My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

'Tis the season for lots of cookie baking!!! A few years ago I shared my favorite cookies for the holidays, but some time has passed and I wanted to highlight some more cookies for you (especially because they're sooorta my specialty). Today I wanted to focus on (in my opinion) the king of cookies, my all time fave: CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! I have a bjillion recipes, tons of variations, but keeping it as classic as possible these are my favorites that I'll actually make again and again. They're each delicious and guaranteed to make everyone drool!

(left to right, top to bottom):

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is my go-to. My favorite all around ccc. They have browned butter and are sturdy on the outside and delightfully gooey on the inside. They're pretty much flawless.

The New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
This recipe is famous for a reason-it's just a little bit extra special and a whole lot delicious. And I'm never mad about a big cookie full of chocolate.

Browned Butter Dark Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies
These cookies are chewy and gooey and have just a hint of brown butter--and yes...there's also marshmallows. But those are optional if you wanna keep this classic.

THE Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Copycat Recipe
If you haven't heard of them, Levain Bakery is in New York and is famous for their GIANT cookies. They look like a huge biscuit that then you break in half and see the gooey goodness. They're epic and this recipe is the closest I've gotten without taking a trip to NYC!

Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
If you're looking for a healthier cookie that's also INSANELY TASTY these are the ones. They also happen to be gluten free and dairy free-so they're great if you or any of your loved ones have dietary restrictions!

Chewy Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are super classic and just chewy and tasty. The little secret is that they also happen to be made with coconut oil instead of butter so they're a bit healthier + are dairy free. But no when would ever guess it!

Exceptional Chocolate Chip Cookies
When you're looking for something extra special and a bit more fancy in your ccc, then make these ASAP! Browned butter, toasted pecans, dark brown sugar, and oat flour all contribute to the magic in these cookies. They're so good. Trust me.

Big, Thick, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Just a comforting, big, chewy, gooey cookie. Keeping things simple can be nice.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
The perfect cross between a chocolate chip cookie and cookie dough-they're essentially balls of warm cookie dough/very underbaked cookies. They're the best. I love to impress people with these at functions and watch as they go back for seconds...and thirds....and sevenths...

{Lower Sugar} Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
There's a lot of sugar during the holidays (and...in general) and I love how these cookies are so perfect and delicious and taste so decadent but have less sugar (and the sugar they do have is coconut sugar). I'm actually planning on giving one of these to James on his birthday as his special treat!

{No Spread, No Chill} Vanilla Cutout Cookies

People have frequently asked me if I have a favorite sugar/cutout cookie recipe. Up until now, the answer was no. Michael and I aren't huge fans and during the holidays our moms have their recipes so there's be no one to even make them for. BUT-then I had my baby shower and decided it would be cute to make elephant cookies as favors (I happened to have an elephant cookie cutter) and decided it was time to try to find a recipe.

Allie of Baking a Moment had a recipe that appealed to me-a nice, simple, ingredient list (nothing crazy) for cookies that don't spread, have nice clean edges, and you don't need to chill the dough (heck, you don't even need to soften the butter!). It seemed simple and pretty much flawless, and I trust Allie so I felt confident that this recipe would work out well.

There are a lot of feelings associated with cutout cookie recipes-my and Michael's mom's both couldn't understand why I wouldn't want to use their recipes, and talked about how everyone in their families love theirs. And they're both fine but they weren't what I was looking for. I knew I needed to find my recipe.

And this is totally it!! The recipe was crazy simple and yielded perfectly clean edges, no spreading, and surprisingly sturdy cookies (people kept asking if the trunks broke a lot and they really didn't! These were solid cookies). They were also pretty straightforward and easy to make. And a total bonus? Remember how Michael and I are meh on this kind of cookie? We both actually thought these were tasty-they have a really nice balance of sugar and butter and vanilla flavors. I'm kind of in love and will 100% be using this recipe from now on for any cutout cookie needs I may have. This is one of those moments where you feel like a total grownup. Just in time for us becoming parents, I guess, lol. 

My Favorite Cookies {for the Holidays!}

In the past I have shared holiday gift guides with all of you. last year I shared kitchen tools, the year before that I shared homemade gift ideas and the year before that I did as well! But this year I want to share with you my absolute FAVORITE cookies from this blog. Holiday baking season is upon us and I know I have a lot of cookie recipes, and it can be hard to tell which ones are the best. That is what this list is for: my tried and true favorites that myself, my hubby, and my friends and family can all attest are phenomenal.

Happy baking!

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my favorite straight up chocolate chip cookie recipe. They're big, chewy, gooey, and have delicious browned butter and sea salt on top. THE BEST!

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cookies

Serious chocolate decadence--thus far they're my favorite chocolate cookies.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These have been a staple in my repertoire for years--they're sturdy, a rich chocolate-peanut butter cookie base, and have peanut butter cups all up in them! Yay!

Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Cookies with Sea Salt

This is one of my favorite cookie bases for mix-ins and this is my favorite version of it, thus far. They're seriously giant cookies and the textures are perfection.

Brown Butter Chocolate Stuffed Toffee Chip Cookies

I have adapted this recipe so many times--in this post I stuffed them with salted caramel, and recently I used only toffee chips and stuffed them with chunks of Heath bars for Thanksgiving, and my family is STILL raving about how good they are!

Browned Butter Dark Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies
The first cookie recipe I ever adapted on my own. It's still a favorite--they're super chewy, have browned butter in them, and dark chocolate and mini marshmallows offset each other in such a delightful way. (I've made them with milk chocolate for people who don't like dark but I find that to be way too sweet, the dark chocolate really helps balance them.)

Pecan Laceys
Gorgeous cookies that are seriously delish and would look very impressive on a cookie tray.

Exceptional Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you want a super sophisticated, super high quality chocolate chip cookie--this is the recipe to use!

Browned Butter, Salted, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
You may be noticing a bit of a theme with browned butter...it just makes everything better! As does sea salt. And that is why these are my favorite peanut butter cookies.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is a very classic chocolate chip cookie recipe with one very special ingredient---coconut oil instead of butter. So, you can make these dairy-free (if you use dairy-free chocolate chips) but honestly you'll never be able to tell that these are made with coconut oil instead of butter. They're just tasty! I've made mini versions of these for my family a few times.

THE Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Copycat Recipe
If you've ever had the pleasure of tasting a Levain chocolate chip cookie then you will be SO excited when you see that you can literally make a perfect copy cat at home with this recipe. The cookies are GIANT and just...delicious. Fact.

Brown Butter Pecan Toffee Cookies
Dark brown sugar, toffee, brown butter + toasted pecans...this is a recipe for complexity and overwhelming cookie nirvana.

Momofuku's Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies
Look...this is not an easy recipe. I have no guarantees on how it will turn out for you (I mean..it didn't turn out right for me but I didn't care because it was STILL outstanding)--what I do know is that this is the most popular recipe on my site and that it is an incredibly delicious cookie. And I'm actually thinking I should tackle this one again soon.

Nutella Stuffed, Brown Butter, Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Isn't the title enough to explain why this is a favorite?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
This is one of the rare cookie recipes that I make over and over again, for just myself (and Michael...I guess...) it's the best of both worlds between cookie dough and cookies. They're insane. So good. Trust me.

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy and crunchy and taaasty.

The New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookie
I realize there are a lot of chocolate chip cookies on this list but...they're all amazing in their own way! These ones were dubbed the best by The New York Times (and it's my 2nd most popular recipe) and it is with good reason!

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
And here is my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe! Again...browned butter makes all the difference! They're big and chewy and yummmyy.

Chocolate Chip Cookies at Chelsea's Culinary Indulgence

Hi all!!

So, as you know, I'm currently having lots of fun/business in Ohio right about now.

BUT I still really wanted to participate in Chelsea's Culinary Indulgence's 12 Days of Christmas Treats:

For the 12 days leading up to Christmas, Chelsea is having some wonderful bloggers post some of their fave holiday goodies! And today is my day! Head on over to check out my Christmas-y post and my New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe!

Kristina and Kayle's Cookie Exchange SILPAT GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Hi everyone! Our cookie exchange is still in full swing (so head on over to link up, if you haven't already)! And today we have an extra special treat for you:

A SILPAT GIVEAWAY!

Any cookie baker worth their salt knows about, and uses, Silpat. Kristina uses them. And I have been lusting after them, giving forlorn gazes at the parchment paper I have been dealing with (up to this point). 

Now, in case you didn't know, here's some of what makes Silpats so awesome:

1. They're the original non-stick baking mat. 
2. Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats are made of fiberglass and good grade silicone-they are completely food safe and FDA, NSF, and Kosher certified.
3. Cookies get some sort of traction when baking from these baking mats, and they spread less (bigger cookies=better!)
4. NOTHING sticks to these babies-be it gooey batter, caramel, taffy, dough, etc.! And there is no greasing required-just the mat.
5. Silpat is effective in temperatures from -40 degrees (F) to 480 degrees (F).
6. Unlike parchment paper, Silpat is reusable and cleans super easily! (OMG I'm going to save so much money not having to constantly buy more parchment!)
7. Not just for cookies, they also produce Silpain (for bread) and Roul'Pat (for rolling out dough).
8. They have even more products here!

Um so yeah...I'm super psyched to start using my new Silpat ALL. THE. TIME!

And oh yeah, you can get one too!

Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Truffle Swirled Cookies and KRISTINA & KAYLE'S CHRISTMAS COOKIE EXCHANGE!

Ah December. This entire month is pretty much just about Christmas for me. In my head it's Christmas Christmas all the time! And living in New York City, the decorations are on par with my thoughts. 

Now, as I'm sure you've noticed I love cookies. Another awesome thing about this season.

To celebrate this cookie-licious time of year, I am so excited to announce the official kick-off of...

 Kristina and Kayle's Christmas Cookie Exchange!

As you guys know, Kristina (of Whipped Baking) is my girl. And she and I were like, "Um, let's get everyone together to cyber-share their favorite cookie recipes!" Because we're (ok, it was Kristina's idea, I just jumped on board enthusiastically) brilliant like that.

So, starting today, December 5th, Kristina and I invite ALL OF YOU to join our Christmas Cookie Exchange! We want you to bring your favorite cookie recipe and link it up at the bottom of either my post below or over on Kristina's yummalicious blog to share your favorite recipes. Kristina and I are blogging a couple of our own cookie recipes today, so make sure to check hers out too, after you're done here!

*Cheesy announcer voice* But wait-there's more! Not only do you get tons of wonderful cookie recipes, there's also a priiize up for grabs! After you've all linked up your tastiest cookie recipes we're going to vote! And the winner gets (in addition to Cookie Queen/King bragging rights) a $10 Starbucks Gift Card! Voting begins on December 13th and ends December 15th (then the winner will be announced December 16th)!

Here's the agenda:

1. Today (December 5th) starts Kristina & Kayle's Christmas Cookie exchange! Enter your favorite cookie recipes by linking up your cookie posts to either the bottom of my post here or over at Kristina's blog, Whipped Baking. You can use new or old posts as long as they're delicious cookies!
2. December 10th a very special cookie related GIVEAWAY!
3. December 13th starts the voting period where you all can vote on your favorite cookie recipe. You can vote by coming back to this post and clicking the 'vote' button below the individual pictures. Voting ends December 15th at 11:59pm.
4. December 16th we will announce the winner of the Cookie Exchange Contest who will receive a Starbucks Gift Card for $10! And we'll also announce the winner of Monday (Dec. 10th)'s giveaway!

We'll also totally remind you on the 13th that it's time to vote, so don't worry about trying to remember!

Don't have a blog? Send Kristina a pic of your favorite cookie and the recipe to her e-mail, kristina.whippedbaking@gmail.com, and we'll share your pictures on our Facebook pages! Unfortunately you are not eligible for the gift card (because we have no way of voting for your recipe) but we would LOVE to be able to share your yummy recipes too!

Now, on to the matter at hand-these cookies. When Michael's friend Katina was visiting, I decided I wanted to bake her up a special treat, and that was these cookies. They're a fairly basic (and delicious) chocolate chip cookie, but throughout it are swirls and chunks of amazing peanut butter truffle. These cookies were soft, chewy, and wonderful, with a fabulous marriage of sweet, rich, and just a hint of salt. They're a wonderful twist on a classic, just special enough to impress during this holiday season, yet traditional enough to please all members of your family (who like peanut butter, anyway). This cookie monster could have gobbled these all up in a heartbeat...but I had to share. And that was even better. :)

Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas

I'm a little bit of a freak.

I've already gotten almost all of my Christmas presents, most are even wrapped.

One thing I'm super excited about this year is some of the homemade gifts I'm giving: some people are getting homemade cookies, a certain person is getting cookie dough (with instructions on how to bake), someone else is getting some homemade vanilla extract, and another person is getting homemade chocolate peanut butter. Oh yes. This is going to be good. If you like the idea of making some of your gifts this holiday season, I've listed a few ideas below:

• Homemade Vanilla Extract
• Homemade Chocolate Syrup
• Homemade Peanut Butter/Variation of Nut Butters
• Raspberry Jam
• Caramel Corn
• Puppy Chow
• Chocolate Truffles/"Oreo Balls"/Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles/Other Candy
• Homemade S'mores Kit:
  Include marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers (may I suggest homemade ;P)
• Cookies/Cookie Dough:
  (If giving cookie dough, I particularly like the idea of these two methods)

• Cookie Dough Balls
• Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Copy Cat
• Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
• Browned Butter Dark Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies
• Candy Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Momofuku's Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies
• Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cookies
• Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
• Whole Wheat Butter-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• NY Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
• (For the gluten free): Butter-less, Flour-less, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

For more ideas you can also check out my Homemade Gift Ideas board on Pinterest-I'm always updating it with new stuff I find, too!

Butter-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies-Take 2: Holiday Recipe Exchange: Week 11 (Holiday Cookies)

As I previously explained, I am working on creating my own holiday baking traditions. 

You know what we have a lot of around the holidays? 

Butter.

And you know what's great about this recipe? 

NO. BUTTER.

Forreals. It seems the large amount of peanut butter in this recipe takes over the role of the butter. And peanut butter is good for you (protein and all that). Thusly I dub these cookies healthy and say you can feel good about eating these and you know....eat 6 of them. 

It's OK, because they have no butter!

(Other Holiday Recipe Exchange posts: Week 1 Parts 1 and 2, Week 3, Week Six, Week Seven, Week Nine , and Week 10 Parts 1 and 2 and Week 11 Part 1)

Butter-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

From The Curvy Carrot "Super Peanut Butter Drops"

Makes 20-24 cookies

Something Special Cookies-Holiday Recipe Exchange: Week 11 (Holiday Cookies)

Yes! It's finally here! Thanksgiving is over, which means I am within all rights to FREAK OUT about CHRISTMAS!!!! Yay! I've already begun watching some of my Christmas movies, all the gifts are bought, and my mom is coming to visit this weekend to see NYC all Christmasified and to bring us some more decorations! Eee! 

I had a normal childhood. Christmas was a time of my mom OVERHAULING the sweets. We always had sugar cookie cut-outs, which my mom, brother, and I all decorated (mine were always the most creative. Also...I never liked to eat them. I just liked decorating.) Mom also, of course, made chocolate chip cookies-which again, I was never a fan of (thin...crunchy...no way for a cookie to be)-HOWEVER-the dough was BOMB so my dad and I would always sneak some while it rested in the fridge. On top of that she usually made some other cookies (usually pre-made dough from tubs, etc.) and candy. The candy is what we used to impress everyone else. But anyway, as is obvious, there are no holiday cookie recipes that I exactly wanted from my mom (the only cookie recipe I could think of that I'd want from a family member is maybe the anise cut outs and pizzelle recipes that the Blognas have) . And now, it's just Michael and I here, until I visit home just before Christmas. And when I'm there mom will be the one baking, not me. And, since I don't have any kids yet, I'm in this very strange place as far as holiday traditions go. So, for this holiday recipe exchange post about holiday cookies, I want to share with you a new discovery. They're chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter cookies...but...there's just something...different about them. (psst....it's the cinnamon) Anyway, they taste like they should be made for Christmas, comforting with just a hint of that holiday spirit! And, on another plus note, they're diabetic friendly (I got these from a diabetic site...I don't know why. This is a recipe I stock piled a looong time ago). Regardless! These are super tasty, a little better for you, and I hope that maybe they'll be added to you holiday repertoire. Will they become a part of my future one? Only time will tell :)

(Other Holiday Recipe Exchange posts: Week 1 Parts 1 and 2, Week 3, Week Six, Week Seven, Week Nine , and Week 10 Parts 1 and 2)