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!
Zoe’s chocolate chip cookie recipe is my go-to favorite! The texture and flavor is incredible! I love this recipe so much!
Simply the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe! I love the detailed but easy instructions and options to make the cookies your own. And absolutely yummy results.
These are the most amazing cookie and I make a double batch 2x’s a week that’s how amazing they are. I would like to freeze the, which I did, but don’t know how log to thaw them. I would assume defrost in fridge and wait til they feel like normal but yes cookie is ABSOLUTELY THE BEST WE HAVE EVER HAD. Also the bread is the easiest and amazing bread I ever made too!!!!! Thank you but I miss ur show
Hi Lori, we’re so glad you enjoy the recipe! No need to thaw too much, you can just let them thaw on the baking sheet as the oven preheats. Enjoy!
Love the cookie recipe! Followed to a T and was an outstanding cookie!! Love to watch your videos!
Thank you Zoe!!!
I reduced the sugar by 50 g and still thought they were a smidge too sweet, but still delicious. I soaked raisins in orange juice and 1 t rum extract because I didn’t have any rum. I can’t really taste the rum extract addition.
Texture is chewy and yummy. My husband gives it a 4.5 rating and says the sweetness criticism is based on being very very picky, after eating his second one after breakfast!
These are so delicious! I am a volunteer for the Pine Valley California sheriff’s department. I love to spoil the deputies every Tuesday when I work by making them cookies. They say they have never had such a good cookie! Zoe, thank you for helping me spoil our hard working law enforcement!!
I loved this recipe. I even tried the slam pan method and it made it crispy on the edges and soft in the center. Best recipe.
Just made these for the second time, the dough is chilling in the fridge currently. This is my favorite CCC recipe to date and I’m so glad I found Zoe’s show on HBO. I did a little pan slamming on this recipe (I know the show did this for a different recipe but it still created the gorgeous rippling). Thanks Zoe! I have your book and have been very inspired by your work <3
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Tbh I never use the shortening and just use 2 sticks of butter but it’s delicious. Also I just use plain chocolate chips because I haven’t ventured into investing in chocolate bars yet but I’m sure they will be even better.
I have tried many a chocolate chip cookie recipe, and my family said PLEASE stop experimenting and just keep making this recipe!! I didn’t really know if it was that much better until I made plates for a couple different people and both parties asked me for the recipe. It’s so good!! Also chilling the dough is worth the time investment!
My only complaint is the that the cookie dough itself is too delicious, and by the time the cookies are made i’ve eaten so much cookie dough i don’t even want a cookie- don’t tell my husband
This is my goto Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. I love to make a batch of these and freeze them and bake them 3-4 at a time. Delicious.
They are delicious. My boyfriend thought they were from a bakery. Great to have extras in the freezer for a quick treat.
I have tried so many different recipes because my chocolate chips always came out flat. I started making these for the Christmas season and oh my! I wasn’t sure how big to make them and they were crazy good but huge for the first batch. So last week I made them smaller and that was it! My family wanted the recipe! There are none left! I never realized that having eggs and butter at room temperature would make such a difference. Learning how each ingredient works together is the difference. Thank you for explaining everything. Now I can make the best cookies!
Got tired of the NTH cookies that I’ve been making for so long. Thought there must be something better. This is that something! Perfect as written.
Zoe, how much flour should I use when using Pillsbury?
I have the Zoe Bakes cookbook and looking forward to your cookie book. Love watching you bake, learn so much, thank you.
Hi, Pillsbury flour has essentially the same protein content as Gold Medal, so you can do it as written with no adjustments. Happy baking!
Everyone at our Christmas brunch loved them. None were leftover for us. One thing I had to do due to limited refrigerator space was refrigerate the entire bowl of batter versus individual cookies on trays. Seem to work out fine. This is the first recipe I made of yours Zoe thank you for sharing. Katie.
Terrific cookies! Made some with my wife and gave them to her coworkers and our neighbors and they loved them!
I thought it was an excellent cookie!! Followed the recipe to the T and they were delicious!!
Thank you Zoe
Delicious CCC recipe! I love the final look of the cookies with the wrinkly edges and how thin they got, they’re definitely the most elegant CCCs I’ve made.
Here are my adjustments:
8 oz. Dark Chocolate (the massive Pound Plus bars from Trader Joe’s are my go-to)
50 gram cookies balls
Bake at 365°F for 11 minutes (my oven runs hot)
Let baked cookies rest on sheet for 3 minutes then transfer to a baking rack
Next time, I will bump up the brown sugar and decrease the white sugar to increase the chewiness. Overall, fabulous cookies – my family devoured!
We love these cookies at our house! I make them with my 4 year old and we love keeping some dough in the freezer. Watching Zoe Bakes, Zoe mentions using a cookie scoop (maybe 3oz? I can’t remember) for extra large cookies. Could you share a link to the same size scoop? Thanks!
So glad to hear you like the recipe! Here is an affiliate link to Zoë’s cookie scoops. Cheers!
King Arthur baking sells a set of 3 really pretty scoops for more than Amazon, but they are worth the fun of using them and your son can pick the color he likes and make fifteenth size ones if he would like!
Your recipe doesn’t say whether you use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, does it matter?
This recipe looks great and can’t wait to try it!
Hi Sunny, you can use whichever you prefer or have on hand!
Used bacon fat in lieu of the shortening because that is what I had and they were great! I froze them and my son loves to pop a few in the oven at night. Thank you for this!
Awesome cookie recipe
These are hands down the BEST chocolate chip cookies. If I want to make cookies as a gift, I always use this recipe because they look a little fancier than traditional CCC’s because of the chopped chocolate. These cookies are always a hit and my kids beg me to make another batch when they are all gone.
These cookies are really the BEST! I’ve made thousands of chocolate chip cookies (I’m a personal/private chef). I’m always on the look out for best go-to recipe and THIS IS IT!!! Chewy center, slightly crispy outside, caramel flavor. Did not spread, was not dry or cakey. In the past, my chocolate chip cookies were sometimes dry and I think it was because I used King Arthur Flour. In this recipe, you state that if using KAF to subtract 3 TBLS. That makes total sense. I will do that next time. This time, I used Gold Medal Flour and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you so much Zoe. This is a perfect recipe!
These cookies are the BEST!! I followed your direction to a T and love how they turned out! My husband loved them as well and I will bake some for my sisters tomorrow! I enjoy you on the Magnolia Network-you are so darling and have a beautiful family Looking forward to making more of your recipes!
Thanks!
Ellen
Chocolate Chip cookies have always been by #1 go-to. When I became a pastry chef, I made it my mission to find the best recipe. Over the past 20 years, I have tried hundreds of recipes, tried chocolate chip cookies across every farmer’s market in NYC and beyond, then a chef named Zoe popped up on my Instagram feed. I quickly became a fan of her live feeds, so when she shared her chocolate chip cookie recipe, it was a no-brainer. I had to test it out. Wow. Wow. These are the best I have ever tried. Everyone I give them too says the same. I was skeptical that I would ever find a recipe that I loved enough to throw away all the rest, but I have. They are crispy on the edges with a little chew at the center. They have a wonderful caramelly flavor and are just as good days later as fresh from the oven. Not only do I enjoy following Zoe’s culinary journey, but I trust every recipe that she shares. That says it all.
Wow, Denise! This is quite the endorsement. Thank you so much for coming back to share your experience here. We greatly appreciate your kind words!
I made your Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe above and it was fantastic! The best Chocolate Chip cookie recipe I have every tried. My husband loved them, he took some to work and the guys at work loved them too!
Will never use another recipe again! I did use the butter flavored shortening because that was all I had on hand at the time. Turned out great! Thank you for sharing and giving us (not so professional bakers) a chance to shine in our families eyes!!