Last Updated on 2 October, 2026 by Elby | The Tasteful Pantry
Chocolate chip cookies with golden edges, soft middles and plenty of chocolate: I will absolutely eat one straight from the cooling rack, then return five minutes later to check if they’re still as good. Thorough research.
My kids have started making these too, which means the house smells incredible and I occasionally get handed a warm cookie without lifting a finger. An excellent arrangement.
The trick here is knowing when to take them out. They look slightly too soft in the middle when they leave the oven, then settle on the tray into chewy cookies with just enough crispness around the edge. Give them those five minutes before moving them. The chocolate will still be melty, and the cookie will have enough backbone to make it to your plate (mostly).
If you feel like changing things up next time, my orange choc chip cookies bring a little citrus to the chocolate. Or for a filled version, try my Nutella biscuits with a gooey chocolate-hazelnut centre. Today, though, I’m making the classic.
What Makes These Cookies Soft And Chewy?
Brown sugar does a lot of the work. It brings a deeper flavour and helps keep the middle soft, while a little white sugar helps the edges turn golden. Beating softened butter with both sugars makes a lighter dough, but the flour needs a gentler hand: mix only until you can’t see any dry patches.
Then there’s the bake. Take the cookies out when the edges have colour and the centres still look slightly underdone. They’ll finish settling on the hot tray. Wait for the entire cookie to look firm in the oven and you’ll lose that lovely soft middle. The photographs below show the difference between the puffy, just-baked cookies and the same cookies after their five-minute rest.
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Cookies
Butter: Use softened, unsalted butter so it creams readily with the sugars. If using salted butter, leave out the added salt and taste the finished batch before deciding if it needs a few flakes on top next time.
Brown and white sugar: Both belong here: the brown sugar helps with chew; the white sugar helps the edges brown.
Egg and vanilla: The egg binds the dough; the vanilla rounds out the buttery flavour.
Plain flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: Weigh the flour if you can. A heavy scoop can turn a soft cookie dry in a hurry.
Sea salt flakes: A little in the dough balances the sweetness; a few more on top are optional.
Chocolate chips: Milk chocolate makes a sweeter cookie; dark chocolate gives a stronger contrast. Chopped block chocolate works too if you’d rather have little melted pockets.
The full amounts are in the recipe card below. I keep the chocolate flexible because the best version is the one you’ll actually eat. There’s no medal for forcing yourself to use dark chocolate if you want milk.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step one: Get the oven and tray ready. Heat the oven to 180°C conventional or 160°C fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper. Set out the butter ahead of time so it is soft enough to beat, but still holds its shape. If it has melted into a puddle, it has gone too far.
Step two: Beat the butter and sugars. Beat for about 4–5 minutes, until the mixture looks lighter and fluffy. Scrape the bowl if the butter clings to the sides. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for about another minute, until combined.
Step three: Add the dry ingredients and chocolate. Stir in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, followed by the chocolate chips. Stop as soon as the flour disappears and the chocolate is spread through the dough. Give the bowl a final scrape for any sneaky flour hiding at the bottom. No need to keep beating the poor dough into submission.
Step four: Scoop and leave room to spread. Portion about 1½ tablespoons of dough per cookie and arrange the scoops roughly 5 cm apart. For bigger cookies, use about 2 tablespoons per cookie and watch the baking cues rather than relying solely on the clock. If you only have one tray, bake in batches and let the tray cool before adding more dough. Dough dropped onto a hot tray can start spreading before it reaches the oven.
Step five: Bake, then let them settle. Start checking the smaller cookies at 12 minutes. The edges should be starting to turn golden while the centres still look slightly soft. Larger cookies can take 12–15 minutes. Leave them on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Straight from the oven they may look puffed and a bit fragile; the tray rest sorts them out. Finish with a few sea salt flakes if you like that little salty hit against the chocolate.
My Best Tips For A Batch That Behaves
Use the scales for flour. The recipe gives a weight as well as an approximate cup measure. Weighing is the most reliable way to avoid a dense or crumbly batch, especially when different people pack a cup differently.
Watch the edge, not just the timer. Ovens and tray sizes vary. At 12 minutes, look for colour at the edges and a soft centre. If everything still looks raw and shiny, give the tray another minute and check again. A completely firm middle while the cookies are still in the oven is a warning that they may be overdone once cool.
Make the dough scoops a similar size. One enormous cookie among smaller ones is fun until the little ones are ready and the big one is still negotiating with the oven. Bake the larger scoops separately if you want a mix of sizes.
Try chips or chopped chocolate. Chips keep their shape; chopped block chocolate makes irregular, gooey patches. I’d choose chopped chocolate for the melted puddles, but chips are handy when you want chocolate in every bite without chopping anything.
Let the first batch tell you about your oven. If it spreads more or browns faster than expected, give the next tray a little more space and start checking it earlier. Keep the dough off a hot tray between batches.
How To Store Chocolate Chip Cookies And Dough
Keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for around 3-4 days. Let them cool completely before closing the lid so trapped steam doesn’t soften the edges. If the cookies have firmed up, a brief warm-up makes the chocolate lovely again.
For future cookie emergencies, scoop the unbaked dough onto a tray and freeze until firm, then transfer the portions to a labelled freezer bag or airtight container for up to three months. Bake from frozen at the same oven temperature, allowing a couple of extra minutes and using the golden-edge, soft-centre cue.
More Biscuits To Bake
My lemon vanilla cookies are the bright, buttery option; peanut choc chip cookies are there when chocolate and peanuts sound especially good. You can also browse the homemade biscuits guide for more ideas. If you make these chocolate chip cookies, let me know how your first tray went and whether you chose chips or chopped chocolate.
Chocolate Chip Biscuits Recipe FAQs
How do I keep chocolate chip cookies soft and chewy?
Use the stated weight of flour, mix gently once the flour goes in and take the cookies out when the edges are golden but the centres still look soft. Let them sit on the hot tray for five minutes to finish setting.
Why did my cookies turn out dry or crumbly?
Too much flour or a few minutes too long in the oven are the first things I’d check. Weigh the flour if possible, and don’t wait for the centres to look completely firm before taking them out.
Why did my cookies spread too much?
Check that the butter was softened rather than melted and that you measured the flour accurately. If you’re baking in batches, avoid putting dough on a still-hot tray; that can give the next batch a head start on spreading.
Do I need to chill the dough?
The recipe is written to bake the dough straight after mixing. If you’ve chilled it ahead of time, it may need a little longer in the oven. Look at the edges and centre rather than following the clock blindly.
Can I use chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips?
Yes. Use the same weight of chocolate. Chips generally hold their shape, while chopped block chocolate melts into softer, uneven pockets. Both are excellent, which is helpful and also no help at all when you’re standing in front of the chocolate shelf.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes. Freeze scooped portions on a tray, then pack them into a freezer bag or airtight container for up to three months. Bake straight from frozen, allowing a couple of extra minutes and checking for golden edges and soft centres.
Feedback And More: Have you given the chocolate chip cookies recipe a go? I’d really love to know how it was. Select a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or leave a comment below to share your thoughts. Cheers, Elby!
If you liked this recipe, check out some of my other homemade biscuits. Also, follow The Tasteful Pantry on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for all the latest recipes and info.
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
*Note: Adjusting servings will not adjust the ‘light grey’ quantities
Ingredients
- 200 grams unsalted butter - softened
- 150 grams brown sugar
- 55 grams white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg - at room temperature
- 280 grams flour - plain
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp bicarb soda
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes - plus a few more to finish if desired
- 200 grams milk chocolate chips - or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180°C conventional or 160°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Beat the softened butter and both sugars for 4–5 minutes, until lighter and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and egg and beat for another minute, until combined.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until almost combined. Fold through the chocolate chips, stopping once no dry flour remains.
- Scoop about 1½ tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared tray, leaving roughly 5 cm between scoops. For larger cookies, use about 2 tablespoons per cookie.
- Bake the smaller cookies for about 12 minutes, until the edges are starting to turn golden but the centres still look slightly soft. Allow 12-15 minutes for larger cookies, checking by appearance. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Add a few extra sea salt flakes if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutrition and calorie figures are estimates only.
