Soft, chewy, tender and filled with creamy chocolate – these milk chocolate chip cookies are perfection. The dough is balanced so the cookie flavor doesn’t overpower the milk chocolate chips, and the cookies bake up chewy every time. Grab your milk! 
I set out to recreate the kind of cookie I loved as a child: soft and chewy, thick enough to hold plenty of chocolate chips yet not so dense that I couldn’t stack several together. I wanted cookies that are buttery and sweet without being overly rich, and of course, full of milk chocolate chips.
Many professional bakers avoid milk chocolate in cookies because its milder flavor doesn’t contrast as sharply with buttery dough as dark chocolate does. But for nostalgic, comforting cookies, milk chocolate is exactly what I wanted.
This recipe yields soft, tender milk chocolate chip cookies that stay delightfully chewy.
Making Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here are the basic steps to make these cookies. The recipe doesn’t require chilling the dough, but a 30-minute chill makes slightly thicker cookies if you prefer that texture.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. I bake at 350°F to avoid overly crispy edges; a higher temperature will brown the edges faster.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. A touch of cornstarch helps keep the cookies soft. Measure the flour accurately: spoon into measuring cups and level off, or weigh it for best results.
- In a large bowl, beat the slightly softened unsalted butter with light brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamed and smooth. I prefer light brown sugar for this recipe because it complements milk chocolate without overpowering it.
- Beat in the room-temperature egg and the vanilla extract until evenly combined and smooth.
- Mix in the dry ingredients, adding about half at a time and starting the mixer on low to prevent flour from puffing out of the bowl. Alternatively, stir a few times by hand before finishing with the mixer.
- Fold in the milk chocolate chips by hand to avoid breaking them. Reserve a few chips to press on top of the cookies after baking for a polished look.
- Form the dough into balls of about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons each (slightly smaller than a golf ball). Place the dough balls 1.5–2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Give them a little space so they spread and touch but don’t overcrowd the pan.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for about 9–11 minutes, until the tops appear just set. When the cookies come out of the oven, press a few reserved milk chocolate chips into the tops if desired.
Chilling and Freezing the Cookie Dough
You can refrigerate the dough, covered, for up to 48 hours. If chilled dough is too firm to scoop, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before shaping.
Cookie dough also freezes well. Scoop the dough into balls, place them in an airtight freezer bag with excess air removed, and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the bake time for warm, freshly baked cookies on demand.
These soft, chewy milk chocolate chip cookies are perfect for dunking in milk. If you enjoy chocolate chip cookies, consider trying other variations like bakery-style cookies, double chocolate, oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip, or cookie bars.
Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fiona Dowling
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (208 grams)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (112 grams), slightly softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar (105 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips (180 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat the unsalted butter with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamed and smooth.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture gradually, starting on low speed or stirring by hand to avoid a flour cloud.
- Fold in the milk chocolate chips, reserving a few for topping if desired.
- Scoop dough into 1.5–2 tablespoon balls and place 1.5–2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 9–11 minutes, until the tops look just set. Optionally press a few reserved chips onto the warm cookies.
Notes
- Chilling the dough: For thicker cookies, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours before baking. If dough is very firm after chilling, let it sit for 10 minutes before scooping.
- Nutrition: Nutrition info is an estimate per cookie assuming 20 cookies total.
- Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.