Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (Soft, Chewy, No Mixer)
They are so tasty, buttery and chewy! I love them so much! Lucie
I found a really, really good recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies that I’m sharing, along with a few tips. Chewy, soft centers with a slight toffee taste. I love eating warm cookies, fresh from the oven, with a big glass of cold milk – heaven!
I can’t take any credit for this ultimate chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe except that I found it for you 🙂 It was created by Melissa Stadler of Modern Honey.
Melissa developed many different decadent recipes and claims this is her go-to and favorite recipe, so I had to try it. Smart move. I don’t know if they are the best chocolate chip cookies, but I do know they are really good.
What to expect
Most chewy chocolate chip cookie recipes are pretty similar. This recipe has a few small tweaks with a big impact.
- The butter is melted.
- You use dark brown sugar instead of light.
- The sprinkling of sea salt – very popular now – also adds to the great overall taste.
- I also love that the dough is mixed by hand – no electric mixer to wash.
These cookies have slightly crispy edges with a soft chewy center and a mild toffee taste. Delish. Want even deeper flavor? Chill 24-36 hours (details below)
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
The ingredients are similar to all classic chocolate chip cookies. Just two things to note:
- Brown sugar: The recipe calls for dark brown sugar. I only had
- Chocolate chips: Semisweet chocolate chips are the go-to for these cookies.
Substutions
- Brown sugar: Instead of dark, use light brown sugar plus a tablespoon molasses to achieve the same rich toffee taste.
- Chocolate chips: Dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or a combination.
Variations:
- Use half chocolate chips and half chocolate chunks. Or a combination of different kinds of chocolate chips.
- Add some chopped pecans or walnuts.
- These are chewier cookies, so if you like your cookies crispier, bake them for the full time or a touch more.
Step by step instructions
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and detailed instructions.
Tips
Chilling the dough is highly recommended to bring out the flavors and prevent the cookies from spreading on the pan. If you’re in a rush or desperate to eat them, just skip that step.
My best tip is to freeze balls of dough, then take out a few to bake as needed. Fresh warm cookies any time!
Recipe FAQs
Possible reasons for spread are: the melted butter mixture wasn’t cooled enough, too little flour (best to weigh it), the dough was not chilled for long enough.
It’s not essential, but without chilling, the cookies will spread in the oven more, and the flavor won’t have as deep a toffee flavor.
Yes. See baking times for small, medium and large cookies in the recipe notes.
Yes. You can make a 1:1 swap with bread flour. The cookies may spread a little less and they will be chewier.
Other recipes with chocolate chips
- skor chocolate chip cookies (excellent!)
- chocolate chip and walnut cookies (Levain -ish)
- hazelnut cookies with chocolate smear (these are shortbread with chocolate and nuts)
- matzo chocolate toffee bar
- chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats
Please leave a 5 star rating ***** with a comment in the recipe card below if you like the recipe, Thank you so much!
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chewy, No Mixer)
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted or unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar (~245 grams) (or 1 cup Light Brown sugar + 1 Tablespoon molasses)
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons flour, Note 1 (total 265 grams flour)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt (skip if using salted butter)
- 1 ½ cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (any kind or combination)
- Optional garnish: sprinkle of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- MELT BUTTER AND SUGARS: In medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugars. Remove from heat and stir until mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Let cool on stove or put in fridge to cool for 5 minutes before adding eggs.
- ADD LIQUIDS: Stir in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
- ADD DRY INGREDIENTS: Use a wooden spoon to fold in flour, salt and baking soda just until combined. Don't overmix. Fold in chocolate chips/chunks – make sure mixture is cool first so chocolate doesn't melt – I use my hands to distribute chocolate chips evenly.
- CHILL DOUGH: Wrap dough in two logs in plastic to firm it up in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. For deeper caramel notes, better crinkle, & best chew, chill dough for 24-36 hours. (NOTE: cookies can be baked without chilling if you're in a rush, but they may spread more in the oven and flavor will not be as deep).
- HEAT OVEN to 325F/163C.
- BAKE: Cut chilled dough into thick slices for easier handling. Form into cookie mounds and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Note 3 – baking times for different-sized cookies. [At this point, the mounds can be flash frozen and put into ziploc bags to be baked later as you need them]. For a chewy texture, bake on middle rack for ~`12-14 minutes until light golden brown. Rotate halfway through for more even browning. If you like crispier cookies, bake for the full 14 minutes (or 15 for large cookies). Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle lightly with sea salt if desired.
- COOL: Cool cookies for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack or a plate.
Recipe Notes
- How to measure flour properly (important): It is best to weigh flour for baking purposes, but if you don’t have a scale, scoop the flour into a measuring cup with a spoon, then level it off with a knife (scoop and swipe method).
- Variations
- Use half chocolate chips and half chocolate chunks. Or a combination of different kinds of chocolate chips.
- Add some chopped pecans or walnuts (about 1/2 cup/54 grams).
- Baking times for big and small cookies:
- 30 small: ~1.5 Tbsp / 28–30 g (#40 scoop): 12-13 min
- 20-22 medium: ~2 Tbsp / 38–40 g (#30 scoop): 12.5-14 min
- 16-18 large: ~3 Tbsp / 55–60 g (#20 scoop): 13–15 min
- From chilled dough add 1–2 min; from frozen add 2–3 min.
- Make ahead:
- To store: The dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- To freeze:
- Wrap 1-2 logs of dough in parchment, place in zip-top bag, then freeze for up to 3 months.
- Alternatively, form dough into cookie mounds or discs, lay out on a pan, flash freeze them for 30-60 minutes, then transfer dough mounds to a ziploc bag or sealed container to use as needed.
- To bake from frozen: If in a log form, defrost, slice into discs and bake. If frozen in mounds, bake straight from the freezer for 14 minutes or a minute or two extra.
They are so tasty, buttery and chewy! I love them so much 🙃🙃😋🍪🍪🍪🍪
So glad you enjoyed them Lucie!
These are so good 🙂
Glad you liked them 🙂
These are delicious!
Glad you liked them!