The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

We skipped the white sugar and went all in with dark brown sugar, which gives our cookies the ideal chewiness and perfect level of sweetness.

Paired with the right amount of semisweet chocolate chips, this treat is a definite winner. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, but in our opinion, this is never a problem!

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook’s Note)

1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Special equipment: 1-ounce ice cream scoop

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.

Beat the butter and brown sugar in another large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer.) Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Use a 1-ounce ice cream scoop to scoop half the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Chill the remaining dough while you bake the first batch.

Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the baking sheets completely, then line with parchment paper again if necessary and repeat the scooping and baking process with the remaining dough.

Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)