Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - Ngken.Com

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are flavorful and sweet with soft interiors and slightly crisp edges. Plus, these cookies are easy to make — you’ll only need one bowl and a spoon — no hand or stand mixer required!

Try our other famous cookie recipes next: snickerdoodles, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

These are my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies! We make them at least once a week in my home, usually as a Sunday project before or after church. The boys all pitch in, and by pitch in, I mean they eat all the cookie dough.

One of my boys prefers the dough to the cookie which is why I created this edible cookie dough for him. But the rest of us? We love these chewy chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven with a glass of milk. IMHO, there aren’t too many things better than that!

How to make cookies chewy

The more moisture in cookies, the chewier they will be. Ingredients, baking time, and baking temperature all come into play as we work to retain moisture in the dough.

The size or mass of the cookies also contributes to their chewiness. Big cookie dough balls make softer and chewier cookies than smaller ones.

The number one way to get chewy cookies? Don’t bake them too long! Remove the cookies as soon as the edges turn a light brown and the top center is pale. The cooked centers will remain soft and as they firm up, they’ll be soft and chewy.

Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Maple syrup: A few years ago, my friend showed me a sugar cookie recipe that uses agave nectar in the dough. It’s perfect for keeping the cookies soft, chewy, and boosting the flavor. So I started adding that to my favorite cookie recipe. One Sunday, we started making the cookies and I realized we didn’t have any more agave nectar. The only sticky sweetener we had was maple syrup, so I used that in its place…and they turned out even better! Now we add just a little bit of maple syrup to these cookies and it makes them the best! It adds a very subtle maple flavor, a slightly more intense sweetness, and keeps these cookies soft and wonderfully chewy. 
• Brown sugar: This sugar has a higher moisture content than white sugar and thus, produces a chewier cookie than if you just used white sugar. Dark brown sugar has an even higher moisture content than light brown sugar and will create the ultimate chewy cookie. Dark brown sugar does lend a more toffee-like flavor.

Tips for these cookies

• Let the melted butter cool: Once the butter is melted, it needs to cool back to room temperature. This is extremely important. If the butter is hot, it will melt the sugars, which causes greasy cookies that spread.
• Chill the dough: Since we melted the butter, the dough needs time to chill. This allows for the butter to re-solidify. Otherwise, these cookies spread into a pancake! The chilling time also gives the flavors and textures time to meld together and intensify.
• Measure carefully: The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are likely packing in way too much flour which will yield cake-y and less flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a butter knife.

 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Troubleshooting

Why are my chocolate chip cookies hard?

Cookies may come out hard because the they were baked too long or at too high a temperature. Make sure your oven is correctly calibrated and watch the cookies closely near the end of bake time.

Your cookies could also be hard if you over-measured the flour or if other ingredients weren’t fresh. Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh and your brown sugar isn’t too hard.

Why are my cookies flat?

Cookies often flatten because the dough did not chill long enough. Since there is melted butter in the batter, it needs a chance to firm up again. Also, if the butter was too hot when you added in other ingredients, the cookies will likely end up a bit flat and greasy.
These chocolate chip cookies will also be flat if the flour was under-measured. One other factor that comes into play is if you live in a high altitude area.

How do you keep cookies soft after baking?

After baking the cookies, let them cool completely on a wire rack (this will keep the bottoms from getting soggy from the steam). Once cooled, place cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature. For tips on how to revive cookies, check out these tips from Cooks Illustrated.

Freezing cookies

Instead of freezing baked cookies, try freezing the dough! Drop the cookie dough balls on a large sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookie dough balls into an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake: You can bake the cookies straight from the freezer; just add 1-3 minutes onto the cooking time (or thaw the dough in the fridge and bake according to directions).

5 from 10 votes

 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

9 mins

Chilling Time

1 hr

Total Time

24 mins

 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are flavorful and sweet with soft interiors and slightly crispy edges. Plus these cookies are easy to make -- you'll only need one bowl and a spoon -- no hand or stand mixer required!

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chewy chocolate chip cookies

Servings: 16 -18 cookies

Calories: 132 kcal

Author: Chelsea

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed (Note 1)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (reduce if using table salt OR if sensitive to salt)
• 1 and 3/4 cups white all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/4 cups good quality milk chocolate chips, separated (or use semi-sweet or dark chocolate -- whichever is your favorite)

Instructions

1. In a very large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Once melted, refrigerate 5 minutes. It's important that the butter isn't hot when you add in the sugars or it will melt the sugar and make the cookies greasy.
2. Once butter is cooled to room temperature, stir in the light brown sugar and white sugar. Stir until smooth. Stir in the egg, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Stir again until smooth.
3. Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add in the correctly measured (See Note 2) flour and mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
4. Gently stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips until combined.
5. Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a pan with parchment paper or use a nonstick liner.
7. Roll balls of dough into tall cylindrical balls (see picture above for shape and size). Place 6-8 cookie balls on a sheet to give the cookies plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces.
8. Bake for 8-12 minutes, erring on the side of under-baking, which keeps them soft and chewy (We like ours right at 9 minutes). The cookies will continue to bake slightly out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown.
9. Remove from the oven and press the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies (this ensures even placement of chocolate and also makes them look pretty). Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
10. STORAGE: We like these cookies best on day 1 and 2 of being made. They do last up to a week, but they begin to lose texture and flavor. To store: place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies are completely cooled before adding to the container.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: For a richer toffee-like flavor, use dark brown sugar. These cookies do spread a bit more and are a little less pretty with the dark brown sugar as compared to the light brown sugar; if you like toffee, though, it's worth it.
Note 2: Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a butter knife.

Photos and text updated 3/20/19; recipe has not been changed.