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!
Table of contents
- My Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ingredients in the best chocolate chip cookies
- What is the best chocolate to use in chocolate chip cookies?
- How to freeze Cookie Dough
- How to get big puddles of chocolate on top of chocolate chip cookies
- The 'Cookie Scoot' - for perfectly round cookies every time.
- FAQ for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Made this recipe and love it?
- Why is this recipe in grams?
- For more Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes, check out:
My Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
To me, these are the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. I went on a quest a few years ago to gather all the things that I love about chocolate chip cookies and turn them into one recipe. A recipe that would be my go-to. And this is it. This is the recipe that I use whenever I need just a great chocolate chip cookie. It has three types of sugar, slightly crispy edges, big puddles of chocolate, and lots of salt. The dough freezes amazingly so I always have some on hand in the freezer for baking off. There's no additional steps in this one, it is just a super solid chocolate chip cookie recipe. I love it, and I know you will too.
Ingredients in the best chocolate chip cookies
The ingredient list for these cookies is fairly simple - check out the FAQ section for any substitution suggestions!
- Butter - Unsalted butter, at room temperature. I like using something with slightly higher fat content if I can, but whatever you have on hand is great.
- Sugar - There are three types of sugar in this cookie. It seems super extra, but they all serve a purpose. The brown / muscovado sugar is there for flavour and chew, the white sugar provides spread and those slightly crispy edges, and then turbinado sugar / sugar in the raw (I got the idea from Ashley Rodriguez) gives a super subtle but crazy delicious crunch to the cookies. I always have all three on hand and the combination of all of them makes such a big difference.
- Egg - The egg in the recipe helps with binding and texture.
- Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda - The quantity of both flour and leavener in a recipe has a big impact on the final texture.
- Salt - Always, always salt your desserts. I used Kosher salt in the cookie dough and finished it off with Maldon salt on the top.
- Chocolate - I almost always use chopped chocolate from a bar in my cookies for a few reasons. See further down the post!
What is the best chocolate to use in chocolate chip cookies?
I almost always use chopped chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies. There are a few reasons for this:
- Sizing - Cutting up chocolate into chunks gives you a great range of size in your chocolate. This means you get a good distribution throughout
- Melty Pockets of chocolate - Chocolate chips often have a stabiliser in them which means they don't melt. This makes them great for things like muffins, but I much prefer using chopped chocolate for cookies because the chocolate melts, and you get pockets of chocolate throughout.
- Quality - if you use chopped chocolate, you can use whatever quality you like. It's also a great way to mix up the types of chocolate you use too - I like doing a mix of dark and then sometimes a fun flavour
- Chocolate Dust - This is a name I made up, but the dust is what's left from chopping chocolate. It all goes into the bowl and you get tiny chocolate specks all throughout the cookies.
- Melty Chocolate Puddles - Chopped chocolate means you can press extra chocolate onto the top of the cookies to get big chocolate puddles!
How to freeze Cookie Dough
This dough freezes perfectly. Scoop it out, chill for an hour, and then bake off whatever you are wanting to bake off. Transfer the rest to a parchment lined baking sheet, and freeze until solid. This is a flash freeze and should take 30 minutes to an hour. Then, transfer to a ziploc bag and label with the type of cookie dough you have. You can bake it directly from frozen - just add a few more minutes onto the bake time.
How to get big puddles of chocolate on top of chocolate chip cookies
I like to use a little trick to get those big puddles on the tops of my chocolate chip cookies. Just before the dough goes in the oven, I take each ball of dough, and flatten it slightly. I then press chunks of chopped chocolate onto the top. You can add some of the chocolate dust from chopping too. Then I squeeze it back into a ball, and place it on the baking sheet. This means that when the cookie bakes, the chocolate will end up spread across the top of the cookie, and give you those big chocolate puddles on the tops. If you are freezing your cookie dough, do this step before they go into the freezer. You can't squish frozen dough!
The 'Cookie Scoot' - for perfectly round cookies every time.
The "Cookie Scoot" is my secret weapon to perfectly round cookies. It's a totally optional step, but one that I really love. All you do is take a round object slightly larger than the cookie. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, while they are still hot, put the cutter over the cookie and 'scoot' it into a perfectly round shape. The best. I do it basically every time now.
FAQ for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
I use a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop - I like this one. You can also weigh your dough balls if you don't have a scoop. Mine weighed about 55g each.
I use a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie. I have a set of all different sizes which is made by ateco - it is super handy to just grab the one that you need!
If you can't find muscovado sugar, you can use dark brown or light brown sugar!
If you can't find turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar in nz or sometimes demerara sugar), you can use 25g extra white sugar and 25g extra brown sugar.
I use Maldon flaky sea salt! It is my favourite and I always have it on hand for finishing off cookies or other baked goods.
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!
Made this recipe and love it?
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide so there is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. Posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
For more Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes, check out:
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
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ 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!
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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!
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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!
These were fantastic. Used dark muscovado, white and demerara sugars. The combination was excellent and the end result with the salt on top was perfect.
★★★★★
Hi! So happy you love them - thank you so much for the lovely review!
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.
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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.
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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 😅
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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?
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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!!!
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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
Katie, I'm so glad to know you had success with gluten free flour in this recipe. Which gf flour did you use?
It's time to get baking!
I'm sure to enjoy these !
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!
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SO SO SO GOOD!!! 🤤🤤🤤
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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!
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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! 💗
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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!
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Eeeeee so glad you loved them! They are my forever fave too I think haha.
Sooooo good! In love!
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Yayyy!
These are THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I've ever had in my life! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfectly. I've already shared the recipe with multiple people in my family. Thank you so much for this!!
Ah yayyyy love to hear it!
Hey I've finally tried your recipe and it came out great all my family loved it and I made it again yesterday to give it to my friends. But one thing i notice is my batter felt more wet while yours looked drier, do you know why this happend? I tried to put it in fridge to set it a little bit but still when i scooped it after a while it looked a little bit melt so when i tried to shape it with my hands it's quite sticky. But regardless it's my go to chocolate chips cookie recipe now
Hi! A few questions - did you make the recipe by weight? The recipe has a one hour chill in it so it does need the time to cool down.
yes i measured by weight but i put it in the fridge for few minutes maybe next time i should put it for an hour. Thank your for your reply
Ah yes they are a bit sticky before they go in the fridge! They need an hour before they bake - I usually scoop them first then chill them 🙂
ERIN! This is truly such a perfect cookie. The raw turbinado sugar gives it that sandy texture that I just love in a cookie but never knew how to achieve (I always thought it was buckwheat flour or some sneaky grainy flour!). My little cookie hacks include: when I take the pan out of the oven, I drop it from about an inch onto the stovetop to get the cookies to flatten and ripple. Then, using a small offset spatula while the cookies are still very warm, I reshape any that aren’t perfectly round. Then I gently squash down the cookie with the offset spatula, then add the flaky sea salt finish! I added toffee bits to mine but followed everything else exactly! So excited to have this recipe, the cookies are magical, thank you Erin!!
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Oh hiiiiiii! Yayyyyy so glad you love! The turbinado is a game changer! I love how the crunch sneaks in! Thank you for such a sweet review! Hope you and the fam and the fur baby are well xx
Yep, this is the one you want to make, eat and share forever and ever. I didn’t have all 350 grams of dark chocolate, so subbed the little I needed with semisweet choc chips, but turned out great anyway. So awesome, Erin! I love the combo of those three sugars!
Thanks for another great recipe.
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Ah yayyyy so glad you love!!
These are perfect cookies. I love your insta and looked forward to trying this recipe. Took about 16 min from the fridge. Wonderfully crispy on the outside, fluffy insides.
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Hi! So happy you love!
Love this recipe! The addition of raw sugar isn't something I've seen in a cookie recipes, but I'm convinced it's what makes this recipe stand apart from the rest. My family devours these instantly. I typically make this cookie dough at the start of the week and bake small batches throughout to keep everyone motivated. As always recommended in the recipe, and what I was taught at Le Cordon Bleu Pasadena, WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS!!
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Hi! Yayyyyy so happy you enjoyed! Scales for the win! x
I did it. I bit the bullet and bought a scale for this recipe specifically. AND I HAVE NEVER MADE SUCH PERFECT COOKIES. I am now a convert to baking with a scale! The cookie scoot is PURE GENIUS- ERIN YOU INSPIRED RAVEN HAIRED COOKIE GODDESS! The best part is I still have a dozen frozen cookie dough balls waiting for me to bake up whenever I choose. You are amazing!! Thanks for doing all the hard work for us to enjoy this perfect cookie!
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Ah yayyyyyyyyyy so glad you love! This recipe is my fave xx
I’ve eaten 3 already since I made them today. Sooo good! I’ve made many a chocolate chip cookie, but these are delicious! I had muscovado sugar hanging around, and always have raw sugar to put a sprinkle on espresso, so was well,prepared. Next up? Your brown butter salted caramel cookies!
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Yayyy so glad you loved! They are a fave of ours! You will love the brown butter ones too x
These were SO GOOD! I divided the recipe in half so I wouldn’t overeat cookies all week, but I just might have to make them again! Just perfect
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Ah yayyy! The dough freezes super well too if you only want to bake some off and then you can bake from frozen!
THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made/had. Really easy to make. Instructions are clear. So glad I found this through @thepurplecupcake. I now keep a stash of cookie balls in my freezer at all times and anyone that comes over always asks for them. Thank you!!
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Hi! Eeeee so happy you love them! They are my forever fave too
Absolutely perfect every time!
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Yayyyy so happy you love!x
Love love LOVE these cookies. Definitely appropriately named as the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Will never go back to regular chocolate chips in my cookies - chopped chocolate is far superior! Also, love how professional I feel with my perfectly round cookies after doing the “cookie scoot”. My go to recipe!
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Ahhh so happy you love them! They are a forever fave for me 🙂