It’s hard to beat a good Chocolate Chip Cookie, especially one that has a lovely soft texture with a tender crumb and is slightly chewy. Today, I am sharing my recipe for classic Chocolate Chip Cookies.
These cookies are loaded with chocolate chips. Either semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (or even a combination of the two) can be used in this recipe. Chocolate chunks could, alternatively, be used if desired.
The recipe calls for both butter and shortening. I have written extensively about the benefits of using both butter and shortening in certain cookie recipes and, rather than repeating the information here, I will direct readers to this particular posting that explains this (click here).
It’s important not to overmix the cookie dough, especially once the dry ingredients are added to the fat, egg, and sugar mixture as overmixing will stir up the gluten in the flour and this can lead to tough textured cookies. Once the dry ingredients have been added, just mix the dough barely until the dry are incorporated with the wet ingredients.
An important step in making these cookies is to refrigerate the dough for at least two (2) hours prior to baking to allow the butter and shortening to firm up before the cookies go into the oven. The firmed-up, or hardened, fats will give the cookies a chance to develop their shape and start baking before the fats have time to melt potentially causing the cookies to spread and go flat.
If you have time to leave the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours, this resting or ripening time provides the benefit of giving the eggs time to absorb into, and fully hydrate, the dry ingredients and allow for the dough flavor to develop. Typically, this step contributes to well-risen, puffy, and slightly chewy cookies. You can read more about this by clicking here.
I use a cookie scoop that holds about 1 1/8 oz dough which makes a nice sized cookie. That is what was used for the cookies in the photos in this post. That should yield, give or take, in the vicinity of 30-32 cookies. Scooping up the dough by tablespoonful also works if you don’t have a cookie scoop.
If the dough is particularly hard when it comes out of the refrigerator to the point that it can’t be scooped or spooned without chibbling it, let it rest at room temperature for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not, however, bring the dough back to room temperature and soften as that will defeat the objective of having the butter and shortening firm up in the dough before the cookies enter the hot oven and start spreading out. If you are baking on a particularly warm day, or your kitchen is very warm, (or you have inadvertently allowed the dough to sit too long at room temperature) I would advise placing the cookies (on the cookie sheet) back into the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so to ensure the butter and shortening in them is very firm before baking.
To achieve chocolate chip cookies that have a soft, tender crumb and slightly chewy texture, I recommend not overbaking these cookies; in fact, I suggest ever-so-slightly underbaking them. For the size of cookies mentioned above, I suggest baking them for 11-13 minutes, just until they have puffed up, have the appearance of the tops starting to look dry, the edges are set, and the cookies are lightly tanned. Overbaking will result in hard, crispy cookies. Baking times are guidelines only as every oven heats differently and, of course, the size of cookie will affect the baking times.
Because the cookies will be very delicate and somewhat fragile when they come out of the oven, leave them on the baking sheets to cool completely, about 30 minutes. The residual heat from the baking sheet will help to set the bottoms of the cookies without overbaking them.
These cookies freeze well in an airtight freezer container….if there are any left to freeze!
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup shortening, room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
1½ cups (270g pkg) milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a combination of both) or chocolate chunks
Method:
Bring butter, shortening, and eggs to room temperature.
Mix brown and granulated sugars together in small bowl.
In medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt).
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and shortening at medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. With mixer set at low speed, gradually add the granulated and brown sugars then beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, stopping periodically to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Mix in the whole egg and beat for a few seconds to incorporate, stopping if necessary to scrape down sides of bowl. Repeat with the egg yolk and, lastly, add the vanilla. Do not overbeat mixture.
With speed of mixer set to lowest speed, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix just until ingredients are combined. Do not overmix. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the chocolate chips.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap or, alternatively, transfer dough to bowl that has airtight cover and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours and, ideally, for 24-48 hours.
To bake, let cookie dough sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes, or just until dough can be scooped up to form cookies. Do not let cookie dough warm up completely to room temperature.
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using either a cookie scoop or two tablespoons, scoop up dough (about 1 1/8 oz per cookie) and transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 2” apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes (depending on cookie size and oven), or until cookies have puffed up, have the appearance of the tops starting to look dry, edges set, and the cookies are slightly tanned. Rotate cookie sheets at the halfway point during baking. For soft-textured cookies, do not overbake. Remove cookies from oven and cool completely on cookie sheet (i.e., about 30 minutes).
Yield: Apx. 30-32 cookies (depending on amount of dough used per cookie and size of cookie desired)
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Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup shortening, room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1½ cups (270g pkg) milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a combination of both) or chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Bring butter, shortening, and eggs to room temperature.
- Mix brown and granulated sugars together in small bowl.
- In medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt).
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and shortening at medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. With mixer set at low speed, gradually add the granulated and brown sugars then beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, stopping periodically to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Mix in the whole egg and beat for a few seconds to incorporate, stopping if necessary to scrape down sides of bowl. Repeat with the egg yolk and, lastly, add the vanilla. Do not overbeat mixture.
- With speed of mixer set to lowest speed, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix just until ingredients are combined. Do not overmix. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap or, alternatively, transfer dough to bowl that has airtight cover and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours and, ideally, for 24-48 hours.
- To bake, let cookie dough sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes, or just until dough can be scooped up to form cookies. Do not let cookie dough warm up completely to room temperature.
- Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using either a cookie scoop or two tablespoons, scoop up dough (about 1 1/8 oz per cookie) and transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 2” apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes (depending on cookie size and oven), or until cookies have puffed up, have the appearance of the tops starting to look dry, edges set, and the cookies are slightly tanned. Rotate cookie sheets at the halfway point during baking. For soft-textured cookies, do not overbake. Remove cookies from oven and cool completely on cookie sheet (i.e., about 30 minutes). Cookies freeze well.
Recipe Notes
Yield: Apx. 30-32 cookies (depending on amount of dough used per cookie and size of cookie desired)
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You may also enjoy these other yummy cookie recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen:
Oatmeal Raisin Drop Cookies
Hearty Hermits
Christmas Fruitcake Drop Cookies
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
Cranberry and Eggnog Drop Cookies
Molasses Spice Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Drop Cookies
Brown Sugar Jam-Filled Cookies
Cherry Winks
Double Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
