Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Melted butter is the secret to making quick and easy chocolate chip cookies! No beating butter, no chilling, and the cookie dough comes together in minutes. These cookies are soft in the center, chewy around the middle, and a little crispy around the edges. This is my go-to, no-fail chocolate chip cookie recipe! Jump to the Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe or read on for our tips on making them.
The Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies From Scratch
There are lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but this is the one I go to the most. We’ve already shared this amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe, which we still love and I absolutely think you should try soon. That said, these cookies with melted butter are quicker to make and taste amazing.
With this simple recipe, you will have less dishes to clean, there’s no time required for softening butter, chilling the cookie dough is optional, and the batter can be frozen for cookies another day. These just might be the best cookies ever!
Let’s talk about the ingredients you need for making chocolate chip cookies, first. Our ingredient list is going to look very similar to the other recipe on our blog. We call for flour, baking soda, salt, melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, and chocolate chips.
- The butter is melted, which is why this recipe is so easy. Also, by using melted butter, you have the option to brown the butter, which adds a nutty rich flavor to the cookies. Again, this is optional and the cookies are fantastic when made with plain melted butter, but it’s something for you to think about. Our extra easy oatmeal cookies also use melted or browned butter.
- We use both granulated and brown sugar, which might seem excessive, but each type of sugar contributes something slightly different to the flavor and texture of the baked cookies. Granulated sugar sweetens the batter and adds a nice crisp edge and the brown sugar adds some caramel-like flavor and keeps the middles soft and chewy.
- Unlike the our other chocolate chip cookie recipe, we call for 1 whole egg as well as 1 egg yolk. By skipping the egg white of the second egg, we add richness to the cookie dough and keep the cookies crispy on the outsides and chewy in the middle. They also spread the perfect amount.
The method for making these chocolate chip cookies could not be any simpler. Here it is in three easy steps!
- In one bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, and salt).
- In a second bowl, whisk the sugars, egg and egg yolk, vanilla extract, and the melted (or browned) butter together.
- Combine the two mixtures, and then add chocolate. I love adding big chips or chunks of chocolate.
You can bake the cookies straight away and as large as you like. For extra large cookies use a 3 to 4 tablespoons of dough and for smaller cookies (like in our photos), use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough. I’ve given suggested bake times in the recipe below.
Before baking, sneak a few extra pieces of chocolate into the tops of each dough mound. This way, when they are baked, you will see gooey chocolate on the top of each cookie.
Make Ahead and Freezing The Cookies
The cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days. I like to scoop them into cookie dough balls first, which makes baking them quick and easy! Even though these cookies are amazing baked straight away, one benefit to making this batter in advance is that chilling cookie dough makes baked cookies even more chewy, thicker, and flavorful.
You can also freeze the cookie dough.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out cookie dough mounds onto the baking sheet. You can crowd the cookie mounds together, just do not let them touch.
- Freeze until hard.
- Transfer the frozen dough mounds to an airtight container or plastic bag. Store in the freezer up to 3 months.
When you are ready to bake one or more cookies, bake the frozen cookies without thawing. It will add an extra 3 to 5 minutes of bake time.
More Of Our Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies — Oatmeal raisin cookies that are soft in the middle, a little chewy on the outside and full of warm flavors like cinnamon and vanilla.
- Easy Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies — We love these easy double chocolate cookies with butter, cocoa powder and extra chocolate chunks.
- Soft Ginger Cookies with Chocolate Chips — I love the spiciness of these ginger cookies and they can be made in under 30 minutes.
- Ridiculously Easy Peanut Butter Cookies — Delicious peanut butter cookies that are naturally free of flour, butter, and dairy.
- Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough — See how to make safe-to-eat edible cookie dough in five delicious variations including chocolate chip cookie dough, double chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal cookie, and snickerdoodle.
Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- PREP
Melted butter is the secret to making quick and easy chocolate chip cookies! These cookies are soft in the center, chewy around the middle, and a little crispy around the edges. If you have an extra five minutes to spare when making these cookies, try browning your butter before adding it to the cookie batter. Browned butter adds a nutty richness to the cookies. (Here’s our tutorial for browning butter and we provide instructions below)
Makes about 18 cookies
You Will Need
1 3/4 cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150 grams) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 tsp espresso powder, optional, see notes
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Flaky sea salt, optional for sprinkling over baked cookies
Directions
- Prepare the Butter
- Prepare Cookie Batter
- Bake Cookies
You can use regular melted butter or browned butter for this chocolate chip cookie recipe.
For regular melted butter, melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove, and then cool. When cool to the touch, use the melted butter in the recipe below.
For browned butter (our favorite), melt the butter in a light-colored skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is melting evenly. As it melts, the butter will begin to foam and the color will change from light yellow to golden, and finally to brown. This only takes a minute or two.
When the browned butter smells nutty and the butter is a light golden brown, transfer the browned butter to a heatproof bowl to cool. When cool to the touch, use the browned butter in the recipe below.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugars, whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and the melted butter or browned butter together. Whisk in espresso powder (optional).
Switch to a large rubber spatula, and then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear. Fold in most of the chocolate chips, saving a handful for adding to the tops of each scooped cookie before baking.
Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Drop 1 1/2 tablespoon-mounds or use a medium cookie scoop onto baking sheets. Leave 2 inches between the cookies to allow for spreading. (For larger cookies, use 3 to 4 tablespoons of dough and space them apart by 3 inches.) Press a few extra pieces of chocolate into the tops of each cookie dough mound.
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time and rotate once during cooking, for 12 to 16 minutes. The cookies should be golden brown around the edges but light in the middles. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Before serving, sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt over each cookie (optional).
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the refrigerator.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Espresso powder is an optional ingredient. It adds a little extra richness and flavor to the cookies. We don’t add enough to make them taste like coffee, but just enough to make them taste extra special. We use Medaglia D’Oro Espresso, which we purchased from a specialty kitchen store (I’ve also seen it online). In a pinch, instant coffee granules can be used, but use slightly less.
- Browning Butter: A full tutorial is found here to help you out.
Nutrition Per Serving: Serving Size 1 cookie / Calories 217 / Total Fat 10.6g / Saturated Fat 6.4g / Cholesterol 37.5mg / Sodium 106.9mg / Dietary Fiber 1.2g / Total Sugars 18.7g / Protein 2.7g
Added a packet of chai to the batter and holy cow it’s AMAZING!
Oh yum, great idea, Jennifer.
Just made your ridiculously easy chocolate chip cookies. Love the way they came out, chewy centers and a little crunch around edges. I added some finely chopped pecans to the dough which I chilled before baking. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thanks so much!
We loved these cookies so much! Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Once we melt the butter, the quantity becomes halved. Shiuld the quantity be 140 grams melted butter or regular
When you are using brown sugar are you packing it or loose?
Assume lightly packed brown sugar
Delicious!! I didn’t brown the butter and chilled the dough to make neat ice cream scoop sized balls (my butter was still warm when I used it – oops!). The cookies baked for 17 minutes and were perfect, PERFECT! Crispy on the outside but goey chewy in the middle without tasting underbaked. I will definitely make these again. Thank you for posting!
I love cookies!
This dish is looking so good. will surely try it and let you know how it was. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us.