The gold standard of cookies — crisp golden edges, chewy centres loaded with pools of melted chocolate, and that incomparable butterscotch depth that comes from browning the butter first.
About This Recipe
There is no recipe more searched, more debated, or more personal than the chocolate chip cookie. Everyone has a preference — some like them thin and crispy, others thick and cakey, but the version that wins the most converts is the one with crisp edges giving way to a soft, chewy centre with a slight pull when broken apart. This recipe delivers exactly that.
The single technique that most dramatically improves a chocolate chip cookie is browning the butter. Instead of simply melting it, you cook the butter in the pan until the milk solids toast to a deep golden colour, producing a nutty, almost caramel-like flavour that transforms the entire cookie. It takes an extra five minutes and makes an enormous difference. The browned butter is mixed with both brown sugar for chewiness and white sugar for crispness, creating the textural balance that defines a truly excellent cookie.
Resting the dough in the fridge for at least an hour before baking allows the flour to hydrate fully and the flavours to deepen. Cookies baked from rested dough are consistently better than cookies baked immediately from freshly mixed dough. If you can wait overnight, the difference is even more pronounced. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt over the warm cookies just out of the oven is the finishing touch that makes these genuinely extraordinary.
History & Origins
The chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, when she added broken pieces of a Nestle chocolate bar to her butter drop cookie dough. The recipe was printed on the back of Nestle chocolate chip packages and became one of the most replicated recipes in culinary history. Today the chocolate chip cookie is the most widely consumed cookie in the United States and one of the most recognised baked goods in the world.
Why It’s Easy To Make
Uses only pantry staples available in any supermarket. Brown butter technique is easy once you have done it once. Dough can be made ahead and baked from frozen.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Course: Baking, Cookies24
servings15
minutes12
minutes3120
kcalIngredients
•t225g unsalted butter
•t200g brown sugar
•t100g white sugar
•t2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
•t2 tsp vanilla extract
•t280g plain flour
•t1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
•t1 tsp salt
•t300g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
•tFlaky sea salt to finish
Directions
- Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until the milk solids turn golden and smell nutty. Pour into a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes.
- Whisk both sugars into the warm browned butter until combined. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute until slightly lightened.
- Fold in flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line baking trays with baking paper.
- Scoop dough into balls slightly larger than a golf ball. Space well apart on trays.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges are set and golden but centres still look underdone.
- Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring.
Notes
-
Pull cookies when the centre still looks underdone — they continue cooking on the hot tray and will firm up to perfect chewiness as they cool.
Browned butter is ready when it smells nutty and the milk solids are golden brown. Watch closely as it goes from golden to burnt quickly.
Chilling the dough is not optional for the best texture. Overnight chilling produces a noticeably more flavourful, chewy cookie.
Cookies can be frozen as raw dough balls and baked directly from frozen — add 2 minutes to the baking time.
Make Ahead Tips
Raw cookie dough balls freeze perfectly for up to 3 months. Freeze on a tray until solid then transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen at 180°C for 12 to 14 minutes. Baked cookies keep in an airtight container for 5 days.
Storage & Serving
Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days. They stay softer longer with a slice of bread in the container, which provides moisture. Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. Reheat frozen cookies in the oven at 160°C for 5 minutes to restore freshness. Serve slightly warm with a glass of cold milk for the full experience.
Variations & Substitutions
Use dark chocolate chunks instead of chips for a more intense, less sweet chocolate flavour. Add 100g of toasted walnuts or pecans alongside the chocolate. Replace 30g of flour with cocoa powder for a double chocolate version. Brown butter white chocolate macadamia cookies follow the same recipe replacing chocolate chips with white chocolate and macadamia nuts.
