From Nigel's Kitchen Table
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Classic chocolate chip cookies with crisp golden edges, soft chewy centres and generous chunks of dark chocolate.
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These classic chocolate chip cookies are the recipe I come back to when I want crisp golden edges, soft chewy centres and proper pieces of dark chocolate in every bite.
Chilling the dough is optional, but it gives the flour time to absorb moisture and helps the cookies hold their shape. The recipe card keeps its 12-minute cooking metadata, while the method gives a practical 12–14 minute range: check first at 12 minutes and allow up to 14 when needed.
Contents
- Recipe Highlights
- Ingredients
- How to Make
- Recipe Tips
- Variations
- Storage and Freezing
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Nutrition
- Tools You’ll Need
- Recipe Card
Recipe Highlights
- Chewy centres: Brown sugar, syrup and milk keep the middle soft.
- Crisp edges: The cookies bake until browned around the outside.
- Optional chilling: Thirty minutes improves flavour and controls spreading.
- Flexible size: Make 12 large cookies or divide the portions for smaller ones.
- Reliable timing: Check at 12 minutes and continue to 14 only if needed.
Ingredients
- Butter: Use at room temperature for easy creaming.
- Light brown and caster sugar: Balance chewiness and crispness.
- Golden syrup: Corn syrup, honey or molasses are listed alternatives.
- Milk and vanilla: Add moisture and flavour.
- Plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt: Form the cookie structure.
- Dark chocolate: Use chopped chocolate or chips.
How to Make
- Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
- Mix in the golden syrup, milk and vanilla.
- Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix until the crumbs begin to come together, then fold in the chocolate.
- Scoop into 12 portions. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you like.
- Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6.
- Place the dough on lined trays with room to spread and flatten each ball slightly.
- Bake for 12–14 minutes, checking first at 12 minutes. The edges should be browned.
- Rest on the tray for five minutes before moving to a wire rack.
Recipe Tips
Cream thoroughly. Three to four minutes gives the butter and sugar enough air for a good texture.
Stop mixing promptly. Once the flour comes together, fold in the chocolate gently.
Chill for thicker cookies. Cold dough spreads more slowly and develops a fuller flavour.
Check at 12 minutes. Smaller cookies or a hot oven may be ready then; larger portions can need up to 14 minutes.
Variations
Different chocolate: Use a chopped bar for irregular pools or chips for more even pieces.
Smaller cookies: Divide each large dough ball in half and watch the bake closely.
Bakery finish: Press a few extra chocolate pieces into the tops before baking.
Storage and Freezing
Storing: Cool completely and keep in an airtight container.
Freezing dough: Freeze the shaped dough portions at the stage noted in the recipe, ready to bake another day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the baking time 12 or 14 minutes?
The card records 12 minutes. Begin checking then and continue for up to 14 minutes when the edges need more colour.
Do I have to chill the dough?
No, but chilling improves flavour and helps limit spreading.
Why rest them on the tray?
The cookies are soft when hot. Five minutes on the tray lets them set before moving.
Nutrition
No calculated nutrition figures are provided. Values depend on cookie size, chocolate and substitutions.
Tools You’ll Need
- Mixing bowl
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- 6 cm scoop or tablespoon
- Baking trays and parchment
- Wire cooling rack
Recipe Card
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 100 g butter (at room temperature)
- 140 g light brown sugar
- 60 g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp golden syrup (or try corn syrup, honey or molasses)
- 50 g milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste
- 200 g plain flour (all-purpose) (BL55)
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda / baking soda
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 100 g dark chocolate (minimum 50% cocoa solids) (whole bar chopped or chips)
Preparation
- Cookie dough: In a bowl, cream the butter, and both the sugars together until light and fluffy. Approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add the golden syrup, milk, vanilla and combine together.
- Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda into the bowl and mix together until the crumbs just start to come together and then add your choice of chopped chocolate or chips and mix in gently.
- Optional: I like to place the cookies in the fridge prior to baking for at least 30 minutes or overnight if possible. This allows the dry ingredients to absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients. Creating more flavour in the dough and because the fats are also chilled it prevents the cookies from spreading out too quickly during baking. If you want to avoid the chilling method, follow the shaping method and then continue from step 7.Prepare a plate or tray that will fit in your fridge, covered with a piece of baking paper. Shaping: Using a 6cm/2 tbsp ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop out 12 balls of cookie dough onto your prepared plate. If you want to have smaller cookies I divide the balls in half to get double the quantity or use a 4cm/1 tbsp scoop.
- Freezing the dough: At this stage, the dough can also be frozen for baking another day.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6.
- Remove the balls of cookie dough from the fridge and place them on a baking tray lined with baking/parchment paper. Leaving 5cm/2" space between to allow for spreading. I like to push down on the balls to flatten ta little into a puck shape so they can spread more easily. I usually fit 6 pieces per baking tray and bake in two batches.Optionally, you can add some more chocolate pieces to the top of each cookie for that bakery-style look.
- Baking: Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- Optional perfectly uniform cookies: After removing the cookies from the oven, place a cookie cutter over the top of a cookie and use a circular motion to swirl the cookie around the inside of the cutter. This will gently mould the edges into a circle.
FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS
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