Seriously, the easiest chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Melted butter, one bowl, no mixer, no chilling. Soft and chewy homemade cookies, every time.
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 homemade 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.
What makes a great chocolate chip cookie recipe
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 homemade 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.
Common Questions:
This has everything to do with how you measure your flour, and how little or how much of it there is. I strongly recommend weighing your flour using a kitchen scale, as that will yield the most consistent results. If you don’t want to, however, you can also use the “spoon and level” method to accurately measure flour. Use a spoon to gently place flour into your cup until you reach the top, then level it off with a knife. Don’t pack it in, don’t shake the cup to settle it, don’t scoop the flour directly from the bag with your cup – this will be too much flour and your cookies will not spread correctly!
First, make sure you added the full 1 and 1/2 cups of flour! The dough should be just a touch softer than standard cookie dough. If you think your dough is much more liquid than that, stir in another 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour, then refrigerate the dough for half an hour before scooping and baking. This should fix the problem! Try not to add too much flour, as you don’t want the cookies to be dry.
I mostly use Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose flour, but I also like King Arthur Flour. Note that if you use White Lily or a similar soft, lower protein wheat flour, you will need to add more flour a tablespoon at a time (up to 1/4 cup or 30 grams more) until your dough gets to a cookie dough consistency. This is because lower protein wheat flours (designed for light and fluffy biscuits and cakes) absorb less moisture than higher protein, hard wheat flours. Your cookies will still be delicious but just require a little adjustment!
Yes, but I recommend making two separate batches, rather than doubling the ingredients in one bowl. The reason for this is that if you double the ingredients in one bowl, you’re doubling the volume but not the surface area, which means more heat will be retained by the batter and you’ll have flat, spread-out cookies. For this reason, I recommend making two separate batches, but if you must double everything in one bowl, I would recommend chilling the dough for at least an hour before scooping.
The Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113g; 1 stick)
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed (100g)
- ¼ cup granulated (white) sugar (50g)
- 1 large egg (cold or room temperature, both are fine)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (188g – see notes below on how to measure flour correctly without a scale)
- ½ cup chocolate chips (85g; more if desired)
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Like this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @katiebirdbakes, and sign up for my email list to receive my recipes straight to your inbox every time I post!
tastes amazing !!!! been craving chocolate chip cookies for a hot minute lol
Yay! So glad you enjoyed these Cortney!
I made these today. I gave 3 stars only because the temperature in your recipe is 350 and for my oven that was either too low or the 9 – 10 minutes was not enough time. The cookies in the middle was still raw. Otherwise the cookies taste great. Next time I will cook them on 375 for 9 – 11 minutes.
Thanks for the feedback! I always like to keep an oven thermometer in my oven (you can buy them for like $5 at Target or Amazon) to make sure my oven is at the right temperature. Many of them run hot or cold which makes a huge difference when baking! You could also bake them for up to 12-13 minutes at 350 if you are concerned about the middles being cooked.
I’ve made a LOT of chocolate chip cookies. and tried numerous recipes. I’m ashamed to say I was a bit skeptical of this one.
Honestly, they were as easy as you said!
My son says they’re a 10! I LOVE the one bowl method! Thank you so much!
No shame, Caroline! I was skeptical it would work at first too but my laziness won out one night 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!!
They were way too soft.
Thanks for the feedback! To each her own!
These are great! My cookie scoop isn’t numbered but it must be small because it yielded 34 cookies. I also left off the salt at the end but don’t think it was necessary at all! My daughter is a year and a half and was so happy to help me dump in ingredients since the recipe was so simple. I’m embarrassed how much time and research went into the last batch of chocolate chip cookies I made, and I’ll be using this one again next time.
Yay!! Thanks so much Ambyr, I am so glad you and your daughter can make these together!
Katie I find ur recipe amazing I didt have parchment paper only wax is that ok to use as well
Hi Dawn – no, wax paper will burn in the oven. Definitely use parchment paper or just grease the cookie sheet!
I made these cookies last week and they were the best! I loved only using one bowl and no mixer. My dough was very wet even after adding in a bit more flour than called for, but I went with it and they turned out great. The sprinkle of salt on top was the perfect addition. Will definitely be using this recipe again and again. Thank you!!
Yay! Thank you so much for the great feedback, Beth!
UH-MAZ-ZING! I, too, was looking for a quick, no mixer needed, choc chip cookie recipe and came upon yours… and soooo glad I did! I had these whipped up in less than 5 minutes. I am a novice cake baker, so I have TONS of cake flour, and used that instead of AP flour. I also didn’t have any brown sugar (what?!?), so I used all white sugar (extra fine). After I scooped out about a dozen cookies, I decided to add in some unsweetened natural cocoa powdered and chopped pecans to the remaining batter – so glad i did this too :-). The regular choc chip cookies were tender and soft with great flavor. My chocolate chocolate chip pecan cookies had such a rich flavor, and I left these in a bit longer as I like more of a crunchy cookie, and while it wasn’t as crunchy as I would have liked, it was still delish! Thanks Katie, for posting this and taking the time to figure out this recipe. Will definitely put this in my arsenal!
Yay! Thank you for the great review, Molly! Now you’ve got me curious: how much cocoa powder did you add to the second half of the dough? I want to try this and see if I can create a double chocolate version!
Katie – to be honest, I don’t remember… since there was a little remaining dough left, i would guess i added about 2 tablespoons. BUT, I would suggest you start with 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and if the dough seems a little dry, then I would add in a teaspoon of water til you get the right consistency.
I’m about to make another batch of these cookies right now (sans cocoa powder). And fyi, my cocoa powder is Valrhona… a bit pricey, but the results are worth it!
Wow. First time I’ve ever been compelled to leave a comment on a baking blog’s recipe. I also found this recipe due to a cookie craving and wanted a solid cookie, instead of those lame mug cookies. But having baked my fair share of cookies, I knew I needed room temp butter… who has time for that though?? So I searched for a recipe that used melted butter. I was about to give up making cookies before coming to this absolutely perfect recipe, because there were so many recipes that traded off the simplicity of melted butter with the complexity of something else. Like, browning the butter or adding an extra egg yolk. Finally I came across this recipe. I was pretty skeptical it would yield a great cookie (sometimes simple recipes are too good to be true) but I gave it a try anyways because it was bound to be better than a mug cookie (one of those too good to be true recipes). I’m so glad I did because my cookie craving was satisfied and I now have a new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The texture and taste is amazing and I love how easy it is to make! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sun, I think this may be the best comment I have EVER received, on any recipe. You had me cracking up the whole time!! So glad this recipe turned out well for you – and I agree, so much better than a mug cookie 😉 hope you try more and let me know what you think!
Hi Katie,
I’m staying in an Airbnb, i.e. no mixer on hand. This recipe looks perfect.
Question- can I make in advance and freeze?
Hi Wendy – yes, you can absolutely do that! You can either freeze the scooped dough and bake whenever you’re ready (adding a minute or two to the baking time) or you can bake them and then freeze them well wrapped in foil. Just let them thaw for a couple hours at room temperature and they should be good to go! Hope you love the recipe.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on blog. Regards
These were the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made!
I doubled the dark chocolate chips and I didn’t put the salt on top, that’s just my preference.
Recipe and cooking temps and time were perfect!
That’s so great to hear, Kiky! Thank you for the feedback and glad you enjoyed them!
Great cookie, so easy. I appreciate a recipe that doesn’t take a lot of effort but is good!
Thank you so much, Danielle! I agree – easy cookies are the best!
These cookies are amazing…and I’m a seasoned baker and chocolate chip cookie maker.
I stumbled on the recipe after searching for “one bowl cookies” bc I had a craving and no time.
They came out absolutely perfectly! Soft, fluffy, flavorful, and complex tasting but so easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly, the batter looked soft so I did refrigerate the dough for a few minutes before baking—but baked the second batch with NO chilling and they two batches were exaty the same!
Easy to follow, perfect amount of cookies(I have 3 kids and it was still pleanty for a few days dessert).
I will make these again and again!
Oh my gosh, thank you for this wonderful review Tina!! You made me tear up! I am so happy you enjoyed these with your family.