How To Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Every Single Time

For melt in your mouth soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies, look no further. Delicious, soft cookies are easily achievable with our tried and true tips.

Whether you like crispy or soft cookies, there is one constant you can count on - for chewier cookies you'll want to pay attention to the ingredients ratio.

If you’re searching for bakery style chocolate chip cookies that are soft and thick, these tips will result in the very best chocolate chip cookies.

How To Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

A simple manipulation of ingredients can help you bake your version of absolutely perfect chocolate chip cookies.

For instance, how much flour you add versus whether you use light brown or dark brown sugar all has an impact on baking a chewier cookie.

Part of the process is experimenting! Use these tips and recommendations then play which of these recipe variations yield the cookie you love best.

Does Cornstarch Soften Cookies?

We've already hinted at the fact that adjusting the measurement of your dry ingredients, and your ingredients in general, can result in a softer cookie.

Does cornstarch soften cookies? It absolutely does! For an amazingly smooth, soft texture cornstarch can help give cookies the softness you’re seeking.

Adding 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of cornstarch to your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe can greatly improve the likelihood of baking cookies with the thick, pillow-y consistency that you love the most.

Does Melted Butter Make Cookies Softer?

Melted butter provides a chewiness to your favorite cookie recipes that can be perfect if you are not looking for a cookie with crunch.

That said, the texture is often best if your melted butter is actually just short of fully melted. We think it makes the best chewy cookies.

While a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe will generally call for unsalted butter, we love the pairing of salted butter with semi-sweet chocolate chips for great balance.

If you find your chocolate chip cookie dough is a touch sticky when using mostly melted butter, try adding additional flour a tablespoon or two at a time.

You will know you have enough flour when the dough is no longer tacky and can easily be scooped with a cookie scoop and transferred to a cookie sheet.

Does Brown Sugar Make a Softer Cookie?

For amazing cookies with a super soft texture, we suggest using a recipe that combines both brown and white sugars to help keep the cookies moist.

Brown sugar adds thickness, softness, and chewiness, while white sugar balances out the recipe to dry out some of the wet ingredients and helps the cookies spread out on the baking sheet during baking.

Both are essential to creating the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but you may want to tweak your favorite recipe to add that extra fluff. Generally speaking, more brown sugar equals more softness.

While generally interchangeable, dark brown sugar is often considered to result in a softer cookie as well due to the additional molasses that imparts the signature dark, rich color.

Also, the less white sugar you use, the less your cookies will spread. Reducing the sugar in a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe can provide a thicker cookie if that is your preference.

What Does Adding Egg Yolk Do to Cookies?

An additional egg yolk in your cookie recipe can help make cookies that are more tender and rich in flavor.

Because egg yolks famously contain both lecithin and fat, extra egg yolk adds lightness and chewiness to cookies.

The general rule of thumb is to add one extra egg yolk per whole large egg called for in the classic recipe you are following.

Any more than that and you risk a cookie that retains too much moisture and ends up spongy.

Large eggs are commonly the standard called for in any basic cookie recipe. Be sure if you're using large eggs to use 1 large egg yolk per whole egg to keep the ratios in check.

You can freeze egg whites that may be left over to use later in another recipe such as our light and fluffy Cannoli Poke Cake.

Chill Your Cookie Dough

While chilling cookie dough can seem to interrupt the flow of baking those delicious cookies, this is an essential step in perfecting a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Chilling the dough prevents the cookies from fanning out before their time, allows the full flavors of the ingredients to meld, and also results in thicker cookies.

Dough that is room temperature or warmer is more likely to result in flat cookies with crispy edges as opposed to a softer cookie that melts in your mouth.

Cover the prepared cookie dough with plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours.

If you prefer to prep in advance, the dough will easily keep in the fridge until the next day or for up to 2 to 3 days.

Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before you form evenly sized cookie dough balls for baking and place them on a large baking sheet.

Adjust Oven Temperature and Baking Times

For the perfect cookie that is wonderfully soft and chewy every single time, consider the oven temperature and baking times prescribed in the original recipe you are referencing.

The standard baking temperature for easy chocolate chip cookies is 350° which allows for your favorite cookies to bake evenly to a perfect golden brown.

Opting for a slightly lower temperature of 325° and baking your cookies for slightly longer will also allow for even baking, but will result in a chewier cookie, but one that is slightly thinner.

A slightly higher temperature of 375° results in less spreading since the cookies bake faster, so the cookies are often softer and thicker.

The next time you bake cookies, consider adjusting the baking temperature for the first batch to decide which results you prefer.

Line Your Baking Sheet

There is always a lot of debate around whether or not you should line your baking sheets when baking cookies.

We believe for the best cookies possible, you should always considering lining your baking sheet.

Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat can be used to line sheet pan, which not only helps make clean-up a breeze, but it also helps keep cookies from spreading.

Like chilling cookie dough, lining your baking sheet allows the cookies to retain their thickness and prevents the bottoms from browning as quickly.

The overall result is generally a cookie that is softer and less crispy, giving you a great cookie that all fans of soft cookies will really appreciate.

Bake a Test Batch of Cookies

Finally, the best piece of advice to perfecting a chocolate chip cookie recipe is to experiment! That's half the fun of baking anyway, isn't it?

Before you whip up dozens of cookies with a new recipe or an adjustment, we always recommend baking a test batch.

You can do this with only one or two cookies, if you’d like, just to see how they come out. Although, is there really such a thing as a bad cookie?

And if a crispy cookie is what you're after, you'll want to do precisely none of the things just mentioned or even considering doing the opposite!

Can You Freeze Cookie Dough?

Not only can you freeze cookie dough, but it's a great time-saving hack if you love baking cookies but don't always have the time to make fresh dough.

To freeze cookie dough, first roll it into balls the same size you'll want to bake at a later date.

You can place the balls in an airtight container for freezing and then transfer to a freezer bag labeled with the date once frozen.

Much like chilling dough before baking, we suggest thawing the dough before baking.

You can move the frozen dough to the refrigerator 24 hours before baking, or warm the dough at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.

Freezing your cookie dough after rolling it into balls will also allow you to make smaller quantities of cookies more often - this is great when baking for a couple or people who live alone!

Additional Variations on the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Making adjustments to an already awesome recipe to make a softer cookie is just one way to put a spin on an already great recipe.

You can swap out semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks like in our Dark Chocolate Cranberry Cookies.

A pinch of coarse sea salt or a bit of espresso powder like in our Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies will also give you a whole new flavor.

You could also consider making soft and chewy Double Chocolate Cookies or Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies.

And to perfect your favorite recipe with bakery quality results, consider checking out our additional tips for baking cookies like a pro.

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