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!
Congrats to Zoe on her new cookbook! I’ve been on a quest for the perfect CCC and had to try this one! The flavors were delicious! I prefer using a scale when baking and ran into difficulty measuring/weighing the brown sugar. The 300gs of brown sugar was equivalent to 2 cups! I opted to use measuring cups, not my scale. Can you please guide me on this? Ty!
Hi Bay! You can safely use your scale for this recipe as 200g for 1 cup of brown sugar is universally used by most cooking sites. We’re glad you enjoyed the flavor of the cookies!
These cookies are fabulous! It was my first time using both butter and shortening in a CCC- I love the combo! Also chilling the dough for 24 hours was a game changer! These are the ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies! Delicious!!
Truly a delicious cookie. I did experience a good bit of spread, but I didn’t have any shortening and wasn’t able to let them rest overnight. Even then, truly a lovely cookie. I think I’d add more flour and cut down on the sugar slightly for my own personal preference next time.
Zoë, these chocolate chip cookies are delicious! They’re crispy around the edges but soft in the middle, and they have almost a caramelized taste! The chocolate chunks (as opposed to chips) are Thank you for all of your good tips!
My favorite cookie. Can’t wait to try. Looks yummy!
This a a wonderful recipe. I have made it with chocolate chips and with chopped up chocolate bars. Both were very good but the chopped up bars were the best. And the fam thought they were yummy!
Yum! This was so good and the outsides were ripply and crisp and the inside center was chewy. I used half KAF and half pastry flour for a total protein content of about 10% on average!
Cookies were enjoyed! Made cookies to suggested size first oven batch, then reduced by half the next rounds. Baked smaller cookies for about 10 minutes. We used King Arthur Flour and reduced the amount of flour (used weight measurements when given). 8 oz of chocolate was plenty for us. Lots of spread on the cookies. Maybe add a tad more flour next time. My daughter and fellow baker thinks we should try the tweaks for softer cookies next time.
Baked these as written, less the flaky salt because I don’t have anywhere convenient to buy it. They were good. My husband, who prefers a crispier cookie, says they are his new favorite. I prefer a thicker cookie, so will adjust the next batch for my preference, but I wouldn’t turn them down as-is.
Hello,
We made this chocolate chip recipe and the cookies were gone on the second day, so we decided to make the recipe again and our intention was to freeze the second batch, but they never made it to the freezer, so I am leaving this comment to say the chocolate chip recipe resulted in a very good cookie. I made this recipe before the release of the book, I have since received my copy of the book and the snickerdoodle recipe my daughter I made yesterday they were all gone the next day also. My husband made this comment, “you can’t find any cookie that tastes like this in the store.” And he eats a lot of cookies. This book is an inspiration to my daughter and I to bake more sweet treats.
Thank you
I made these cookies exactly the way Zoë has written the recipe and they were delicious. It was fun watching the spread of the cookie while they were baking, and even though they were thin they turned out crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. I made these with chocolate that was called “Dark/Milk” chcolate mix candybar and they were perfect! Now I understand more about how these flat chocolate chip cookies you see in the bakery come into existence, Zoë taught me that with this recipe.
I made this twice. The first time, the cookies were so flat but tasted good. I made it the second time because I thought I didn’t follow the recipe. I followed the recipe to the T the second time, including chilling it for three days, but it was still very flat. It tasted delicious but was not very appealing to the eye. I will try again for the third time but will add more flour and see if it will help with the spreading. Overall, it is very delicious.
WOW, I’ve never had a recipe that was so easy to follow and thorough. My cookies were almost identical to Zoë’s photos. I never knew I could mix brown sugar and white sugar for cookies, there’s such a difference! I love how Zoë includes pro tips for home bakers, newbies, and those of us who love large af cookies by factoring in extra baking time. My visiting friends also loved eating these cookies, they are crunchy and melt in your mouth. This recipe is perfect for anyone starting their baking journey, hoping to impress relatives for the holidays, and those looking for a sweet treat.
These cookies are Amazing! Perfectly crunchy, perfectly chewy. The salt sprinkling adds the perfect finishing touch!
This is the best cookie recipe ever! The cookies were perfectly crisp on the outside edges and chewy in the center. It was super easy to make. I freezed the extra dough balls to make cookies on demand.
Thank you Zoe for explaining what every ingredient does. It really helps for future batches. My husband prefers a chewier cookie so I’ll be trying that next.
I made these for the first time and my family loved them instantly! They love the crisp edges and soft middles and raved about them all day. I loved prepping the dough the night before and waking up to bake them off in a clean kitchen! Will definitely make these again, thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Wow… just when you think all chocolate chip cookies are basically the same… these were amazing! Buttery, crisp edges and chewy centers…my new go to recipe!
These were DELICIOUS!! My daughter and I loved baking them together and she was amazed at how big they were!
Great taste! I had a problem with my timer and over-baked the first pan but they still tasted good, just crispier than I would like. The next pan turned out just right. I put a bunch of balls in the freezer and look forward to baking a few at a time for nice, fresh cookies!
These were great. I especially enjoyed all the notes in the beginning. I used lard instead of shortening and only used 8 oz of chocolate. Next time I will make them more soft and use dark chocolate. My favorite thing about them was the saltiness.
These are a favorite in my house! Perfect taste and texture. My favorite is making them with chopped dark chocolate. Yum!
I follow Zoe’s recipes to the T. I like to use the exact ingredients she uses. Can you please tell me which bar chocolate brand she uses for this recipe ?
Hi Nadia! Zoë has several favorite chocolate bars that she uses. Here are just a few brands: Valrhona bars, Callebaut bars, Scharffen Berger bars, Guittard bars. There’s a lot more info on her favorite chocolate brands for baking here. Happy baking!
The best I’ve made. The flavor is spot on. The only change I would like to make is about 15% less spread.
The best chocolate chip cookies of all time!!!!!
I made this recipe from the new book “Zoe Bakes Cookies” as soon as the book arrived. I have been told they are the best Chocolate Chip Cookies I’ve ever made and I’ve made lots of cookies in my lifetime. These cookies are crispy around the edges, chewy in the middle and have a very decadent flavor. These will be on repeat in this house. ❤️❤️❤️
The recipe is very easy to make. I like the combination of butter and shortening. I am always searching for the best chocolate chip cookie. This one is delicious. I gave some to my neighbors, and they were a hit.