Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – a delicious blend of gooey centers and the perfect hint of crunch–no hand or stand mixer required!
Try our other famous cookie recipes next: Snickerdoodles, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, or White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Craving the ultimate chocolate chip cookies? Our family’s weekly baking ritual has revealed a game-changer: maple syrup. It was a happy accident when agave ran low, and now, it’s our secret to the softest, chewiest cookies that we just can’t keep enough of. It’s not about the sweetness—it’s about that slight maple hint that makes all the difference. Fresh out of the oven, they’re simply the best.
Ingredients In Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Unsalted Butter: Makes cookies rich and chewy. Melt then cool it to keep the dough right.
- Sugars: Brown sugar brings moistness and a rich taste; white sugar makes it sweet and helps cookies brown and spread.
- Egg: Holds everything together and gives shape.
- Vanilla & Maple Syrup: Add a deep, sweet flavor.
- Cornstarch: Keeps cookies soft.
- Baking Soda & Powder: Help cookies puff up and define their texture.
- Salt: Cuts the sweetness and brings out flavors.
- Flour: Builds the cookie’s body and soaks up wet ingredients.
- Chocolate Chips: Add bursts of chocolate for a delicious, melty heart.
Quick Tip
Not all syrups are created equal! For this recipe, use 100% pure maple syrup, which comes from concentrated maple tree sap. Avoid pancake syrup, which is just a mix of sugars with maple flavoring. Always check the label to ensure it’s pure maple syrup.
How To Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prepare Dough: Melt the butter and let it cool. In the same bowl, mix in both sugars, the egg, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Then fold in the dry ingredients (cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour) until just combined. Stir in most of the chocolate chips.
- Chill: Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
- Shape and Bake: Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C), form the dough into balls on a lined baking sheet, and chill again for 10 minutes. Bake for 9-14 minutes until the edges are just brown.
- Finish: Press the extra chocolate chips on top immediately after baking, then cool on the tray for 5 minutes before moving to a rack.
Tips for these cookies
- Let the melted butter cool: Once the butter is melted, it needs to cool back to room temperature. This is extremely important. If the butter is hot, it will melt the sugars, which causes greasy cookies that spread.
- Chill the dough: Since we melted the butter, the dough needs time to chill. This allows the butter to re-solidify. Otherwise, these cookies spread into a pancake! The chilling time also gives the flavors and textures time to meld together and intensify.
- Measure carefully: The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are likely packing in way too much flour which will yield cake-y and less flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a butter knife.
FAQS
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are deliciously sweet, soft on the inside, and crisp on the outside, and the best part is they’re easy to make using just one bowl and a spoon—no mixer needed!
Equipment
- Large bowl microwave-safe
- Sheet pan lined
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, see note 1
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-3/4 cups white all-purpose flour
- 1-1/4 cups chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- In a very large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Once melted, refrigerate for 5 minutes. It's important that the butter isn't hot when you add in the sugar, or your cookies will be greasy.
- Once butter is cooled to room temperature, stir in both sugars. Briskly mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until smooth and integrated, about 1 minute. Stir in the egg, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Stir again until fully smooth.
- Add cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add flour (see note 2) and mix until just combined. Don't overmix. Gently stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips until combined.
- Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. Line a pan with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
- Roll dough into tall cylindrical balls. Dough balls should be about 2-1/2 tablespoons each. Place 6–8 dough balls on a sheet pan to give the cookies plenty of room to spread. Place the tray back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 9–14 minutes. The cookies will continue to bake slightly out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown. It's better to under-bake than to over-bake.
- Remove from the oven and press the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: For a richer toffee-like flavor, use dark brown sugar. The cookies will spread a bit more and they won’t be as pretty, but if you like toffee-flavored cookies, it’s worth it.
Note 2: If you have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend weighing the flour to get 240 grams. How flour is measured can greatly vary from person to person, so weight is always going to be most accurate measurement.
Storage: We like these cookies best the first 2 days. They do last up to a week, but they begin to lose texture and flavor. To store, place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies are completely cooled before adding to the container.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 202IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Sandra! 🙂
Hello, do u have to refrigerate? I forgot 🙁
The dough needs to be chilled before baking!
Hi, is there any substitute for maple syrup?
I haven’t tested these any other way; sorry Joi!
Getting ready to make the chewy chocolate chip cookies. The recipe calls for 1& 1/4 cup milk.
It never says to mix in mixture. I’m confused, do u mix the milk in the wet ingredients or just not use it.
There is no milk in the recipe? There are milk chocolate chips which you add them in step 3
What can I substitute for the maple syrup?
I wouldn’t recommend any substitutes — that’s the “secret” ingredient in this recipe 🙂