The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (2024)

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…)!

The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (1)

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.

The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (2)

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.

The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (3)

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.

The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (4)

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 Cookie Recipe (5)

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

  • 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

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

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

  1. Derek Cholivia

    delicious and simple!

    Reply

    • Sugar Spun Run

      I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Derek! Thanks for commenting. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Stacey

    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

      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

  3. Jamie

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (6)
    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

      I am so glad that your family has enjoyed them, Jamie! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂

      Reply

  4. Anna

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (7)
    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

      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

  5. Kelly Crowder

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (8)
    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

      I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cookies so much, Kelly! 🙂 I hope you love all of the cookies you try.

      Reply

  6. Susan Wilson

    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

      Hi, Susan! Here is the recipe for the Worst Chocolate Chip Cookies. Enjoy! 🙂

      Reply

  7. Megan

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (9)
    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

      I am so glad you still enjoyed them! I know you will love them with the semi sweet chips too! ☺️

      Reply

  8. Lori

    Can these be baked in a jelly roll pan for bar cookies?

    Reply

    • Sam

      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

  9. Pam Williams

    Why do you need to chill the dough?

    Reply

    • Sam

      Otherwise the cookies will spread too much

      Reply

  10. Mary

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (10)
    They are delicious, so yummy and everybody enjoyed them!
    Thank you for this recipe!!!

    Reply

  11. Deborah

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (11)
    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

  12. Brittany

    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

      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

  13. Babe

    Can i leave out the salt, on no salt diet by doc.

    Reply

    • Sam

      They won’t taste as good but yes you can

      Reply

  14. Taylor

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (12)
    YUM YUM 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋 why do these have to be so good! *crunch* delicious!!!

    Reply

    • Sam

      Glad you enjoyed them, Taylor! 🙂

      Reply

  15. Angela

    The Second-Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (13)
    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

      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)

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