These Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies have both semisweet and bittersweet chocolate, dark brown sugar, and an extra egg yolk making them impossible to resist! The first time I made them, I scooped out ¼ cup of dough per cookie. This time, only a rounded tablespoon of dough was used per cookie, thus alleviating any guilt when going back for seconds!

Scroll down to find my tips and the recipe for making these tasty Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies! You’ll love these.

4 killer chocolate chip cookies in a white bowl.

Why You Must Make

I came across this recipe back in 2010, shortly after I started this blog. Nestles Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies were on our regular dessert rotation as the picky hubby could eat them morning noon and night. Yes, he’s been known to eat a “breakfast” cookie, thanks to his great aunt Kate, who spoiled him with cookies upon awakening! But I was willing to veer away from the tried and true and test out a new recipe.

  • My friend and fellow blogger, Danielle, tested 6 chocolate chip cookie recipes and declared these the winners.
  • Even Bill admitted they were way better than his favorite Tollhouse cookies. He was curious enough to ask what made them so good!!
  • The addition of dark brown sugar, an extra egg yolk, and two kinds of chocolate chips made this a standout recipe!
Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients with labels on a metal sheetpan.

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, Sugar
  • Eggs – One egg plus one egg yolk adds extra fat, which keeps cookies moist.
  • Butter – I use salted butter; Have it at room temperature for easy incorporation.
  • Dark Brown Sugar – With more molasses added than in light brown sugar, dark brown sugar helps to make softer, moister cookies.
  • Vanilla Extract – Check the label and use real vanilla extract. If you use artificially flavored vanilla, your cookies won’t taste as good. I prefer the Nielsen-Massy brand.
  • Semisweet Chocolate Chips and Bittersweet Chocolate Chips – I use the Ghirardelli brand. You can use one or the other if you’d like, but the combination is tasty.

How to Make

Recipe Tips

I have tried numerous chocolate chip cookie recipes, but the simplest always get the best reviews from my family. Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies may be my hubby’s absolute favorite, but their huge size carries some weight. Here are some tips for making the best chocolate chip cookies:

  • Have your butter and eggs at room temperature so they incorporate into the batter well.
  • PRO-Tip: Mix by hand or with a mixer on low speed, as beating on a higher speed will add air into the dough and change the consistency of your cookies. We like chewy, not cakey cookies. I prefer to use a sturdywooden spoon to mix cookie dough.
  • Use the best quality ingredients for the best quality cookies. Name brand US butters or European butters have less water added, pure vanilla extract tastes much better than imitation, and better quality chocolate chips will definitely make for tastier cookies.
  • A combination of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips provides more chocolate oomph for your cookies. Feel free to use all semisweet chips if you want less chocolate intensity.
  • PRO-Tip: I like to reserve a few extra chocolate chips to garnish each cookie when they’re fresh out of the oven.
  • I swapped out the brown sugar for dark brown sugar for increased caramel undertones. If you don’t have dark brown sugar you can make it at home by mixing 1 tablespoon of molasses into 1 cup of light brown sugar.
  • An extra egg yolk is added to the dough provides extra richness, tenderness, and flavor.
  • Once the dry ingredients are added, mix just until the flour is incorporated.
  • PRO-Tip: Over-mixing will encourage gluten development and therefore, less tender cookies.
  • Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for easy cleanup and cookie removal.
  • For chewy cookies, slightly underbake your cookies. If you overbake, they will not be soft and chewy.
  • All ovens cook a little differently, so your first batch may not be perfect. Adjust your baking time as needed and note what timing worked best with your oven.
  • Use a medium cookie scoop for equal-sized cookies. If desired, roll the dough into balls after scooping to encourage them to cook into perfect rounds.
  • In an ideal world, all your cookies will bake up with a consistent size and shape, but that’s not usually the case. I like to use a spatula to tap the cookies into shape while they’re hot and pliable, fresh out of the oven.
  • If baking the smaller cookies, using a 1 ½ tablespoon scoop, bake for about 12 minutes.
  • If you want the larger cookies, using a ¼ cup scoop, bake for 14-16 minutes.
4 killer chocolate chip cookies in a white bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Keys to Making Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies?

First, look at the recipe. Additional fat from an extra egg yolk will make for softer cookies as will dark brown sugar since it has more molasses, which provides more moisture than light brown sugar. Slightly underbaking also helps to keep the cookies soft.

Note that they’ll keep baking after they come out of the oven since they’re resting on a very hot baking sheet. Once they’ve set enough to move, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

How Do You Make Round Bakery Style Cookies?

Use a cookie disher to scoop out consistent-sized mounds of dough. Then when the cookies are hot out of the oven, using a hot pad to prevent the cookie sheet from moving, carefully use your spatula to tap them into nice circular shapes.

Another trick is to use a round cookie cutter that’s a size or two bigger than your baked cookies and rotate it around each warm cookie on the baking sheet. By adding pressure to the sides of the cookies, you can nudge the warm cookies into perfect rounds.

A close up of a chocolate chip cookie with a bite removed

Originally shared in 2010. Text and photos updated in 2019, 2024.

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4 killer chocolate chip cookies in a small white bowl.

Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Yield 36 small cookies

Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies! For those times you're dying for a classic chewy chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ sticks softened butter
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli chips)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
  3. Cream butter and sugars until well blended.  Add vanilla, eggs, and egg yolk, and mix until light and creamy.
  4. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Chilling dough is optional.
  5. Drop by ¼ cups or 1 ½ tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets. 
  6. Bake about 14-16 minutes for large cookies or 12 minutes for small cookies or until the edges are browned and centers look cooked. 
  7. Cool on baking sheets, then store in an airtight container..

Notes

Adapted from Hugs and Cookies XOXO

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

36

Serving Size:

1 cookie

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 145Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 86mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g

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