Seriously, the easiest chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Melted butter, one bowl, no mixer, no chilling. Phenomenal soft and chewy cookies, every time. (Jump to Recipe)
I’ve had a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe for a long time. Like, since I was 12. This is not that.
This is better.
The thing about chocolate chip cookies is that everyone loves them, but no one can agree on the correct recipe. For some people, that may not even be a question that’s relevant — i.e., why would you bother arguing about it when we could have scooped pre-made dough out of a Toll House tub and baked it by now — but since you’re reading this, I’m guessing you’re not one of those people. So let’s talk about it.
I’ve done a fair amount of reading about chocolate chip cookies. They’re deceptively simple, yet they require the building of complex flavor and can be extremely finicky. Recipe authors have suggested using bread flour because of its higher protein content (and thus better chewiness), adding an extra egg yolk for richer flavor, browning the butter (because ok, brown butter is delicious), chilling the dough for 2 days to build more flavor, using a mixture of super expensive chopped dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips so it melts throughout, adding cornstarch to keep cookies thick, various ratios of brown sugar to white sugar for optimal flavor and softness…I could go on, but doesn’t it seem like a cookie this simple, this classic, should not be so complicated???
The problems don’t stop there, though.
Once you’ve decided on a certain recipe, there is the method, and it must be done correctly or else your cookies may suck. Creaming soft (but not too soft) butter and sugar. At a certain speed, for a certain time. Adding 1 (or 2??) eggs, which are at room temperature of course (because everyone thinks that far ahead). Adding just enough flour and not mixing it too much, otherwise you’ll overdevelop the gluten and your cookies will be too dense. Chilling the dough for an hour, or two hours, or two days, depending on your recipe. Scooping and rolling precise little mounds. Bah!
My other major gripe about most chocolate chip cookie recipes is how MANY cookies they make. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need 3-4 dozen cookies from one recipe, and I resent the fact that I have to keep pulling sheets in and out of the oven for 45 minutes. When you live in a small apartment, there’s only so many places to put cooling cookies. I admit that it’s not a terrible problem to have, but still.
All of this is to say, that one night I was really, really craving cookies (as one does) and really didn’t want to go through the aforementioned rigamarole. I just wanted soft, melty, chewy cookies, NOW.
So I cut my normal recipe in half, threw caution to the wind and melted the butter, stirred everything together with a fork in one bowl, and hoped for the best. And honestly….they weren’t the best I’d ever had, but they weren’t bad. They spread more than I’d have liked, but certainly didn’t suffer in the way I’d assumed they would. So I started tinkering.
Like the annoying recipe authors I mentioned before, I tinkered with the brown/white sugar ratio, and added flour to make up for the moisture of the melted butter. I increased the salt because it sets off the chocolate sweetness so well. And after a couple rounds of testing (poor us), I came up with what I consider to be the easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe there is.
Here’s why these are the easiest chocolate chip cookies:
- You use melted butter – no waiting around for butter to soften.
- You stir everything together in one bowl – no mixer necessary.
- Because you’re stirring by hand, you’re very unlikely to over-mix the dough (a common cookie problem).
- NO CHILLING REQUIRED! Hallelujah.
- The recipe makes only 20 cookies! No waiting around for an hour for all your cookies to be done.
I’ve now made it at least 5 times, in a number of temperature and time circumstances, and it hasn’t failed me yet. That’s more than I can say for most cookie recipes I’ve tried, to be honest. I gave my friend Colleen a plate of them for her birthday, and her text the next day says it all: “These are the BEST DAMN COOKIES I’VE EVER HAD!!!”
I couldn’t agree more.
Seriously, the easiest chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. Melted butter, one bowl, no mixer, no chilling. Phenomenal soft and chewy cookies, every time.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
- 1 large egg (cold or room temperature, both are fine)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see notes below on how to measure flour correctly)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (more if desired)
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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In a large microwave-safe bowl (or a small saucepan on the stove), heat the butter until just melted. Whisk in the two sugars until thoroughly combined (I like to use a fork as my whisk). Let the mixture cool for a minute, then whisk in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
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Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over top of the mixture and stir in, then add the flour and stir it in until fully combined and a smooth dough is formed. Fold in the chocolate chips.
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Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons (if you have it, a #40 tablespoon cookie scoop is perfect for this) onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. The dough should make approximately 20 cookies worth.
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If desired, sprinkle additional coarse sea salt over top of the cookies (you can also do this after they're baked). Bake for 9-10 minutes. NOTE: the cookies will look underdone, but they'll firm up as they sit.
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Let cookies cool on sheet for at least 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack. Store, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recipe adapted from my sea salt chocolate chip cookies.
Note on measuring flour: for best results, please make sure you use the "spoon and level" method for measuring flour, rather than using your measuring cup to scoop flour directly from the bag. The spoon and level method produces a lighter cup of flour, while scooping from the bag produces a packed, heavier cup that will prevent the cookies from spreading as they should. If you haven't heard of this method before, Sally's Baking Addiction has a great tutorial!
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KATIE!You’re cookies were so awsome.I had a really fantastic time enjoying those cool chocolate chip cookies.Such a wonderful recipe you’ve given me.OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thank you very much:D
Good Afternoon! I tried your recipe and by far was it the MOST AMAZING chocolate chip cookies ever!!!!!! They were the easiest to make and all the ingredients were “ideal” to have in the cabinet! Thank you soooo very much!
Hi Katie, my daughter and I just made these and they are phenomenal. Thank you so much for a recipe that from inception to eating took less than half an hour!
I just made these cookies yesterday with my 5 year old granddaughter. I will never use another recipe other than yours! Soft and chewy, just the way my family likes them. Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay! Thank you so much Stephanie – so glad you enjoyed them!
Hey Katie! Do you think this dough can be frozen before baking? Or should it be made just before baking.
Thank you!
Hi Dana – this dough can be frozen after you scoop it into the individual cookie balls. Just put them on a plate and put in the freezer until they’re frozen, then keep them in a freezer bag. You can bake them right from frozen – just add a couple minutes to the baking time! Hope you enjoy!
Hi Katie,
I definitely want to try this recipe!
Have you tried adding nuts to the mix? I’d like to add walnuts but am not sure how to adjust the recipe accordingly? Would you add more fluid or use fewer chocolate chips?
Cheers
Caro
Hi Caro – I think I would start with half walnuts and half chocolate chips (so 1/4 cup of each). If you want to increase the amount, try doing 1/3 cup of each. Let me know how it turns out!
So strange, mine didn’t flatten at all! Of course they still taste amazing (eaten in minutes) though but seems a little odd compared to other cookies I’ve made. You think it’s because I touched them too much when forming them or I put the egg in too early?
Hi Brittney – the lack of spreading was likely because of the way you measured your flour. If the flour is packed too tightly in the measuring cup, it soaks up more moisture than a lighter cup of flour and prevents the cookies from spreading. See this tutorial from Sally’s Baking Addiction on the correct way to measure flour using the spoon and level method!
I want to try these. Thanks for sharing. Will it make a big difference if I use salted butter and then leave the salt out?
Hi Yvette, yes that would work fine! Hope you enjoy!
Oh. My. God. Katie. I’m new to baking and I say that as a way to politely let you know that I usually suck at baking. But these cookies. Oh my god Katie. These cookies. They melt in my mouth. So easy to make. I even accidentally set the oven too high and they’re still out-of-this-world delicious (took them out from 375 at 7 minutes 30). 5/5 would overeat to the point of cardiac arrest ❤️❤️❤️
Bob, you just made my day!! I am SO glad you love these just as much as I do!
Also a lawyer/blogger. Now retired and loving this other life. You are a terrific writer and like you, I LOVE figs and chocolate chip cookies. I am in foodtographyschool also but you have outpaced me by miles!
Aww thank you so much Jane! I’ve seen you in the facebook group and love all your contributions. Thank you so much for the comment – I do love that I get to flex my writing muscles on here too. Hope you are enjoying retirement!!
Made them today easy and very good a Thank you.
Thank you so much Bessie! I’m so glad you enjoyed them.