This chocolate chip cookie guide is the culmination of a lifetime of testing recipes. It includes all my tricks and tips for the perfect cookie. And if you want to learn more about my baking journey while enjoying 75 additional cookie recipes, order the New York Times bestselling Zoë Bakes Cookies, now!
When I was at the University of Vermont studying theater, studio art, English lit, philosophy, photography, Latin, art history and everything else a Liberal Arts Degree offers, I decided to throw a business class into the mix. Truth is, I was just fulfilling a math credit requirement. I learned how to balance a checkbook and some basic—very basic—accounting, which went something like this … don’t spend more than you make!
Then the professor had us write a business plan. It was the mid-1980s and I grew up eating Mrs. Field’s, David’s, and Famous Amos cookies, which were the “gourmet” cookies of the day. While in college I was also the “baker” at a favorite breakfast joint in Winooski, VT, and spent my free time baking to relax after classes. So, I wrote my business plan based on a fictitious cookie company called Zoë’s Cookies. I can’t remember how I did in the class, but six months later I was standing on Church Street in Burlington, VT, selling my cookies from a hand-pushed cart.
This post is your chocolate chip cookie primer: the result of what I learned making those cookies and the countless batches I’ve baked in the 32 years since then. This post offers a really great chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it is also a Chocolate Chip Cookies 101. I want to explain what the ingredients do to a cookie and how baking can change them. You can tweak your cookies to be just how you like them using my cookie guide towards the bottom of the post.
My boyfriend, Graham, designed my logo, built the cart, and gave up his apartment oven so that I could build my cookie empire. I married him! Within a couple of months, I got some wholesale accounts and outgrew his tiny oven, so I moved my operation to a fraternity house kitchen, where they let me bake my cookies in exchange for leaving a dozen on the counter. I took a semester off from school to pursue my dream and was on my way to being the next Ben & Jerry’s-style success story to come out of VT. But, I came to realize that takes more than a semester and a cart that didn’t have snow tires. So, I went back to school, having learned a lot about cookies and business. I didn’t spend more money than I made, but, I wasn’t rich at the end of it either.
This week I found my old Zoë’s Cookies recipes in the back of a filing cabinet and baked up the Chocolate Chip Cookies that were the foundation of my business. It pains me to say, but they weren’t very good. They’re like an old favorite movie that just doesn’t age well. When I was 19 years old, they seemed so sophisticated and special, because I was using high-quality chopped chocolate, when Nestle was the only chocolate chip game in town. I sweetened them with brown sugar, to give them a richer flavor and only used real vanilla, also a rarity in the day. But, that was before going to culinary school and understanding how ingredients play together for texture and taste. I’ve come a long way in my baking in the past 32 years. You can read more about my pastry journey here.
I took my original cookie recipe and tweaked it to be delicious.
Chocolate Chip Cookies 101
About the Ingredients
Unbleached all-purpose flour – I use an all-purpose flour that is about 10% protein (Gold Medal). If you are using King Arthur Flour (11.7%), you will want to reduce the flour by about 3 tablespoons or 30g or the dough will be too dry. Measuring with a scale is the ONLY way to ensure that the cookies will come out consistently in each batch. If you have to use cup measures, then you’ll want to spoon the flour into the cup and then scrape it clean. Watch me measure flour in my YouTube video.
Baking soda – this is quite a bit of baking soda for a cookie, given the amount of flour. I use this much because I want the cookies to puff up and then collapse to get the crunchy edge and soft interior. As a rising agent, baking soda needs an acid to react, but there is enough acid in the brown sugar (from the acidic molasses in the sugar). This much baking soda also helps produce a darker color on your cookie, so it isn’t dull looking in the short baking time. ALWAYS SIFT BAKING SODA, because it tends to clump and there is nothing worse than getting a mouthful of baking soda in a cookie.
Kosher salt – In professional kitchens salt is often referred to as “love!” If a dish needs salt, a chef will say, “add a bit of love to that!” My original recipe was WAY too short on love. Although I was probably using table salt and not kosher salt in 1986, which would have resulted in a saltier cookie. The salt is a contrast to the sweet and enhances all the flavors. If you don’t have enough it will taste flat and lack that caramel flavor. I have recently discovered Diamond Crystal Baking Kosher Salt and it is perfect in this recipe. The finer crystals blend into the dough quickly and thoroughly creating the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
Unsalted butter, at room temperature – FLAVOR baby!!! that’s why we use butter in cookies. It melts really fast, so it will cause cookies to spread if you use too much. Note for my European friends: I used American butter, which has a lower fat content than what you have. So your cookies may spread a touch more since you have even more fast-melting fat in your butter.
Shortening – This is 100% fat (no water like butter), so it won’t produce any gluten structure (which can make a cookie less tender). Shortening doesn’t melt as fast as butter, so the proteins in the cookie (from eggs and flour) have time to set before you have a flat cookie. Shortening is whipped, so it also contains more air bubbles, which help things rise as they bake. Adding a bit of shortening will make a cookie more tender and help keep its shape.
- For my European and Australian followers: “Vegetable shortening is a white, solid fat made from vegetable oils. In the UK it is sold under the brand names Trex, Flora White or Cookeen. In Australia the best-known brand is Copha.” from Nigella Lawson
- UPDATE – If you can’t find shortening, you can also use the following, but they are not typically whipped, so they don’t have any rising power, so the cookies may spread a touch more than with shortening:
- Margarine
- Solid Coconut Oil
- Solid Palm Oil
- Ghee – this is clarified butter, so the water and whey are removed and it has a nutty flavor, but it is pure fat and will have a nice texture, but will SPREAD the cookies
- Lard – this will impart a flavor, so only use it if you like that taste
- If you can’t find any of these, then use all butter, they will just have a different consistency, but will be delicious!!!
Granulated sugar – Makes for a crisp cookie when baked, so if you want a cookie that stays crisp use white sugar over brown sugar. Sugar also adds to the color of the cookie, so more sugar will produce a more caramelized cookie.
Brown sugar, packed – Deeper flavor than white sugar, due to the molasses in the sugar. If your cookies tend to soften more than you like, consider using LESS brown sugar, since it absorbs more moisture into the cookie and softens them.
- If you can’t find brown sugar, use an extra cup of sugar and add a teaspoon of molasses
Vanilla extract (make vanilla yourself) – Adds flavor, so use a good one. The artificial vanilla flavoring is not to my taste, but some people love it, so, by all means, go for it, if that’s your favorite. I do recommend making your own just to try it, so easy and tasty! Add the vanilla to the fat, not at the end and you will get a more intense flavor.
Room Temperature Eggs- adds protein to set the cookie, which prevents it from spreading too much. Eggs also act as a leavener when they are whipped up with air, but in cookies, we’re not whipping them enough to really get that benefit. If your cookies end up with a shiny “crust” on the top, it’s because you whipped the batter too much after adding the eggs and they developed a layer of meringue on the top. You may want this effect, but not typical in a chocolate chip cookie.
Chocolate, chopped in largish chunks (about 1/4-inch wide) – I used 72% bittersweet chocolate, but you use whatever kind you want. This is the main flavor of the cookie, so again, I suggest you use your favorite chocolate. I save some larger chunks of chocolate for sticking into the dough after I have scooped them, so they melt on top of the cookie and look dramatic.
Flaky Sea Salt – Flavor and pretty. The contrast between salt and sweet is addictive. That is why candy bars have sooooooo much salt in them. It enhances the flavors it’s combined with. I use flaky sea salt because it gives you a nice BIG hit of salt and also it looks pretty on the cookie and that does count.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Video Tutorial
How to Make YOUR Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
The following is not an exhaustive guide, but just a start to understanding how to play with your cookie recipes.
For Crisper Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Use more white sugar, less brown sugar – if you use all white sugar, you will need to switch to baking powder, since it will rise without the acid of the brown sugar.
- Use fewer eggs (you may need to add a tablespoon of water if the dough is too dry) or replace one yolk with an extra egg white, which will dry out the baked cookie a bit.
- Use less flour, so there is a higher ratio of fat and sugar, which makes the cookies spread and crisp
- Bake at a lower temperature for longer
For Softer Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Use more egg yolk (which contains the fat in the egg. Egg whites dry out the cookie)
- Use more brown sugar, which is hygroscopic, which just means it absorbs moisture, so it will soften the cookies as they sit in the cookie jar.
- Use more flour, so the ratio of flour to sugar and fat is higher
To Prevent Chocolate Chip Cookies from Spreading (or do the opposite if you want them to spread more.)
- Use more flour or one with higher protein (some recipes call for a combination of bread flour (super high protein) and cake flour (super low protein), but I find that basically equals all-purpose flour.
- Add more egg, which adds protein, that sets the cookie in place
- Add a touch of acid to the dough, which activates the proteins in the flour and eggs. Acid is found in: brown sugar, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, lemon, and vinegar, just to name a few) – keep in mind that acids prevent browning, so go easy if you are looking for a caramel color on the cookie
- Use more shortening and less butter, since shortening holds its shape at higher temperatures, so it won’t spread so fast
- Bake at a higher temperature, since the high heat sets the proteins faster, so the cookie won’t spread.
- Refrigerate the dough balls before baking for up to 36 hours. This allows the liquids to marry the dry ingredients and become a more uniform dough, which won’t spread as wildly when baked. It also allows the fat to solidify, which slows its spreading when it hits the oven.
Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Need a chocolate chip cookie recipe that is gluten-free, paleo, or vegan? These Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies from Stephanie Meyer’s The 30-Minute Paleo Cookbook are the ultimate snack to satisfy. They are super decadent and rich in flavor because they are made with almond butter. The cookies, like everything Stephanie creates, are gluten-free, in fact, these have NO flour at all and can also be made vegan.
This is only one recipe from Zoë Bakes Cookies, I have an entire chapter dedicated to a variety of styles. if you like a super thin, crisp, buttery chocolate chip cookie, or a thick, almost cookie-dough style, I’ve got you covered. I hope you enjoy this recipe and all the others from the book!
I also smashed ice cream between them for a spectacular treat in the summer. This is Olive Oil & Basil Ice Cream I made using Sarah Kieffer’s no-churn ice cream from her book, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book, which is one of my favorites!
Video
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups (320g) unbleached all-purpose flour See baker's notes
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt I use Diamond Crystal Baking Salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup (57g) shortening
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) brown sugar, packed See baker's notes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 8-12 ounces chocolate, chopped in largish chunks (about 1/4-inch wide) See Baker's Note
- Flaky Sea Salt for finishing
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chopped chocolate pieces. You may need to give the bowl a couple of swipes with a rubber spatula at the end to make sure the chocolate is evenly distributed.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the cookie dough using a #20 (3-tablespoon) portion scoop onto the baking sheet. You can make the cookies larger or smaller, but it will affect the baking time.
- Refrigerate the dough balls for at least 30 minutes; but if you have the time, they improve if you let them sit for 24 to 36 hours. After they are chilled, you can bake them or freeze the dough balls for baking later.
To Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ / 190℃. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Evenly space six chilled cookie balls on the prepared sheet and sprinkle them with flaky sea salt. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 12 minutes or until golden brown and slightly puffed. Repeat with as many batches as you need.
- Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheet, until you can move them without them falling apart, about 5 minutes. Then move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Rate and Review!
- If you've made this recipe, please leave a rating and review! I love to hear how you've adapted my recipes to your own tastes, so please share how it went for you. It helps other people find my recipes. Thank you!
Hands down my favorite chocolate chip cookie!!
Hi Zoe,
I am a big baker with a side gig of selling cut out decorated sugar cookies. But, I don’t have a good chocolate chip cookie recipe in my collection, no matter how many I tried, so was most excited for this one. However, the dough was delicious, I followed the recipe to a T, refrigerated the dough over an hour. But, when I was baking them the bottoms got more done b4 the tops were done resulting in burnt bottoms. Oven temp is good since I did several batches of cut outs just b4 baking theses. Are the tops suppose to be less done when they come out? Advice please?
Anyway, I love your shows and watched everyone I could find. I’m trying the bread next, grinding my own wheat berries too. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge and making it look so easy.
I live in the upper Peninsula of Michigan, so enjoy that you have the same climate.
Hi Jackie! The only thing we can think of is if you were making multiple batches at one time, you’d want to rotate the pans during the bake time so the ones lower in the oven don’t get browner on bottom. If you did do just one pan at a time, perhaps the pans were too close to the heating element in the oven. You could try moving your rack up next time to see if that helps!
These are amazing! If we wanted to try new brands of “good” chocolate, would you have any recommendations? Has anyone experimented with semi sweet vs darker chocolate mixes?
Hi Mary! So glad you like these cookies! Zoë has several brands of chocolate she uses and she talks about them all in this post. Cheers!
For the kosher salt in the recipe, are you referring to course kosher salt?
Hi April! For this recipe, it should be regular kosher salt. Cheers!
I have been baking the same chocolate chip recipe for years and want to try Zoe’s recipe. I’ve also always added 1/2 tsp of espresso powder to my cookies as I’ve read that the espresso powder enhances the chocolate. Is it okay to add it to Zoe’s recipe?
Hi Judith, you can absolutely add 1/2 tsp of espresso powder and it will be delicious! Enjoy.
These are the BEST chocolate Chip cookies I have ever made. Love how large and crunchy you vacantly make them. Ooy, gooy, yummy. Everyone loves them including me.
Zoe, YOU are a beautiful gem! 🙂 My husband is a cookie fanatic & he sent this recipe/episode to me. I love cooking & baking; after watching this episode, I’m hooked & learned a few new tricks! This cookie recipe is THE BEST, hands down. I have to agree with you, the “banging” makes these cookies & I’ll never go without this method again. THANK YOU for sharing your wonderful gift! ♥️
I tasted your “banger” chip cookies at my cousins. The best chocolate chip cookies ive ever tasted!!
Can i use pink himalyan salt instead of Kosher salt?
Also, when do you bang the pan, I Dont see that in the original instructions??
Hi Marisa! So glad you liked the pan banging cookies! The recipe is actually by Sarah Kieffer. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!
Please advise what brand and type of vegetable shortening Zoe recommends.
Hi Marianne, Zoë uses Spectrum from Whole Foods as well as Crisco. Happy baking!
Can you provide advice on what premium brand of chocolate is considered best for baking ?
Thanks,
Marianne
Hi Zoe, I keep kosher & usually use margarine to bake. I know that “butter is better” but am wondering if you think they would come out ok with the margarine & shortening. Also, which chocolate(s) do you use in the cookies & where do you buy it? Thanks so much!
Hi Elaine, margarine/shortening should work, and you can experiment with a half batch until you get the recipe the way you like it. Zoë recently used Country Crock’s plant based sticks in her Chocolate Pecan Pie and was very happy with the results, but whatever brand you typically use should work as well. They’re all a little different, so it’s important to try it until you get a result you like. Zoë uses lots of different chocolate. A few are Valrhona, the large chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s, Scharffen Berger, and Guittard. Happy baking!
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe!. I have used other recipes that didn’t make me happy. No more searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is the “ONE”! Thanks Zoë!
Absolutely the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever tasted! Everyone I’ve made these cookies for, they’ve loved. I’ve already made them 5 times in less than 3 months. Don’t judge me, but I do add a bit more chocolate chunks to the recipe♥️
LOVE your show and reference back to bake WITH you today I am making your biscuits with my beef stew and also these chocolate chip cookies!!
This recipe is now my go to! I baked them for the second time, this past weekend and I received rave reviews from my neighbors. I now have to bring them to all our get togethers! I love your show and will be making more of your recipes. I am now on the hunt for a fabulous oatmeal raisin cookie for the hubs!
Thank you,
Denise
The only changes I made to these wonderful cookies was to brown the butter before adding it to the rest of the ingredients and using 1 whole egg plus 1 yolk. Like you said, both the brown butter and egg yolk make the cookies soft and rich. Yum!
Hi Sarahjane,
These sound amazing! I adore browned butter soooo much!
Cheers, Zoë
At first I was disappointed in these chocolate chip cookies because they spread too much and were on the thin side. However, after leaving the dough in the fridge for a day and a half, they baked up with less spreading, but still thinner than I had hoped. I froze the baked cookies, and my husband loves them right from the freezer! I also shared the cookies with my neighbor’s young grandsons who are always asking for my chocolate chip cookies. I wondered if they would like the thinner, crispier cookie, but they loved them. So, I guess I’ll be keeping this recipe in my repertoire! Must admit I used chocolate chips rather than chopped chocolate.
Hi Zoe. I’m an American living in Australia. I can’t wait to try out your recipe, I’m a chocolate chip cookie aficionado…haha at least I tell myself that. I would suggest taking out the suggestion for Australians of Copha as a shortening/Crisco replacement. Copha comes in a block and it’s about the consistency of hardened candle wax. It’s nowhere even close to being what Americans know as shortening. It’s good for stuff like a buttercream icing if you want to stiffen it up in a humid climate but it’s not something really to bake with in the same sense as Crisco. You’re certainly not going to get a fluffy pie crust with it. For your Australian fans I’d suggest using the food importer https://usafoods.com.au/ where you can find US ingredients. That’s who I use to get my Crisco. People will really screw up your recipes if they use Copha. Trust me I know first hand! I recently received your new cook book. Love it! Cheers, Carter
Any suggestions on making these Oatmeal Chocolate chip??
Hi Sarah, this will definitely be an experiment because Zoe has not tried it, but she suggests replacing some of the flour with oats. Whatever amount of flour you take out, try doubling the amount of oats you add. Have fun and please let us know how it goes!
Mouth watering is right! I had to get my butter and eggs out before I finished reading! I have just been introduced to the world of Zoe Bakes and WOW! Can’t wait to get started:-)
Question- recipes call for butter and eggs to be ‘room temperature’ – is there an exact or close to temperature? For instance, I love in Illinois, my room temp is different than a recipe from Texas, Colorado etc.. should the butter be mushy or just soft? please advise.
Hi, great question. You should get your butter and eggs out about an hour+ ahead of time. In terms of “room temperature” it’s usually just to make sure the ingredients aren’t ice cold when you start using them because the cold temperature of eggs can re-solidify the fat. Eggs are pretty forgiving. For butter, you should be able to stick your finger into the butter, but not so warm that it doesn’t hold its shape when you pick it up. I hope this helps!
Hello. I made these last night with my 14 year old and they are great!!! Just a few questions:
• Do you cover the dough balls in the refrigerator, especially if left for more than the initial 30 minutes?
• Can the vanilla be replaced with bourbon or some other flavoring? Not sure if that would change any of the reactions.
• We wanted to watch your video, sited in the story of the recipe, but it seems the link is broken or not working: “Watch my Chocolate Chip Cookie video on instagram”
Thank you! We really love your site and your sunny personality.
So glad you’re enjoying them!! If you’re baking the cookies the same day, no need to cover them in the fridge. If you’re making them a few days in advance, you will want to cover them. The vanilla can definitely be replaced by another flavoring–sounds delicious! I just tested the link to the video and it’s still working for me. Is this the link you tried? You may need to have Instagram to view it. https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18005182168187555/
I made these for a party on the weekend, hoping there would be some leftover “for the kids”. Now I make them really small, bite size, people seem to love them that way, well they ate every last one! I found refrigerating the dough was helpful, even necessary. I used a mix of dark and milk chocolate chips and chocolate circles from this high quality Italian store near me. Oh my Lanta. These CCC’s were TDF!
Yes.. me too wanting to watch your story highlights about cookies 101 on Instagram but I can’t open it.. please I need to see how you make it.. thankyou so much
Hi Rika, do you have an Instagram account? I think if you do not you won’t be able to access it.
These cookies are so incredible. I make them over and over and my husband asked specifically for them today. I use only butter, I never have shortening in hand. I also use half dark and half milk chocolate. I halve the batch and bake 4 after they’ve been in the fridge for a few hours, and then I freeze the rest and pop a few out when we want them, or if we have company over they’re a quick easy and impressively delicious snack/dessert.
Hi Zoë, I just made these cookies and froze the rest. When I want to bake them later, do they need to thaw or can they go straight in? Thank you!
Hi Dorina,
I generally lay them out on a baking sheet while the oven preheats and then bake them. They will end up a little crisper on the edges this way.
Enjoy, Zoë
These cookies are amazing! I love the detailed recipe and extra tips. I made these cookies with 100% whole wheat flours and the result was fantastic!
That was such a wonderful and detailed post. I was drooling while reading it. Thank you so much. Will definitely have to try this one.
Zoe’s recipes as well as her tv show are packed with suggestions and helpful hints. She is the best teacher and so much fun to watch….
Love this post and all your posts!!!❤️
Any suggestions for baking thesengorgeous cookies at high altitude in Colorado?
I live in Colorado and just made these cookies and they turned out great! I used whole wheat flour, specifically 50% soft white, 25% turkey red, and 25% einkorn. I also put about 25% less sugar and added about 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed.
I made the cookies today. I love your cookies!
Try it first as-is. I actually never adjusted recipes at 6000 ft. But if you want to make adjustments, use less baking soda as a start. Look at http://www.highaltitudebaking.com/hab_recipe_adjust.html