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If you love thick, bakery style chocolate chip cookies, you’re going to love this recipe. These cookies are made with cold salted butter, which helps give them that rich flavor and thick, chewy texture.
They’re not overly sweet and are loaded with a mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips for the perfect balance. Be sure to check out the tips below so your cookies bake up thick, chewy, and absolutely irresistible.
For more delicious cookie recipes, check out these Italian lemon ricotta cookies, sugar cookies, and chocolate crinkle cookies.
Table of Contents
Okay I know I’ve called a lot of my recipes “the best,” and I meant it every single time but I REALLYYY mean it with these. These are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a lot of them over the years. Save this recipe forever because once you try these, you won’t want to make any other chocolate chip cookie recipe again.
Why They’re So Good…
- They’re super thick and chewy.
- Not overly sweet.
- Super soft the following day if stored properly.
- Bakery sized cookies
- Gooey centers
- Crisp edges
- Freezer friendly dough
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and complete instructions.
Salted Butter -adds richness, flavor, and helps create that soft, chewy texture. Using cold butter in this recipe also helps the cookies stay thicker and prevents them from spreading too much.
Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps make the cookies extra soft and tender while keeping them thick. It slightly softens the gluten in the flour which gives you that bakery-style chewy center. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out, but the cookies may be a little less soft.
Chocolate Chips – This recipe uses a combination of milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips for a balanced flavor that isn’t overly sweet. You can swap them for dark chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate bars, or even white chocolate chips if you prefer.
Top Tips
- Use cold butter for best results
- Chill the dough for at least 1 hour up to overnight for a deeper flavor and for optimal texture and thickness.
- Use light-colored baking sheets so the cookies don’t overbake. Dark pans tend to retain more heat and can cause the bottoms to cook too quickly.
- Cornstarch creates a silky, soft dough, keeping them chewy.
- Make tall dough mounds rather than wide or flat balls
- Slightly underbake – the centers will finish setting on the pan.
- If centers are underbaked after cooling, increase baking time by 1-2 minutes.
- Use chocolate chunks instead of chips for melty pools of chocolate, if desired.
- Use a bowl or glass slightly larger than the cookies to scoot the cookie edges immediately after baking for perfectly round cookies.
FAQs
Can I make smaller-sized cookies?
Yes! This recipe can be portioned into…
- 24 (2-ounce) dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- 16 (3-ounce) dough balls. Bake for 15-17 minutes.
- 12 (4-ounce) dough balls. Bake for 17-19 minutes.
*But keep in mind that every oven is different*
Can I make this ahead of time?
The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Simply bake from frozen, adding 1-2 extra minutes of bake time.
Are there any variations?
Add in some nuts or swap out the semi-sweet chips for milk, white, peanut butter or baking chips to customize this recipe.
Adjust the size of cookies to fit your needs.
Make them gooey in the center by removing the cookies from the oven when the centers look slightly raw and let them rest on the pan.
Why did my cookies spread?
Cookies usually spread too much when the butter is too warm or the dough wasn’t chilled long enough. Warm dough melts quickly in the oven before the flour has time to set, which causes the cookies to flatten.
Another common reason is using too little flour or placing the dough on a hot baking sheet. For thick bakery-style cookies, always chill the dough for at least 30–60 minutes and bake it on a cool, light-colored baking sheet.
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days to keep them soft and fresh. Add a slice of bread to the container to help keep the cookies extra soft. If you want that warm, gooey texture again, microwave a cookie for about 8–10 seconds.
You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months and reheat them straight from the freezer for a few seconds in the microwave.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback and would greatly appreciate it ❤️
Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- light colored baking sheet
- large cookie scoop
- Parchment Paper
- Mixing bowl
- spatula
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- Optional: flaky salt for topping
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until no visible butter chunks remain. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the dry ingredients until combined. Do not overmix.
- Reserve about 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips for topping the cookies. Fold in the remaining chocolate chips.
- Scoop out 16 (3-ounce balls) and loosely shape into rough, tall balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place dough balls onto the baking sheet, spacing them out about 4 inches apart. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Chill for 1 hour minimum.
- Bake in a 350°F preheated oven for 15-16 minutes until edges are golden and centers look slightly underdone. You may need to rotate pans halfway through bake time. Cookies will continue to bake after taking them out of the oven.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place a round cup or small bowl over each cookie and gently swirl it in a circular motion. This “scoots” the soft edges inward and shapes the cookie into a perfectly round circle.
- Top with additional chocolate chips or flake salt, if desired.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack for further cooling and enjoy!
Notes
- Use cold butter for best results
- Chill the dough for at least 1 hour up to overnight for a deeper flavor and for optimal texture and thickness.
- Use light-colored baking sheets so the cookies don’t overbake. Dark pans tend to retain more heat and can cause the bottoms to cook too quickly.
- Cornstarch creates a silky, soft dough, keeping them chewy.
- Make tall dough mounds rather than wide or flat balls
- Slightly underbake – the centers will finish setting on the pan.
- If centers are underbaked after cooling, increase baking time by 1-2 minutes.
- Use chocolate chunks instead of chips for melty pools of chocolate, if desired.
- Use a bowl or glass slightly larger than the cookies to scoot the cookie edges immediately after baking for perfectly round cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
