Baking & Breads Cookies

Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Name: Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 24 cookies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 150 g unsalted butter, softened; 150 g light brown sugar; 75 g caster sugar; 1 large egg; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 225 g plain flour; 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1/2 tsp fine sea salt; 200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped; Flaky sea salt, to finish

Chilling firms the butter, which stops the cookies from spreading too quickly in the oven.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies — Chewy centres, crisp edges and pools of melted chocolate — the classic cookie, perfected.

10 min

Prep time

25 min

Cook time

Serves

4.8

1,152 RATINGS

Why chilling the dough matters

Chilling firms the butter, which stops the cookies from spreading too quickly in the oven. The outside sets while the centre stays molten, giving you the contrast between crisp edge and chewy middle.

Chocolate chunks beat chocolate chips for puddles. Use a chopped bar — the irregular pieces melt into dramatic pools on top of the cookie.

Instructions

About 35 min from start to finish

Beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl, then fold into the butter mixture until just combined.

Stir in the chopped chocolate. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 24.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto lined baking trays, leaving plenty of space between each.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and the centres still look slightly underdone. Sprinkle with flaky salt and cool on the trays for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Do not over-bake

The centres should look puffed and slightly raw when you pull them out. They finish cooking on the hot tray.

Chocolate choice

Use chocolate with 60-70% cocoa solids. Milk chocolate makes the cookies too sweet.

Freezing dough

Scoop the dough into balls and freeze on a tray. Bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes.

Questions we get a lot

Why are my cookies flat?

The dough was probably too warm or the butter over-softened. Chill it longer next time.

Can I use a mixer?

Yes — a stand mixer with the paddle attachment works well. Do not over-mix once the flour is added.

How long do they keep?

Three days in an airtight container. They are best on day one when the edges are crisp.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.