Okay, y’all. I had something else planned for today. It’s a two-part dinner recipe. It’s delicious and healthy and grilled and perfect for summer and all that business, but then I was so overcome with a very specific craving. It would not go away. It had to be indulged. And that craving, my friend, was for these Ultimate Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies. We shall save the grilled chicken for another day.
the dream cookie
You see, I have had quite the hankering for chocolate chip cookies, but not just any chocolate chip cookies. I did not want anything with frills–no nuts, no oatmeal, no fancy extra steps. I wanted the kind of chocolate chip cookies you bake when you’re learning to bake and the kind you make when you fully intend on only eating the cookie dough (yes, I’m aware the of the dangers; no I don’t care).
I wanted chocolate chip cookies that weren’t cakey but still soft, that were full of rich flavor but simple to make. I wanted the kind of cookie dough that you buy from kids who come fundraising to your door and you never see them again and you question if they were ever really real or if the cookie dough was just God’s way of telling you that, “Hey, things suck right now, but here’s some mysteriously amazing cookie dough to let you know it’s probably going to be okay.” These are heartbreak chocolate chip cookies. “I’m sorry” chocolate chip cookies. “I want you to be my friend, please” chocolate chip cookies.
These cookies are…more than words.
I used to make this recipe all the time another lifetime ago when I lived in Utah and they were perfect. I forgot about them when I moved to Louisiana 11 1/2 years ago because something was off with the flour and the altitude and they came out cakey and a little bit flavorless. Back in the day, I was too scared to mess with the flour, but I am a stronger woman now who isn’t afraid of flour measurements and it turned out to be a very simple fix. And they are every bit as amazing as I remember them.
all about margarine
One more thing–before I am assaulted by comments on the evils of margarine and how I’m not a real person if I don’t use all butter and whatever, let me make it clear that I love butter in cookies and we have countless recipes that only call for butter in the cookies. One thing that makes these cookies special is the texture and the texture comes from using butter + high-quality margarine (like Smart Balance) or butter-flavored shortening. I promise it will all be okay. Just make sure you get regular margarine–nothing light, lowfat, whipped, with yogurt, etc.–these will only add extra air or water into your cookies. Just regular sticks or tubs of softened margarine.
let’s get started!
You’re going to need softened butter and margarine, white sugar, dark brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips. See? Nothing special. I don’t know why these cookies are special…the proportions or magic or something.
Preheat oven to 350. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Place butter, margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar in a bowl
Cream together butter, margarine, and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add eggs
and vanilla
and mix until combined and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
Add to creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop onto cookie sheet by heaping tablespoon or with a cookie scoop. You should get 12 cookies per sheet.
The Ultimate Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup high-quality tub margarine like Smart Balance or butter-flavored shortening, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cup flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife (see note for altitude directions)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 12- ounce bag chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream together butter, margarine, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Drop onto cookie sheet by tablespoon or with a cookie scoop. You should get 12 cookies per sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Naturally, you want to keep an eye on them because every oven is different. Makes about 3 dozen.Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
other chocolate chip cookie recipes
If you’re looking for some of our many, many, many other chocolate chip cookie recipes, check out these recipes!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
Giant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (my other personal favorite!)
Small-Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread
Pizzookies (this dough is PERFECT for pizzookies!)
supplies used in this post
1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop
Nordicware half sheet baking sheets
Parchment sheets
KitchenAid 6-Quart Mixer
Questions & Reviews
oh yeah. these were good. i haven’t stopped dreaming of them since i made my first batch on thanksgiving weekend. i’ve got another batch in the oven right now. mmmm. great recipe!
I have never (ever ever ever ever) made a successful batch of cookies in my life, despite years of trying various recipes. My inept baking skills have become family lore. My friend insisted that I try your recipe this morning and you have made our Christmas merry and bright! The best present I have ever given my husband, the chocolate chip cookies of his dreams! THANK YOU!! They were PERFECT!! Absolutely, completely, totally, and wonderfully DIVINE!! THANK YOU a million times!
I have tried batches upon batches of choc. chip cookies and they always spread out to gross looking pancake cookies. I had written off chocolate chips forever until my boyfriend said his favorite cookies where chocolate chips. I’ve had such success with other recipies on your site I thought I’d give it a try. SUCCESS! Didn’t have to put the dough in the fridge or freezer, or do any other ‘trick’ to it, just mix. plop, cook. love it. My only addition was a cup of chopped walnuts, yum!
I have made cookies for my children longer than I care to mention, oldest child is 45. I have always used the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package. They were good and needless to say got gobbled up. But my daughter was visiting one weekend and used your recipe. I will never use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag again.
I’m super happy to have found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies for high altitude baking that’s not Tollhouse! Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I want something special and this looks like it. Can I add pecans? I will be making this tomorrow or the next day.
Ok so I live in Houston which isnt too far from louisiana. My cookies turned out super chewy and honestly the best I have tried and I have tried many choc. chip recipes. The only think different I did was I added those toffee bites to the cookies. about 3/4 c. The toffee melts into the cookie while it bakes and keeps it from getting cakey. You should just try it and see if you have as good of luck doing this as I did. I also used a stone cookie sheet instead of metal. I honestly dont think you need to change up you ingredients at all. They were perfect even in this humid climate 🙂
hehe! making these right now.. I am thirteen years of age.. and something i did was add 1 cp of coconut, and 3/4 tsp. of coconut extract and 1/4 of a cup of oats, and i doubled the vanilla!! SO SO YUMMY KATE!!!! (: P.S i made these because my mom got gumm surgery and they worked well with her sensitive gums so thanks again! (:
I’m willing to bet you’re at a low elevation because that’s what happened to mine when I moved to Louisiana! 🙂 Try taking out 2 tablespoons of flour next time. You can also very, very lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cups and level it out with a the blunt edge of a knife–that will keep you from getting too much flour into the cookies.
Ok – I tried these this weekend. They were almost exactly what I was looking for except they didn’t really flatten out. They still kind of look like big cookie dough balls…any ideas/suggestions?
These are so good! As are all your recipes! I am in Utah so I was expecting them to come out perfect, but they got flat when they cooled. And although they are chewy, they kinda crumble apart when you pick them up. I used smart balance and real high quality butter and followed the directions exactly, any ideas? Thanks!
Try adding just a bit more flour–maybe 1-2 tablespoons. 🙂