How to make cookie dough with few ingredients?

Beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract and salt. Add heat-treated flour; mix until a crumbly dough forms. Stir in milk until dough is just combined; fold in milk chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips.

What is the secret to making cookies soft and chewy?

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies . Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Is it better to use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips for cookies?

If you're after a sweeter flavor, opt for milk or white chocolate, but if you want to break down the already sweet cookie dough, go for semisweet or dark chocolate .

What makes cookies chewy and not hard?

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch .

What are the 4 main ingredient in baking cookies?

While there may be countless variations, each cookie at the core has four ingredients – butter, sugar, flour & eggs . The proportions of ingredients and the methods of mixing are what define our cookies. Dough spreads – Inside the hot oven, the butter starts to melt and the dough gradually starts to spread out.

What happens if you don't put enough flour in cookie dough?

Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy . Most recipes assume you'll use all-purpose, but if you want a lighter, crumblier cookie texture, choose one with a lower protein content such as cake-and-pastry flour. Baking soda helps cookies spread outward and upward while cooking.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies?

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies . Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Why put corn syrup in cookies?

So, when you mix corn syrup into your cookie batter, all of that moisture will make and keep your baked cookies deliciously tender . The texture of cookies benefits from corn syrup as well. As you combine your ingredients to make your cookie batter, corn syrup will pull some of the surrounding air into your batter.

What type of chocolate is best for chocolate chip cookies?

Semisweet Chocolate Chips “While milk, semisweet and dark chocolate will all make delicious cookies, semisweet is preferred because it provides a good contrast and balance with the sweetness of the cookies,” said baker Annalise Sandberg of Completely Delicious.

Which chocolate chips melt best in cookies?

When you find a recipe that calls for melted chocolate chips, reach for Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips . Our Test Kitchen team found that these chips melted down very easily and had a super creamy texture.

What makes a cookie the best?

The best cookies have layers of texture . A slightly crisp outer shell that holds up to some heat with an inner core that's soft and chewy. Premium cookies taste great at room temperature, straight out of the fridge or slightly heated. Creating cookies in small batches is key.

Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (2024)

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Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes super soft chocolate, super yummy chip cookies – no mixer necessary, no chilling needed.

I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip cookies. A lot a lot. Probably more cookies than I should say. Sometimes, I break out my mixer and make a recipe like my brownie cookie recipe that needs time to chill.

Other times, I want cookies five minutes ago. When those cookie cravings hit, I need a simple, easy, go-to cookie that I can whip up in just a few minutes.

This Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is just such a recipe. The cookies can be made from scratch in less than 20 minutes, and there’s no need to get the mixer out or to chill the dough. All of which make this the simplest chocolate chip cookie recipe.

What Makes This the Simplest Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?

This recipe uses just a few basic ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, salt.

Also, it is so fast and so easy – no mixer needed, no chilling required – that the cookies can be mixed up and baked in less than twenty minutes.

How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

For this recipe, you’re going to start by melting the butter. The butter shouldn’t be sizzling hot. If you’re not sure how hot is too hot, you’ll want it about 90% melted, and then you’ll whisk it until it finishes melting.

Once the butter has melted, whisk in the sugars until well-combined. Mix in the vanilla extract and egg.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in just until combined. You don’t want to overmix the dough.

Stir in the chocolate chips, and then scoop the dough. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the cookies are set on the edges but slightly underdone in the middle, about 7-10 minutes.

Slightly under-baking the cookies helps to keep them soft. Since oven temperatures can vary, you may find that you need to adjust the baking times.

Can I Use an Electric Mixer?

Sure! You can use one if you would prefer. I do recommend mixing in the flour by hand, though, to avoid overmixing the dough.

Tips/FAQ

There are over 1,000 comments and questions on this recipe. I’ve added this section to answer some of the common questions in the hope that it saves people from having to try to sift through all of those comments. If you have a question that isn’t answered below, please feel free to ask!

Gluten Free: I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard from several people who have used a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour in this recipe, and they’ve said that it worked well. However, I haven’t heard from anyone regarding other flours, such as almond flour.
Butter: This recipe begins with melted butter. I prefer to use salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- The butter should just barely be melted. That means that it shouldn’t be sizzling hot or browned.
- If you’re worried about getting it too hot, melt the butter about 90% of the way and then whisk it until it is completely melted.
Sugars:This recipe uses both brown sugar and granulated (white sugar). If you would like to use only brown sugar, check out my brown sugar chocolate chip cookie recipe.
- Using only granulated sugar will give you crispier cookies.
- For this recipe, you can use either dark or light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar will give you a slightly richer flavor.
Measuring Flour: If you aren’t weighing your ingredients, I can’t recommend that enough. If you are using measuring cups, be sure to sift or stir the flour before measuring. Flour packs easily and using too much flour in cookies will give you dry, crumbly dough and cookies that don’t spread.
Salt: Kosher salt is a larger-grain salt that isn’t as “salty” as table salt. If you’re using table salt, be sure to use 1/4 teaspoon.
- Please note the measurements on the salt. I’ve seen people who have commented that the cookies were salty, and it turned out that they had used several times the amount of salt that the recipe calls for.
Chocolate Chips: I use semisweet chocolate chips. You can use dark, bittersweet, milk, or white chocolate chips.
- People have used all sorts of mix-ins, like M&Ms or other candy and chip combinations, in this recipe.

Tips For Making Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

The best way to make soft chocolate chip cookies is to slightly under-bake the cookies. In order to slightly under-bake the cookies, the edges should look set (but not brown).

The center of the cookies should look soft and even a little puffy still. This trick will help to keep your cookies nice and soft.

Kitchen Tools I Use When Making Homemade Cookies

Here are some of my must-have kitchen essentials that help to make this recipe even easier.

Whisk: A good whisk doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s a kitchen must-have for really combining ingredients like the melted butter and sugars.

Cookie Scoop: I use my cookie scoop so often that I bought a second one. It’s great for scooping cookies, mini muffins, and even meatballs.

Silicone Spatula: A great all-purpose spatula is a must-have. They’re great for incorporating dry ingredients that are harder to whisk in and scraping the bowl.

Kitchen Scale: Using a kitchen scale is easier than measuring with measuring cups. It’s also more accurate! I was a holdout for a long time, but now I love using my kitchen scale.

More Easy Cookie Recipes!

Chewy Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thick Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you’ve tried this easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

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4.97 from 1566 votes

Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Author Kate @ I Heart Eating

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 18 minutes minutes

Easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe - no mixer, no chilling necessary. Also, check out the video just above the recipe!

Ingredients

▢ 1/2 cup butter
▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
▢ 1 large egg
▢ 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour¹
▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt²
▢ 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds. Butter should be completely melted but shouldn't be hot.
In a large bowl, mix butter with the sugars until well-combined.
Stir in vanilla and egg until incorporated.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Please read the recipe note about properly measuring flour.
Mix dough until just combined. Dough should be soft and a little sticky but not overly sticky.
See Also
Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole Recipe BEST Easy Chicken Parmesan Recipe | Crazy for Crust Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe | Practically Homemade Caramel Apple Martini - easy and delcious co*cktail recipe for fall
Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop out 1.5 tablespoons of dough (medium cookie scoop) and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cookies are set. They will be puffy and still look a little underbaked in the middle.³

Video

Notes

Be sure to fluff and then scoop and sweep to measure the flour. Too much flour will result in a dry or crumbly cookie. For the ingredient measurements by weight, please click "metric" directly underneath the ingredients.
Or 1/4 teaspoon table salt.
Don't over-bake the cookies, or you won't end up with soft cookies. Several people have said that they've needed to bake the cookies for longer. Since oven temps can vary, I suggest starting with the listed baking time and increasing the time as needed.
If you're interested in the chocolate version of these cookies, you can find that recipe here.
Nutrition facts are estimates.

Nutrition

Did You Make This Recipe?

Share it with me on Instagram @i_heart_eating and follow on Youtube @katedean and Pinterest @katedean for more!

Published 8/16/16. Updated with new photos and tips 10/3/18.

Adapted from Pinch of Yum.

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Created by Kate

Kate got her first cookbook when she was five years old, and she hasn't stopped cooking since then! Her delicious recipes have been featured on Food Network, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and more. When she's not cooking or baking, she can be found on her mini farm with her husband and her five kids.

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