Classic Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These classic chewy chocolate chip cookies are simple yet delicious with the perfect texture in every bite.

If you have ever googled chocolate chip cookies, you might have noticed there’s a LOT of recipes. Even I already have more than one on my website. So why add another? Variety is the spice of life. Sometimes you want a soft cookie, sometimes a crispy one, sometimes you want one with lots of extras and sometimes you want a classic. My Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies I think would be a little bit of the classic and a little bit of the extra. It’s my favorite but it does require extra steps like browning the butter and using bread flour. So I wanted to create a really simple version that was a little bit different.

Right out of the oven these will have a lightly crisp edge and a soft chewy center. After storing them in an airtight container for a few hours they will be soft and chewy throughout. Sort of the best of both worlds when it comes to cookies.

If you’re a chocolate chip cookie lover, I also have (in addition to my brown butter choc chip cookies linked above) a Mini Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Baking Notes & Tips

These cookies don’t require a long chilling time, but they really do need to be chilled. Because melted butter is used instead of softened butter, the chilling will allow the butter to solidify a bit, and prevent too much spreading. Melted butter lends itself to a denser and chewier texture where as creaming softened butter with sugar adds air and makes them a little lighter and fluffier. That being said, I tested these with an immediate bake, two, 24, and 48 hour chill time and all worked but I would recommend at least 2 hours. Longer chill times can help improve both texture and flavor.

I always find it easiest to scoop cookie dough right after making it and before chilling. I scooped these with a #30 scoop (which is about 2 tbsp) and creates a good size cookie that’s not too big or too small. I scoop all the dough onto a baking sheet with parchment and cover it with a baking sheet lid. You want to make sure you cover your cookie dough well so it doesn’t dry out, especially if you plan on chilling them longer than 2 hours. Dry cookie dough will not create chewy chocolate chip cookies. It will lead crumbly dry cookies. No thanks!

I tested these chewy chocolate chip cookies with both dark brown and light brown sugar. Personally, I’m a dark brown sugar gal – I love the flavor so much better. BUT both versions were great so use what you have and what you prefer.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Key Ingredients

• Butter – Now, pretty much every cookie recipe has butter so the fact that butter is a key ingredient isn’t surprising. But mainly the key is that the butter is melted. As noted above, melting butter changes the structure of the cookie and creates a denser cookie, resulting in chewy chocolate chip cookies.
• Cornstarch – Cornstarch, even just a little bit, helps create both softness and chewiness. It helps prevent gluten formation and absorbs moisture which aids in preventing excessive spread. Using too much cornstarch can create a really gluey texture though so it’s only a teaspoon.
• Egg Yolk – In cookies, eggs do several things. They act as an emulsifier, help with structure and they also add a lot of flavor. The egg yolk in particular adds fat/flavor and aids in preventing dryness. Adding an extra yolk really helps create that moist and chewy cookie texture.

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