Chocolate Chip Cookies for Friendship Day: Soft, Chewy, and Loaded with Love

There’s something about chocolate chip cookies that immediately brings back memories; nostalgia is, after all is a big thing. Cookies, especially the ones studded with chocolate chips, have been a common fixture, and more often than not, baking cookies was often a group effort with friends and family. More than the cookies themselves, these cookies were about sharing those moments, whether bickering, poking fun while making them, which add to the nostalgic element to them and make them even more perfect for Friendship Day. Bake a batch of these chocolate chip cookies, and gift them to your friends and relive the good old days!

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a big mixing bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed and beat until smooth and creamy.
3. Crack the eggs into the bowl and beat them in one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Then pour in the vanilla extract and mix until combined well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the contents of the flour bowls in parts to the egg bowl and mix just until combined.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips evenly throughout the dough.
6. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges look lightly golden but centers still seem soft.
8. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Cookies

• Use softened butter, not melted: Softened butter blends more evenly with the sugars, helping the dough hold its shape better while baking. Melted butter can cause the cookies to spread too much and become thin and crispy, which isn’t what we want for that soft, chewy feel.
• Don’t overbake: The key to chewy cookies is to take them out of the oven when the centers still look a little undercooked or shiny. They might seem soft and fragile at first, but as they cool, they’ll firm up without losing that pleasant chewiness. Overbaking leads to dry, hard cookies that don’t have that comforting softness.
• Brown sugar makes a difference: Brown sugar contains molasses, which keeps the dough moist and adds a subtle, rich sweetness. It’s what helps create that slight caramel-like taste that pairs perfectly with the chocolate chips. Using all white sugar can make the cookies crispier and less tender.
• Chill the dough if you have time: Letting your dough rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes tightens the fats, which slows down how much the cookies spread when baked. This results in thicker, more substantial cookies that hold their shape better. Plus, chilling can deepen the flavor as the ingredients get time to meld.
• Add a pinch of salt: Salt is a simple ingredient that does a big job. It cuts through the sweetness and helps balance the flavors. Even if your recipe calls for salted butter, a little extra salt in the dough can make the chocolate and sugar stand out more and give the cookies a more rounded taste.
• Share immediately: Cookies are at their best right out of the oven—warm, soft, and slightly gooey in the middle. Sharing them fresh means your friends get to experience that cozy feeling straight away. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container, but nothing beats that just-baked moment.
• Trick: Use a mix of chocolate chips and chunks. Combining regular chocolate chips with larger chunks or chopped chocolate creates pockets of melted chocolate and adds variety to each bite. It’s a simple way to make your cookies feel a bit more special without extra effort.
• Press extra chocolate chips on top before baking. After scooping the dough onto the baking sheet, gently press a few more chocolate chips onto the surface of each cookie. This not only makes them look more inviting but also ensures you get chocolate in every bite, right on the surface.