Your Search for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ends Here

Mastering the chocolate chip cookie might seem like an easy task, but even master bakers can tell you that the perfect chocolate chip cookie takes some tinkering to get 100 percent right. When you manage to bake a delicious chocolate chip cookie, family and friends suddenly flock to the kitchen, ready to grab them straight from the oven. Want to know how to master the chocolate chip cookie? We’re ready to share all our tips and tricks, including our favorite recipe!

Highlights of the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

There’s a lot of debate surrounding what the perfect chocolate chip cookie should be. Should it be crispy and thin? Should it be soft and chewy? The jury is still out, but there are a few things that we can all agree help elevate the standard chocolate chip cookie to something purely indulgent and magical.

The first point is that you should use high-quality chocolate. The chocolate in the cookie makes it what it is! So, be sure to find the best chocolate chips, whether they are milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

The other key point is to use a lot of chocolate chips. Don’t skimp on the chocolate or else you won’t get the flavor in every bite. You need just the right balance to ensure every bite is rich, without taking away the buttery taste of the cookie itself.

Always use butter. Unless you are using a recipe specifically tailored for dietary restrictions, don’t substitute out any ingredients for butter. Oil will leave you with a flat, burned cookie and margarine won’t suffice. Butter gives the best, flakiest cookies.

Most importantly, you need to use a Pure Vanilla Extract to enhance all of the sweet, rich flavors in the cookies. Nielsen-Massey has been crafting vanilla extracts for over a century, so we understand that vanilla tastes best when its natural essence is allowed to shine. We think Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract is the perfect, versatile, flavorful vanilla extract every chocolate chip cookie needs.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

In order to get a great chocolate chip cookie, you need to have the best recipe. Our highly-rated chocolate chip cookie recipe is the only one you need to keep in your recipe collection to pass down from generation to generation!

Ingredients

12 oz. butter (3 sticks), softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, soda, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop with a #40 scoop (looks like a metal mini ice cream scoop) or a rounded measuring tablespoonful about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased insulated baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly: remove from baking sheet. Cool on wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen crackly, chewy-crispy bakery-style cookies.

Additional Tips

Besides choosing quality chocolate and making sure to follow the recipe carefully, there are a few other pro tips we want to share to make your chocolate chip cookie rise above the rest. We’ve gathered tips from seasoned bakers to help you avoid common mistakes, so you can indulge in the perfect cookie right away!

Use cold butter that has been cubed, instead of room temperature butter, to produce a cookie that doesn’t spread as much and turns out soft and chewy.
If you don’t use chilled butter, chill the cookie dough overnight to help the cookies bake up perfectly rounded and soft.
Try using chopped up chocolate bars in place of chocolate chips, for higher quality chocolate. The chopped chocolate gets better distributed through the cookie and melts more easily than chips.
Lightly sprinkle cookies with salt to add depth to the flavors and create a culinary delight.
Remember, cookies continue to cook even when you take them out of the oven. Make sure you take them out when the edges begin to brown, even if the centers look soft and undercooked.
Always beat butter and sugar until it is fluffy, but be careful about overmixing the flour once it’s been added. Mix the flour in until it’s just incorporated, then add your chocolate and fold it in gently. This will help avoid tough cookies.

Following these tips can really elevate your cookie game and allow you to pull off the best chocolate chip cookie possible. In the end, you may earn the title of “Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Baker” from your friends and family!