Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These easy chocolate chip cookies only require 6 ingredients: butter, flour, sugar, egg, salt, and chocolate chips!
Overview
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Techniques Used: The Creaming Method for Cookies
These are the easiest chocolate chip cookies and can be in the oven in less than 10 minutes with very few ingredients.
While I love a fancy and over-the-top cookie, like my favorite recipe for ultimate chocolate chip cookies, sometimes I just don’t have the energy and time. This is the recipe that will appease your cookie craving with the littlest effort!
NOTE: If you are wanting an easy vegan recipe, check out my post specifically for Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Why We Love this Recipe
- Only six ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry!
- No baking soda or baking powder required! Perfect for when you run out of either!
- It creates very classic chocolate chip cookies with slightly crisp edges and a soft and chewy center.
- It’s all made in one bowl! No need to mix dry ingredients separately.
Ingredients and Substitutions
While you will find many recipes that include a lot more ingredients than this one. This simple chocolate chip cookie recipe only requires the basic ingredients that are necessary.
Fat (Butter)
Butter is the most traditional fat used in making chocolate chip cookies, however, some recipes will also call for shortening.
Butter adds to the richness, tenderness, and moistness of the cookie. Additionally, the water content in the butter will evaporate out in the oven helping to lift and leaven the cookie.
This recipe is created for the use of regular butter, salted or unsalted. You can substitute margarine, shortening, or vegan butter, but the texture and results will vary.
Note: It is traditional to use softened butter for cookies and to cream it together with the sugar. However, if you do not have a mixer you can use melted butter. Make sure the butter is not hot and stir it together with the brown sugar. This will result in thinner cookies but it will also make them a little chewier!
Sugar
Sugar obviously works to sweeten the cookie, but it also adds to the structure and texture. Brown sugar gives a cookie more chewiness due to its molasses content while white sugar will keep a cookie crisp.
This recipe calls for the use of only brown sugar. You can use light or dark brown sugar depending on what you have on hand or your preference for texture. Light brown sugar will produce a cookie that has slightly crispy edges while dark brown sugar will give you very soft cookies. Granulated sugar does not tend to work well in this specific recipe.
Egg
An egg works to help bind the ingredients together as well as add moisture and tenderness. Eggs also help to leaven (make things rise) which is why this recipe works without the help of baking soda or baking powder.
This recipe has been made successfully with vegan egg substitutions (such as Ener-G egg replacer, flax egg, or chia egg) however, results will vary. Baking is science! Check out my recipe for 6 ingredient vegan chocolate chip cookies if you are looking to veganize these!
Flour
Flour is the main structure of chocolate chip cookies. One of the best things about this recipe is that you can use all-purpose flour (plain flour), self-rising flour, or bread flour. All of them work!
All-purpose flour will give you a very classic chocolate chip cookie like you might associate with the Nestle Tollhouse recipe. Self-rising flour will give you a cakier cookie, while bread flour will give you a chewier cookie.
It is very important that you measure your flour correctly so that your cookies have the right texture. I recommend either measuring your flour by weight using a kitchen scale or measuring using the spoon and level method. To do this lightly spoon it into measuring cups (do not pack down!) and level the cup off with a knife. This will give you enough flour without getting too much!
Chocolate
You can’t make a chocolate chip cookie without chocolate! Of course, chips are the most classic choice, but chocolate chunks or chopped chocolate work as well! Chips will hold their shape more and don’t get quite as melty. I find that the best chocolate chip cookies use chopped chocolate or chunks which will create those chocolate puddles that are so decadent!
The type of chocolate used is where you can really customize the flavor here! Semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips are what kids tend to prefer more. But if you’re making these for adults go ahead and grab that bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate! Hey, you could even use white chocolate chips! Whatever you decide don’t forget the glass of milk!
Salt
Salt is a necessity in any baked good as the flavor will be completely flat and taste overly sweet without it! If you used salted butter or self-rising flour, then the dough will already have salt in it. However, if you used unsalted butter and all-purpose flour or bread flour then you definitely need to add a bit of salt.
You can use fine sea salt, kosher salt, or table salt in these cookies. I prefer to use non-iodized salt in all of my baking, but use what you have on hand. I also love to sprinkle a bit of course salt over the top before they are baked to really give a kick of that salty
Note: If you do need to bake without salt due to health reasons, the cookies will bake up absolutely fine without it!
Optional Ingredients
Vanilla extract is very common in chocolate chip cookies and can absolutely be added if you have it on hand and want the flavor. I call it an optional ingredient because it is not needed for the structure of the cookies and the flavor is still great without it!
You can also always add nuts like pecans or walnuts if you like! I like to toast them on the stove for a few minutes in a dry pan over medium heat before adding them to my dough as it really improves the flavor of the nuts.
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Cookies
- Scoop your dough with a cookie scoop to get cookies that are all the same size and perfectly round!
- Pull your cookies out of the oven when you see golden brown edges but the center still looks slightly underbaked.
- Let your cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes to solidify before moving them to a wire rack. They will continue cooking slightly.
- For the perfect chocolate chip cookie look, add a few chips or chunks on top of the balls of dough before baking.
Troubleshooting
Here are some common issues people tend to encounter when making chocolate chip cookies and how you can remedy them!
Why are my cookies spreading too much?
Cookies spreading too much is typically a result of your oven not being hot enough or the pan being overcrowded. It can also happen if there is too much butter in the dough, but that is not as common of a problem.
If you end up with flat cookies, make sure your oven is really up to temperature by using an oven thermometer. Also, make sure you keep the oven door shut until right towards the end of the baking process and only put about 9 cookies per cookie sheet.
Why aren’t my cookies spreading out enough?
If your cookies are staying in mounds and not spreading out during the baking process this can be an issue with your oven temperature being too hot or too much flour in your dough. Make sure you measure your flour either by weight or use the spoon and level method, making sure you do not pack it down into your measuring cup. You can also turn down the heat in your oven slightly to help them spread more.
How do I keep my cookies soft after baking?
To keep your cookies soft and moist after baking make sure you do not overbake them. You should remove them from the oven when the edges are set and the middle still looks slightly underbaked. I also find that storing them in an airtight container will help soften them more.
Some recipes will call for an extra egg yolk to help keep cookies soft, but I find this typically isn’t necessary. Proper storage is really the biggest contributing factor to keeping cookies soft.
Other Easy Recipes
If you like this easy chocolate chip cookie recipe, you might like these other easy recipes!
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These easy chocolate chip cookies only require 6 ingredients! With only butter, flour, sugar, egg, salt, and chocolate chips you can make great chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- 113 grams (½ cup, 1 stick) softened butter, salted or unsalted (room temperature)
- 150 grams (¾ cup) light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 150 grams (1 ¼ cup) all-purpose flour
- 150 grams (1 cup) chocolate chips or chunks, any kind your prefer or have on hand
Instructions
Prep:
- Measure out all of your ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC.
- Prepare a sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
To Make the Cookies
- In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter (113 grams/ ½ cup) and brown sugar (150 grams, ¾ cup) until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Alternatively: if you do not have a mixer you can melt your butter until it is liquid but not hot and mix it together with the sugar. This will give you a thinner and chewier cookie.
- Add the egg (1 large) and vanilla (1 teaspoon), if using, to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Stir in the flour (150 grams, 1 ¼ cup), salt (¼ teaspoon), and the chocolate chips or chunks (150 grams, 1 cup) just until combined. Do not mix for a long time after adding the flour, it will create cookies that are too tough or cakey.
- Scoop the dough into mounds about 2 tablespoons each onto the prepared cookie sheet. Do not put more than 9 cookies per sheet.
- Bake one sheet at a time at 350ºF/175ºC until set on the edges and the middle still looks a little bit undercooked. About 8-12 minutes. (these cookies do not brown as much as other cookies because of the lack of baking soda or baking powder.)
- Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cookies will continue to cook on the sheets for a few minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Make-Ahead Dough:
- This dough works very well to make ahead and keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container to bake off when you would like fresh cookies. I like to pre-portion it into balls of dough and then bake straight from the refrigerator adding 1 more minute to the bake time.
- You can also portion out the dough and put the dough balls store in the freezer in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months. To bake from frozen, reduce the baking temperature to 325ºF/160ºC and increase the baking time to 15-18 minutes.
Notes
- Flour: If you do not have all-purpose flour on hand you can substitute in self-rising flour or bread flour. If you use self-rising flour leave out the salt.
- Butter: You can use melted butter if you prefer a chewier cookie and do not have a mixer. Make sure it is not hot before stirring together with the brown sugar.
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Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0
358 Comments on “Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies”
I put in baking powder& sofa also half bar baking chocolate i also used light & dark brown sugar. Vanilla & almond extract. Best cookies i ever made.
This is my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! So easy, flexible, and delicious.
I usually add all the add-ins as I have them in my pantry. I also add 1 t of cornstarch for softness.
I keep a batch of unbaked cookies in my freezer — they are our “emergency cookies”… You know, for cookie emergencies
I love these! So simple and easy. My boyfriend asks to overload them with chocolate chips. I don’t mind that (^_^) Fun to throw anything in there. Peanuts, pecans, M & Ms. Even baked the dough into 6 small bowl shapes (no chips added) and poured in an cinnamon apple saute. Really a multi purpose dough.
These are the best chocolate cookies I’ve ever had!! I used all of the ingredients. So soft and delicious. My family requests that we always have a batch ready to eat. Lol. To make more at a time, can I just double the ingredients?
Love how easy this recipe is and the results for me were awesome. Great time saver for making cookies that will be eaten quickly by my two 4 year olds (twins) and my husband. I just added the baking soda optional ingredient and spooned them out by 1 tbsp . I had to adjust my baking time as well to 13 minutes because of my gas stove. They turned out chewy and perfect, lightly brown. Thank you for posting this!
So glad you and your family loved these! That is exactly what this recipe is for!
My daughter was craving some chocolate. We had a good time making them at 10 pm.
They were not tasty!!!
My husband thinks there was too much flour
On the recipe. They were not sweet to me.
Hi Andrea,
Sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you! Sounds like you may have measured your flour incorrectly, resulting in too much flour in your dough. This is a common baking mistake. You want to fluff up your flour and lightly spoon it into you measuring cup and level off the cup. Do not pack the flour down into the cup. 1 & 1/4 cup of flour measured this way is the perfect amount for this recipe and the cookies will be sweet! Hope this helps!
Made these today in a sweet tooth pinch. They were disappointing and didn’t come out like the video or picture suggests they would. They came out like a cross between a biscuit and shortbread cookie. Tasted ok but nothing like a chocolate chip cookie should. I wouldn’t make it again.
Hi Marci,
Sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you. Thank you for the feedback. This is a tested recipe with many many successes so I want to help you figure out what may have gone wrong here!
The way you describe the texture of the cookie, it really sounds like you had too much flour in your batter. This is a common baking mistake. You want to fluff up your flour and very lightly spoon it into your measuring cups and level it off without packing any of the flour down. You also want to be careful not to mix too much as this can cause your cookies to be too dry as well.
Hello! I just made these cookies and they turned out wonderful! I followed the recipe. I live in high altitude place so I added the optional extras ( baking soda, powder) I baked 2 separate batches the first one I baked it for 1 minute too long so the second one was perfect only 10 minutes. Thank you so much! Now I will only make these cookies!!!
Dear Baker Bettie,
Thanks so much for this super easy, reliable recipe. My students in Taiwan loved making these cookies 🙂
In order to make it slightly healthier, would it be okay to substitute the brown sugar with Coconut Sugar? Coconut Sugar is more powdery than brown sugar, so do you think it would work? In your opinion, how should I alter the recipe for this change of sugar?
Much appreciated!
how many eggs do you need
– 150 grams of brown sugar
– 150 grams of all-purpose flower
For the people who bake with grams 🙂
These cookies we’re not very good. Took way to long to cook, and we didn’t have chocolate chips. They didn’t fully cook through and the batter was VERY wet.
BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE OUT THERE!!!! basic, simple, quick, and exquisite. I never “post,” don’t care to take the time to, but waaaaaoooow! thank you so much for your recipe, Baker Bettie!!!
ps… cool profile pic! <3
Very soft cookies!!! I added the baking powder, baking soda and vanilla. They came out perfect!! Will make these again!!! Thanks!
This is the third time I’ve made these, and they’re always great. I used margarine, 1 1/2 tbs baking powder, and 1tbs baking soda. It was the best batch so far.
Mine spread a lot, although I followed the recipe. I’m thinking it may be because I live in a very humid climate. Would there be anything I need to change for humidity?
They did taste good though.
Thank you so much for this recipie . Saved my face when the brownies i made turned out be a utter failure .
The cookies are absolutely yummy . I added blue food colouring too turned out great . Keep up the great work !
Hello. I was wondering if it would work if I used all purpose flour? Getting the ingredients ready and realized I don’t have self rising.
Hi there. This recipe calls for all purpose flour. Self-rising will also work for this particular recipe, but it was written specifically for all-purpose flour.
Just whipped these up, used bread flour and took advice to ad baking powder, soda, vanilla and salt. Still a super simple and easy recipe and turned out ahhhhhhmazing! Yes they spread while baking, that made them even more pleasant. Big gooey yet crispy edge cookies, perfection!!
I only used he salt and baking sofa and they tuned out perfect! I am currently trying a new twist by adding a tablespoon of peanut butter and used peanut butter cup instead of the chocolate chips.
I made these tonight, used self rising flour 1 cup & they turned out great!! I only had dark chocolate, but it made it even better!! I will be making these again & again.
JV
I made these (almost) exactly how you said, except I substituted the egg for a tablespoon of ground flax and 3T water. I did use the cup of chocolate chips like it called for, but I had mini choc. chips and it seemed that the cookie was dare I say too chocolatey* haha. But it was good other than that part! Thank you!!
It’s so interesting that I always feel that way when I use mini chips in cookie recipes! I think maybe because the chocolate is more dispersed throughout. I always decrease the amount when using mini chips!
Thank you so much!! Turned out great. But they did not turn out like the picture at all.
Hello Great Receipe….Dad here–in a pinch to make cookies for the children–what a hit…Big high five for Dad………….!!!
So awesome! Dad for the win!
Amazing. Was looking for something sweet and was happy to have all the ingredients.
My toddlers are chowing down on these 🙂
So glad to hear it Julie! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Soooo good. Used special dark cocoa powder in place of 1/4 cup of the flour AND dark chocolate chips. So rich!
Can I use normal flour instead?
Fabulous. Everyone enjoyed them. Always asking for these cookies. Dad’s Cookies……….
I tried this recipe this morning. I followed it exactly and when I put the cookies to bake they spread out and didn’t cook. I’ve just had to throw all the cookies out. This recipe doesn’t work sorry
Great for baking with kids i would scale back on the butter slightly just for my taste but moreover great recipe!
Love, Love this recipe! So easy and so yummy! I bake them every year at my annual Christmas Cookie Bake exchange and they are a hit every year!
They didn’t spread at all and tasted too strongly of butter.
The weirdest thing is that the chocolate chips, which usually melt in other cookie recipes I use, stayed mostly solid.
What four did you use all purpose or cake flour??
Mine turned out great! I did include salt, baking powder, vanilla, and baking soda since I had all that on hand. Only subs I made were, I used gluten free flour and Andes creme de menth baking chips instead, since that’s what I had and we are snowed in. They turned out AMAZING!
They clearly said don’t add white sugar. Why rate the cookie low when you did not follow the directions??
Hello, all is going fine here and ofcourse every one is sharing facts, that’s in fact excellent, keep
up writing.
I love these cookies. Simple and minimal ingredients. I didn’t change anything, unusual for me. I always change recipes to suit my style. I used imitation vanilla chips because my son doesn’t eat nuts. Next time I will add some chopped cashews to them. Perfect taste and texture even to my picky teenager.
I was bored and wanted to make cookies, after searching for awhile, I stumbled across this recipe. I love this recipe. I added a dab of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of pecans, they came out great. I have never been able to make cookies the correct way until now. Thank you for this recipe.
This recipe was a life saver tonight! I needed a recipe that only used one egg because that’s all I had left. I babysat my little nieces. We had a ball making these chocolate chip cookies together and ate them while we made some crafts. I added vanilla and baking soda and they came out delicious!!! Thanks for posting this recipe.
Loved the recipe, simple and delicious! Thank you 🙂
Amazing! Added vanilla a friend made but followed the recipe as stated. Gooey and so tasty. Thank you!
These cookies were great!!!..did just the 5 ingredients and it was perfect. I felt like a real baker…:-) Kids and hubby loved them!!
Thanks for sharing, looking forward to bake again.
I just made your recipe (with salt, baking powder and baking soda), it looks like your picture and taste soooo good. I rolled the cookie in balls and flattened with my hand, spread a little.
Half the dough I added yellow raisins and some pecans, which are in the oven now.
The first batch I froze and no problem, in case your readers want to know.
Just made these and they turned put perfect!! Followed directions exact. Gone in 5 minutes!
Loved by all my friends this delicious cookie recipe. For my gluten free friends I used Pamela’s pancake and bake flour, with nuts and raisins came out just perfect.
They requested I make them again this week. Looking forward to trying your other recipes, glad I found you.
She said it wont work if you use white suger
These are really goodmy kids love them.
My kids love these this is a great recipe
Simple and Delicious! I’m a happy camper. Thank you!