Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you’re craving a homemade dessert, try making a batch of these soft, gooey chocolate chip cookies, just like Mom used to make. Our perfect chocolate chip cookies have a tinge of caramel flavor and are studded with chocolate goodness. And here’s a tip from our test kitchen: Use a small ice cream scoop to form the balls of dough and they’ll bake into gorgeous, perfectly round cookies every time.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 10 to 12

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups (6 1/2 oz./200 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 6 Tbs. (3 oz./90 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups (15 oz./470 g) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until blended. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough mounds 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned and the tops feel firm when lightly touched, 10 to 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 10 to 12 cookies.

Adapted from Williams Sonoma Bake Good Things (Weldon Owen 2015)