Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- PREP 15min
- COOK 15min
- TOTAL 30min
This chocolate chip cookie recipe is a family favorite, probably our most loved cookies on Inspired Taste. I love the rich flavor browned butter brings, but feel free to save time and use plain melted butter instead. You will stir this batter together, and you do not need a stand mixer or electric mixer to make it.
You Will Need
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (220g)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
11 tablespoons unsalted butter (155g)
¾ cup packed brown sugar (150g)
½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 ¾ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (226g)
Flaky sea salt, optional for sprinkling over baked cookies
Directions
1Prepare oven and baking sheet: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2Prepare butter: Melt the butter or make brown butter for a toasted flavor. To brown butter, add the butter to a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, continuously swirl it around the pan. It will melt, get a little foamy, and finally turn golden brown. Remove it from the heat when the butter is light brown and smells nutty. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
3Mix dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and melted butter or browned butter. Whisk in espresso powder (optional).
5Make cookie dough: Switch to a large rubber spatula, and then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear. Fold in most of the chocolate chips, saving a handful for adding to the tops of each scooped cookie before baking.
6Bake cookies: Roll 1 ½ tablespoons of cookie dough into balls, or use a medium cookie scoop. Add to the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between the cookies to allow for spreading. Press a few extra pieces of chocolate into the tops of each cookie dough mound.
7Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheet once during baking, until golden brown around the edges but light in the middle, 12 to 16 minutes. For smaller ovens (like mine in the video), bake one baking sheet at a time.
8Cool cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you’d like, sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on each cookie before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Baked chocolate chip cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Storing cookie dough: Form the dough into balls and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Alternatively, add the cookie dough balls to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until hard. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from the fridge or freezer. Frozen cookie dough will take a little longer to bake.
- Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently spoon it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring. For even more accuracy, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams).
- Espresso powder: Adds a little extra richness and flavor to the cookies. We don’t add enough to make them taste like coffee, but just enough to make them taste extra special. We use Medaglia D’Oro Espresso, which we purchased from a specialty kitchen store (I’ve also seen it online). Instant coffee granules can be used in a pinch, but use slightly less.
- Chilling cookie dough: These cookies are excellent when baked immediately, but chilling cookie dough does wonderful things. As the cookie dough sits in the fridge, it absorbs moisture and flavor from the wet ingredients (making them bake to be chewier and taste even better). You can chill this dough (covered tightly) for up to 3 days. Rolling the dough when it’s cold is difficult, so I prefer to make my cookie dough balls and then store them in the fridge.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.