Southern Living’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Southern Living’s BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies passed the test of my discriminating family with flying colors! Chewy and delicious!

We’re tried a LOT of chocolate chip cookies throughout the years. These thick, delicious Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies always make for a happy crew.

Why You Must Make these Chocolate Chunk Cookies Cookies

• Chocolate chunks give you big pockets of chocolate in your cookies!
• The dark brown sugar provides extra moisture keeping these cookies soft.
• It’s based on a tried and true recipe from Southern Living.

The hubby considers himself an aficionado when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. He has sampled them across the country in every mall or bakery that happens to have any on display. Sans nuts, of course. And the higher the chocolate to dough ratio, the better.

Nestle Toll House cookies were the original gold standard when it comes to chocolate chip cookies; they must be chewy and buttery. When this recipe from Southern Living popped into my inbox, I knew I had to test a batch. These Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies were a huge hit.

Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies 

The family loves BIG cookies so I used my 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to dish these out. Plus, when I splurge and use premium chocolate wafers (these are Guittard’s semisweet version), my gang is thrilled. You can often find these at higher-end markets, or Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table at a better price than Amazon.

Slightly under-baking keeps them chewy, as we all prefer chewy over crisp at my house. I hope you’ll test these out and see if they are the BEST chewy chocolate chip cookies you’ve tasted. If not, let me know your favorite recipe. If a thinner, yet still chewy cookie is your thing, check out these Thin and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. And Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies have uprooted Nestles’ as the true family favorite cookie. But they do require a long refrigeration time before baking, and make a huge amount of cookies!

Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

• To make chewy cookies, you must look at the recipe ingredients, the process, and the baking time.
• For extra richness and chewiness, add an extra egg yolk.
• PRO-Tip: Look for a recipe using brown sugar or even dark brown sugar which provides extra moisture due to the addition of molasses.
• For better flavor, use butter instead of shortening.
• PRO-Tip: Do not over mix or use a mixer to mix your cookie dough. A mixer can aerate the dough and create a cake-like consistency. It will also over-activate the gluten, making slightly “tougher” cookies.
• Over baking will make a crisp instead of a chewy cookie.

More Chocolate Cookie Recipes:

• Layered Chocolate Chip Cookies
• White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Berries
• Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Chocolate Toffee Cookies
• Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pizza Cookie AKA Pizookies
• More Cookie Recipes

This post was originally shared in December 2013. Photos and text were updated in 2019.

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The Recipe:

Southern Living's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 14 minutes

Total Time 34 minutes

Yield 32 cookies

Southern Living's thick and chewy cookies with loads of chocolate!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate discs (or chips)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer until creamy. This can also be easily done by hand.
2. Add eggs and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, beating until blended.
3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until blended. Mix in chocolate by hand just until combined.
4. Using a 2 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop, place cookie dough balls on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
5. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Notes

Adapted from Southern Living.

To make dark brown sugar, add 1 tablespoon of molasses to a cup of regular brown sugar. Mix well and measure out the amount needed.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

32

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 132Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 130mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 1g

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