The Best White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
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Here’s THE BEST recipe for White Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you want a cookie recipe that bakes up super soft, and buttery with crisp edges and a perfectly chewy center, this one’s for you. In this post, I give you all the tips and tricks to make the best cookies that come out perfect every time!
They’re loaded with white chocolate chips, and super easy to make (no softening butter and no chilling required) making them the perfect treat for any occasion!
I love a good chocolate chip cookie, but sometimes I crave a sweeter, creamier flavor.
While semisweet chips have that rich, intense cocoa flavor, white chocolate gives a smoother, less bitter taste. It also adds a nice texture, especially if you’re mixing in nuts or fruit (like my raspberry white chocolate blondies). Plus, white chocolate chips make the cookies look pretty with their bright contrast!
Why You’ll Love This White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:
- There’s no chilling required. You don’t need to refrigerate the cookie dough for an hour before using it.
- You don’t need to plan ahead for these cookies! This recipe uses melted butter, so you won’t need to wait for a stick to soften.
- These cookies are crisp around the edges and very soft and chewy on the inside, and this batch makes just 12 perfect cookies.
White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ingredients
- White Chocolate Chips: Because you have to have white chocolate chips to make a white chocolate chip cookie! Use your favorite white baking chips or get really fancy and chop up 5 oz of your favorite white chocolate bar.
- Unsalted butter: I like using unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt going into the recipe. You can use salted butter if that’s what you have on hand, just cut the salt in the recipe by 1/2. Make sure to use the stick butter and not the spreadable kind.
- Dark brown sugar: I love the extra molasses in dark brown sugar. This will make a nice and chewy cookie with a richer sweetness.
- White sugar: For extra sweetness.
- Large egg: To bind everything together and add extra protein and chewiness.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a delicious warm flavor to the cookies.
- All purpose flour: For holding everything together. I also like to use a higher protein all purpose flour (like King Arthur brand) for these cookies, since it makes them thick and chewy.
- Baking soda: for leavening, browning, and making a tender cookie.
- Kosher salt: I like using a slightly coarse kosher salt (not table salt) for this recipe. The salt helps to balance out all the sweetness. If you only have table salt on hand, reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon.
How To Make White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375º.
Step 2:
Next, heat the butter in the microwave or saucepan until melted. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add both the brown sugar and the white sugar.
Tip: Feel the butter to make sure it isn’t too hot. The butter should be warm, still liquid, but not too hot to touch with a finger.
Step 3:
Pour the melted butter over the sugar mixture and beat on low speed with an electric mixer until the ingredients are combined and glossy, about 30-45 seconds.
Add in the egg and vanilla, mixing on low until the egg is just incorporated.
Step 4:
To the mixing bowl, pour in the dry ingredients. Set the mixer to low speed and mix the ingredients until just combined–some streaks of flour are ok.
Step 5:
Pour in the white chocolate chips and stir on low, until everything is just mixed completely and the chips have been evenly distributed.
Step 6:
Scoop mounds of cookie dough (about two tablespoons in size) and place them on the prepared sheet pans, about 2 inches apart. I like using a cookie scoop for this job.
Allow the dough to sit at room temperature on the cookie sheets for about 20-30 minutes to let the flour hydrate and absorb the flavors.
After resting, the dough will no longer feel sticky, and the cookie dough balls will now be easy to pick up.
Step 7:
Bake the cookies at 375º for 7-9 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown and the centers have puffed. They will be slightly underbaked when you remove them from the oven, but that’s what you want. They’ll finish setting as they cool.
Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for about 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack or a serving platter. The centers will be warm and gooey and the edges will be delightfully crisp and brown.
Pro Tips
- Make sure to let the cookies sit for 20-30 minutes. If you like a thick cookie, this is important. Scooping and baking immediately after mixing will produce a thinner cookie. By letting the cookie dough sit before baking, the flour absorbs the melted butter and sugars. This will allow the flavors to develop and keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
- Allow the butter to cool slightly after melting. The butter shouldn’t be super hot when it hits the sugar, we don’t want to dissolve or caramelize the sugars completely.
- Use good quality all purpose flour if possible. I tested this recipe with a couple of different flours and found I got my best and most consistent results with King Arthur’s all purpose flour. It makes a little stiffer cookie dough, which is nice for thick and chewy cookies.
- Do not overmix. You want to mix the dough until it has just come together. You can even stir the white chips in by hand at the end to be safe. Overmixing can lead to a tough and hard cookie.
- Underbake the cookies.Take the cookies out of the oven as soon as the edges start to brown. The centers will still be puffy and gooey—that’s what you want! They’ll continue cooking on the pan as they cool, giving you a soft, chewy center once they’ve fully set.
How to Store White Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are best the day they’re baked but will keep for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container. To freeze, store baked cookies in a freezer safe bag in the freezer for 3 months. When ready to serve, I take out the number I need and let them thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
White Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQs
I usually use my local grocery store’s white baking chips, but Nestle white morsels or Hershey’s work just as well. They’re not real white chocolate, but rather vanilla chips, but taste very close. Ghirardelli chips are a great option for this recipe. You can even chop up a 5 oz bar of white baking chocolate—Ghirardelli’s baking bars are my go-to!
These cookies are best the day they’re baked but will keep for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.
Yes! I like to bake my cookies, let them cool completely, and store them in a freezer safe bag in the freezer for months! When I’m ready to serve, I take out the number I need and let them thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Melted butter is the secret to a chewy cookie! Unlike the traditional creaming method, which adds air for a lighter texture, melted butter eliminates air, giving you dense, chewy, and moist cookies. This is why treats like brownie bites, blondies, and chocolate chip cookies use melted butter.
Another tip: underbake your cookies. Due to carryover cooking, they’ll continue baking on the sheet even after you take them out, ensuring they end up perfectly chewy once cooled.
White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Variations
White chocolate chips make this cookie recipe so versatile and opens up the door to add other fun ingredients like fruits and nuts.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Add 1/2 cup of chopped macadamia nuts with 1/2 a cup of white chocolate chips.
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Add 1/2 cup of dried sweetened cranberries with 1/2 cup white chocolate chips to the cookie dough.
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Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (4oz) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (5 oz) of white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375º.
- Next, heat the butter in the microwave or saucepan until melted. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add both the brown sugar and the white sugar. Feel the melted butter to make sure it isn't too hot. The butter should be warm, still liquid, but not too hot to touch with a finger.
- Pour the melted butter over the sugars and mix on low until the ingredients are combined and glossy, about 30-45 seconds.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and mix on low until the egg is just incorporated.
- To the mixing bowl, pour in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set the mixer to low speed and mix the ingredients until just barely combined. Some streaks of flour are ok.
- Pour in the white chocolate chips and stir on low. Stir until everything is just mixed fully and the chips have been evenly distributed.
- Scoop mounds of cookie dough (about two tablespoons in size) and place them on the prepared sheet pans. Space them about 2 inches apart.
- Allow the dough to sit at room temperature on the cookie sheets for about 20-30 minutes to let the flour hydrate and absorb the flavors.
- After resting, the dough will no longer feel sticky, and the cookie dough balls will now be easy to pick up.
- Bake the cookies at 375º for 7-9 minutes, until the edges are just starting to lightly brown and the centers have puffed. They will be a little underbaked when you remove them from the oven, but that's what you want. They'll finish setting as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to sit for about 15 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring them to a cooling rack or a serving platter. The centers will be warm and gooey and the edges will be delightfully crisp and brown.
