer.
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Step 2: Add egg, then beat in dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
- Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips and scoop 2 tablespoon dough balls out.
- Step 5: Place the dough balls on a baking sheet. Add a few extra chocolate chips on top.
- Step 6: Bake! They will look a tad underdone but will continue to cook as they cool.
Recipe Tips
- Add a few extra chocolate chips to the top of each scoop of cookie dough to ensure a pretty presentation.
- Sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top of each cookie before or after baking.
- The cookies may look underdone after the baking time is up, but they'll finish cooking as they sit on the cooling rack.
- Allow the cookies to sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes or so, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. It will be tempting to eat them right out of the oven, but letting them sit is crucial to the baking process!
- If you don't have a cookie scoop, use a tablespoon to portion out 2 tablespoon balls of cookie dough.
- This recipe for bakery-style chocolate chip cookies is a fantastic base for other mix-ins. Add other fun ingredients to the batter like other candies or chopped chocolate bars, cereal, crushed nuts, or marshmallows.
Recipe FAQ's
The main difference between homemade cookies and bakery cookies is that bakeries use emulsions. These are flavorings that are specifically designed to withstand high temperatures. Emulsions tend to retain their flavor better than typical store bought extracts during baking.
Absolutely, cookie dough is great to make ahead and then freeze. Place dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours then place dough in a large ziplock freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. With the cookie dough frozen it won't spread as much. You might need to add 1-2 minutes of cooking time to account for the cold dough.
Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks or more. If you have multiple layers, separate with some parchment paper or wax paper to prevent sticking.
Store the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread or flour tortilla. The moisture from the bread or tortilla will transfer to the cookies keeping them soft and fresh longer.
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Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour Scoop and level, see notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips plus extra for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Then add in the egg and vanilla and mix.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat on low just until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using a 2 tbl cookie scoop place dough balls (stacked high for thicker cookies) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Place a few extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie ball. this is optional but makes a very pretty cookie.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes (I pull mine at 8 minutes) they will look slightly underdone but will continue to cook as they cool a bit.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- Scoop your flour into the measuring cups and level off with a knife to prevent to much flour be used.
- Use this recipe as a base and add other mix-ins like nuts, candy, cereal, and more.
- To Freeze: Place dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours then place dough in a large ziplock freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I like to let the cookies thaw just a bit before baking or else they won't spread, you can also gently press them down a bit before baking.
The recipe was AMAZING and turned out better than I expected. It was the perfect texture and the tips were really helpful. Usually, when I make cookies or something, it looks bad but tastes either good or mid. This recipe made my cookies GREAT AND PRETTY!!! Definetely trying this again.
So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
I made these cookies, and they came out absolutely perfect soft and chewy. I did bake it for 12 minutes or so, because I like them on brown side.
So happy everybody loves them, they are one of my favs also!
I've made these cookies at least four times for my family, and they've been such a hit! My brother literally begs me to make these. They're so soft without being too goopy, and the flavor is great!
These cookies are incredible just like a bakery! I like a thick chocolate chip cookie and these were perfect.