Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe! This chocolate chip cookie recipe is made with only brown sugar and makes cookies that are the perfect blend of soft and chewy!

These Chewy Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy to make!
They’re great spur-of-the-moment cookies because there is no need to soften the butter ahead of time. The dough comes together in a matter of minutes, and no chilling is required.
If you like a thicker cookie, you can refrigerate it for 30 minutes or so before baking, but no need to chill it if you don’t want to.
And the use of all brown sugar gives these cookies a deeper, richer flavor and makes for chewy cookies. So, the next time a cookie craving strikes, bake up a batch of these cookies!
What makes these cookies chewy?
- Melted butter: Using melted butter helps the cookies to come together quickly, and it also increases the chewiness.
- Brown sugar: Using only brown sugar helps to make them chewier.
- Extra egg yolk: The fat in the yolk helps to increase chewiness.

Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you’re using unsalted butter, increase the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
- If you want to brown the butter, you will need to use more butter because browning butter causes it to cook down. Otherwise, you will be left with a drier dough. You could also try my brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work. Dark brown sugar will give you richer, more toffee-like flavor.
- This recipe uses only brown sugar, no white sugar, in order to make the cookies chewier.
- Flour: Correctly measuring the ingredients is key! I suggest weighing the ingredients. If you aren’t going to weigh the flour, then you need to aerate it (sifting or fluffing) and then lightly spoon into the measuring cup and leveling. If you don’t want to sift or weigh the flour, please use less flour. Packing in too much flour will cause the cookies not to spread.
- Chocolate: You can substitute 4 ounces finely chopped semisweet baking chocolate for chocolate chips. This will give you a flatter cookie that spreads more.
- Feel free to use a different type of chocolate chip – semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips will work. Chocolate chunks can also be used.
How to make chewy chocolate chip cookies
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe is given below.

Step 1: Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. or in a microwave-safe bowl. The butter should be just melted. If you want to brown the butter, please see the note above in “Ingredient notes and substitutions”.
Step 2: Add brown sugar to a large bowl.

Step 3: Stir to combine butter and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes.

Step 4: Add egg and egg yolk; stir to combine. Stir in vanilla extract.

Step 5: Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Please see the comments about flour in the “Ingredient notes and substitutions” section.

Step 6: Stir in chocolate chips or chunks.

Step 7: Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoon), drop scoops of dough 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
Step 8: Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The centers should still look soft and slightly underbaked. That will help to keep the cookies soft.
Step 9: Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Recipe Tips!
- Mixing: I suggest stirring this recipe together by hand rather than using a hand or stand mixer.
- Baking: It’s important to slightly underbake the cookies. This will give you a softer, chewier cookie.
- Oven temperature: If you’d like the cookies to spread more or brown less, decrease the oven temperature by 25F to 350F.
- Flat cookies: If your cookies are coming out too flat, cover and chill the dough for 30-60 minutes. Also, some people have had better luck using 3 cups of flour (360g).
- Topping: The cookies are great as-is, but if you like more salty/sweet flavor, sprinkle the cookies with a bit of sea salt or finishing salt.

Recipe FAQs
Yes! I recommend flash freezing the dough in scoops by placing scoops of the dough onto a baking sheet. Once the dough is frozen through, transfer the frozen balls of cookie dough to a freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer.
You can! Bake the cookies as-directed. Let the cookies cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack. Place the cookies in a freezer-safe container, and freeze.

Storage
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored.
More easy cookie recipes!
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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour Please see the note below about measuring the flour.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt or scant 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 10 ounce package chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. The butter should be just melted. If you want to brown the butter, please see the note below.
- Add brown sugar, and mix in.
- Let stand 5 minutes.
- Add egg and egg yolk; stir to combine.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until just combined. Please see the comments about flour in the recipe notes.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoon), drop scoops of dough 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The centers should still look soft and slightly underbaked. That will help to keep the cookies soft.
- Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Recipe change note: I recently decreased the amount of flour called for in the recipe due to product changes. The previous amount of flour called for was 3 cups or 360 grams.
- Butter: If you want to brown the butter, you will need to use more butter because browning butter causes it to cook down. Otherwise, you will be left with a drier dough.
- Flour: Correctly measuring the ingredients is key! I highly suggest weighing the ingredients. If you don’t weigh the flour, you’ll need to aerate the flour (sifting or fluffing) and then lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level. If you don’t want to sift or weigh the flour, please use less flour. Packing in too much flour will cause the cookies not to spread.
- Can substitute 4 ounces finely chopped semisweet baking chocolate for chocolate chips.
- I suggest stirring this recipe together by hand rather than using a hand or stand mixer.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
- Love chocolate? Try the chocolate chocolate chip version of this cookie!
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Originally published 1/26/16.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
C. says
Is this dough okay to freeze/refrigerate? If yes, about how long would it keep in the freezer/fridge and what baking instructions would you have for each? Can we bake them straight from the freezer or should we let the dough sit at room temp for a few minutes??
Kate says
You can chill or freeze the dough. The dough will keep in the fridge for about 3 days, but it’s really best baked within the first 2 days.
If you’re going to freeze the dough, I highly recommend flash freezing scoops of dough on a rimmed baking sheet for about an hour until frozen through and then transferring the frozen dough scoops into a freezer-safe container. The frozen dough should keep for up to 3 months. I bake the dough from frozen, but I find that I need to add about 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
Hope that helps!
Crissy says
This is my go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They turn out perfect everytime. I follow it exactly how the recipe is posted.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that!
Cindy says
I usually use another popular baking website but the chocolate chip cookie recipe that they bragged about twice came out puffy (I know how to avoid puffiness. I weigh everything. This was not user error lol). I wanted cookies that spread. I was skeptical after that. This was my 1st time trying a recipe from this site. They came out absolutely perfect, with the spread I was craving, and the recipe was easy and quick to make, taboot. I shared most of them with my Neighborhood Gifiting group this morning and everyone gave glowing reviews.
Looking forward to trying the next recipe. I’m thinking the chewy snickerdoodles. Thanks!!!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you liked the cookies, and I hope you find more recipes that you will enjoy!
Neha Shah says
These cookies are addictive! I ate 4 in a row and usually I taste and move on. I did make them eggless and I will cut the sugar next time to 275g as I found 300 to be too sweet. I’ll also try adding pecans.
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Lisa says
This recipe was perfect! I added pecans and two tablespoons of instant coffee . I used 82% butter and I did brown it first. I used 3 cups of flour , because of the higher fat content of the butter and baked for 10 minutes. The cookies are golden brown , soft n chewy on the inside and they have crisp edges. I liked that you didn’t have to chill or wait to have butter soften. The recipe made 26 nice size cookies for me. This will be my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. My husband loved them. Great cookies!
Kate says
Thank you so much for your detailed comment! I like to add pecans to my cookies sometimes, too! =)
Sara says
Seriously the best cookies, cannot best this recipe!
Kate says
Thank you!
Anne says
Sounds like a fine recipe and I am happy to weigh the flour as you strongly suggest but there’s only a cup amount listed not gram amount.
Kate says
If you click on “metric” between the “Ingredients” title and the first ingredient, it will give you the weights.
Anne says
Great. Thanks I totally missed that!
Hilary says
This is our FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie! I have tried so many recipes trying to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Well, I found it!
BTW, the 2 1/2 C. Flour is perfect.
So so delicious!! Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that the 2.5 cups of flour worked well for you!
Kim says
This was my go-to recipe, and I guess I should have written it down. What was the original amount of flour and why did you change it?
Kate says
Hi! The original amount was 360g or 3 cups of flour.
Around Christmas, there was a lot of talk in baking groups about changes to butter (manufacturers using less fat and so on) and issues that those changes were causing with recipes. I regularly make this recipe and variations of this recipe without issue. However, as manufacturers make changes to product sizes and formulations, I’ve been re-testing recipes to ensure that they still work with the current products available.
I also had a recipe tester test the recipe to see how it would work for someone else. We both purchased new packages of butter and weighed the flour when making the cookies, and we both found that we had issues with drier dough. We both then remade the recipe with the decreased amount of flour and found that the cookies turned out well. I hope that explanation helps!
Jasmine Rockwell says
I thought it seemed like less flour than I used to use. Usually the cookies are *chef’s kiss * perfect but this time they spread out and weird. I’ll have to remember to go back to 3 cups of flour.
Kate says
I’m sorry that they didn’t work out for you with less flour! Do you mind sharing what brand of butter you use? I’m wondering whether the brand of butter may make a difference.
Jasmine says
Kate – when I made them with less flour I was at my parents in a different state from where I live and went to one of their local grocery stores. Unfortunately I don’t remember what butter I bought there. Normally, I use either a vegan butter (Country Crock made with avocado oil) if I’m making them for me or a store brand regular butter if I’m making them someone else. They turn out fine with either butter with the 3 cups of flour (sifted then spooned, & measured as the directions say).
Kate says
Thank you for that!
Kim says
Thanks for the explanation! I’m in Canada, so our butter would be different. I’m trying it today with the original amount of flour and we’ll see how she goes!
Kate says
I hope it works well this time! If you find that you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Rachel says
I’m glad I read this comment! This is what happened to my cookies. Kim, I used Target brand of butter. I’ll try using 3c. flour next time if I’m using their butter and see how it goes :)
Ivanna says
I’m in Canada too. Maybe that was why my cookies were an oily mess.
Nanu says
Really good chocolate chip cookies! Whipped up quickly and easily although my old oven needed about 2 minutes more to brown the edges as I like them. Very good!
Kate says
Thank you!
Jordan says
Best chocolate chip cookie recipe i have found! I have made them several times since finding it. My husband asks for them often and I got many compliments at Christmas! Thank you for sharing!
P.S. I also made the grinch cookies. Delicious!! Kids loved them.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that the cookies have been a hit and that your family liked the grinch cookies, too!
matcha says
I was wondering if I could refrigerate the dough overnight. Would that be okay?
Kate says
Hi! That should be fine. I would recommend letting the dough sit out while you preheat the oven to let it come up in temperature.
Modesty S. says
This my favorite cookie recipe! It comes together very easily and tastes amazing.
I like to experiment and i chopped up some mini Snickers bars to add in place of chocolate chips …. my goodness! They were sooooo good!
THANK YOU for this tried and true recipe that I’ve used over and over again. 😊
Modesty S. says
*is
Kate says
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing that!
Aubrie says
So I messed up several times while making this, to absolutely no fault of the recipe mind you. First, I forgot that I have 100% pure vanilla, not vanilla extract.
If you’re not familiar with the difference, that’s fine but I usually half the amount of vanilla the recipe calls for when I use it. I did not do that this time. Why? Couldn’t tell ya.
I know I ain’t got vanilla extract and I’m used to cutting the amount in half. As soon as I poured the vanilla into the batter I knew what I had done and I knew that I couldn’t possibly fix it without doubling the recipe. Which I also couldn’t do since I just ran out of brown sugar. So I just rolled with it. What else was I supposed to do? Dump it out?
Hell no. Brown sugar is expensive and I just poured two whole sticks of butter on the last of it. I’m baking these cookies, vanilla be damned.
My second mistake was forgetting that one of my two good cookie sheets is black. I left them in too long. 15 cookies died in my kitchen tonight. I’d have held a funeral for them, but I was was too busy holding one for my last brain cell.
I thought no worries though, I had plenty of batter left for about 24ish more cookies. I could salvage my brain cells. Maybe.
The next 12, my other good cookie sheets a little smaller, came out perfect. They were a gorgeous golden brown and I just about drooled all over them while sectioning out the last bit of batter onto the first cookie sheet (yes the black one again….. no I did not learn my lesson from literally ten minutes prior).
Yes the last few cookies also got burnt. Not nearly as bad as the first 15 sacrifices, but enough to call them battle scarred. Still edible though, so I let them cool on the stovetop.
Back the the 12 perfect cookies. I ate one. Cause duh. I could taste the ungodly amount of vanilla I used, but that surprisingly wasn’t the worst thing I had done to them. Too much flour. Not like WAAAAAY too much flour. But too much flour. 😔
I, the absolute 🤡, had measured and sifted the flour directly over the bowl. That tiny bit of spillage makes a big difference, believe me.
Yes I will be making these again to try and redeem myself, but for now I must live with my shame.
And so must my family. These cookies were supposed to come with me to our early thanksgiving. And they still will be. I mean they’re still good, not at all what they’re supposed to be considering how many times I absolutely fumbled my own passes. But they’re edible and my family isn’t as picky as me when it comes to sweets. I’m certain they’ll be eaten without anyone but my mother noticing anything ever went wrong with them.
Sorry for the essay, I’m a little wine drunk, and I ramble when I drink wine. Probably also partially the reason I messed up simple instructions so many times.
Good cookies with my buffoonery sprinkled on, so I bet they’re great when made properly.
Kate says
Everyone makes mistakes when baking. That’s part of the learning process! I hope that they all turn out well for you next time, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Nora says
I’m about to make this recipe, I LOVE the other choc chip cookies, but this comment made my night. I laughed, I cried, I commiserated. Bravo 😂
Katie Weldon says
I don’t review in blogs normally because I am too busy to eat a vegetable, let alone write blog comments. I have to comment though this time, because honestly, these are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten, let alone baked myself. They are perfect every single time, they are easy, and they are impressive. They take hardly any time and they absolutely wreck bakery cookies. I’m writing this recipe down to pass down to my kids haha.
Kate says
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a nice review!
Corinne says
This recipe looks great! How many cookies does 1 batch usually make? Thanks!
Kate says
Thank you! You should get about 36 cookies.
Alexandria says
So I live at 6500ft. I didn’t see anything about high altitude instructions, my cookies didn’t quite turn out soft and chewy. I followed the recipe and bake them correctly any tips?
Kate says
Hi! I can’t test my recipes for high altitude. However, King Arthur Flour has a great guide for high altitude baking. I hope that it helps!
Debra says
Is that salt or sugar sprinkled on top?
Kate says
Hi! It’s flaky sea salt.
Julie Wolfram says
The cookies are soft and chewy but crisp on the edges. The best chocolate chip cookies I’ve eaten. My daughter introduced me to this recipe and I’m so glad she did.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked the cookies!
Joan says
really good recipe, cookies are the perfect texture and sweetness, THANK YOU!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad you liked them!
Celeste says
This recipe has been a staple of mine for YEARS since I first discovered it on Pinterest. I make them at least once a month and EVERYONE loves them. This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe out there!!!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying the recipe!
Natalie says
I’m usually one to measure but I flicked through a few good reviews and being in a hurry I just thought yep I’ll get to work and did haha! I didn’t read the notes and my cookies didn’t spread but they are fantastic. Gorgeous colour and texture – still soft on the inside and taste lovely. So thank you!
Kate says
Thanks! I’m glad you like them!
Terrie says
So….. where is the weight for the flour?!
Kate says
If you click on “METRIC” immediately beneath the ingredients, it will give you the weights.