My husband loves chocolate chip cookies! If he can choose any dessert, he almost always chooses cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are his ultimate favorite, so this recipe is for him.
These chocolate chip cookies started from a different recipe I have been adapting and perfecting in little ways for several years, and I nailed it this time! These cookies are beautifully soft inside, with a nice crisp outside. There are chocolate chips in every bite, and the chocolate adds just the right amount of sweetness. Talk about the exact cookie you want and dream of when you think about the perfect chocolate chip cookies! I have been making chocolate chip cookies for years, and I have tried and created countless recipes. Yes, I truly believe these are the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever!
There are several things that make this recipe different from many chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. First, I use cold butter straight from the fridge. I just cut the butter into small cubes and then toss those cubes of butter into the stand mixer with the sugar. Not only does it make the cookie-making process super easy since you do not have to let the butter come to room temperature all afternoon, but I think it also results in a better cookie after baking. The cookies are thicker and have a much softer middle when I start with cold butter versus room temperature butter. I know it’s strange and it goes against a lot of baking norms, but I LOVE the result of a thicker cookie with a crispy outside and soft inside. You definitely need to try it at least once to see (and taste!) the difference.
My recipe also calls for dark brown sugar and a tiny bit of almond extract. Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar are not quite the same. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it, and I feel it adds a really deeper flavor to these cookies that makes them stand out. You can use light brown sugar if that’s all you have on hand, but I highly recommend going out of your way to buy dark brown sugar for these cookies. It makes a big difference. The almond extract, while not overly detectable, is something I like to add to many of my baked goods to give them just a little something extra. In this case, I think it helps each cookie taste even more delicious!
Lastly, I use a combination of milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe. I feel that milk chocolate alone is too sweet and semi-sweet chocolate never seems quite right on its own either. You can certainly mix this combination up to reflect your own tastes too. I have used white chocolate, dark chocolate, and many mixtures of them all with great results! The chocolate chips should come out to a total of about 1½ to 2 cups of chocolate chips overall. That seems to be the magic amount for these cookies.
Now for a couple of quick tips: I really recommend using silicone baking mats with a baking sheet pan. The silicone mats do help with clean-up and you don’t have to worry about spraying nonstick spray over and over. Most importantly, though, baked goods just seem to come out better and more consistent with them. I also love using a cookie scoop for this recipe. It makes it so much simpler to get cookie dough onto the baking sheet with the added bonus of each cookie being roughly the same size and shape. This is also a great tool for kids to use when helping out in the kitchen!
Once you make these cookies, I am sure your family will love them as much as mine! They are honestly our family’s BEST chocolate chip cookies! Enjoy!
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup cold butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 heaping tsp cornstarch
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¾ heaping cup milk chocolate chips
- ¾ heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 410° and line a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat (or spray the baking sheet with nonstick spray). Set the pan aside.
- Add the brown sugar and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or the paddle with scraper attachment).
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add the cubed butter into the bowl.
- Mix the butter and sugars on low until the butter and sugar are blended. Turn the speed up to medium for about one minute so the mixture becomes fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed (with the mixer turned off).
- Turn off the stand mixer and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low until just blended.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix on low until the chocolate chips are fully incorporated into the dough.
- Use a cookie scoop (or spoon) to place balls of cookie dough about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. About 12 cookies should fit on each sheet.
- Bake for 9 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely turning golden brown on the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to fully cool.
- Continue scooping dough and baking cookies in batches. This recipe makes about 36 cookies.
- Serve and enjoy! Store any remaining cookies in an airtight container.
