Is there anything better than a fresh batch of soft chocolate chip cookies? I think not.
All the good cookie eaters of the world!
We were made for such a time as this.
These cookies are soft, thick, bricks of chocolate chunks and buttery dough baked into a heavy, milk-loving cookie that is my most favorite chocolate chip cookie of all time. ♡
Wait, though. They are singing a love song to you: BAKE ME.
BAKE ME IN YOUR OVEN RIGHT NOW.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE OUR BEST SOFT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES:
A few years ago, when we were living in the Philippines, I accidentally discovered my new favorite way to make cookies. The recipe is now two years old, but if you like to creep, they can be located here.
And let me just take a moment to acknowledge that seriously without fail – everything good that I make is always inspired by haphazard accidents, including but not limited to broken refrigerators and lacking ingredients and my really strong tendency towards laziness. Everything including these cookies and all their iterations.
So in 90 bajillion degree Cebu, Philippines, back in fateful 2012, yes I WAS trying to bake chocolate chip cookies. In true Pinch of Yum must-have-the-food-now style, it made 0% rational sense. I had butter that was literally melted from sitting out on the counter for, like, three seconds, I had NO brown sugar, and I added a little too much extra flour. I proceeded to bake the accidental cookies in my oven which I had to start by lighting a FIRE with a MATCH inside of it and which had NO TEMPERATURE MARKINGS other than the numbers 1-5. Sage and I are laughing out loud over here – howwww did I do anything?
Related – I now laugh out loud with my dog.
Goodbye, normalcy.
So long.
Seeeeee uuuu laaaaater!
So where were we? I think we were about to count the number of cookies I’ve eaten just in these last two weeks as I’ve refined this recipe, which is approximately $&@^!# (censored).
I’ve always loved that old Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but I’ve always kind of been annoyed about it, too. Like why does it need to melt only half of the butter? Does it really not work to melt ALL of it? And why does it need the spoonful of brown sugar? Or does it? Sheesh, how annoying is the person who wrote that recipe anyway? *WOOPS*
Now for the good news!
I replicated the ULTRA THICK, ULTRA SOFT texture (it called for bold, right?) and maybe even improved the flavor with this new 2015 version that is similar, but way easier and more sensible than the original.
And by sensible, I mean… just… like, lazy sensible, okay? I don’t mean THAT kind of sensible. You might need to start looking for another blog if you need your cookies to be sensible.
There is nothing sensible about this beautiful sugar and butter perfection.
We’re all trying to eat better around here – me, Bjork, Sage, and you.
We’ve been making salads and stuffed peppers and magic green sauce together and loving on all the yummy, healthy things for the last few weeks. I love food, and I love healthy food, and I love vegetables.
But there is one thing that I love more than anything in the world – yep – going there, and that is a really good, thick, soft, chocolate chip cookie with a glass of milk.
Today, tonight, whenever it is, if you’re going to eat a cookie, please make it count.
Please make it a soft, hugely huge and always soft, and buttery and chocolate chippy and perfectly soft (did I already say that?) chocolate chip cookie that will take your life to the next level.
Ohhhh! You guys, you guys, you guys!
Mom likes cookies, too, right?
Ugh DANG we’re so selfless like that. I just love us right now.
XOXO
The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies (or 9 if you make the cookies HUUUGE, which I often do) 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
These are THE BEST soft chocolate chip cookies! No chilling required. Just ultra thick, soft, classic chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of salted butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar (I like to use raw cane sugar with a coarser texture)
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (more as needed – see video)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (but I always add a little extra)
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use a combination of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds to just barely melt it. It shouldn’t be hot – but it should be almost entirely in liquid form.
- Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with the sugars until creamy. Add the vanilla and the egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated – 10-15 seconds or so (if you beat the egg for too long, the cookies will be stiff).
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until crumbles form. Use your hands to press the crumbles together into a dough. It should form one large ball that is easy to handle (right at the stage between “wet” dough and “dry” dough). Add the chocolate chips and incorporate with your hands.
- Roll the dough into 12 large balls (or 9 for HUGELY awesome cookies) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden.Warning, friends: DO NOT OVERBAKE. This advice is probably written on every cookie recipe everywhere, but this is essential for keeping the cookies soft. Take them out even if they look like they’re not done yet (see picture in the post). They’ll be pale and puffy.
- Let them cool on the pan for a good 30 minutes or so (I mean, okay, eat four or five but then let the rest of them cool). They will sink down and turn into these dense, buttery, soft cookies that are the best in all the land. These should stay soft for many days if kept in an airtight container. I also like to freeze them.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!
The 3 most important things about this recipe are 1) melting the butter, 2) adding enough flour, and 3) not baking for too long. If you find that the dough is wet and it REALLY sticks to your hands, you probably need a little more flour. This is important otherwise you’ll have flat cookies. I’ll usually add a few tablespoons at a time to get it to the right consistency. See video in post for reference. You should be able to roll the balls of dough between your hands without any issues. 
From our recipe tester: If you’re running into issues with your cookies, you can reference the examples above to help find out what may have gone wrong. One of the keys to achieving the perfect cookie is to ensure the correct amount of flour is used. Ideally, the flour should be weighed. In testing, we found that 6.75 ounces of flour was the correct amount. Without a food scale, don’t pack the flour into measuring cups and always level the flour off.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chocolate chip cookies, best chocolate chip cookies, soft chocolate chip cookies, easy cookie recipe
I don’t even know what you’re talking about.
CHEERS, COOKIE FRANDS.
TIME TO SHOW YOU OFF!
Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram for a chance to be featured
One more thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy dessert recipes. Check it out!
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Okay, I’ve just finished eating a huge lunch, but I still want ALL the cookies…These look so good!!
Cookies = No nutritional label available on this item? Works for me!
Yep! None for desserts. It’s the POY policy. 😉
Hi, I actually would really like to know the nutritional information on these please!
You could calc it yourself in about 5 min
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but it will take you a lifetime to find kindness and a personality
Awesome! I hope you like them shazandwich!
HOW?
I have been baking for years and could never find the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie recipe. They were always good right out of the oven but then the next day would be hard. These are THE best!
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Lindsay was kind enough to post this perfect recipe. I think you can figure this one out yourself… Smh
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Yah, toats agree vith Zou!
Maybe you shouldn’t be so weirdly hateful in the comments section of a yummy chocolate chip cookies recipe? This is supposed to be fun, right?
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If you are making chocolate chip cookies, who cares about the nutritional information?
There is no nutrition. Seriously you must know tgat
Loved the infomation that comes with this great recipe! Cookies are amazing 🙂
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Made these last night and they turned out good, a little salty perhaps unsalted butter should be used? But they were still soft the next day which is amazing for the holidays!
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So I punched the recipe into MyFitnessPal and came up with the following caloric information:
12 Cookies = 365 Calories each
9 Cookies = 486 Calories each
Nutrition Facts
Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 365
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 12 g 19 %
Saturated Fat 7 g 37 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 36 mg 12 %
Sodium 170 mg 7 %
Potassium 53 mg 2 %
Total Carbohydrate 62 g 21 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g 6 %
Sugars 49 g
Protein 3 g 6 %
Vitamin A 5 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 3 %
Iron 8 %
Thank you!
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The kcal amount for one of these cookies is actually 244, (based on making 12 cookies from one batch)going by the nutritional info listed on the packages of ingredients used in the recipe. The MFP database amounts are way off on some items.
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Dude… you are no fun.
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SUCKS
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Jason,
Are you sure those nutritional facts and numbers are on point? 🙂
Ugh. I will now wipe those facts from my head.
I don’t know if this helps, but I plugged in my ingredients and scanned the barcodes. I used Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips, only .5 cup instead of .75 cup. This is my nutritional info:
[IMG]http://i64.tinypic.com/2vd2pl5.png[/IMG]
Damn it Jackie, you would want to know!
These cookies are delicious, and true to their word; soft, chewy, and super easy to make
I add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to mine, with a little bit of instant coffee powder to bring out the bitterness in the chocolate, and these are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had.
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Hey Jessica,
Great post! Pardon my rookie status, when you say raw sugar, are you using turbinado sugar?
Hey. Can these made without the egg?
How much salt should I add if using unsalted butter?
general rule of thumb is ~1/4 teaspoon per 1/2 cup butter (1 stick or 8 tablespoons)
Hello
Does this recipe work for high altitude baking? Thank you.
I’ve made these one billion times in Ohio. Just moved to Utah and made them exactly and no problem! I forgot the timer so I’m not sure if they cooked more than 11 min though!
I will give only three stars because the cookies are not turned out!
They taste good although the cookies did not change shape during baking,
this is the first recipe that not work out and I bake a lot, often and apparently very well. I’m curious what went wrong.
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Heavenly. And so fast and easy. The only problem was that I didn’t make enough! Thank you Lindsay!
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Yeah, I’ve made these cookies about 8 times now, and one batch is never enough. My husband eats them all before they even cool off. I double or triple the recipe just so that I’ll get to have a few the next day. 🙂
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Hi! Wondering if when you double or triple the recipe if you do anything different…these make enough for our small family, but not enough for a crowd, or a party!
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This doubles and triples well! :
To double or triple the recipe you multiply the numbers which is really simple. For example if you want double the recipe then for chocolate chips you would do two scoops of 3/4 chocolate chips or 1 and one half a cup.
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I doubled it and it turned out great.
I made half chocolate chip then made the other blueberry and current. Kids loved them.
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I quadruple the recipe with 4 kids in the house and 2 adults that love cookies.
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I tripled the recipe! Came out just find, delicious soft fluffy cookies! I rolled mine in Heath bits before baking…yum! You can find those by the chocolate chips in the grocery store. They also have butterfinger. Everyone went nuts over them! Had to make even more!
Holy moly, you rolled the cookies in Heath bits?! That sounds incredible.
Heath bits, now I know i’m in love. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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How many does it make when you triple the recipe?
Multiply the original recipe’s yield…times 3.
Great! I like cookies.
My son 3 and I baked your cookies together today and it was fun he’s such a great little helper thank you for the easy recipe
Hey! I started cooking/baking with my mom that way back in the early 90s. I’m now a fully functioning adult who loves the kitchen. It’s a good thing you’re doing, your son will learn a skill to impress all those who he loves as he grows older. Kudos to you!
I’ve made these several times and they are so so good! Unfortunately, after reading all the buzzkill comments about nutritional info…. I’m going to have to find a new recipe … perhaps one with kale and eggplant. Thanks a lot to the health nuts that go ruining perfectly awesome cookie recipes for the rest of us!
Ah but it’s so simple, if the butt is saggy equals no eat the cookie.
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Can I reduce the amount of sugar but still be able to keep it soft? Thanks
Hi there! We haven’t tested that out yet, but it’s worth a shot. Let us know how this goes for you!
Hi! I’d love to know if theres anything I can do to the cookie dough to store for later use
It’d work to store any extra dough in the freezer.
Hi! These look incredible can I substitute butter for vegetable oil?
That should work – it just might lend a slightly different texture.
Just use cauliflower in place of the chocolate chips.
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HA! Now that’s the ticket!!
It’ll be great if the amounts can be listed in terms of weight as well. 6.75 oz flour is very helpful!
I bought some dark chocolate chips the other day to make banana bread but I may just set some aside to make these. Talk about food porn! 🙂
I sure you hope you do! 😀
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Banana bread. Yum yum dim sum! 🙂
I will make this soon.
These look sooo goooood! I need make these now! I like how round and soft they look. Everytime I make chocolate chip cookies they look all distorted… But, most times I try to sub. the sugar with natural sweeteners or butter with apple sauce, maybe that’s why…
I’m a chocolate chip cookie fan! Can’t wait to try these out!
Awesome! I hope you like them Ana!
Apple sauce is not a substitute for butter! While it might make sense in a recipe where the butter simply adds a bit of smoothness to the recipe (pancakes, for example), but not where butter is the MAIN INGREDIENT. You need to qualities of butter which are, among other things, semisolid at room temperature. Try coconut oil for a healthier alternative to butter when making cookies. But keep in mind that coconut oil becomes liquid at around 70 degrees F, so those cookies might actually have a better texture when served cold.
Coconut oil is actually much higher in saturated fat than butter is. Where butter is about 30%, coconut oil is about 60%. The claims that it is a healthy alternative seem to be grossly exaggerated, based on my research, so this might not be good advice from a health standpoint.
But saturated fat is not bad for us. That’s worth some research.
They both have pros and cons. However, coconut oil is high in natural saturated fats. Saturated fats not only increase the healthy cholesterol (known as HDL) in your body, but also help to convert the LDL “bad” cholesterol into good cholesterols. By Increasing the HDL’s in the body, it helps promote heart health, and lower the risk of heart disease.
So…I don’t know what you are talking about. You sound uninformed to me.
Also, I love butter. There’s nothing wrong with using either option it just comes down to what you want, how you feel, what you have available etc. I didn’t have eggs available and I had just enough apple sauce to make the recipe work so it’s technically vegan- I didn’t plan that out on purpose. I’m just too lazy to go to the grocery store today. Apple sauce has some good stuff about it and so does eggs. I’m not sure it really freaking matters which is healthier.
THESE ARE COOKIES, MAH FRANDS!
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Please don’t spread misleading information. I’m afraid you have been uninformed. Saturated fat in large amounts can actually contribute to increased serum LDL cholesterol levels. It surely does not lower HDL. But we all deserve a treat from time to time so don’t be so hard on yourself and enjoy a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie without the guilt.
Sincerely,
A registered dietitian who loves to occasionally eat cookies the way they were intended to be made. With butter.
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LDL isn’t a cholesterol, but rather a protein that transports cholesterol.
I thought apple sauce was a substitute for eggs.
Lol, I love how the number of cookies you ate is censored. These look awesome!
Seriously, though. It’s totally inappropriate.
Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute fave to bake and eat!! Yes, I need to censor the number I eat too! These look so soft and delicious, I cannot wait to give them a try 🙂
Awesome! I hope you like them Jenna! 🙂
Normally I love a good crispy edge on my chocolate chip cookies but these look ridiculously soft and incredible! It’s like a cookie pillow. So dreamy. Need to try these!!
Pillowy! Dreamy! Hope you like them, Rachel!
I always melt my butter for cookies like this too! These look delicious! I’m going to make some right now!!!
Yay! enjoy!
can i sue unsalted butter instead?
Yes, Patti you can use unsalted butter. We would then recommend adding a touch of salt to the dough. Enjoy! 🙂
can I sub the butter with vegetable oil?
Hi there! I would not recommend using vegetable oil in place of butter here. Butter is pretty essential to the texture and flavor of the cookie. Hope you enjoy them!
Hi, I wondered if you know how much is 8 tablespoons of batter in grams? Thanks!!
Hi, Alma! 1 stick of butter is 14.18 grams.
I know I’m super late to the party, but a stick of butter is actually 114 grams. Using only 1/8th of the required amount of butter will be a cookie disaster!
Can you substitute the Crisco butter stick for regular butter?
I’m going through a bit of a cookie phase- I’m craving them constantly! I ‘ll have to queue your recipe into my rotation. These look incredible!
Ugh, I’m ALWAYS in a cookie phase! Enjoy S Lauren!
I made these today & they were absolutely Fabulous, Fantastic!
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Hi there I want to try your ‘recipe,Just wondering if I want a bit of a crunch on the outside do I just leave them longer in the oven ?
Hi, Angela! We haven’t tried making these crunchier yet, but you could try putting these in the oven for a couple minutes more.
yes! these look soo good and my poor little guys been begging me to make him cookies and i’ve had no good recipes! Thanks so much!!!
Perfect! Hope you and the little guys like them, Tereza!
Pinned these before I even got to the post! Love the photos- these look divine, and the mix of chunks and chips is just fabulous 🙂
haha – awesome. Thanks Medha!
These look amazing. I love how you make sure definitely understand that these are huge AND soft haha I love it! It is true, chocolate chip cookies are such a classic, but there are so many recipes, they always turn out differently, it is a real treat when you find the perfect ones!..
x Motte
https://mottesblog.blogspot.com/
Yep! And for me, this is the perfect one! 🙂 Thanks the comment Motte.
I am still partial to your other chocolate chip recipe that uses maple syrup. Every time I make those cookies, they turn out perfect. I think I am going to stick with perfection for my chocolate chip cookies. Why mess, right? I want to make your stuffed poblano chilis because they look amazing!
Thanks Kayla! These are actually REALLY similar to those ones – the recipe is just slightly different based on my lazier approach these days. haha! Hope you like the peppers though! Those are yummmmms.
So I just took butter and eggs out of the fridge because I decided today was a day I needed to put away the honey and almond flour and coconut oil and make some cookies, the kind my mom taught me how to bake way back when and cookies she would love to have given to her tomorrow. Then I opened my email to see this post! It’s definitely a sign!!
FATE! Cookie fate! I love it.
Hello I was wondering if it would be okay if i didn’t use brown sugar because I have none in the house right now! thanks!
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It’s easy to make brown sugar. For light brown sugar combine 1 c. white granulated sugar and 1 T. Molasses. for dark brown sugar combine 1 c. white granulated sugar and 2 T. molasses. For this recipe, add 3/4 c. white granulated sugar and about 1 t. molasses, and you’ll have what the recipe calls for. No need to combine them, just add as 2 separate ingredients. I never buy brown sugar, but make it as I need it.
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Any ideas on adjustments for high altitude? We just moved to the mountains, and I’m still trying to figure out the science of it all.
The cookies look like sheer perfection!
Oiy. I don’t know anything about high altitude baking. Here’s a decent looking article that might be helpful: https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-a-Cookie-Recipe-for-High-Altitude
The article is very useful.
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High altitude baker here! I baked mine for 9 minutes at 350 and they came out perfect 🙂
We’re high altitude too and we had to bake these for 15 minutes.
Question: my family will need way more than 12 cookies at a time. Doubling recipe okay? Or better to make multiple batches? Have been looking for a soft chip cookie recipe & ta-da you provided one.
Thank you!!!
That’s a good question. Yes, you can double the recipe. I always find that these cookies (well, cookies in general, I think) turn out best in small batches but I have doubled it and it’s worked for me just fine.
Thanks, Lindsay!!
That’s right! Dont you dare ruin it by posting the nutritional info! Beautiful pics! 🙂
No way never never never. Sometimes, to me, healthy means just enjoying a cookie! 😀
Love your Philippines’ story! I can just imagine the butter melting on the counter.
I plan on doing nothing for Mother’s Day, except find something to bake in a lazy-putter-around-the-house kind of way. I’m going to make these for the kids. Oh wait, and for their mom. That’s me! Yippee!
Yay! Enjoy Barbara! And happy Mother’s Day!
Lindsay, can we be best cookie friends? I LOVE soft chocolate chip cookies! And that photo of the dough *faint* Yum!! 🙂
hahah – glad someone else appreciates those photos as much as I do! Thanks Matea!
Look delish! My fiance’ is always complaining that my choc chip cookies are not soft. Hopefully these will change his mind. Question: WHO makes only 12 choc chip cookies? 🙂
I KNOW. But this (small batch) is how they always turn out best for me. Also – two people in the house. 12 cookies. You do the math. 😉
Mine look undercooked. Is that right?
Hi, Kaitlyn! The cookies do look undercooked right when they come out of the oven. They will set up if you let them sit on the cookie sheet for a good 20-30 min after baking. 🙂
Just made them and holy moly! So so good. Had to use some Reese’s baking pieces in addition to the chocolate bc 3 year olds are demanding, but other than that followed exactly and they came out perfectly. Thank you for such an easy yummy recipe.
This makes me HAPPYYYYYYYYYY. So glad you liked them and thank you for your Reeses genius! I may just do that myself.
Oh my goodness, this looks and sounds incredible! Also love your writing style, its so enthusiastic 😉 xx
Thanks Bell! Appreciate that!
Great cookies ! I used your recipe as a base to make “lactation cookies” for my daughter who is not yet producing enough for her baby. I reduced the flour 1/4 cup and added 4 Tablespoons Brewers yeast, 3 Tablespoons ground flax seed and 1 Tablespoon wheat germ. Yum! We’re all enjoying them and hopefully they’ll help my daughter. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite in the whole world so these certainly caught my attention. I think this recipe may only make about 5 though once I am done eating most of the dough before making them…
I know. it’s seriously an issue for me.
Lindsay,
These are marvelous cookies. I have been trying my whole life to find a recipe for soft chocolate chip cookies. Thank you.
Mary Beth
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I’m so glad! Thanks Mary Beth! 🙂 Happy Mother’s Day!
Can u uze self rising Flour ?
Hi, Shawn! I wouldn’t recommend using self-rising flour as these cookies are already really thick with AP flour.
Wow these are every chocolate chip cookies lovers dream!!! Looks amazing!
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Thanks Hardik! Appreciate that.
These are the best cookies I’ve ever made.THANK YOU!! I can not stop eating them. Thank you for sharing your great recipe!!
Oh my lordy these sound amazing. Here in Australia people don’t always fully appreciate the beauty of a perfect soft chewy cookies/biscuit. I am totally going to give these a go (but with egg substitute, thanks allergies). Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm *insert drool wipe here*
Hope it turns out for you Ruth! Would love to have you report back if you find something that works well as a substitute. 🙂 Thanks!
Very nice processing and decoration, I can’t take my eyes off your food
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I tripled the recipe using your 3X button on the recipe! Thank you for that! I made the cookies on Sunday and today Tuesday they are still delicious and soft. I loved your recipe. The only thing I did differently is to use unsalted butter, and just milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Nothing drastic, thanks so much for the softest chocolate chip cookie recipe.
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I think this recipe may only make about 5 though once I am done eating most of the dough before making them…