Some recipes earn their reputation, and this one has. These chocolate chip cookies are thick, soft, and incredibly chewy, thanks to a few smart techniques: melted butter, extra brown sugar, a touch of cornstarch, and an added egg yolk. The dough needs a chill before baking, but that short wait is what makes these some of the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll bake.
Quick facts
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Chill time: At least 2 hours (overnight recommended)
- Cook time: 13 minutes
- Total time: about 2 hours 45 minutes
- Makes: 16 extra-large cookies or 20 medium-large cookies
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- An exceptionally chewy texture. Melted butter, extra brown sugar, cornstarch, and an extra yolk all work together toward one goal: maximum chew.
- Thick, bakery-style cookies. Shaping the dough tall instead of wide helps them bake up thick rather than flat.
- A reliable, tested formula. This is a well-loved recipe for good reason, with a long track record of consistent results.
- Make-ahead friendly. The dough can chill for up to 3 days, so you can prep ahead and bake whenever you’re ready.
- Classic flavor. Simple chocolate chip cookies done exceptionally well.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g/12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for 5 minutes
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
What Makes These Cookies So Chewy
A few deliberate choices set this dough apart from a standard chocolate chip cookie. Melting the butter instead of just softening it changes the texture of the dough, leading to a denser, chewier bite. Using more brown sugar than white sugar adds moisture and a deeper flavor, since brown sugar holds more liquid than granulated sugar. A small amount of cornstarch keeps the cookies tender and helps prevent them from spreading too thin. And the extra egg yolk, on top of a whole egg, adds richness and fat that contributes directly to that soft, chewy center.
How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Part 1: Mix the Dough
1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set this aside.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until combined, then whisk in the vanilla. The mixture will look thin at this stage.
3. Combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be soft, thick, and shiny.
4. Fold in the chocolate. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in. Because of the melted butter, the chips may not want to stick at first, but keep working them in until they’re distributed throughout the dough.
Part 2: Chill
5. Refrigerate. Cover the dough tightly and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Chilling overnight is the best option, since it helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Part 3: Shape and Bake
6. Preheat and prep. Heat the oven to 325°F (163°C) and line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before shaping.
7. Portion the dough. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop about 3 scant tablespoons of dough (around 60g) for extra-large cookies, or 2 heaping tablespoons (around 50g) for medium-large cookies.
8. Shape tall, not wide. Roll the dough into a ball, then use your fingers to reshape it so it’s taller than it is wide, more like a short cylinder than a flat disc. This shaping helps the cookies bake up thick instead of spreading flat.
9. Arrange on the sheets. Space the shaped dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
10. Bake. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes, until the edges are just lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but they’ll continue to set as the cookies cool.
11. Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. While they’re still warm, you can press a few extra chocolate chips onto the tops for a prettier finished look, though this step is purely optional.
Tips for the Best Cookies
Don’t skip the chilling time. This dough is quite soft and slick right after mixing. Chilling firms it up and is essential for controlling how much the cookies spread.
Chill overnight if you can. An overnight rest gives the best results for thick, non-spready cookies.
Measure the flour carefully. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off instead of scooping straight from the bag, which can pack in extra flour and dry out the dough.
Shape the dough tall. This small shaping step makes a real difference in getting that thick, bakery-style cookie instead of a flat one.
Let the dough warm up slightly if it’s been chilling a long time. About 15 minutes at room temperature makes very cold dough easier to shape.
Resist overbaking. Pull the cookies while the centers still look soft and underdone. They firm up significantly as they cool on the pan.
Storing
Store the cookies tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Final Thoughts
These chewy chocolate chip cookies live up to their reputation. The combination of melted butter, extra brown sugar, cornstarch, and an added yolk creates a texture that’s hard to beat, and shaping the dough tall gives you that coveted thick, bakery-style cookie. The chilling time requires a little patience, but the payoff is worth it. Bake a batch and let me know how they turn out.