The Ultimate Guide to perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is my perfect chocolate chip cookie. They are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle, and are finished up with a heavy dose of flaky sea salt. These cookies utilise three different types of sugar - white, dark brown or muscovado, and turbinado sugar for a little crunch. They are easy to make and I show you how to get the best chocolate puddles in the recipe!
My Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
To me, this is My Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. I know that there are a lot of Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes out there on the internet. Trust me, I spent the weekend reading about them, reading about the science, and making what felt like 12 million cookies. I know there's already so many. But I just wanted to add my own in there too. Because I think you're gonna like it.
Inspiration for My Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
I've been making this cookie recipe for the last few years - friends and family have adopted it as their own, and it's always served us well. At the time of making, I hadn't really made too many cookies. We found one we loved, and stuck with it. However over the years, particularly recently as the cookie 'greats' have put their version of Chocolate Chip Cookies on the internet - Becky, Alison, Thalia, Tara, and Sarah to name a few, I came to realise that my go-to recipe, although great, wasn't my fave. I love crispy edges and a slightly thicker centre, and instead of blobs of chocolate, I prefer puddles. I want the dough to be buttery but not greasy. And I love the crunch of the raw sugar (a trick borrowed from Ashley's recipe).
How I developed the Perfect Cookie Recipe
So, I spent the weekend reading up on Stella's article on the science of sugar, and doing some serious recipe testing. I had an idea in my mind, and so I started with the recipe I had been using, and just kept tweaking it until I was happy with it. I increased the chocolate, and decreased and altered the leavening agent. Then I switched up the sugar ratios, changed up the flour amounts, changed the sort of chocolate I used, and changed the butter. Essentially I just came up with something that was perfect to me. Six batches later I had it. It's my idea of perfect. So here I have, to add to all the other recipes on the internet. My idea of a perfect chocolate chip cookie. I hope that you love it as much as I do.
Note: Recipe originally posted May 2018, updated May 2020 with photos and method tips!
A few wee tips for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Like most baking recipes, it is hard to make these consistently with volume measurements. I tested the recipe in grams, and so I've posted here my exact recipe. It's not accurate to convert to volume when I tested in grams - so if you don't have a scale already, they are the best kitchen investment. I am currently using an escali and it is amazing.
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To get big puddles on the top of your cookies, heres how you do it: You flatten a ball of dough, press some extra chocolate onto the top side, then continue as usual and roll it into a ball, which then gives you even chocolate distribution as the cookie bakes. This is optional - I like to chop up a little extra chocolate and keep it in a bowl next to me to do this step while I am assembling. I am a sucker for a good chocolate puddle.
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Either dark brown sugar (or light brown works great too) or muscovado sugar is amazing here. Muscovado gives a bit more depth of flavour, but if you can’t find it then no worries at all, just work with what you have!
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If Raw sugar is hard to get hold of, use extra brown sugar.
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You don’t have to bake these all at once. I often make the dough, scoop it out, and then keep it in the fridge until I am ready to bake, up to 24 hours. If we are going somewhere and I’ve offered to take dessert, I will often make the dough, scoop it out and chill it. Then I will take the chilled dough with me and bake it there so that we have warm, fresh cookies. I often pick up a tub of ice cream on the way too - it’s the best dessert ever, and you can leave your host with some freezer balls of dough too to bake off whenever they like!
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A cookie scoop is a great investment. I have a bunch of sizes, but the 2 Tbsp one is the one I reach for the most!
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Use the best chocolate that you can in these. There's a lot in there and so it makes sense to use high quality. I used a block of Valrhona, but any good quality (70% or more cacao) dark chocolate will do. So when I chop it I like to do a range of pieces - some larger, some medium, and some chopped really finely. The shards disperse through the cookie and are just the best. I find that a bar of chocolate chopped works best, but chocolate chunks or wafers are amazing too - just run your knife through some of them first so you don’t miss out on the shards!
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Get yourself some flaky finishing salt. It's just the best thing ever. I like Maldon, but there's a bunch out there.
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If you don't want to bake all of these all at once, the dough can be scooped and rolled and then frozen on a sheet pan. Once they are frozen, they can be stored in a ziploc bag, so that you always have cookies on hand. Adjust the baking time by 2-3 minutes to account for the frozen dough.
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I prefer to bake one tray at a time, but if you think your oven can manage, you can do two at once - rotate the trays halfway through the process. You may need to adjust cooking time slightly.
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Note: Photos updated in May 2020 to reflect new and improved cookie technique - the cookie scoot!
Other Cookie Recipes
- Brown Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Thin and Crispy Cardamom Milk Chocolate Cookies
- Brown Butter Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
My Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes plus an hour chilling time
- Yield: 28 cookies 1x
Description
Lightly salted cookie dough surrounds puddles of dark chocolate, before being finished up with a heavy dose of flaky sea salt. These cookies utilise three different types of sugar - white, dark brown or muscovado, and turbinado sugar for a little crunch. They are easy to make and I show you how to get the best chocolate puddles in the recipe!
Ingredients
- 225g Unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 170g Dark Brown or Muscovado Sugar
- 100g Granulated / White Sugar
- 50g Raw / Turbinado Sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 300g All-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 350 g good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped, plus a little extra for chocolate puddles (see notes)
- Flaky Sea Salt such as Maldon for finishing
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on high speed for 5 minutes, until pale, and light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix to combine, scraping down the bowl when necessary.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the mixing bowl, and mix on low to just combine (you still want a few streaks of flour remaining that will get mixed in when you add the chocolate).
- Add the chopped chocolate and mix until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and give a few mixes by hand using a flexible spatula, to ensure even incorporation of the chocolate.
- Using a 2 Tbsp Cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you can place them close together). If you want big puddles on the top of your cookies, you flatten a ball of dough, press the chocolate onto the top side, then continue as usual and roll it into a ball, which then gives you even chocolate distribution as the cookie bakes.
- If you are not adding additional chocolate, there is no need to re-shape into a ball - you can bake right from the scooped shape. Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and chill the dough balls for an hour in the fridge (if you want to freeze some, now is the time, see notes)
- Toward the end of the chilling process, preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper (you can bake these in batches)
- Arrange 6 cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, leaving room for spreading. Leave the remainder of the dough balls in the fridge.
- Bake for 13-14 minutes, or until lightly golden and beginning to set. Baking time depends on personal preference - if you like them quite soft, bake for 13 mins, if you like them a tiny bit crispy then bake for 14. Remove from the oven, and if desired, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot them into a perfectly round shape.
- Sprinkle liberally with flaky sea salt. Allow to cool on the pan - the cookies will deflate slightly as they cool. Repeat the baking process with the remaining cookies.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Keywords: cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate puddles, chocolate chunk cookies, muscovado sugar
These are legitimately the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I've experimented with quite a few recipes by other well-known bakers, but once I found these, I stopped experimenting. There's nothing more delicious... especially if you keep a few cookie dough balls in the freezer to bake hot and warm when you feel like it. Erin's recipes are the best!
★★★★★
Hiiii ahhh this is the most amazing feedback, thank you thank you! These are my absolute favourites too, don't tell the others! haha.
My boyfriend on this recipe: “you’ve really outdone yourself”. We’re in love with these cookie!!! 11/10
★★★★★
Aw yayyyyy thank you!!
I love that these cookies use raw sugar. It makes them “crunchy” even after they’ve been working out overnight, and they’re so pretty with the tips about the chocolate puddles and “scooting” like you do on insta! Love them!
★★★★★
Yayyy I am so glad that you love them! x
Hi there! ❤️ May i know how big is your baking tray & how long can i keep it once baked?thank so very much for the recipe & tips!
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Hi! I use a half sheet pan which is 18x13 inches. They keep for 3 days or so in an airtight container but you can freeze the dough and bake from frozen!
My search for the PERFECT chocolate chip cookies is finally over! Sooooo good. Thank you for this recipe 😋
Hi! Ah yayyyyy you are so welcome! I would love if you could leave me a rating! Thank you so much x
How long would you bake if starting from frozen?
Add 2-3 minutes 🙂
These are quite possibly the best cookies I’ve ever made - and I’ve made a lot of cookies! Delicious, perfect recipe. This will be my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe moving forward! Also - measuring by weight when baking is such a game changer. I bought a scale for Erin’s recipes and it is so fabulous! Make these! Get you a scale! You’ll have no regrets.
★★★★★
Hiiiii thank you so, so much for the review! I appreciate it so much - I am so happy you loved x
You cannot go wrong with this cookie! It's by far the best CCC I've ever eaten! Even the alternative ingredients still make a superior cookie. The quality dark chocolate and the caramel flavor from the Muscovado sugar makes this cookies extremely rich and decadent. I usually opt to use Trader Joe's chocolate chunks (not chips) to keep costs down and it's still a freakin' great cookie. This recipe hits all of my expectations for what a CCC should be.
★★★★★
Hiiii! Eeee thank you for such a sweet review! I am so glad that you love them - I think they will be my forever fave. I often use trader joes chocolate too - I stock up on the pound plus bars whenever I am there and use those (I pre-chop a bunch at once and just keep it in a jar), and sometimes throw in whatever other chocolate is in the cupboard too! x
Hi Erin! I love this recipe and the flavor of my cookies turned out amazing! However, they came out a little too flat even after I chilled them for an hour. Do you have any suggestions to avoid this? Thank you so much! I love your recipes.
★★★★★
Hiiiii! Hmmm I would say it could be your oven temperature? If it's running hot (or cold actually) they will spread a little more. Do you have a thermometer where you can check that?
Delish! My go to cookie recipe always
★★★★★
Ohhhh hi Claudia! Thank you thank you! Just the best xx
These are so delicious and the recipe is really clear and full of great tips! I am also so happy to have finally found a site that uses grams! In the UK we rarely use cups so lots of other websites are very confusing 😅
★★★★★
Hi! Yayyy I am so glad that you love! x
Hi Erin! Wanted to make these but intimidated by sugar types which can not be found in my country. So let me ask THE question 🙂 Can I substitute the sugars? Which ratio will it be withe brown sugar and white sugar? But if you say it will ruin the recipe than I will search for another recipe instead. Thank you.
Hi! You can substitute muscovado for brown sugar, for the turbinado you can do 25g white and 25g brown!
Hi Erin - these are great and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them... so much better than the one I was using before. Can you tell me how you make them ALL the same shape - perfect circle - I have tried both the scoop and bake and the roll and bake and they are not all perfectly round.... I read above that oven temp can make them spread more so that could be it (I really detest my oven)!! Any suggestions?
★★★★★
Hi! So glad you love! I use a cookie cutter to scoot them into place once they come out of the oven - the part in the recipe that says something like 'if desired, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger'. I do this with almost every cookie and it rounds them off nicely!
Thank you!! I just watched the video!!!
★★★★★
I LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it tons of times and giving my friends frozen dough balls is my new favorite gift! I recently tried it with cup-for-cup gluten free flour and it worked beautifully! Baked from frozen even. My favorite!
Yayyyyy it's just the best right! x
These cookies are incredible! Flakey salt on top is so tasty with the chocolate puddles! I definitely keep a stash of frozen dough balls in the freezer to bake off whenever needed. I’ve even been known to eat them raw & frozen. So good!
★★★★★
Yayyyyy so glad you like!!!
Not only do I think these are really the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but everyone i've baked them for also thinks they are perfect. 🙂
It's the only recipe i'll use!
★★★★★
SO SO SO GOOD!!! 🤤🤤🤤
★★★★★
Yayyyy I am so glad you love them!
These CCCs really are amazing! The use of the all the different sugars is genius and can't be beat! The extra crispy crunch but still gooey, chocolatey middle are cookie dreams. My new favorite cookies. Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Yayyy you are so welcome! They are my fave too 🙂
Can we reduce the amount of sugar or will it make any difference? Because i think the amount of sugar is too much, is it too sweet? Or is it going to be just fine because using 70% chocolate?
Hi! Please don't reduce the amount of sugar in these - sugar plays an important part in the spread and texture of the cookies. I don't think they are too sweet, but please try them as written first before deciding!
These cookies were by far the best cookies I have ever made. The process was simple, and I didn’t have a mixer so did everything by hand. I will highly recommend!!!
Yay I am so glad you enjoyed!!
These truly are the best chocolate chip cookies and I’m picky about a good cookie!! I’ve made probably 15 batches of these over the last few months and have been giving them to friends who are equally as obsessed as I am. I will now never not have a batch of these ready to go at a moments notice in my freezer! 💗
★★★★★
Ahhh yay I love to hear this! x
I've made many, many chocolate chip cookies from many different recipes. I thought I had found a favorite with a Levain copycat recipe, but then I tried these after watching on Instagram. 10/10 best chocolate chip cookie recipe.
The puddles of chocolate on top + the flaky Maldon sea salt are to die for. I bought new sugar (for me) for this recipe (the turbinado) and I do think it made a world of difference having the different textures and flavors.
Thank you, Erin!
★★★★★
Eeeeee so glad you loved them! They are my forever fave too I think haha.
Sooooo good! In love!
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Yayyy!