Chocolate Chip Cookies
Classic buttery drop cookies loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, with tips for making them crisp or chewy.
20 MIN PREP12 MIN COOK32 MIN TOTALSERVES 28
A good chocolate chip cookie needs no fancy tricks, just butter, two kinds of sugar and plenty of chocolate. This recipe makes a big batch of about 56 small cookies, so it is a good one for bake sales and gatherings. The baking temperature is your texture dial: hotter gives crisp edges, while a slightly cooler oven keeps them soft and chewy.
Recipe adapted from Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo: Mshuang2, CC0 1.0. This adaptation is shared under the same license.
Serves 28 · Units: As written
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, 2 sticks; softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried grated lemon or orange peel, optional
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 12 oz
- 1 cup chopped nuts, about 5 oz; optional
Steps
- Heat the oven to 375°F for crisper cookies, or 350°F if you like them chewy.
- Beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl until creamy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is fully absorbed, then beat in the vanilla.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and citrus peel if using. Add this to the butter mixture in two batches, folding until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten and makes the cookies tougher.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts, if using.
- Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving a little room between them. Line the sheets with parchment if your pans tend to stick.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Let the cookies sit on the hot sheet for 1 minute, then move them to a wire rack to cool.