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As far back as I can remember, my dad has been known amongst all of our family and friends for his famous specialty: chocolate chip cookies.
As kids, my sister and I delighted in licking the beaters. As teenagers, we always begged him to make a batch when friends came over. As college students, we loved receiving fun care packages in the mail with a plateful inside. And now as adults living hours away, my sister and I find ourselves making our own batches to pass on the deliciousness. :-)
These cookies pretty much rock. They’re chewy, full of flavor (lots of vanilla), and overflowing with classic semisweet chocolate chips. The original recipe called for a mixture of butter and shortening (2/3 cup of each – which resulted in an even more fabulously chewy cookie!), but we modified a few years ago to pass on the trans-fats and now it’s all buttah.
Still, these are my favorite chocolate chip cookie. Love them fresh out of the oven, packed away for lunch, or even frozen! (Yes, learned that one from my grandma, who always kept a freezer in her basement packed with “chip chocolates” — they’re actually really good!)
So if you’re looking for a solid CCC recipe, give this a try! Be sure to read the tip below too. Enjoy!!
My dad’s recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies — a winner every time!
Ingredients
Scale
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. butter, slightly softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (mini, regular, or chocolate chunks!)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.
Ali’s Tip:
To avoid having flat cookies (with this or other recipes), be sure that the dough you pop in the oven is pretty chilled. So when you’re mixing these up initially, I’d recommend letting the prepared dough sit in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes before baking your first batch.
Just made these at home. Seriously delicious! Since we didn’t have vanilla extract on hand, we added cinnamon extract instead. It was a nice touch. We were also short on butter, so we used a half-cup less than what’s called for in the recipe. The cookies still came out pretty darn well. :]
I think you’re going to have to rename this recipe to “Stephanie’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies.” I can’t stop making them every time I want a great cookie. Thanks for the recipe; everyone loves them.
OMG, thank you so much for the added tip at the end! This is actually almost the exact same recipe I was using except I couldn’t figure out why some batches would be perfect and others would come out flat! I only just started really baking and the problem was a real head scratcher for me. Thanks again!
Came across your post from food gawker and made your Dads cookies today and this now my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie! These are the best I’ve ever had! Kudos to dad!
well, i made these, but used self-rising flour & didn’t use baking soda, and used mini-m&m’s instead of chocolate chips. they turned out great, but i feel like something was missing. they tasted good, but there was something missing.
also, 10-12 minutes, was definitely not enough. i bumped it up to 20 mins. but like i said, something tasted like it was missing..
The cookies turned out great, but the instructions are confusing. The baking soda is shown as being added with the flour and salt in the ingredient listing. However in the instructions it has the baking soda being added with the eggs and vanilla. Just wanted to make you aware. I added the baking soda by mixing it with the flour and the salt. And they turned out great!
Wanted to try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe and these were great!! Definitely am going to always cool the batter before baking—-that made them so fluffy!
Loved this recipe for texture crispy outside chewy inside and held volume without any nuts. I used unsalted butter but added 1/2 tsp salt to batter then sprinkled some le fleur salt prior to baking. Great tip on refrigeration (overnight) and had to add a few more minutes to bake time. Family agreed it’s a super yummy recipe 😊 thank you!
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
I found you on foodgawker and I love your photos! These choco chip cookies look delicious. Gotta love our dads!
Thanks, Heather! :) And yes – cheers to our dads!
just discovered your blog while searching for a recipe. looking forward to reading more!
I love refrigerating my dough, too. These cookies look amazing. I’m trying these out very soon.
This is just like my recipe! Super simple, to-the-point and full of good chocolatey goodness. These look great!
I’ll have to try out and compare to my dad’s choc chip cookies, which I just made and brought to JW yesterday! we must be on the same wavelength!
Hey Laura!
Ha…the CCC wavelength. That’s where I like to be. :)
Sad I missed the cookies at JW – I need to try YOUR recipes sometime!
~A
These cookies look great. I bet my hubby would love them!
Oh, I love a good CCC! These look sooo fab!
xxMK
Delightful Bitefuls
Just made the chocolate chip cookies with my grandsons.
A big hit with everyone! Absolutely delicious!
Just made these at home. Seriously delicious! Since we didn’t have vanilla extract on hand, we added cinnamon extract instead. It was a nice touch. We were also short on butter, so we used a half-cup less than what’s called for in the recipe. The cookies still came out pretty darn well. :]
I think you’re going to have to rename this recipe to “Stephanie’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies.” I can’t stop making them every time I want a great cookie. Thanks for the recipe; everyone loves them.
Yumm, these look fabulous! I’m going to make them for my choc. chip cookie loving bf and friends.
But how many cookies does this recipe yield?
Hi can I make these as cut out cookies? or does it have to me round??
I tried this recipe and must say that my cookies were just so-so. Maybe your dad has a technique that I don’t know about!
These are the only chocolate chip cookies that I make. They’re DELICIOUS!
These cookies were delicious! I made them for my little sister when she won homecoming princess! Wonderful!!!!
OMG, thank you so much for the added tip at the end! This is actually almost the exact same recipe I was using except I couldn’t figure out why some batches would be perfect and others would come out flat! I only just started really baking and the problem was a real head scratcher for me. Thanks again!
Came across your post from food gawker and made your Dads cookies today and this now my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie! These are the best I’ve ever had! Kudos to dad!
well, i made these, but used self-rising flour & didn’t use baking soda, and used mini-m&m’s instead of chocolate chips. they turned out great, but i feel like something was missing. they tasted good, but there was something missing.
also, 10-12 minutes, was definitely not enough. i bumped it up to 20 mins. but like i said, something tasted like it was missing..
but kudos to your father for this recipe.
my recipe is real similar to this one. comes out perfect EVERY time
as my husband (a chocoholic) said… FREAKING!!! GOOD. my 2 men love the cookies… another of your recipe to my file.
That’s so awesome, we’re happy to hear that! : D
Are you supposed to put the baking soda in with the eggs and vanilla or should it be mixed with the flour and salt before mixing into the dough?
Hi Jen! We add the baking soda in with the egg and vanilla. We hop you enjoy these!
The cookies turned out great, but the instructions are confusing. The baking soda is shown as being added with the flour and salt in the ingredient listing. However in the instructions it has the baking soda being added with the eggs and vanilla. Just wanted to make you aware. I added the baking soda by mixing it with the flour and the salt. And they turned out great!
the recipe isn’t showing up just this “[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:553]”
The recipe is no longer available! :(
Hi Els! Oh goodness, thanks for catching this for us! We just fixed it so it’s in there now. We hope you enjoy! :)
Thank you so much!
I make this recipe every year for my birthday, I was starting to panic! ;)
You made it available just in time :)
Wanted to try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe and these were great!! Definitely am going to always cool the batter before baking—-that made them so fluffy!
Loved this recipe for texture crispy outside chewy inside and held volume without any nuts. I used unsalted butter but added 1/2 tsp salt to batter then sprinkled some le fleur salt prior to baking. Great tip on refrigeration (overnight) and had to add a few more minutes to bake time. Family agreed it’s a super yummy recipe 😊 thank you!