Rachel’s Excellent Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love heat, home made chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven. Significantly, what could possibly be higher? That is our traditional, fool-proof chocolate chip cookie recipe that ensures completely smooth and buttery cookies each time. We promise, you’ll love these cookies as a lot as we do!

For extra home made cookie goodness, attempt our simple Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies.

We now have been baking these chocolate chip cookies for the previous 25 years. It began within the fifth grade, decided to make cookies with out an grownup’s assist, the place as an alternative of 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 cup of baking soda was added! Whoops! They grew bigger and bigger within the oven till they coated your entire pan! This studying lesson started our love for cooking. Mastering the last word chocolate chip cookie was extraordinarily vital, and we’re joyful to share that recipe with you right now.

Ingredient Notes

• Butter: Unsalted butter can be utilized, however add an additional pinch of salt to the dough. Ensure that it’s softened for straightforward creaming.
• Brown Sugar: Mild or darkish brown sugar works, however darkish brown sugar goes to present you a deeper taste and a chewier cookie.
• Granulated Sugar: Balances the sweetness and helps the cookies obtain flippantly crisp edges.
• Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract offers the very best taste, however imitation vanilla additionally works.
• Eggs: Use giant eggs at room temperature for finest outcomes.
• All-Function Flour: Follow common all-purpose flour for this one. Bread flour can even work.
• Baking Soda: Test the expiration date to make sure correct leavening.

Chocolate Chip Choices

The kind of chocolate chips you employ is a matter of non-public choice. There aren’t any flawed solutions right here! Each semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips will work, or you need to use a mixture of each.

Mini chips, chunks, and disks all work! You’ll be able to even chop up a chocolate bar as an alternative of utilizing chips in order for you these large, melty puddles of chocolate all through your cookies. Simply follow round 2 cups whole.

Parchment Paper vs. Nonstick Cooking Spray

I all the time advocate utilizing parchment paper or a silicone baking mat when baking cookies. It retains the cookies from sticking, and it does it with out including any additional grease.

Nonstick cooking spray is the simpler possibility, however it might go away a barely greasy texture on the bottoms of your cookies. It additionally tends to brown them sooner, which isn’t all the time factor. With parchment or a silicone mat, you get extra even baking and a cleaner, crisper end.

The Science Behind the Excellent Cookie

There’s actual science behind what makes these cookies prove excellent each time. It’s not magic—it’s how the elements work collectively. This recipe is all in regards to the steadiness that provides you smooth, chewy facilities with simply the correct amount of crisp across the edges.

Butter creaming issues. Softened butter (not melted!) is creamed with the sugars for a strong 2 to three minutes on this recipe. Don’t skip on the time! This does a few crucial issues. First, it dissolves the sugars fully within the butter. Second, it beats in a variety of air which is able to permit your leavening agent (the baking soda) to present the cookies a bit extra carry.

Darkish brown sugar provides moisture. The excessive molasses content material in darkish brown sugar offers the cookies a deeper taste, however that additional moisture is what helps hold the within of your cookies smooth and chewy for days. The granulated sugar is what provides crispiness across the edges.

No chill time wanted. However when you’ve got the time (or the endurance), a fast 30-minute chill will make the cookies puff up only a bit extra if that’s your factor.

Timing is the whole lot. Don’t you dare overbake! Baking for simply 10 to 12 minutes ensures the facilities keep smooth. Pull them out when the perimeters are golden however the facilities nonetheless look a bit of underdone. That’s the candy spot. They’ll end baking on the recent pan, providing you with these dreamy gooey facilities with out overcooking.

Troubleshooting

Even a tried-and-true cookie recipe can prove a bit of totally different relying in your elements, kitchen setup, and even the climate or your temper. We’ve all been there. In case your cookies didn’t prove fairly the way you hoped, listed below are just a few fast fixes to get you again on monitor.

Your cookies are spreading an excessive amount of. That butter was most likely a bit of too heat. Ensure that it’s softened—not melted. In case your dough feels tremendous smooth, simply pop it within the fridge for 20 to half-hour earlier than baking. That’ll assist them maintain their form.

They’re not spreading in any respect. This often means there’s an excessive amount of flour. It’s a straightforward mistake to make as measuring flour is a bit inaccurate and not using a kitchen scale. Fluff, scoop, and sweep is the strategy I exploit.

Too cakey? That may occur when you overmix the dough. Overmixing can incorporate an excessive amount of air into the dough or develop an excessive amount of gluten, each of which may result in a cakier texture. Combine simply till the flour disappears.

Burnt bottoms or crispy edges? This is likely to be your baking pan. Darkish pans warmth up extra within the oven and may brown the bottoms sooner. I like to recommend utilizing a light-colored sheet pan. When you solely have darkish ones, simply decrease your oven temp by 15 to 25 levels and hold a detailed eye towards the tip of the bake time.

Cookies are getting laborious after they cool. Take them out of the oven when the perimeters are set, however the facilities nonetheless look a bit of underbaked. They’ll hold baking on the recent pan. As soon as they’re cool, retailer them in an hermetic container—whereas they’re nonetheless simply barely heat is even higher to assist lock in that softness.

Make Now, Bake Later

This recipe is ideal if you wish to shortly make the dough and put it aside for baking both the subsequent morning or later down the street when your cookie craving hits!

Need just a bit deal with now and extra later? Make the complete batch of dough and stash the remaining within the fridge. Cookie dough will keep good within the fridge for as much as 72 hours. While you’re prepared for extra, simply scoop and bake straight from the fridge—no have to let it come to room temp.

This cookie dough can even simply be frozen. For finest outcomes, form into balls and freeze on a baking sheet. As soon as frozen, switch to a resealable plastic freezer bag for long-term storage, as much as 3 months. When able to bake, place frozen cookie dough within the oven and bake for 12-Quarter-hour.