If you're looking for a thick, bakery-style chocolate chip cookie with crisp edges, chewy centers, and plenty of semisweet chocolate chips, these cookies are it. The dough is made with melted butter, brown sugar, extra egg yolks, and plenty of chocolate chips for a rich, chewy texture.
The best part? The cookie dough can be made ahead, portioned, and frozen so you can bake fresh cookies whenever the craving hits.
After testing these cookies several ways, I found that portion size makes a big difference. For the most consistent results, I recommend using a ¼-cup cookie scoop and weighing each dough ball to make sure it is approximately 70–75 grams. Keeping the dough balls consistent helps the cookies bake evenly and gives you that bakery-style appearance.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ingredients
- How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Troubleshooting
- My cookies spread too much.
- My cookies didn't spread enough.
- My cookies aren't chewy in the center.
- My cookies aren't the same size.
- Why are my cookies different from batch to batch?
- How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Recipe Notes
- Let's Connect
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Notes
- Did you make this recipe?
Why You'll Love These Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Thick and chewy with lightly crisp edges
- Made with melted butter, so there's no need to wait for butter to soften
- Extra egg yolks add richness and help create a chewy center
- Loaded with semisweet chocolate chips
- The dough can be frozen ahead of time
- Bake the cookies straight from frozen
- A simple cookie-swirling trick creates perfectly round cookies
Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour provides the structure for these cookies. Be sure to measure your flour accurately. If using a measuring cup rather than a kitchen scale, spoon the flour into the cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the flour container.
Unsalted Butter
The butter is melted and then cooled before being added to the dough. Make sure the butter has cooled to approximately 75°F (24°C) so it doesn't warm the other ingredients or cause the dough to become overly soft.
Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar
The combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar gives these cookies their chewy texture, caramel-like flavor, and lightly crisp edges.
Eggs and Egg Yolks
Using two whole eggs plus two additional egg yolks adds richness and helps keep the centers soft and chewy.
Semisweet Chocolate Chips
These cookies are generously loaded with semisweet chocolate chips. If you prefer a darker chocolate flavor, you can substitute bittersweet chocolate chips.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
1. Make the Dough
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a stand mixer, beat the cooled melted butter and sugars until smooth. Mix in the vanilla, eggs, and egg yolks. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.
2. Portion and Freeze
Use a ¼-cup cookie scoop to portion the dough into 70–75 gram balls. Roll them smooth and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Freeze the dough balls until firm, about 1 hour, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze overnight for the best results.
Keep the dough balls round—don't flatten them into discs.
3. Bake From Frozen
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Place the frozen dough balls about 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 16–18 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still look slightly underbaked.
4. Shape and Cool
For perfectly round cookies, immediately swirl a round cookie cutter or bowl around each warm cookie.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Troubleshooting
My cookies spread too much.
The most important thing to check is the temperature of your dough. These cookies should be baked directly from frozen.
Also make sure your dough balls are properly portioned. Smaller or flatter portions will spread differently than the recommended 70–75 gram dough balls.
Solution: Portion the dough into balls, freeze until firm, and bake the dough directly from frozen.
My cookies didn't spread enough.
Make sure you're using the correct portion size and baking temperature. Very cold or oversized dough balls may require additional baking time.
Avoid adding extra flour unless you've confirmed that your flour was incorrectly measured. Too much flour can result in thick, dry cookies.
My cookies aren't chewy in the center.
The centers should still look slightly underbaked when you remove the cookies from the oven. If you bake them until the centers look completely set, the cookies can become firmer as they cool.
Try removing them when the edges are lightly golden but the centers still look soft.
My cookies aren't the same size.
This is usually a portioning issue.
A ¼-cup cookie scoop gives you a good starting point, but for the most consistent results, weigh the dough balls at 70–75 grams each.
This is especially helpful when you're making a large batch.
Why are my cookies different from batch to batch?
Several factors can affect chocolate chip cookies, including flour measurement, butter temperature, dough temperature, cookie size, oven temperature, and baking time.
That's why freezing the dough balls and keeping each portion the same weight is so helpful. It removes some of the variables and makes your results much more consistent.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies
Room Temperature
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing Cookie Dough
The unbaked dough balls can be frozen in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.
Bake the cookies directly from frozen. If necessary, add 1–2 minutes to the baking time.
I recommend freezing the dough in individual portions so you can bake only as many cookies as you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This cookie dough freezes very well. Portion the dough into 70–75 gram balls, freeze until firm, and then transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe container or bag. The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
No. Bake the cookie dough directly from frozen. Thawing the dough can change how the cookies spread and can make it more difficult to achieve consistent results.
Freezing the dough helps the large cookies hold their shape during baking and helps prevent excessive spreading. It also makes it easy to have ready-to-bake cookie dough on hand.
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place a round cookie cutter or bowl slightly larger than the cookie around it. Gently swirl the cookie in a circular motion. This helps reshape any uneven edges while the cookie is still warm and pliable.
Look for lightly golden edges with centers that still appear slightly underbaked. The cookies will continue to set as they cool on the baking sheet. Baking until the centers look completely done can result in a firmer cookie.
Recipe Notes
For the most consistent cookies, don't skip the weighing step. A ¼-cup cookie scoop is a convenient way to portion the dough, but cookie scoops can vary and the amount of dough packed into the scoop can differ. Weighing each portion to approximately 70–75 grams gives you much more consistent cookies.
Also, keep the dough balls round rather than flattening them into discs before freezing. That's the method that produced the best results during testing.
Let's Connect
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Ingredients
SPECIAL TOOLS
- Stand mixer
- 1/4 cup cookie scoop
- Kitchen scale (optional)
- Parchment paper
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Freezer safe container or zip top bag
- Round cookie cutter or bowl
COOKIES
- 4 cups (17.6 ounces/500 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups (12 ounces/340 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to about 75°F (24°C)
- 2 cups (14 ounces/400 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (7 ounces/200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 4 cups (24 ounces/680 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cooled melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and well blended, about 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract, eggs, and egg yolks and mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until a few streaks of flour remain. Avoid overmixing.
- Using a sturdy rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Portion and Freeze
- Line a baking sheet or tray with parchment paper.
- Using a ¼-cup cookie scoop (about 70 to 75 g each), portion the dough into balls. Roll each portion smooth.
- Arrange the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet. They can be placed fairly close together since they won't be baked on this pan.
- Freeze the dough uncovered until firm, about 1 hour. Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze overnight for best results.
Bake
- When ready to bake, heat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Arrange the frozen cookie dough balls about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still look slightly underbaked.
- If desired, immediately after baking, place a large round cookie cutter or bowl slightly larger than the cookie over each cookie and gently swirl in a circular motion to create perfectly round cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary.*
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 492Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 13gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 151mgCarbohydrates: 73gFiber: 3gSugar: 44gProtein: 6g
*Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary.*
Jenniffer says
These look DELISH! Great work Cake Chica!
Karly says
Nothing in the world compares to a warm, golden, chocolate chip cookie. Except maybe the love of a child. Maybe. Anyway, these look absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!
Z says
I followed this recipe to a T and my cookies spread like CRAZY and weren't so much chewy as... gloopy...
Mary says
So sorry this happened. Did you chill the dough before baking? I always do that. You may have missed that part in the content portion of my post. I will revise the recipe version to mention the chilling time as well so this won't happen again. Thanks for letting me know.
Courtney Osterfelt says
The same thing happened to me. Very disappointing.
Courtney Osterfelt says
And I did chill the dough. Maybe I didn’t do it long enough.
Mary says
Sorry they didn't work for you. I would try chilling the dough longer. I've never had any problems with them after chilling the dough until the dough is stiff and easy to handle. Also, if you have 2 cookie sheets you can alternate between batches so the cookie sheets have time to cool.
Janice Bleu says
How would you preserve them overnight after you've baked them? My daughter is taking these to school the next day so how should I keep them fresh for her?
Mary says
You can store them in a Ziploc bag or an air tight storage container on the counter.
Casey says
These look amazing. Definitely trying today. Thank you for a great recipe
Mary says
Thank you Casey! Enjoy!
Casey says
Ok. These were amazing! My husband said they couldn't taste better than prepare cookies. Boy, was he wrong.
Mary says
Awesome!!! Seriously I get compliments on these cookies every time I make them!
TW says
These cookies are AMAZEBALLS!!! Probably the best I’ve had Yet!!
Mary says
Thank you! Glad you liked them!!!
Anthony Allen says
These cookies are wonderful! They look just like they came from one of the cookie shops at the mall. I am impressed. Thanks for your sharing!!
Elizabeth says
What name brand of all purpose flour do you use for this recipe?
Mary says
I typically use Central Milling Company organic flour from Costco.
Elizabeth says
Thank you!
Marta says
Hi, could I leave out the 1 cup granulated sugar or will it make a difference?
Mary says
I wouldn't recommend it. Sugar helps the texture as well as sweetness.
Kristy says
Made these. I used cane sugar and baking powder instead. They are big and chewy!! Mine came out like a Levain cookie.
Abia says
Can I use both baking soda and baking powder? And if so, how much of each should I add to the recipe?
Mary says
Just baking soda is best with these cookies. Baking soda raises the pH of the dough more than baking powder and helps form a nice crackly top. Baking powder might create more of a cakey domed cookie instead. I hope this helps. 🙂
Mandy says
I tried this and they spread too. I’m going to try again with a longer chill time. I’m also wondering if I could cream the butter instead of melting it first? I have never done that for cookies and I wonder if that threw off the cookie texture??
Mary says
Sorry about that. It's possible the melted butter was still to hot. Try cooling the melted butter to about 85 to 90 degrees before using. The melted butter gives the cookies a nice chew but you can certainly go the more traditional route with using softened butter and creaming.
Amanda says
At what altitude are you? Im at about 1500 and I have a hard time with cookies spreading.
Mary says
I am about 500 feet. Be sure your melted butter has cooled before adding it in. You can also try using 2 baking sheets and switch them out between batches so each baking sheet has time to cool before adding the cookie dough on top. I hope this helps.
Dan says
I've made these 5 times, first two times they were incredible - perfect, big fat and chewy - but the last three times they keep spreading and flattening after I pull them out. I checked the recipe and I know it by now. Nothing is changing in how I bake them. Any ideas why this could be happening? Butter was completely cooled to room temp and still melted everytime, and the dough was thoroughly chilled (make them during the day and bake them at night). There has to be a reason!
Mary says
I'm so sorry this happened. The only thing I can think of is maybe there was not enough flour in the dough. The most accurate way to be sure is by weighing the flour. So for this recipe it would be 20 ounces or 568 grams. I hope you'll give these another try.
Kristin says
I’ve made these twice now and they were perfect both times! Best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Highly recommend!