Prepare to embark on a delightful culinary journey that marries two of the world’s most cherished cookie traditions: the simple elegance of a classic sugar cookie and the irresistible allure of a chocolate chip cookie. What emerges from this union is nothing short of pure bliss: **Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies**. These light, crisp, and wonderfully buttery treats are generously studded with rich chocolate chips, offering a perfect harmony of textures and flavors. If your inner cookie monster yearns for a unique, easy-to-make cookie that’s sure to impress, this recipe for Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies is your ultimate guide to baking perfection. They are not just cookies; they are an experience, perfect for any occasion, from casual snacking to festive holiday gatherings. This recipe promises a straightforward process, yielding truly exceptional results that will have everyone reaching for more.
Irresistible Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies: The Ultimate Fusion
As the festive season twinkles into existence, there’s no better way to infuse your home with warmth and joy than with the aroma of freshly baked cookies. This **Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie recipe** is a true celebration, blending the comforting familiarity of a traditional sugar cookie with the universally adored essence of a chocolate chip cookie. Imagine a cookie that delivers a crisp, buttery edge, a soft, tender center, and pockets of gooey, melted chocolate in every bite. This unique combination isn’t just ideal for the holidays; it’s a timeless delight that brings smiles year-round. These cookies capture the best of both worlds, offering a sophisticated yet playful twist on classic favorites. Their golden hue and inviting sweetness make them a centerpiece on any dessert platter or a cherished treat for a cozy evening.
Crafting Perfect Sugar Cookies with Chocolate Chips
What’s not to adore about a cookie that features a full stick of rich, creamy butter? These **buttery sugar cookies with chocolate chips** are designed to be light, crisp, and utterly satisfying. They rely on classic cookie ingredients, expertly combined to achieve that coveted texture and flavor. We start with essential pantry staples like all-purpose flour, baking soda for a gentle lift, fragrant vanilla extract for depth, and granulated sugar for that signature sweetness. The true magic happens with the addition of high-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips, transforming a beloved sugar cookie into an extraordinary indulgence. While semi-sweet is my personal favorite, the beauty of this recipe lies in its versatility. Feel free to experiment with different types of chocolate – milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even a blend of white and dark chips. For an extra touch of festivity or personalization, consider adding colorful M&Ms, seasonal candies, or crushed candy canes. Imagine the delight of a peppermint-infused sugar cookie with chocolate chips during winter holidays! The possibilities for customization are endless, making this recipe a fantastic canvas for your creativity.
If you’re a connoisseur of classic sugar cookie recipes, then you’re sure to fall in love with these delightful variations: explore the deep, rich notes of Brown Sugar Cookies for a chewier texture, or savor the comforting warmth of Iced Maple Sugar Cookies, perfect for autumn evenings. Each offers a unique twist on the beloved sugar cookie, expanding your baking repertoire.
Understanding the Distinction: Sugar Cookie vs. Chocolate Chip Cookie
Many bakers often ponder the fundamental difference between a traditional chocolate chip cookie and a classic sugar cookie. The answer primarily lies in one key ingredient: brown sugar. Authentic **chocolate chip cookies** typically incorporate both brown sugar and granulated sugar. Brown sugar, with its inherent molasses content, not only imparts a distinctive caramel-like flavor but also contributes to the chewier texture and darker, richer hue characteristic of these cookies. In contrast, a traditional sugar cookie relies solely on granulated sugar. This single sugar choice is pivotal in producing a lighter, crisper cookie with a more delicate, pure vanilla flavor profile. It’s this specific sugar balance that creates the signature tender-crisp texture that sugar cookie enthusiasts adore.
Therefore, if you’ve ever mistakenly believed that a chocolate chip cookie dough simply becomes a sugar cookie once you omit the chocolate chips, it’s time to reconsider. The foundational sugar profile truly differentiates these two beloved baked goods. Our Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies bridge this gap beautifully, combining the crispness and sweetness of a sugar cookie base with the joyous addition of chocolate, creating a hybrid that is unique and exceptionally delicious.
Essential Ingredients for this Delicious Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Recipe
Crafting these delectable cookies requires a simple list of ingredients, most of which you likely already have in your pantry. For precise measurements and detailed instructions, remember to scroll to the very end of this post to find the comprehensive printable recipe card. Here’s a breakdown of the key components and their roles in achieving cookie perfection:
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundational dry ingredient, providing structure to our cookies. For those with dietary restrictions, a high-quality 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend can be successfully substituted to create equally delightful gluten-free sugar cookies.
- Salt: A crucial flavor enhancer, a small touch of salt balances the sweetness and brings out the richer notes of both the butter and the chocolate. Never skip the salt!
- Unsalted Butter: You’ll need one full stick (half a cup) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. Softened butter is vital for proper creaming with sugar, creating an airy base that contributes to the cookies’ light texture. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the exact amount of salt in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: The star sweetener, responsible for the crisp edges and tender crumb of a traditional sugar cookie. Its fine crystals dissolve beautifully, ensuring a smooth dough.
- Egg: A binding agent that holds the cookie dough together, preventing crumbling and adding richness. The egg also contributes to the overall structure and a slightly chewy quality.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract is indispensable for enhancing the overall sweetness and providing a warm, inviting aroma. It complements the chocolate beautifully, adding depth to every bite. Don’t skimp on good quality vanilla!
- Baking Soda: This leavening agent is key to helping the cookies rise slightly and spread to a perfect, even thickness, contributing to their signature light and crisp texture.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: My personal preference for these cookies, semi-sweet chocolate offers a balanced cocoa flavor that pairs wonderfully with the sweet sugar cookie base. However, feel free to use your favorite type of chocolate – milk chocolate for a sweeter profile, dark chocolate for a more intense flavor, or even white chocolate for a creamy contrast. Both regular-sized and mini chocolate chips work beautifully; mini chips distribute more evenly throughout smaller cookies, while regular chips provide satisfying pockets of melted chocolate.
Continue reading for an abundance of additional tips and tricks, creative substitutions, and answers to all your potential questions about baking these truly delicious and versatile sugar cookies. We’ll ensure you have all the knowledge needed to bake your best batch yet!
Mastering the Art: How to Make this Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Recipe
These incredibly easy chocolate chip sugar cookies are not only delightful but also wonderfully convenient, especially as excellent make-ahead options since they freeze exceptionally well. If you find yourself facing a dauntingly long to-do list, preparing a batch (or two, or three!) of these cookies in advance is an absolute lifesaver. Simply double or triple the recipe and stash the pre-portioned dough or even baked cookies in your freezer. They’ll be ready to bake or thaw a few hours before you plan to serve them, making holiday entertaining or last-minute cravings effortlessly manageable. Let’s walk through the simple steps to create these perfect treats:
Begin by sifting together your dry ingredients: the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Sifting is an important step as it aerates the flour, ensuring your cookies are light and tender, and prevents any lumps. Once combined, set this mixture aside.
In a separate, large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until the mixture becomes wonderfully light and fluffy. This process incorporates air, contributing significantly to the cookie’s texture. Next, add the wet ingredients: the egg and vanilla extract. Continue to beat the mixture for approximately one minute, ensuring everything is thoroughly combined and smooth.
Gradually, and with a gentle hand, fold the sifted dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix only until just combined to avoid overworking the dough, which can lead to tough cookies. Finally, fold in your chosen chocolate chips, ensuring they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary to incorporate all ingredients fully.
Using a cookie scoop (approximately 2 tablespoons in size), portion out the dough and gently roll each portion into neat, uniform balls. This ensures even baking. Arrange these cookie dough balls on a plate or a baking tray lined with parchment paper. This next step is crucial for flavor development and preventing excessive spreading: chill the dough balls for a minimum of 2 hours. For enhanced flavor and texture, you can even leave the dough to chill for up to 3 days, just ensure they are tightly covered with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out in the refrigerator.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a cookie sheet with fresh parchment paper. Place the chilled cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving adequate space between them for spreading. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until their edges achieve a delicate, barely golden-brown hue. The centers should still appear slightly soft; they will continue to set as they cool.
Allow the freshly baked cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This initial cooling on the hot sheet helps them firm up and prevents breakage. Once cooled, these homemade chocolate chip sugar cookies are ready to be devoured! Leftover cookies will maintain their freshness and delightful texture for up to one week when stored in an airtight container at room temperature on your kitchen counter. For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy from the freezer, simply thaw them at room temperature until they reach your desired softness. They taste just as good as freshly baked!
Love It? Pin It for Later!
If you’re as enchanted by this delicious **Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies recipe** as we are, make sure you save it for future baking adventures! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board now so you can easily find it whenever a cookie craving strikes or you’re planning your next holiday baking session. Don’t let this perfect cookie combination get lost in the shuffle!
Expert Tips & Tricks for Perfect Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies
Achieving the perfect batch of chocolate chip sugar cookies is easy with a few insider tips. These simple tricks can elevate your baking from good to absolutely extraordinary:
- Room Temperature Ingredients are Key: Always bring refrigerated ingredients, especially butter and eggs, to room temperature before you begin mixing. Room temperature butter creams more smoothly with sugar, creating an emulsified mixture that traps air. This trapped air expands in the oven, leading to lighter, fluffier cookies. Cold ingredients, on the other hand, won’t combine properly, resulting in a dense, inconsistent dough.
- Measure Flour Accurately: Precision in measuring flour is crucial for cookie texture. The best method is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a straight edge, like the back of a knife. Avoid scooping directly with the measuring cup, as this can compact the flour, leading to too much flour in your dough. Too much flour results in dry, crumbly cookies, while too little can make them spread too much.
- Embrace Chill Time: Do not skip the chilling step! While it requires patience, chilling the dough for at least 2 hours (or up to 3 days) is essential. It allows the butter to re-solidify, preventing the cookies from spreading excessively in the oven, and helps the flavors meld together, resulting in a richer, more complex taste. Cold dough bakes up thicker, chewier, and holds its shape better.
- Get Creative with Cookie Cutters: While these cookies are fantastic as simple round drops, don’t hesitate to pull out your favorite fun-shaped cookie cutters! After chilling the dough, you can roll it out on a lightly floured surface (about 1/4 inch thick) and cut out various shapes. This is especially fun for holiday baking or themed parties. Just be sure to return any scraps to the fridge for a quick chill before re-rolling.
- Don’t Overbake: For that perfect crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside texture, keep a close eye on your cookies. They should be just barely golden brown around the edges. Remember that cookies continue to cook for a few minutes after they come out of the oven, so pulling them out when they look slightly underdone in the center is often ideal.
By following these simple yet effective tips, you’ll be well on your way to baking a batch of **homemade chocolate chip sugar cookies** that are consistently perfect every time, full of flavor and delightful texture.
This heartwarming recipe is proudly featured as part of The Sweetest Season, an inspiring annual virtual cookie swap. Co-hosted by Erin of The Speckled Palate and Susannah of Feast + West, this cherished event brings together food bloggers from across the globe. Each year, we unite to share an array of exciting new holiday cookie recipes, perfect for baking, sharing, and gifting during the festive season. Beyond the joy of baking, The Sweetest Season is dedicated to a cause very close to our hearts.
This year, we are passionately raising vital funds for Cookies 4 Kids’ Cancer. This remarkable organization is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to a profoundly important mission: funding innovative research for new, more effective, and crucially, less toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Every cookie baked and every donation made contributes directly to giving young patients a brighter future.
Since its inception in 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has made an extraordinary impact, granting nearly $18 million to pediatric cancer research. These funds have been distributed through over 100 research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers throughout the country. The fruits of this tireless work are tangible and life-changing: these grants have directly led to the development of over 35 new treatments that are now available to children battling cancer today. Imagine the hope and relief these treatments bring to countless families.
We invite you to join us in supporting this incredibly important cause! Your contribution, no matter the size, makes a significant difference. Please consider donating through our dedicated fundraising page. Together, we can help fund the breakthroughs that save young lives.
Adding to the excitement, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is currently in a special matching window with their generous friends at OXO. This means that OXO will match every single dollar raised through the end of 2024, up to an incredible $100,000! Whatever money we collectively raise will automatically be doubled on our fundraising page, maximizing the impact of your generosity. This is a truly unique opportunity to make your donation go twice as far and help accelerate critical research. Let’s make this year’s Sweetest Season the most impactful yet!
This year, in addition to sharing these delightful **Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies**, I’ve also contributed other festive creations to The Sweetest Season event. Be sure to check out these decadent Double Chocolate Cranberry Magic Bars, which are perfect for holiday entertaining with their rich layers and vibrant flavors.
And for a truly charming and simple treat that’s a hit with both kids and adults, I made these super cute Christmas Dipped Oreo Cookies. They add a whimsical touch to any holiday dessert spread. You can discover ALL of my cookie recipes here, a comprehensive collection for every craving and occasion. Happy baking, and happy holidays!
Explore More Irresistible Recipes to Love
If you’re a devoted fan of all things chocolate chip, your culinary adventure doesn’t have to end here! I have a host of other incredible recipes that celebrate the beloved chocolate chip in various forms. For a unique flavor experience, you absolutely must try these Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies, which offer a nostalgic, rich twist. If you enjoy a hint of sophistication in your treats, my Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cookies are a delightful adult indulgence. And for those who love a festive touch, these Peppermint Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookies are perfect for the holiday season, combining cool mint with warm chocolate. But if you truly want to take your next celebration, birthday, or special occasion over the top, prepare to be amazed by my show-stopping recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake, which is beautifully pictured above. It’s an epic dessert that combines layers of cake, ice cream, and an abundance of cookie dough – guaranteed to be the star of any event! Each of these recipes promises to deliver a delightful chocolate chip experience, showcasing the versatility and timeless appeal of this cherished ingredient.
This easy recipe for **Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies** makes utterly delicious cookies using just a few basic, readily available ingredients. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting your culinary journey, these cookies are a fantastic addition to your repertoire. May your kitchen be filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh baking, and may your holiday season be joyful and sweet. Wishing you all the best for happy baking during this festive time of year, creating memories one delicious cookie at a time!
LIKE THIS RECIPE?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and
leave a comment below the recipe!
Print Recipe
Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer
- Wilton Stainless Steel Cookie Scoop
- Wilton Performance Pans Aluminum Jelly Roll and Cookie Pan, 10.5 x 15.5-Inch
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a mixer cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.
- Add in egg and vanilla and beat again for about 1 minute.
- Slowly fold in the dry ingredients and then the chocolate chips.
- Scoop out the dough using a cookie scoop, about 2 tablespoons, and roll the dough into balls. Place on a plate or a lined baking tray and chill for at least 2 hours (you can leave up to 3 days though, make sure they are covered with clingfilm).
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are just barely golden.
- Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.