American
Chocolate Chip Cookies
This batch makes 24 cookies, and the nutrition and servings are written for 12 servings of 2 cookies each. Butter, both sugars, and chocolate chips bake at 350°F until the edges are set and the centers still look soft.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 32 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- Brown sugar keeps the centers moist, and white sugar helps the edges spread and brown.
- Baking soda, not baking powder, is the leavener, so the cookies spread instead of puffing like cake.
- Pulling them while the centers still look soft lets carryover heat finish the bake.
- A measured flour cup, spooned and leveled, keeps the batch from turning dry and cakey.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
Check the ingredients you still need, then add them. If nothing is checked, the full list is added. Saved on this device.
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- 2
Beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until the mixture looks even and slightly lighter, about 1 minute.
- 3
Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- 4
Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt over the bowl. Stir until no dry flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips. Do not keep beating after the flour disappears.
- 5
Scoop rounded tablespoons onto the sheets, about 2 inches apart. You should get 24 cookies.
- 6
Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should be set and lightly browned, and the centers should still look soft.
- 7
Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move the cookies to a rack. They firm up as they cool. A serving is 2 cookies.
Pro tips
- Spoon the flour into the cup and level it with a knife. Scooping from the bag packs the cup and makes the cookies dry.
- If the butter is oily and melted, the cookies will spread too thin. It should be soft enough to press, not liquid.
- Dark sheets brown the bottoms faster. Check those at 9 minutes.
Easy substitutions
- chocolate chips
- chopped chocolate bars in the same amount
- all-purpose flour
- a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend, still spooned and leveled
- unsalted butter
- salted butter, and use 1/4 tsp salt instead of 1/2 tsp
Storage and reheating
Storage
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Reheating
Warm a cookie on a sheet in a 300°F oven for 4 minutes if you want the center soft again. They do not need reheating to be good at room temperature.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 280
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
Budget friendly · Oven
You might also like
Brookies
A chocolate chip cookie layer and a brownie layer bake in one pan until both are set. The middle is fudgy, not a pool of raw batter.
57 min · Medium
View recipe
Chocolate Layer Cake
A two-layer cocoa cake mixed with hot coffee, then filled and covered with chocolate buttercream. The coffee does not make it taste like coffee. It makes the chocolate louder.
1 hr · Medium
View recipe
Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake
A dense, fudgy chocolate cake lifted with espresso powder and no wheat flour. It slices cleanly once chilled and tastes rich in small wedges.
50 min · Medium
View recipe
Ginger Molasses Cookies
Chewy cookies spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves get their deep color from molasses. A roll in sugar before baking gives a crackled top.
27 min · Easy
View recipeStill hungry?
More in the same lane, not a random mix.
Sugar Cookies
Rolled sugar cookies bake until the edges are set and the centers look matte. The dough is for baking only, because it contains raw flour and egg.
47 min · Medium
View recipe
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Small chocolate cakes bake around a frozen ganache center that melts in the oven. The cake batter itself is baked until the eggs are set.
39 min · Medium
View recipe
Apple Crisp
Sliced apples, lemon, cinnamon, and sugar bake under an oat, flour, and butter topping. The fruit should be tender and the edges bubbling before the pan comes out.
1 hr · Easy
View recipe
Banana Bread
Ripe bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and baking soda bake into one loaf. It is done when a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
1 hr 15 min · Easy
View recipeFind something else
From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
Read the affiliate disclosure.