This recipe for my family’s favorite chocolate chip cookies has been buried in a different blog post from years ago, which I decided was silly. I even have a hard time finding it when I want it. Instead, I’m re-writing and re-posting it here so you can finally have easy access to it.
I love to try new cookie recipes all the time, but this is THE chocolate chip cookie recipe I come back time and time again. It bakes up a cookie that is classic and so delicious.
The Scoop on the Cookie Dough
It’s also not a terribly fussy chocolate cookie recipe, although the flour used may likely be different than what you’d expect. This recipe calls for a combination of bread flour and cake flour. Bread flour has more protein and gluten than all-purpose flour and gives these cookie a nice chewiness and bend to them. Cake flour is the opposite of that — less protein and less gluten – and tends to give cookies a more delicate, cake-like texture. The combo here really does give you the perfect blend, in my opinion. (And my boys would agree!)
The recipe – which I originally found in the New York Times — does call for some chill time in the refrigerator – ideally 24 hours or so. I know that’s hard to do when you want your cookies NOW but if you can build that in, you’ll love the result. The fat solidifies in the refrigerator and takes longer to melt in the oven so the cookies spread out less. If you can’t wait that long, I’ve had good results with as little as 2 hours in the refrigerator, though, so don’t let that hold you up!
How Do You Handle Chilled Cookie Dough?
Because the dough is chilled, you’ll want to take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit for a little while on the counter before you scoop the dough and put it on the cookie sheet. (I typically let my dough rest for 30 minutes or so just to make it a little easier to work with.)
You will need to scoop the dough and shape it a little into balls with your hands since it’s still pretty cold and more solid than if you scoop the dough right after mixing it.
I have found that about 10-1/2 minutes at 350 degrees F. is about the perfect baking time for my oven. Your oven may be different, so I’d start at 10 minutes with your first batch and adjust from there. The cookies will continue to bake on the cookie sheet for a few minutes after you take them out of the oven so keep that in mind.
I like to let the baked cookies rest on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cookie sheet to cool completely.
And by the way, the recipe makes quite a few cookies, as you can see — but they freeze like a dream!
Measure Chocolate with Your Heart
One more tip … the recipe calls for 1.5 pounds of chocolate chips. Yep. You read that right. My family loves chocolate so we don’t hesitate to go all out. (Have you heard that phrase, ‘measure chocolate in the recipe with your heart’? That’s me. 100%.) Today, I used a combination of 80% cacao chips and semi-sweet chips, but you can use whatever you like!
If you happen to eat, for example, three deliciously warm cookies right out of the oven? Well, then you know you did something right. 😉 Enjoy!
Love cookies? Try these options too!
- Gingersnap Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Triple the Flavor Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons Cake flour
- 1-2/3 cups Bread flour
- 1-1/4 teaspoons Baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Coarse salt
- 2-1/2 sticks Unsalted butter, at room temperature (1-1/4 cups)
- 1-1/4 cups Light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar
- 2 Large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Pure vanilla extract
- 1-1/4 pounds Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes on medium speed.
- Add eggs. Stir in vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add dry (flour) ingredients slowly, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate dough for at least 2-3 hours (and up to 24-36 hours).
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browning on top.
- Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes; then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container and use with 3-4 days – or freeze for later use.