Name: Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Ingredients: 1 c. butter; 1 c. brown sugar; ⅓ c. sugar; 1 egg + 1 yolk; 1 T. vanilla; 2 ½ c. unbleached flour; 1 tsp. salt; ½ tsp. baking soda; 1 ½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips; ½ c. nuts (pecans or walnuts) (chopped)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Last updated on April 12th, 2025

Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Mix-Ins
How to make Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Storage
Equipment
Dietary Substitutions
Related Recipes
More Cookie recipes

These Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies are rich and buttery, loaded with chocolate chips and toasted pecans, with crispy edges and a chewy center. I’ve taken a 1960’s vintage inspired recipe for Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies from “Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book” cookbook and baked it modern.

Did you know the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie was created by Ruth Wakefield in 1939 from the New England Toll House, Whitman, Mass. More history can be found at Nestle.

General Mills created “Betty Crocker” identity in 1921 and started one of the longest running radio shows in U.S. History in 1924 called, “The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air.”

My vintage inspiration.

My vintage inspiration for this chocolate chip cookie recipe is from my copy of a 1963 “Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book”. I’m grateful to have this book passed down from my grandmother and now part of my vintage cookbook collection.

Betty Crocker named the Chocolate Chip Cookie as “The Best Cooky of 1935-1940” and introduced it to homemakers in 1939 on their radio series “Famous Foods from Famous Places,” which they turned into a cookbook in 1964.

How I baked it modern.

added more salt, to suit our modern palettes
added more vanilla to boost flavor
I swapped out the shortening, and used all butter for flavor
added instant ClearJel for a tender texture

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

butter: American butter is made from churned cream that contains 80% butterfat. European butter is churned longer and has a higher fat content (82%-85%), which is why it yields more flavor.
brown sugar: Brown sugar is granulated sugar with molasses added, providing deep flavor and moisture to baked goods. Light brown sugar contains 3.5% molasses, while dark brown sugar has 6.5% giving a more robust flavor profile.
sugar: Sugar is derived from sugarcane and provides sweetness to baked goods. The most common type being granulated white sugar. Cane sugar is a natural option that is less processed with a slightly courser texture.
eggs: Eggs are important in baking because their protein provides structure, they are a natural leavener trapping air that expands during baking, and they add moisture to baked goods
vanilla extract: Vanilla provides hints of caramel and spice, enhancing the depth of flavor to baked goods. Always use a high-quality, all-natural brand that is made from real vanilla beans containing at least 35% alcohol. MAKE YOUR OWN! Purchase Grade B vanilla beans (also called extract-grade), which have less moisture and a more concentrated flavor. Place 8 oz. of bourbon (or vodka) in glass bottle or jar. Split 5-7 vanilla beans down the middle and add to bottle. Let it sit for 3-6 months in a cool, dark place. As you use it, continue to replace the bourbon and add more beans as it keeps for many years.

Dry Ingredients

flour: Use all-purpose unbleached flour with 10-12% protein, such as King Arthur or Sir Galahad Artisan Flour (its bulk-purchased name) which has 11.7% protein. Avoid bread flour, as its higher protein content (11-14%), develops more gluten, which results in dense baked goods.
ClearJel: Instant ClearJel is a modified food starch used as a thickener, stabilizer, and gelling agent. In baked goods it helps retain moisture and produces a light, tender texture. Use cornstarch as a substitution if ClearJel is hard to find. For every 1 T. of cornstarch, use 1 1/2 T. ClearJel. For every 2 T. flour or tapioca, use 1 T. ClearJel. You can find it online here.
Baking soda: Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a leavening agent that, when combined with an acid (such as lemon juice, buttermilk, or vinegar) creates carbon dioxide gas, and makes baked goods rise during baking. If your recipe doesn’t include an acid, use baking powder, or a combination of both baking powder and baking soda for balanced leavening.
salt: Use a fine-ground pink salt which adds essential minerals and nutrients to baked goods.

Mix-Ins

chocolate chips: Chocolate chips are made from cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes milk solids depending on the type. They vary in sweetness based on their cocoa content from dark chocolate (50-90% cocoa solids), semi-sweet chocolate (40-60% cocoa solids) and milk chocolate (10-40% cocoa solids).
pecans: are a tree nut that grown on pecan trees in the United States and Mexico. They add texture and sweet nuttiness flavor to baked goods.

Baker’s Tips

For thick cookies: chill the batter and bake on Silpat baking mat and bake on Silpat baking mat to ensure less spread.
For thin and crispy cookies: scoop out cookie dough and put straight into the oven and use parchment paper and scoop cookie dough and put them right into the oven as it will create more spread.
Use semi-sweet chocolate chips to balance out the sugar, however, dark chocolate or milk chocolate chips will also work as well or other shapes like mini-chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Toss chocolate chips or other mix-ins in a little bit flour before adding them to the batter to evenly distribute them in the batter. For bakery style cookies-place a few chocolate chips on top of the cookie puck.Use your favorite chocolate chips such as semi-sweet, bittersweet, white chocolate chips, toffee bits or a combination.
Toast the nuts before adding to the cookies to incorporate more flavor. Rough chop them in mini food chopper. Place chopped nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 5 minutes.
Use light-colored, aluminum cookie sheets to reflect even heat during the baking process. Dark cookie sheets conduct more heat off the surface, which may burn or darken on the edges before they are fully cooked through.
For even browning, place only 2 cookie sheets in the oven at the same time. Place the cookie sheet horizontally and rotate them halfway through the baking process. To rotate, spin the cookie sheets around 180° and swap the cookie sheets from top to bottom and vice versa.

How to make Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step #1: Gather equipment and prep ingredients

1. Cut 2 sheets of parchment paper for baking sheets.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients.

Step #2: Make cookie dough

1. Cream together the butter and sugars for 2 minutes before adding the eggs, then mix another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

2. Add dry ingredients.

Step #3: Chill cookie dough

1. Scoop dough onto a silpat non-stick baking mat or parchment paper.

2. Chill the dough balls for 5-10 minutes before placing in the oven.

Step #4: Bake & Enjoy

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Storage

Pre-baked cookies:

You can make the batter and store until ready to bake.
Short-term, scoop the batter into cookie pucks/balls and place in storage container until use.
Long-term, place all of the mixed batter into a ziploc bag or storage container and let the batter come to room temperature before scooping into cookie pucks/balls.

Baked cookies:

Store the cookies between parchment paper in sealed container or holiday tins. For a simple holiday gift, put some pretzels into a cello bag and tie with a cute bow. To keep during the holiday season, place container in cool part of the house or garage.

Another option is to individually bag each cookie in a translucent cello bag using a heat-sealer. Heat-sealers are simple to use and can really extend the shelf-life of a cookie.

To thaw frozen cookies, allow them to come to room temperature before opening the container.

Store baked cookies in airtight container on counter 1-2 days.

Seal in in freezer safe container for up to 6 months. Place cookies in layers lined with parchment paper. You can also individually heat seal cookies and place them in a larger container.

Equipment

Recommended tools: (affiliate links)

stand mixer

mixing bowl

measuring cups and spoons

baking sheet

Silpat baking mat OR parchment paper

cookie scoop

Dietary Substitutions

For the past 12+ years, I have owned an all-natural specialty bakery converting conventional recipes to gluten free, vegan, wholesome, etc. Read more about it here.

TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE

Here are some tips for gluten free baking

Use a premium gluten-free flour blend.
Be sure to let the batter rest to help eliminate grittiness. Even letting the batter sit 15 minutes will yield a light and tender baked good. You can let batter sit in the fridge overnight, and up to 3 days.
Add 1-2 tablespoons additional buttermilk to help hydrate the flour.
Reduce the oven temperature by at least 25° to bake low and slow, since gluten-free flour is delicate and tend to burn before the center is cooked through.
Gluten-free baked goods have a shorter shelf-life than conventional baked goods and dry out faster. Store in airtight container on counter 1-2 days, refrigerate 3-5 days, or seal in plastic and place in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. After pulling the container from the freezer, bring to room temperature before opening the lid.

TO MAKE VEGAN/DAIRY FREE

Swap out the butter with unsalted vegan butter sticks.
To replace the egg, place 1 tsp. of baking soda into your baked good and pour 1 T. white vinegar on top of the baking soda.
Use dairy-free chocolate chips .