Chocolate chip cookies! I’ll admit, everyone has a recipe… and every recipe always makes the best chocolate chip cookies everrrrr! They’re mostly all the same. I have the recipes from two generations of three different families and all of their chocolate chip cookies recipes are the same. This one is the same. It’s still the best chocolate chip cookies recipe ever.
They do seem to be everyone’s favorite. Who hasn’t found themselves in a situation where you find yourself asking “Do you want some chocolate chip cookies?” and the response is, without hesitation, “Sure, I could go for some chocolate chip cookies…” Short of those who are allergic to chocolate, there are very few people who don’t like the sweet, chocolatey flavors of a homemade chocolate chip cookie. It’s the one thing you know you can bake your new neighbor, your sick friend, or your child’s class.
The Blueprint Of A Cookie
If you want to develop your “own” chocolate chip cookie recipe, which always happens when you bake something a lot, you just need to understand the makeup of the cookie. From that, you can tweak the elements in small amounts to figure out what works best to your taste. In the majority of cookie recipes, the dough consists of:
- A fat (shortening or butter)
- A binder (usually egg)
- A starch (usually flour)
- A sweetener (usually white sugar)
- ..and a flavor (spices, extracts, chocolate, nuts, brown sugar, etc.)
Look around. These are the common elements in every single “best ever” cookie recipe you’ll find on the internet. Even my recipes for Walnut Thumbprint Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies follow this formula.
An Easy Recipe for Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
This chocolate chip cookies recipe uses butter, egg, and all-purpose flour as the fat, binder, and starch. Pretty much every single recipe out there does. It uses a 50/50 mix of white sugar to brown sugar. This part can vary with other people’s recipes. I personally like this ratio because it the brown sugar imparts a rich soft flavor from the molasses. At the same time, the white sugar helps to keep the cookie crunchy. For flavoring, I use nearly twice the vanilla that other chocolate chip cookie recipes use. I like it because the flavor combination of brown sugar and vanilla when it first hits my tastes buds always makes me smile. You can cut the vanilla in half if you think it’s too powerful.
Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Tiny Kitchen
This recipe calls for the use of a baking pan, mixing bowl, large spoon, and a few measuring tools. Because you’ll be spooning the dough out onto a baking pan, you’ll basically be cleaning the bowl while you go along. To help with clean-up, I use parchment paper to line my baking sheet. That way I can just a lightly wipe it when I’m done. It doesn’t usually pick up more than a few crumbs.
You will need access to an oven that can bake at 375℉. Even a toaster oven will do but you will only be able to make between 4-6 cookies at a time depending on the size of your toaster and baking tray. You will also need some counter space to cool your cookies. You could use a rack, but I prefer using a the inside of a brown paper bag. I think the paper bag wicks away more of the butter grease and it retains some moisture to help make the cookies slightly more chewy when they are cool.
The cookie dough keep well for up to two weeks in an airtight container. Dough can be frozen for up to three months without a problem. If you form the dough into little patties before you freeze it, you can just pop them out onto a baking sheet and bake them straight away. Simply increase the cooking time by about 3-5 minutes.
That’s it!
Give this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies a shot and let me know what you think. Don’t forget to come back and give me your rating. If you have any questions or find other substitutions that are yummy, feel free add those in your comments! As always, if you like this recipe, please share it on social media so other people know about it too. Let’s eat!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375℉
- Put the softened butter in a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Using the back of the spoon, cream the sugar into the butter until it is smooth.
- Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix into the butter until it's fully incorporated and slightly fluffy.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until smooth.
- Fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough.
- Spoon out 1 to 1 1/2 heaping tablespoon globs of the cookie dough on a parchment-lined baking pan. Leave about 2 inches between each ball to allow for spreading.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.
- Remove from tray and let cool.
