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With a crackly, crisp outside and a soft, slightly chewy center, these easy chocolate chip cookies require zero chilling time and use basic pantry ingredients. Make them on the fly any time you have a craving for chocolate chip cookies!
I know that it’s still July, but I am also aware that kids will be heading back to school in a month. And when school starts up, I like to have easy treats that I can whip up as an after-school snack for that first week.
Classic rice krispie treats, easy s’mores brownies, and these easy chocolate chip cookies are all on my list. Make them in almost no time at all, with minimal energy and basic pantry ingredients and your kids will be the happiest campers ever.
Quick and easy chocolate chip cookies
It’s no secret that I love chocolate chip cookie recipes. And I’m not alone – they’re a fan favorite for my readers, too.
My all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies are the New York Times chocolate chip cookies, but I will admit that they are a little bit high maintenance for a cookie. They require cake flour and bread flour and the dough needs to chill for at least 24 hours before baking for them to be at their absolute best.
Like, don’t get me wrong. They’re WORTH IT. But I also know that when you have little kids or an intense cookie craving, waiting that long for your dough to chill isn’t gonna happen.
But these easy chocolate chip cookies…they remind me of my beloved NYT recipe with a crackly, sort of crisp top with a soft, slightly chewy center. But they’re easier to make on the fly with more basic pantry ingredients.
So when you just can’t wait for warm, gooey cookies, these easy chocolate chip cookies are your new go to.
How to make these easy chocolate chip cookies
You’re just about 30 minutes away from having warm, perfectly easy chocolate chip cookies. Ready to see how to do it?
Ingredients you’ll need
You probably already have what you need for this recipe in your pantry and fridge. You’ll need:
- ¾ cup room temperature unsalted butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 (4-ounce) chopped semi-sweet chocolate bars OR 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt for topping
Make sure you let your butter come to room temperature before you start mixing the dough. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly.
Using a combination of white and brown sugar is what gives these cookies that crisp/chewy texture combination. If you are out of brown sugar, you can whip up a quick brown sugar substitute to use instead.
You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips in these easy chocolate chip cookies, or you can chop up semi-sweet chocolate bars for a more “gourmet” feel. And don’t forget a bit of flaky sea salt for the top!
Making this recipe
The dough for these easy chocolate chip cookies comes together in just a few minutes.
Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This will take around 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add in the vanilla.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture just until the dough comes together, then stir in the chocolate.
Use a large (3-tablespoon) cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto lined baking sheets. Bake at 350ºF for 15-16 minutes.
If you’d like, sprinkle the tops of the cookies lightly with the flaky sea salt as soon as they come out of the oven.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Storage and freezing tips
These easy chocolate chip cookies will stay good in an airtight container at room temperature for around 5 days.
You can also store them in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer for a few months. Or feel free to freeze portions of the cookie dough so that you can pull out portions to bake whenever you’re craving freshly baked cookies.
Follow my instructions for how to freeze cookie dough so you can have your own freeze-and-bake chocolate chip cookies!
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 semisweet chocolate bars 4 ounces each, chopped OR 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add in the sugars and beat an additional 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate.
- Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) to portion the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake in preheated for 15-16 minutes. If desired, lightly sprinkle the cookies with flaky sea salt immediately after removing the cookies from the oven.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
