Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Name: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 24 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly; 1 cup brown sugar, packed; 1/2 cup white sugar; 1 egg + 1 egg yolk; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 1/4 cups flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 3/4 tsp salt; 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips; Flaky salt for the tops, if you know

Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 12 min Total: 27 min Servings: 24

Chewy chocolate chip cookies on a cooling rack

The chewy chocolate chip cookie — bendy in the middle, crisp at the rim, butterscotch-deep from brown sugar — is a formula, and this is the formula: melted butter, more brown sugar than white, an extra yolk, and pulling them from the oven when the centers still look slightly underdone. That last one is where most cookies are lost. This is the most-shared recipe we publish, the one written on cards at bake sales, and the fastest route from craving to warm cookie that doesn't involve a tube of dough.

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Ingredients

12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Flaky salt for the tops, if you know

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350°F; line two sheet pans with parchment.
Whisk the melted butter with both sugars for a full minute; whisk in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until glossy.
Fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined; fold in the chips.
Scoop 2-tablespoon balls onto the pans, 2 inches apart. (Chill the dough 30 minutes if you have the patience — thicker, deeper cookies.)
Bake 10–12 minutes, one pan at a time, until the edges are set and golden but the centers still look a touch underdone.
Rest on the pan 5 minutes (they finish there), then rack. Flaky salt while warm.

Ingredient Substitutions

Ingredient	Substitute	Notes
Semisweet chips	Chopped chocolate bars	Melty pools and shards — the bakery look
Melted butter	Browned butter, cooled	The adult upgrade; nutty and dangerous
All-purpose flour	1:1 gluten-free blend	Chill the dough; GF spreads more
2 cups chips	1 1/2 cups chips + 1 cup toasted walnuts	The grandfather clause

Storage & Reheating

Airtight at room temp, 4 days — a slice of sandwich bread in the container keeps them bendy (the bread donates its moisture; old bakery trick).

The dough freezes better than the cookies: scoop balls, freeze solid, bag for 3 months, and bake from frozen plus 2 minutes. Warm cookies on demand forever.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a cookie chewy instead of crispy?

Brown sugar (moisture), melted butter (density), the extra yolk (fat and bind), and underbaking slightly. Crispy cookies flip those levers: white sugar, creamed butter, longer bake.

Why did my cookies spread into puddles?

Butter too hot, dough unchilled, or pans still warm from the last batch. Cool the butter until just warm, chill the dough when in doubt, and always scoop onto room-temp pans.

When are they actually done?

Edges set and golden, centers looking 90% there — matte but soft. They finish on the hot pan during the 5-minute rest. Fully-baked-looking in the oven means overbaked on the plate.

Can I halve the recipe?

Yes: halve everything and use one whole egg (skip the extra yolk). Or make the full batch and freeze half the dough balls — the objectively smarter path.