If you like soft, chewy cookies, these thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies are for you. Brown sugar and higher oven temperature is the secret to thick, soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies every time.
This is my personal favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. With all the baking I do, I know that there are a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. This one, in particular, makes super soft, chewy, thick cookies that are exactly what I look for in a cookie.
Update: This became a very popular cookie recipe when I first posted it several years ago. I’ve updated the post to reflect helpful questions and comments from you, and to add a new how-to video that shows you exactly how to make chewy chocolate chip cookies.
I originally posted this recipe after The Salt Lake Tribune printed an article about baking chocolate chip cookies. Cuisine Quest: Cookie question: Soft and chewy? Or hard and crispy?. The Tribune article was inspired by a similar question posed in Sunset Magazine. Their staff baked more than 25 unique chocolate chip cookie recipes to find the formula for the perfect cookie.
I definitely belong to the soft and chewy crowd and if you do too, you’re going to love this recipe.
The Secret To Thick and Chewy Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
According to research by Sunset, more moisture results in softer and chewier cookies. You can help your cookies retain moisture by adjusting the baking time and temperature.
While I usually use a 350°F oven for cookies, research suggests that a hotter oven for a shorter cooking time will keep cookies softer. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about baking cookies at such a high temp, but in the name of chewier chocolate chip cookies, I had to give it a try.
Even though the cookies looked far from finished after the prescribed 8 minute bake time, I followed directions and removed the cookies from the oven. While those cooled, I performed a bit of an experiment on my own and baked off another batch at 350°F.
The second, lower temperature batch came out just like my usual chocolate chip cookies. Once both batches had a chance to cool, it was time to taste test.
And guess what? All that research paid off. The first batch of cookies was thick, chewy and just what I’ve been looking for.
I’ve been making all of my chocolate chip cookies with this thick and chewy recipe ever since.
Ingredients for Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Most of the ingredients for this chocolate chip cookie recipe are the standard pantry staples you’d expect. The one key difference is that this recipe uses only brown sugar, no white.
Brown sugar has a higher moisture content than granulated sugar. This helps keep your homemade cookies thick and chewy, rather than thin and crispy.
Plus, the brown sugar helps these cookies brown up faster. That means that even with our shorter cooking time, the cookies gain their signature toasted brown color on top.
How to Make Perfect Thick and Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’ve made chocolate chip cookies before, the steps in this recipe will look familiar. Before you get started, take out the butter and let it come up to room temperature.
Tip: To bring your butter to room temperature faster, slice it into tablespoons and put it in your bowl to warm up while you’re measuring your other ingredients.
As in most recipes, you’ll start by combining the dry ingredients. Then, I like to use my stand mixer with a paddle attachment to cream the butter and sugar together. This should take about 2 minutes. You’ll know the creaming is done when the butter is light and fluffy.
If you don’t have a paddle attachment or a stand mixer, you can get the job done with a hand mixer or by hand, it will just take a little longer and a little more elbow grease.
Combine everything together and fold in the chocolate chips. You can also add nuts here if you like. I like pecans, but walnuts would also be great.
At this point, you can chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes. This helps keep the cookies from spreading out as much when you bake them, but it’s not required for perfectly chewy cookies.
When you’re ready to bake, scoop the dough onto a baking sheet. I love using this #40 disher to scoop perfectly sized cookies. Each cookie is about 1.5 tablespoons of dough.
Many food bloggers like to push a few extra chocolate chips on the top of the cookie dough to they look prettier for pictures. In the pictures above, the first tray of cookies on the right is right after taking the cookies out of the oven. The third picture on the bottom right shows what the cookies look like after resting on the tray for 5 minutes.
Storing Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store your chocolate chip cookies in a Ziploc bag at room temperature.
Like most cookies, thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies stay fresh longer if frozen. If you’re not planning to inhale all the cookies within a day or two, let the cookies cool fully before storing them in a sealed container in the freezer. They’ll keep for several months. I like to let them defrost on the counter for a few hours, or overnight, before serving.
This is a great make-ahead recipe if you’re entertaining. It’s always nice to have some cookies tucked away in the freezer for guests.
Thick, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar, on medium speed, until well blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture; mix just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using. (Optional: cover dough and chill 20 – 30 minutes.)
- Drop dough in 2-tablespoon portions, 2 inches apart, onto baking pans. Bake until the cookies are lightly browned and no longer wet in the center, 6 to 8 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. (Take the cookies out of the oven 1 or 2 minutes before the cookies are cooked, as they will continue to cook on the baking pans.)
- Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to racks to cool completely before serving.
Video
Notes
My Other Favorite Chewy Cookie Recipes to Try
Chocolate chip aren’t the only recipe for thick and chewy cookies! Try these other popular cookie recipes:
- Fudgy Chocolate Sixlet Cookies are always a winner on Valentine’s Day, but I love them all year long.
- Keto Coconut Macaroons from Two Sleevers are a different take on the chewy cookie, made with crispy coconut and egg whites for a lighter dessert.
- Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies are fudgy and brownie-like with a gooey and soft marshmallow on top. And don’t forget the chocolate icing!
- Extra Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies from Bless this Mess Please check all the boxes: soft, spiced and glazed with cinnamon sugar
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Carol
I’m a thick and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie fan…and these look delicious.
Melissa @ My Recent Favorite books
These look delicious! I love chocolate! =)
Rosa
My kind of cookie. Extremely addictive.
Cheers,
Rosa
Maha
I cant stop with two or three if i bake these cuties..perfectly baked out n Nice texture u gt.
Diane
I can’t wait to make these. I can almost smell them now.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Diane! Hope you enjoy them.
Maria Keown
HI Barbara, I was on a search for yet another new chocolate chip cookie recipe when I found your blog! Will be trying it out tomorrow…very nice site you got here, love all those recipes and I’m sure I will try quite a few of them….I’m in Utah as well, moved here about 2 years ago, still struggling with the altitude change on some of my own formulas, but I’m getting there, slowly..lol….thanks for taking the time to post and do these write-ups!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Maria – what a sweet comment. Here’a link to the guide I use for adapting recipes for high altitude http://cityhomecountryhome.blogspot.com/2010/08/high-altitude-baking-and-candy-making.html. Just a few changes really do make a big difference. Have fun!
Kellie E
After searching for years to find the most perfect chocolate chip cookie, I have finally found it! It always turns out great! I am actually thinking of adding in some grated zuchini the next time I make it. Shhh….
Barbara
Thanks Kellie! It is a great recipe. Zucchini sounds like a fun addition, although I image it will make it a softer cookie. Be sure and squeeze out most of the liquid after shredding. Let me know how it goes!
Emilie
These cookies might just end up being the cause of my diabetes, because I can’t stop eating them! They were quite a hit with other members of my family as well. In my case, the outside turned out a bit crispy and the middles were nice and chewy, which is just the way I like it. Thank you for the recipe!
Barbara
Thanks Emilie! They are definitely addicting. I need to whip up another batch soon.
april leclair
Today my daughter and I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. We wanted thick soft and chewy. We got thick and soft, not so much chewy but that’s okay because they are a big hit. Very soft, chocolate still soft. Only change I would make would be to use milk chocolate.
Barbara
Hi April – Thanks for letting me know you made the cookies! So glad you liked them even though they weren’t chewy for you.
Carol
This is my new favorite cookie recipe! I’ve made it a few times now and it never fails – thanks for posting!!
Off to enjoy some fresh out of the oven…
Barbara
Hi Carol – thanks for taking the time to let me know how much you like the cookie. Now I’m craving a fresh out of the oven cookie!
Claire K Creations
I made these yesterday with the kids I look after and loved them so much I made another batch this morning for myself!
Barbara
You definitely needed a batch for yourself. They are addicting. So glad you love them!
Megan
Yum! There are never enough chocolate chip cookie recipes!
Becky at VintageMixer
These do look like perfect chocolate chip cookies! I think I need a cross section picture though, maybe of one broken in half with melted chocolate oozing out of the center 😉
sheila @ Elements
I’m definitely a thick and chewy gal! I’m not so great with baking cookies. Bread…I can do it in my sleep, but cookies…they’re tricky. I had no idea that such a small difference in the oven setting could make the cookies look so different. I always seem to have problems with my cookies being too thin, so I’ll try to remember to cook at a little higher temperature. Thanks so much for the great info! 🙂 Your cookies look fantastic by the way! 🙂
Cathy at Wives with Knives
It’s got to be soft and chewy at my house and we like walnuts instead of pecans. Always a favorite dessert here. Happy Mother’s Day, Barbara. Hope your day is a special one.
Barbara
Isn’t it funny how we all have a favorite texture in our cc cookies? I must confess, I like my crisp on the outside and not too thick…so I guess that puts me in the other camp! 🙂 But, I’ve never met a cc cookie that I wouldn’t try!
pigpigscorner
Bookmarking this! Great to see there’s no shortening or any other weird ingredients involved.
Sue
Soft and chewy is the way to go, Barbara! I’ll have to try your recipe because I don’t have the best luck with chocolate chip cookies turning out this way.
Miriam Barton
I’m totally a soft and chewy girl too :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
marisa
I am also totally in the thick and chewy club!!!!