The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (2024)

February 12, 2018 By Sam 101 Comments

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For those of you who have been asking, here is my classic, no-secret-ingredient-required chocolate chip cookie recipe! It is soft, chewy, with slightly crisped edges, buttery, loaded with chocolate chips and tweaked to be superior in texture and flavor to every chocolate chip cookie out there (except one…)!

I originally shared this recipe for perfect chocolate chip cookies over on Spend with Pennies!

Well here I am again with another confusingly named chocolate chip cookie recipe. The second-best? Who wants to make the second-best cookie?

If you’ve tried my “Worst” Chocolate Chip Cookies, you already know that cookies don’t get better than that one. There’s a reason my video for that recipe has been viewed over 8 million times and I get dozens of e-mails and comments a day about it.

There’s simply no substitute for the worst, and since there’s not a cookie out there better (worse? I’m starting to confuse myself here) than that one, I never thought I’d share another chocolate chip cookie recipe here.

But I get a lot of e-mails from those of you who don’t have maple syrup on hand, those of you who want to leave it out for one reason or another (oh, please don’t!) and I finally decided that instead of sending people off to Google different chocolate chip cookies or stick to the back of the Tollhouse bag, I’d offer an alternative.

This is that alternative, and while every time I make a batch of these chocolate chip cookies they are devoured and theywill definitely be a fast favorite and beloved by everyone who tries them, Im going to be honest and tell you that I still prefer the Worst Cookies.

But if you can’t make them, why not go for the second-best, right? I promise that these are a worthy substitute.

Tips for Making These Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Melt the butter. As with the “Worst”, these cookies use melted butter. A lot of people (people who had not yet tried the recipe) have since argued with me that you *shouldn’t* use melted butter in cookies and Iso strongly disagree. It gives these cookies a great buttery flavor throughout. It makes them nice and chewy. Melt the butter 😉
But, let it cool, too. Let your butter cool for at least 10 minutes. If your butter is scorching hot, it will melt your sugars and you’ll end up with a soupy mess rather than cookie dough.
Chill the dough. Because of the melted butter and the general consistency of the dough, the cookie dough will need to chill for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Can I Freeze this Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to Bake Later?

Yes. You will still want to chill the dough for 30 minutes to make it easier to portion, first. I recommend scooping the dough, wrapping each dough-ball in cling wrap, and then placing all wrapped dough portions in a large Ziploc bag and freezing. The cookies can be baked from frozen, they may just need an additional minute or two of baking.

So that’s how to make these “second-best” chocolate chip cookies. Don’t get me wrong with the label, these cookies are definitely worth your time and I wouldn’t be sharing them if I didn’t think you would absolutelylovethem (just check out the rave reviews they’ve received over on Spend with Pennies website!! — link just below the first photo)

They’ll still shrink your jeans. They’ll still consume your thoughts. They probably won’t steal your boyfriend but they will definitely flirt with him, like a lot.

Enjoy!

The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

These "second-best" chocolate chip cookies may play second-fiddle to my other recipe, but they're still definitely worth trying out!

Recipe from SugarSpunRun.com

4.99 from 52 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes minutes

Total Time: 26 minutes minutes

Servings: 45 cookies

Calories: 138kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled at least 10 minutes
▢ 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar tightly packed
▢ ½ cup (100 g) sugar
▢ 1 large egg + 1 yolks room temperature preferred*
▢ 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
▢ 1 ¾ cup (300 g) semisweet chocolate chips plus additional for tops, optional

Instructions

Combine melted butter and sugars in a large bowl. Stir very well.
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar tightly packed, ½ cup (100 g) sugar
Add egg and egg yolk, stir well.
1 large egg + 1 yolks
Stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients — stir well so that all the flour is absorbed.
Stir in chocolate chips.
1 ¾ cup (300 g) semisweet chocolate chips
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Place dough in refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F (177C) and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
Scoop dough by rounded 1 ½ Tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheets, placing at least 2″ apart.
Bake on 350F (177C) for 11 minutes — cookies may still seem slightly soft in the centers, that is OK, they will cook completely on the cookie sheets. Don’t over-bake or your cookies will be too hard.
If desired, gently press additional chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies.
Allow to cool completely on cookie sheets.

Notes

*You can quickly bring eggs to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Derek Cholivia
April 20, 2020 at 11:17 am
delicious and simple!
Reply
- Sugar Spun Run
  April 20, 2020 at 11:59 am
  I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Derek! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
  Reply
Stacey
April 13, 2020 at 7:25 am
Hi Sam! I haven’t made these yet, but have to say the pictures look Amazing!! I’ve made the Worst cookies and we love them, and like I’ve said in another post, I use that as a base and add other ingredients like coconut and walnuts and they’re divine! But these truly look delicious too and I can’t wait to make them!
Today will be baking your Zucchini Bread, so excited!!
Thank you for all your delicious recipes and tips!
All the best,
Stacey
Reply
- Sugar Spun Run
  April 13, 2020 at 9:44 am
  I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Stacey! I hope that you love the zucchini bread just as much. Thanks for trying my recipes and for commenting. 🙂
  Reply
Jamie
April 08, 2020 at 11:54 pm

I just made these, this recipe is the best my cookies have ever turned out! Thank you so much for sharing! My family is in love!
Reply
- Sugar Spun Run
  April 09, 2020 at 9:21 am
  I am so glad that your family has enjoyed them, Jamie! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
  Reply
Anna
March 27, 2020 at 3:25 pm

Dear Sam,
you did it again! Another favorite for my stash of recipes.
These cookies are so extremely delicious, we had to make them twice in the last three days.
Your cookies are the only thing my 4y old wants to help me bake. We bought ALL the sprinkles… that were available and take our sweet time to roll and decorate the cookie balls.
They may be runny and messy but they keep him happy. And thats all a stressed out mommy needs 😊
Thank you so much for the happy time!
Anna
Reply
- Sugar Spun Run
  March 27, 2020 at 4:13 pm
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  I love that you are spending this time baking together, Anna! The mess is just apart of the memory and process. I am glad that you both loved your final baked creations. Thanks for commenting and stay safe. 🙂
  Reply
Kelly Crowder
May 05, 2019 at 3:29 pm

I made these according to instructions, but then added a bit more flour, as well as chopped pecans and cashews (I wanted to make some nut-heavy cookies). They turned out great, though they did spread thinner than I”d like. I think my butter could have been cooler despite how long I allowed it to cool. My family really enjoyed them. They’ll make a great lunchbox treat this week. Thanks so much. Will try the “worst” cookies soon. 🙂
Reply
- Sam
  May 06, 2019 at 3:27 pm
  I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cookies so much, Kelly! 🙂 I hope you love all of the cookies you try.
  Reply
Susan Wilson
December 12, 2018 at 10:22 am
Where can I find the “Worst” Chocolate Chip recipe? Or do I just add Maple syrup to this recipe? If so, what amount?
Susan
Reply
- Sam
  December 12, 2018 at 10:47 am
  Hi, Susan! Here is the recipe for the Worst Chocolate Chip Cookies. Enjoy! 🙂
  Reply
Megan
October 27, 2018 at 4:15 pm

Since I did not have maple syrup on hand, ended up using this recipe. As if the no maple syrup was not sad enough, somehow had several bags of white chocolate chips, but no semi sweet chocolate chips 🙁 I used the white chocolate chips instead and came out really good. Once I have semi sweet chocolate chips, I plan on trying this the correct way. But based off results so far, I’m sure they will be even better. Also adding maple syrup to my shopping list! LOL Thanks for the great recipe!
Reply
- Sam
  October 27, 2018 at 8:07 pm
  I am so glad you still enjoyed them! I know you will love them with the semi sweet chips too! ☺️
  Reply
Lori
September 14, 2018 at 3:14 pm
Can these be baked in a jelly roll pan for bar cookies?
Reply
- Sam
  September 14, 2018 at 10:08 pm
  I think that should work, I am not sure about the temperature to cook them on and I would be concerned about the edges getting burned.
  Reply
Pam Williams
September 05, 2018 at 3:13 pm
Why do you need to chill the dough?
Reply
- Sam
  September 05, 2018 at 8:57 pm
  Otherwise the cookies will spread too much
  Reply
Mary
August 02, 2018 at 9:26 pm

They are delicious, so yummy and everybody enjoyed them!
Thank you for this recipe!!!
Reply
Deborah
July 05, 2018 at 7:47 pm

Hi, I did not follow your structions yet, but I i’d like to ask What should I do to make my cookies look a little more “flat” like the ones in your Pic. I’d like to know how i make them rounded too. Mine doenst get the same results as the ones in this pictures or the ones you took for nutella cookies. I’ll try both u recipes and see What I can make… wish i could do some beautiful cookies too.
Thanks, your fan from Brazil
Reply
Brittany
March 25, 2018 at 10:49 pm
Any reason why you recommend room temperature eggs, and then chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes? I feel as if chilling the dough makes the temperature of the eggs unimportant.
Reply
- Sam
  March 26, 2018 at 8:37 am
  You want them to be room temperature because it will help the ingredients better combine, if you add cold eggs to the somewhat warm batter (due to the melted butter) the ingredients won’t combine as well as if you add room temperature eggs. Once everything is well combined, then you want to chill the dough.
  Reply
Babe
February 21, 2018 at 12:39 am
Can i leave out the salt, on no salt diet by doc.
Reply
- Sam
  February 21, 2018 at 12:11 pm
  They won’t taste as good but yes you can
  Reply
Taylor
February 20, 2018 at 9:27 pm

YUM YUM 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋 why do these have to be so good! *crunch* delicious!!!
Reply
- Sam
  February 26, 2018 at 10:33 pm
  Glad you enjoyed them, Taylor! 🙂
  Reply
Angela
February 14, 2018 at 10:33 am

Hi sam! I am yet to try your ‘worst’ recipe. But in there you told to cool the butter for 5 mins.
Should I cool it for 10 minutes with both recipe? Thanks!
Reply
- Sam
  February 16, 2018 at 9:39 pm
  I’d let it cool 10 minutes, better for it to be cooler rather than too hot and risk melting the sugars. Enjoy! 🙂
  Reply

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The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

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Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.

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What is the secret to making cookies soft and chewy? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

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Balance Is Best

Since the dough itself is sweet, darker chocolate balances it out beautifully," she says. Still, she warns not to go to extremes. "That doesn't mean you should use very dark chocolate such as 90 percent or 100 percent because, by comparison, the chocolate will taste a lot more bitter."

What kind of chocolate is best for chocolate chip cookies? ›

Use a dark chocolate that contains between 60% to 80% cacao for a classic chocolate chip cookie. The bittersweet flavor of the dark chocolate balances out the sugars in the cookie dough, resulting in a well-balanced, traditional chocolate chip cookie.

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What makes chocolate chip cookies taste so good? ›

In the center, it's softer. The chocolate gives us a melty, dense mouthfeel. The caramelized butter, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, and subtle notes of salt offer a balanced flavor profile. The saltiness highlights and enhances the preexisting flavors.

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Chocolate chip cookies

What is the most popular type of cookie? It might just be this one. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the chocolate chip cookie is renowned for its balance of richness and sweetness.

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Oreo was created in 1912 as an imitation of Hydrox. Oreo eventually surpassed Hydrox in popularity, which resulted in the Hydrox cookies being perceived by many as an Oreo off-brand, despite the opposite being the case.