The best chocolate chip cookies are big, fat, and chewy. They make for a hearty afternoon snack or the perfect accompaniment to coffee for an evening treat. This recipe is our favorite; it's tried and true--perfected after years of experimentation in our test kitchens. It has just the right balance of sweetness, butteriness (thanks to brown sugar), saltiness (thanks to kosher salt), and chocolate flavor (from both semisweet chocolate chips and cocoa powder). And it couldn't be easier--you just need only 7 ingredients! If you're craving one now, don't hesitate any longer! Get started below with this easy homemade recipe for chocolaty goodness.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping tbsp cornstarch (optional) for soft cookies only! This is not needed with crispy ones. Use 1 tsp baking powder instead if you do not want your cookies to be chewy or to spread much in the oven.
Directions:
1. Mix everything in a bowl, except the flour.
2. Add flour and mix it in at the end so you don't break all the flakey bubbles that form when you beat butter and sugar together for a while. You want it to suddenly get very light and white, with tiny air bubbles. That's how you know it's ready!
3. Chill for 4 hours (I let mine chill overnight), then roll into balls and flatten them out on your baking sheet using your palm. This dough does not thaw very well, so make sure to take it out early enough before you plan on baking them.
4. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes for medium-thick or 12 minutes for a thicker cookie. These cookies will become very soft and pliable after a minute or so of baking, but if you want them super-chewy, you should be using cornstarch.
5. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack or plate to cool completely. In other words, don't plan on eating one warm from the oven because they'll be chewy as hell as soon as they come out of the oven, and you won't be able to chew them!
6. The dough is very soft, so make sure to butter your hands or parchment paper before you touch it if you are not planning on eating them right away. Also, this dough freezes well, so make a big batch of these cookies and keep them for months if you need to!
