Soft and Chewy American Chocolate Chip Cookies – Easy Recipe
Soft, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips, these American cookies are a classic treat you can make at home with simple ingredients.
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American-style chocolate chip cookies are known everywhere, and for good reason. They’re soft in the middle, slightly crisp on the edges, and full of melted chocolate in every bite. What makes them so good is their simplicity — flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and plenty of chocolate chips.
I grew up with a sweet spot for these cookies, and once I learned to make them at home, they quickly became a favorite in my kitchen. The process is simple: a quick mix of butter and sugar, the usual dry ingredients, and finally folding in the chocolate chips.
A little rest in the fridge, and the dough is ready to bake into golden cookies. Whether you like them flat and chewy or thicker and rustic, you can shape them as you like.
Besides, the best part is that you can store the dough in the fridge for next-day batches, and even in the freezer, lasting up to three months.
How I Make These Cookies
When I make these cookies, I always start with the butter and the two types of sugar. I use a mixer on medium speed and let them beat together until creamy.
This step gives the cookies their soft texture, so it’s important not to skip it. Once the mixture looks fluffy, I add the vanilla flavor and the eggs. I mix just enough to bring it all together.
Next, I reduce the speed and slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt. I don’t want to overwork the dough, so I let it come together gently. Once the dry ingredients are mixed in, I fold in the chocolate chips by hand using a spatula.
At this point, I usually cover the bowl and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour. This helps the cookies bake evenly.
When it’s time to bake, I line a tray with parchment paper (I have started to use a silicon mat lately and it gives me great results) and roll the dough into small balls. If I want a flatter cookie, I press them down slightly. If I leave them as balls, they bake up thicker and more rustic-looking.
For 50-gram dough balls, the baking time is about 10 minutes. For 40 grams, 9 minutes is enough. The oven needs to be preheated to 180°C.
Soft and Chewy American Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 530 grams all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 235 grams unsalted butter softened and cubed
- 100 grams caster sugar
- 200 grams packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 250 grams chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the butter, caster sugar, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract and the eggs. Mix for 1 minute.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.
- Form small dough balls (about 40–50 g each). Place them on the tray. Press down slightly for flat cookies, or bake them as balls for thicker cookies.
- Bake for 9 minutes (40 g cookies) or 10 minutes (50 g cookies).
- Let the cookies cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition
Smart Baking Notes: Make Them Your Way
These cookies are easy to adapt. You can swap some of the chocolate chips with nuts, pecans, almonds, white chocolate, or even raisins.
If you like your cookies extra chewy, bake them for just a minute less. For crispier edges, let them bake a little longer.
They keep well in an airtight container for about 4 days. The dough can also be frozen in balls — just bake from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the baking time.
These cookies are soft, simple, and always satisfying. They’re quick to prepare and taste just as good as the ones from a bakery.
Pin for Later!
American Chocolate Chip Cookies
Apostolis (Tolis)
Born and raised in Chania, Apostolis is a proud Cretan and devoted foodie with a passion for his island’s flavors. He brings a wealth of local knowledge, from forgotten cooking techniques to rare village recipes, always striving to preserve Crete’s culinary heritage. As the main voice behind most of our Cretan recipes, he prefers to stay behind the scenes, letting the food and its stories take center stage—always real, always authentic.
>> Interested in learning to cook in Crete, or discovering all of the top spots to eat in Chania and around the island? Book a food tour or plan your trip with me.
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