These Chocolate Chunk Cookies are soft and chewy in the center, lightly crisp around the edges, and packed with pools of melted chocolate. The easy one-bowl dough uses melted butter, needs no mixer and no long chill, and bakes into thick homemade cookies in about 30 minutes.
Some days, a warm cookie sounds better than waiting for dough to chill overnight. This dough mixes by hand with a whisk and spatula, so there is no mixer to get out.
Use chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate. Chopped pieces give you a mix of little flecks and larger melted pockets.
There is also one unusual little step that I really like here: I bake the cookies for five minutes, gently press them midway through baking, and then return them to the oven until the edges are set. It helps this particular dough settle into thick, even rounds without a long refrigerator rest.
If you’re looking for a different easy cookie, my 3-Ingredient Nutella Cookies are even shorter on ingredients. For something buttery and simple, make these Classic Shortbread Cookies.
For a cookie plate with a few different textures, add my simple butter cookies or natural peanut butter cookies.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (115 g), melted
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (60 g)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (160 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (150 g)
This dough uses baking powder, not baking soda. Let the melted butter cool slightly before mixing it with the egg.
Let’s Make Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Prep the oven and pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Melted butter is whipped together with brown sugar and granulated sugar until they’re glossy. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients. Add flour and baking powder. Stir with a spatula just until no dry flour is visible.
- Add chocolate. Gently mix in chocolate chips/chunks until well distributed.
- Shape the cookies. Roll into balls and set on lined baking sheet, well apart.
- If you wish, top with extra chocolate pieces.
- First bake. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Gently shape and finish baking. Remove the tray and gently press each cookie with a fork to slightly flatten and shape it. Return to the oven and bake for 5–7 minutes more, until the edges are set and the centers look soft.
- Cool 5 minutes on the pan, then move to a rack to cool.
Soft center, chocolate in every bite
Why These Chocolate Chunk Cookies Work
There are a few small details doing a lot of work here.
Brown sugar + granulated sugar: Brown sugar helps make these cookies softer and chewier because it brings extra moisture to the dough. Granulated sugar balances the texture and helps the edges bake up lightly crisp, so you get soft centers with a little edge structure.
Melted butter makes this dough easy to mix by hand and helps create a soft, chewy cookie texture. Let it cool slightly before adding the egg so the dough does not become too warm and spread too much in the oven.
Lots of chopped chocolate: Chocolate chips hold their shape more, while irregular pieces of chopped chocolate create larger and smaller melted pockets throughout the cookie.
Short baking time: Don’t wait for the centers to look completely firm. Cookies continue setting on the hot baking sheet after leaving the oven; King Arthur recommends removing soft cookies once the edges are golden and the middle has just set rather than baking until hard.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Adding extra flour to firm the dough. Weigh the 160 g if you can; too much flour can make the cookies dry.
- Mixing after the flour disappears. Fold in the chocolate gently once the dough comes together.
- Skipping the midway shaping step. Bake for 5 minutes, press gently with a fork, then bake for another 5 to 7 minutes.
- Waiting for firm centers in the oven. Look for set edges and soft centers, then leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes before moving them.
What To Serve With Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chocolate Chunk Cookies are delicious served with cold milk, hot coffee, hot chocolate, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce. They also pair well with fresh strawberries, banana slices, chocolate sauce, or a simple dessert tray for parties, holidays, and lunchbox treats.
FAQs
Most likely, there was too much flour or the cookies baked too long. For the best texture, weigh the flour if possible, or fluff it, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off without packing it down.
Absolutely—chunks give extra melty pockets.
The edges should look set, the centers perhaps a bit soft. They firm up while cooling.
Yes — cool the dough (covered) in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours, then bake according to instructions.
The fork gently flattens and shapes the partially baked dough. Follow the two stages: 5 minutes in the oven, a gentle press, then another 5 to 7 minutes until the edges set.
Yes, but the cookies might be a little bit saltier.
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Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add flour and baking powder. Mix just until combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips/chunks.
- Roll dough into equal balls and place on the baking sheet, spaced apart.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tray and gently press each cookie with a fork to slightly flatten/shape.
- Return to oven and bake 5–7 minutes more, until edges are set and centers look soft.
- Cool 5 minutes on the pan, then move to a rack to cool.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- For thicker cookies, chill dough balls 15–20 minutes before baking.
- Don’t overmix after adding flour to keep cookies tender.
- Chocolate chips can be swapped for chopped chocolate, or mix both.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
