Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
These thick, chewy salted chocolate chip cookies are the ONLY chocolate chip cookie recipe you’ll need! Plus a tip to keep them super soft for days!
If you’ve never tried salted chocolate chip cookies before, you’re in for a TREAT!! The sprinkle of sea salt truly accentuates the rich chocolate flavor, and this recipe produces super thick and chewy cookies that will be impossible to resist!
I debated whether or not to even post this recipe… I mean doesn’t everyone already have a chocolate chip recipe that they love? I decided to post them anyway, but didn’t want to call these “ultimate” or “the best”, because let’s face it, nothing beats Grandma’s cookies right? And in all actuality, these were actually supposed to be Halloween cookies, with little spider legs piped onto the chocolate chips… so let’s just see how those turned out…
Yeahhhhh can we say FAIL?! Lol, but sometimes you have to laugh at yourself and decide to turn a fail into a win… so I give you, these salted chocolate chip cookies!
I cannot even describe to you how much self-restraint it took to actually shoot these photos without just diving in and eating like 3 cookies! Is there a better smell than rich chocolate chip cookies baking? Pure heaven.
Even though these cookies are made entirely from scratch, they really don’t take very long at all! Yes, there is some chilling time… but that’s not hands on, so you can go watch a tv show, wrangle your kids, or sit down and check out your favorite food blog, *wink wink, nudge nudge*.
If the “salted” part of these salted chocolate chip cookies is throwing you off, just promise me you’ll try it before you make a decision. The sea salt doesn’t make these overly salty, it’s just a pinch that truly accentuates the rich chocolate flavor. Kind of like the Guinness does in these cupcakes, or the baking chocolate does to this turkey chili! I do really recommend sea salt for these cookies though, not kosher or table salt.
And of course, you can’t have these salted chocolate chip cookies without a glass of cold milk! I’m not even a huge milk drinker, but the dunking isn’t optional 😉
As we all know, baking, while more of a science, isn’t exactly the same from one kitchen to the next. The way someone measures their flour, temperature of ingredients, ambient temperature, freshness of ingredients, and different ovens are just a few of the variables. To help you guys get the PERFECT cookies every time, here’s a few of my helpful tips.
Tips for Perfect Cookies:
- Use room temperature ingredients (eggs, butter, etc).
- Make sure your ingredients are fresh (like baking soda for example, if it’s not fresh, it won’t act the same during the baking).
- Chill your dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll dough into balls and don’t flatten them.
- Bake cookies on parchment paper, and don’t put them too close together.
- Gently press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of the balls of dough before baking (makes them look really pretty and bakery-like).
- Take cookies out when they look like they’re ALMOST done. The center should still look slightly underdone. They’ll keep baking as you let them cool a few minutes on the baking sheet.
I also have a super awesome tip I just HAVE to share with you guys. You know that freshly baked texture of cookies that you love, but fades after just a couple of hours? I found a way you can have that soft texture for days. Yes, DAYS! Grab an airtight storage container and line the bottom with wax paper. Place a flour tortilla on top of the wax paper, then top the tortilla with another sheet of wax paper. Then add your cookies as usual, with wax paper between the layers. Seal the container. That’s it! The tortilla gives off a bit of moisture, and it keeps the air in the container moist enough to keep the cookies super soft. For some extra ooey-gooey fresh baked feel, pop a cookie in the microwave for 5 seconds or so before serving!
Think of these salted chocolate chip cookies a base recipe.. there will be other versions of these cookies coming to the blog!
Happy Baking!
Some Helpful Tools To Make This Recipe:
- Cooling Rack – this cooling rack has crossbars to reinforce it… no more saggy, flimsy racks!
- Cookie Scoop – Get perfectly sized cookies, every time!
- Sea Salt Flakes – You’ll love the texture and flavor of this sea salt!
Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup salted butter - at room temperature, 1 stick
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup + 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 large egg - at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract - or vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (more or less - to your tastes)
- sea salt flakes (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Add flour and baking soda to a mixing bowl and whisk for 15 seconds to incorporate and make them fluffy.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add softened butter and both sugars. Beat with paddle attachment for about 2 minutes, until mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla, beat on LOW speed until combined.
- Add flour, half the mixture at a time, beating on LOW speed until JUST combined after each addition. Don't overmix, or your cookies won't be soft and tender.
- Add chocolate chips and stir together with a wooden spoon.
- Cover bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- minutes before you want to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Use a large cookie scoop (or a 1/4 cup filled about 2/3 of the way), scoop round balls of dough onto parchment paper about 2 inches apart. I baked 6 cookies per sheet.
- Press a couple chocolate chips into the tops of the balls of dough, and bake about 10-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown and tops of cookies look a little underdone. (mine took 11 minutes).
- Sprinkle top of baked cookies with some sea salt flakes.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
2. If you use UNsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to the dry ingredients
3. I measure my flour by whisking flour beforehand, scooping the flour with the measuring cup, leveling off with the back of a butter knife, then making sure to whisk the flour again before adding to the dough.
Best Chocolate Chip cookies ever!!! Great tips and prep advice.
Loved this recipe!!
When I made it the first time, silly me dumped in a tablespoon of baking soda instead of a teaspoon because I misread the ingredient list HAHA. Only found out after the cookies were baked when it tasted really metallic and bitter.
So I threw the first batch into the bin (sigh, what a waste) and went straight into working on the second batch! Followed all the ingredients to a tee, and when the cookies were out, they were REALLY good. Only thing that I would tweak in the future is to cut the sugar by half, especially the granulated sugar because it was a tad sweet and I could still feel the grainy texture of the sugar.
But considering this is my first time baking, I am so happy with how they turned out! Thank you for this recipe ◡̈
Great cookies. I wish it were more clearly mentioned ahead of time with the flour and baking powder that those were to be in a separate bowl. I used my mixing bowl to also be my stand mixer’s bowl to save on dishes. So I had the flour in the entire time until I read add flour. Ooof! It actually still worked out and I didn’t seem to over mix it. I also had the first batch on the cookie sheet before I read to chill for 30 minutes. I can’t wait to see how much different they will taste or look chilled or not chilled because so far these came out great!
This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have come across. I use unsalted butter instead of salted and they are still phenomenal. A couple of tips: don’t skip the salt after you take them out of the oven!! The salt on top takes these cookies to the next level. Might be different using salted butter but I will try that next time! Also, make sure you chill the dough. It makes these cookies nice and fluffy
These were spot on, the best cookies I’ve made.
Crispy edges soft inside. I made with very few chocolate chips and also threw in walnuts and I was obsessed. The sea salt finish really does it too 🙂
Hi can I substitute to dark choc chip? Or milk choc chip?
Why are you asking… just make the cookies how you want…?
I just made these and love them. They came out really beautiful in shape and crunchy outside with soft inside. They taste similar to the famous Minnesota State Fair -Sweet Martha’s cookies.
These were excellent! Novice baker but these came out looking like I bought them from a bakery 🙂 Thank you!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars….love them
Hello – I just made these, followed recipe to a T, purchased fresh ingredients, used the parchment paper on baking sheets and my cookies spread out and are flat. What did I do wrong???
Hi Kathryn, oh no! That’s so frustrating, I’m so sorry. Are you sure you used butter? Margarine will cause cookies to spread quite a bit. It could also be that you needed a bit more flour. Flour amounts will vary from person to person as things like altitude, humidity, and how the flour is measured can effect the amount needed.
Hi there! This is so frustrating! I bake all sorts of goodies and I bake often – everything turns out fine except when I attempt choc chip cookies. The botched batch looked terrible but tasted amazing which is only reason I’m giving this another go.
I only use real butter (salted) and I am confident it’s not and issue of expired or old ingredients.
After I messaged you I did a little research and after eliminating the above I had two likely culprits, my oven heats low so I may need to bump that up by 10 degrees and the other is type of baking sheet I use. Mine have the edges so I got the flat kind. I am hoping this makes a difference. Now, how do I know if more flour is needed?
Finally!! After a process of elimination I figured out why my chocolate chip cookies were like flat tires! It was my oven!! Picked up and oven thermostat and oven only heated to 290 degrees when set at 350!! I bumped it up – had to keep close eye on it but cookies came out PERFECT!! My kids LOVE them! Best cookie I have ever made – only one I will ever make again!!
Thank You!!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had! I’ve tried a bunch of different recipes and none have come close to these. They’re perfect!
Do you need to sift the flour?
I usually don’t, just the whisking in the bowl sort of aerates it and removes any possible lumps.
My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Thank you!
The best cookies ever. I thought my Moms were great but these are better.
My question is if I double the recipe will they turn out the same?
24 cookies are not enough. LOL
Thank you
I’m so happy you love these cookies as much as we do! I’ve not doubled it before, but I think it would turn out just fine 🙂
hi, this is my first time in baking and i m really bad at all this stuff… i have tried step by step but i uses a hand held beater to beat the sugar butter egg etc at the lowest speed plus my small over can only bake only until 250deg so i get very watery dough and the end result is hard solid biscuits : ( So discouraging, what went wrong ?? is it the temperature and the hand held beater ?
That does sound discouraging! So sorry you’re dealing with that. I don’t think it’s the hand mixer, but baking at 250 F degrees just isn’t hot enough to bake these cookies, which is why you’re having trouble 🙁
This has become my go-to recipe! Thank you so much for sharing. I make these a lot and they are so easy and such a hit. I’m just so happy I found this!
I made these before and trying them again today. It calls for 1 1/4 cups of flour, large scoop and it makes 24 cookies. Last time that did not yield that many and looking at the dough now, I doubt I will get 24 cookies. Is this an accurate count?
When I use my 1.5 Tbsp cookie scoop, I get around 24 cookies. But this will vary from person to person and how they’re scooping the dough.
This has become my go-to recipe, as well! So great.
Does using 1/2 cake flour help make them even more awesome? (i have seen a few “award winning” recipes w/ this as their differentiator.
I’ve only tested the recipe as written, but I would imagine they would be softer when using cake flour since you can make homemade cake flour by adding some cornstarch to regular flour. I’ve seen other amazing soft cookie recipes that used cornstarch to make them soft.
Best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever used! Honestly, I thought they were not going to turn out. We don’t have a mixer, so mixed all by hand with a spoon lol, but turned out amazing. The flavor and the texture is absolutely perfect! I’ve already sent the recipe to so many people! Thanks!!!
I just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing this recipe! These are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. My family and co-workers absolutely love them!
I just wanted to to say thank you so much for sharing this recipe. These are the best chocolate chip cookies EVER! My family absolutely loves them and everyone at work too!
delicious!
My family and friends a absolutely love these cookies. The recipe is so simple I had fun watching our 10 year old grandson making these without my help. Every batch turned out perfect and extremely delicious.
Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
These turned out so delicious! My baking soda wasn’t fresh so I sprinkled just a little bit of baking powder with it. Mine weren’t flat and the bottoms were not burned as some people have mentioned. Excellent recipe that I will continue to use! My family including 3 year old tore these up!
Would make again.
Hi! i had a quick question about the cookies staying fresh. My sisters engagement is on Saturday and i only have time to make these cookies on Wednesday. I also have to package them into decorated paper packages too and am planning to do that on the same day. if i put the paper packages in an airtight container with the tortilla method under do u think they could last till Saturday? Thank you!
Hi Laila, I can’t say for certain, but I’m not sure if the tortilla method would work as well, since the cookies will be packaged individually and not with the tortilla. If you’re able, a good alternative would be to freeze the dough in balls on Wednesday and bake on Friday or Saturday? Since all the mixing is done ahead of time, you’ll have much less hands on time.
My cookies came out so flat. What did I do wrong?
Without being with you in the kitchen looking over your shoulder, here are a couple of questions about things that could have happened. Did you use real butter, not margarine? Did you use baking soda that was fresh? Did you chill the dough?
Hi may i know why my cookies turns out to be thin when i double/triple the ingredient?
Also, may i know if i freeze the dough how long can they be kept?
Thank you.
Are you doubling all the ingredients? Chilling the dough? Frozen dough should last a couple of months.
This is the best recipe – also for modifying. I swapped out the semi-sweet for dark chocolate instead. Because the contrasting salt pulls the sweetness out, it was a little too much for me. The 70% chocolate is a good alternative!
Best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tasted! I missed the tip on keeping them soft however. Care to share?
So glad you loved them! There’s a whole paragraph about the tip, about halfway up the page from the recipe, as well as some tips and tricks for perfect cookies every time.
This recipe is *heavennnn*. I’ve made it once, and added a chopped up bar of milk chocolate to top all the cookies because why not. Making these again this Sunday afternoon for my cookie exchange tomorrow. Thanks for sharing ☺️
These cookies are great and everyone loves them. I just can’t figure out why sometimes they bake very thin and sometimes they are perfect. Any thoughts on why that may happen? Thanks!
Are you chilling the dough the same amount of time each time you bake? Using real butter and not margarine?
My chill time varies, typically more then an hour. I do always use real butter.
I’m guessing it’s because after the first batch, the cookie dough becomes warmer and when you roll the dough into balls after the first batch it isn’t as chilled as it’s supposed to be.
This recipe was delicious, just the right amount of sweet for me with the semi-sweet chocolate chips!
My only complaint is that the amount of dough is barely enough to make the 24 cookies.
Mine were quite thin and small so next time I would double the recipe.
Otherwise I will definitely be making these again!
Thanks for the recipe. It tastes really good but it’s too sweet for me. Anyway, instead of brown sugar, i use palm sugar and still as good as brown sugar!
However, maybe i shouldve used dark choco chips (i use cadburry chocobars.
Above all, i’d definitely make this recipe again!
Thanks thanks thanksss
I’m confused about the fact that these are called salted chocolate chip cookies but salt is not listed as one of the ingredients
It is actually, the last ingredient. The need for salt in the dough is negated by the use of salted butter.
I’m so glad I found this recipe! These are the best cookies. Love-love the tip about helping to keep them fresher longer. I’ve made 2 batches… I’ll never use another recipe.
Thank you! Chunky Chef
How many cookies does this recipe make? For chocolate chip cookies with sea salt, that is!
Approximately 2 dozen cookies 🙂
This is the best cookie recipe I have ever tried. Instead of cooling the mixture and then using an ice-cream scoop, if you put the mixture onto several sheets of baking parchment, roll them up and then freeze them until needed. This keeps them really fresh and when you cook them, they all come out the same size.
I’m European so here’s the measurements in grams for anybody else who needs them.
160g All purpose flour (plain flour also does the trick).
1tsp baking soda
113g butter
110g packed brown sugar
71g granulated sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
Use as much chocolate as you want. I use 100g but I think this recipe calls for 250g
Hi there! Is there a gluten free option when making these cookies? Thank you!
Hi Pri 🙂 Unfortunately I’m not familiar with gluten-free baking, as we don’t have any gluten allergies in our household.
Just use any “cup for cup” gluten free baking flour and they will turn out great!
I made these for my kids and I LOVED them! These soft, sugary cookies melted in my mouth, and I couldn’t contain myself from eating a lot of them! The only tip I have, is to “double pan” the cookies while baking, by putting another pan under the cookies. This way, your cookies can be cooked fully without burning the bottoms.
These were amazing!! Fantastic tip to put the chocolate chips on top before baking, they came out beautiful!! Thanks!
Super yummy as is but it only made 13 cookies and I didn’t make big ones?
These cookies are so good..I used 2 t cognac instead of vanilla…a different twist….for a fun dessert, place small bowls of different liqueurs for dipping the warm cookies…a crowd pleaser!
Choco chip cookies is much tastier with salt rock salt in particular, its just the way i wanted it.
How many cookies does the recipe make?
Hi Anne, it makes about 24-30 cookies 🙂
Love these!!! Easy to make and EXCELLENT outcome! Everyone loves them. I added coconut and a little coconut oil too. Mmmmm Good! Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving! 2017!!!
I have been making these since I found them on your dice about a year ago! The first few times I make them they were flat which was very disappointing. But I kept trying and eventually I added a 1/4 cup extra of flour and they are PERFECT!!! They are thick and full of chocolate! I get requests all the time to make them. I am so happy I found this recipe! I’m actually making some today for thanksgiving!!
These tasted wonderful but the dough turned out a little dry for me. The dough balls didn’t flatten out at all so I was left with a very thick, dense cookie. What should I try next time to get better texture results? Maybe it was too much flour? Loved the addition of the sea salt. It goes so well with chocolate!
Hi Sarah 🙂 I’m sorry to hear they didn’t turn out as expected! I know how frustrating that can be. Perhaps add just 1 cup of flour next time and see if that helps? Baking can vary quite a bit from kitchen to kitchen, due to altitude, humidity, ovens, flour measuring, etc… but it does sound like in your kitchen, slightly less flour is needed 🙂
Made them again tonight with slightly less flour and they were perfect! Thanks again!
I’m so happy to hear that!! 🙂
Ohhh my goodness these were the best cookies I have ever made!!! Thank you thank you for the recipe! Lost the paddle to my mixer so I used a wooden spoon through out the whole process and it worked out perfectly!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I used it as a guide and added 2/3 c oats, 1/2 c chopped pistachios and 1/3 c coconut flakes, while replacing the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips! Delicious!!!
This is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe ! Every time I make them everyone asks for the recipe and I always send them here ! Thank you thank you thank you !
The cookies turned out great but I’m glad I made a double-batch! I ended up with 3 dozen cookies (approx 9 per sheet) after doubling the recipe. The salt is a wonderful touch!
Oh my! My butt and thighs are so excited about your recipe!!!
I was just wonder what brand of Chocolate Chips did you use? Cause the chocolate chips I use usually dry out the chocolate after baking so they don’t give off the melted gooey texture. 🙁
Hi Sarah 🙂 I usually use either Ghirardelli or Guittard chocolate chips, they’re both amazing! F
These salted chocolate chip cookies look absolutely divine, Amanda! I love your adaptation of adding sea salt to the chocolate chip cookies 🙂 Look forward to trying these soon.
As a token of appreciation, I’m sharing this recipe link as the Recipe of the Day on our Facebook group ‘Recipe Repertoire’ (a group uniting food bloggers and food lovers). Congrats and do join and have a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/703073099864104/
About how many cookies does this recipe make?
Hi Karli 🙂 It makes approximately 2-3 dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them
These look absolutely delicious!
Thank you Natalie! 🙂
Can the butter be melted instead of softened
Hi Kathy 🙂 I’ve never tested these cookies with melted butter, but I’ve made other cookies using melted butter instead of softened and they nearly always result in a thin, chewy, almost toffee-like consistency cookie… not the soft and thick cookies here. The reason for this is that when you cream the softened butter and sugar together, it creates air pockets within the dough. When the leavening agent (the baking soda) is working, it expands the air pockets already made by creaming the softened butter and sugar. So if you start with melted butter, there aren’t any air pockets to expand, thus leaving you with a very thin cookie.
I tried these last night, and I have to say I’m rather disappointed. They flattened out like pancakes! I knew something was up right when I put them in the oven, because they literally looked like they were melting!
Is there really only 1 1/4 cups of flour? It seemed a little low to me (the dough was super sticky)… I’ll try next time with an extra cup and see if they actually look like cookies next time….
(they taste great tho, just look awful with a texture to match!)
Hi Alana 🙂 I’m sorry you were disappointed! I know how frustrating it can be to try a recipe and have it not turn out as expected. If the dough was that sticky, and they flattened out like they did, then the dough probably wasn’t chilled long enough. Did you chill it as directed? Sometimes it may need a little longer, depending on your climate. Also, yes, the flour is correct… although since different areas are more humid than others, it can fluctuate about 1/4 cup or so. Baking can vary a bit from kitchen to kitchen, cook to cook, and location to location :/
I was looking for a quick cookie to make for my fiance while she was getting our newborn fed and this was the best looking option I found. It turned out to be the best tasting cookie I’ve had in several years, and the best ones I’ve ever made. The texture was amazing! I only salted some of the cookies. Both were delicious, but the salt just sent the cookies to another level. Carefully read the instructions about milk! I misjudged the required amount of milk and had to get up twice in order to continue my dunking escapades of happiness. I also froze half the batter in a log so I can have some on demand. This recipe will go in my permanent file for future cookies.
Hi James! Oh wow, your comment seriously just made my night 😀 I’m SO happy you loved these cookies as much as we do!! Thanks so much for your kind words and great feedback 🙂 Oh, and congratulations on your new baby 🙂
I LOVe the extra bits of salt… Just really sets off the chocolate for me!
What a great looking cookie! My kiddos would be all over these!
These look amazing, I’ll be making them this weekend! I love your tip for keeping the soft and lovely. I use the ghetto version of that by putting all my cookies in a gallon ziploc with an end piece of bread. 🙂
Thank you Natasha! 🙂 I hope you LOVE these as much as we do. Lol @ the ghetto version… whatever works to ensure a soft cookie right? 🙂
I’m over here pretty much drooling on my keyboard! These cookies are fabulous!!
One can never have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes! 🙂
HOLY CRAP! I shouldn’t have come here. WHYYYYY do I come here hungry?! Ever?! Ever ever?! Honestly I don’t think it makes a difference though. I’ve come here full before and leave hungry so what’s the point. But these seriously look AMAZINGGGG…. they’re popping out of the screen and I need to devour one, now 🙂 You have my address. Thank you.