13 Steps to the Perfect Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Easy tips to make the best thin, chewy, buttery, chocolatey Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe. Everyone will beg you to bake just one more batch.

Slightly crispy on the outside, Hershey chocolate chip cookies bake up thin and chewy. Buttery and chocolatey, they stay fresh for two or three days in an airtight container. Make them with chocolate chips or a chopped Hershey bar.

Looking for the no-fuss, no-chill Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe? This is the original recipe on the Hershey bag. Only this recipe includes more detailed instructions and easy techniques to make even tastier cookies.

When testing different brand’s chocolate chip cookie recipes, I compared the Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe to Nestle, Ghirardelli, and Guittard’s respective recipes.

Hershey, Nestle, and Ghirardelli have almost identical recipes. But each has one thing that sets their cookie apart. The option to use a Hershey bar in place of the chocolate chips makes these cookies stand out.

These are the cookies you make in a hurry when your teenage son has a friend over. While they are upstairs goofing off, you make a batch.

The teens scarf them down in the time it takes you to switch a load of laundry. Bake them up and see how addicting they are.

Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ingredients

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter (unsalted butter if you have it)
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• ¾ cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, cold, straight from the refrigerator
• 2 cups (12 oz.) milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

How to Make Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookies

The original Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe is an easy recipe. However, the directions on the bag are not too detailed.

If you want to make the very best version of the cookie, you need some insider tricks. Luckily, I have included some of my best chocolate chip cookie tips acquired over the years.

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Preheating is vital for cookie baking because the cookies are only in the oven for a short time. When your oven is at the right temperature before you put your cookies in, the cookies will bake evenly. You will get excellent results consistently.

Do you know if your oven temperature is accurate? You will only know with an oven thermometer. Read how you can easily calibrate your oven with an oven thermometer.

Often the oven is not hot enough when it beeps to indicate it is ready. Wait another 15 minutes before baking the cookies.

Before you heat oven, make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven. Cookies love the middle rack.

Step 2. Measure the dry ingredients.

• All-purpose flour. If you have a kitchen scale, use it. A kitchen scale will give you precision and accuracy in your baking.

If no kitchen scale, then follow these tips.

1. Stir the flour with a spoon to loosen it. Flour gets packed down over time as it sits.
2. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it is overflowing.
3. Scrape the top of the measuring cup smooth with the back of a knife.

• Baking soda and salt. Scoop and level the measuring spoon.

Step 3. Whisk the dry ingredients.

Combine flour with baking soda and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients briefly until they are mixed.

Step 4. Cream butter and the sugars.

When the butter is at cool room temperature (65 to 68° Fahrenheit) and is soft and bendable, cut each cube into three or four pieces. Place the butter pieces in a large mixing bowl.

Using an electric hand mixer with beaters, beat the butter at medium speed for 30 seconds. This will start to break the butter up, so it is easier to cream the sugar into.

If the butter is too cold, creaming will be difficult. If the butter is too warm, the cookies will spread into a sloppy mess when you bake them.

Butter temperature is one of the first essential techniques I discovered when baking snickerdoodle cookies.

Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat with the electric mixer on medium speed for 1 to 1½ minutes, or until the mixture is creamy.

Stop halfway through and scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are blended.

Step 5. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time.

Pour the vanilla and one egg into the butter mixture. Beat with the hand mixer on low speed for 30 seconds until it looks blended in. Add the second egg and beat it until it is well blended.

When you add the eggs one at a time, you can mix them into the batter rather than into each other.

Step 6. Add the dry ingredient mixture all at once. Then slowly blend until everything is incorporated.

When you add the flour mixture all at once, you mix the dough for less time. This is good for cookies because you do not want to overwork the dough. Mix just until the flour disappears into the dough.

That tip came from Dorie Greenspan.

Use a large spoon or spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Make sure all the flour is incorporated into the dough.

Step 7. Add the chocolate chips (and nuts if you want).

Measure the chocolate chips with a measuring cup or kitchen scale.

Reserve about 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Then pour the rest of the chocolate chips into the dough. Look at Step 9 to see what to do with the reserved chips.

Stir the chocolate chips into the dough with a large wooden spoon. It can be tough to get the chocolate chips evenly throughout the dough. But give it the old college try.

Nothing is worse than cookies with skimpy chocolate chips. However, the chocolate chips you kept out can help fix this problem.

If you are adding nuts, do so now. Mix with the wooden spoon to integrate them into the dough.

Step 8. Scoop the cookies onto the cookie sheet.

Use an ungreased cookie sheet. The butter in the cookies will keep them from sticking to the pan. For years, I plopped the cookies right onto the pan.

However, when using parchment paper or a silicone liner mat, you will get golden and evenly baked cookies with almost no clean-up time.

• The benefit of parchment paper is that it is disposable. Use it for your batch of cookies and then throw it away.
  
  
• The advantage of a silicone liner mat is that it is reusable and effortless to clean.

Cookie scoops come in many sizes. The teaspoon and tablespoon are the most common sizes for home bakers.

Use a teaspoon cookie scoop with your Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe to get 5 dozen (3-inch diameter) cookies.

If you use a tablespoon cookie scoop, expect about 2 dozen (5-inch diameter) cookies.

The cookie dough will be sticky and may slightly stick to the scoop. However, it should not stick to your hands when you roll cookie dough balls. If it is too sticky, you need more flour.

Cookie Scoop Tips

• Do not overfill the scoop. Do not be afraid to level each spoonful to help keep all your cookies the same size. It may be a little difficult because the chocolate chips peek over the edge of the scoop but do your best.
  
  
• After releasing the cookie dough from the scoop, roll the dough into a ball. Then place it on the cookie sheet and you will consistently get better-shaped cookies.

If you do not have a cookie scoop, use two spoons. I did this for years.

• Use two regular eating spoons. Scoop cookie dough with one spoon. Then scrape the cookie dough off the first spoon with the second spoon.
  
  
• Roll the dough into a ball with your palms.

Place the cookie dough balls 2 to 3 inches apart when using a teaspoon scoop. Space them 3 to 5 inches apart when using a tablespoon scoop.

Cookies need space. Otherwise, you might get that horrible cookie-running-together-during-baking thing.

I really hate when cookies run together. They don’t look as pretty. Sure, they taste the same. But you need taste AND appearance, right.

Step 9. Add the extra chocolate chips to the tops of the cookie balls (if they need them).

After you scoop and roll the cookies, you will notice some seem a little light on the chocolate chips. For some reason, the dough on the last batch appears to have hardly any chocolate chips.

And don’t get me started on the final couple of pieces of dough you scoop. They may not even have any chocolate chips.

To fix this problem, sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips into areas where chips appear scarce.

You may even find that adding all the remaining chocolate chips to the batter in the last batch is the best strategy.

Or you may like sticking a few chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough balls before they bake.

Although it is tempting to add a few chocolate chips to the top and be done with it, that will lead to messy cookies.

Instead, add the chocolate chips, and then roll the cookie dough between your palms until the chips are mixed into the dough. The chocolate no longer glazes the top, and smearing is avoided.

If you do not mind a messy cookie, just stick a few chocolate chips on top of the cookie before you put it in the oven.

It is a personal preference. Just know what you are getting if you don’t mix the chocolate chips in.

Sometimes, I make a half-batch of chocolate chip cookies. Since a half-batch recipe only uses half the chocolate chips, there are extra chocolate chips to play around with.

Occasionally I add more chips to the batter at the start. Often, I add more to the batter when I think it needs it.

Step 10. Bake the cookies. Rotate the baking sheet during baking.

As the cookies bake, they spread and get thin. The edges finish cooking before the centers.

Bake the cookies until the edges are set and are starting to brown. The middles may not look completely done yet. To prevent overcooking, remove the cookies from the oven before the center has finished baking.

The residual heat from the pan will continue to bake the centers of the cookies, so the whole cookie is done.

I recommend rotating the baking sheet of cookies halfway through the bake time for two reasons.

First, every oven has hot and cold spots. When you rotate your cookie sheet during baking, you reduce the chance that some cookies will be done earlier than the rest of the batch.

Second, during the rotation, you can check the progress of the cookies and estimate whether the cookies need as much time to finish baking as other batches did.

Let me explain. The longer the oven is on, the more likely your oven will get hotter. You will notice this if you have an oven thermometer. The oven temperature may increase if it has been on for an hour.

I often find that the first batch of cookies follows the recipe baking time. However, each additional batch finishes baking earlier.

This means that the last dozen may be too crispy for you. Observing the cookies halfway through the baking time lets you adjust the baking time if needed.

If it is a warm day, keep the large bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge while the cookies bake. This keeps the dough from getting too hot and spreading in the oven.

Step 11. Remove cookies from the oven.

When removing the cookies from the oven, place the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. This allows the pan to start cooling, so the cookies do not continue to bake for too long.

Remember, you removed the cookies when the middles did not look entirely done, but the edges were a nice light golden brown.

The residual heat from the pan will continue to bake the cookies. When you place the cookie sheet on a cooling rack, it slows this down and starts to cool the cookies.

After the cookie sheet pan has cooled for 5 to 10 minutes, move the cookies from the pan to the cooling rack. They will continue to cool there as you finish all the other cookie batches.

Step 12. Cool the cookies completely.

Some recipe directions stop after removing the cookies from the oven. This leads you to think it is best to scarf them down before anyone else can get to them.

However, if you want incredible cookies, there are two more steps. The first of these steps is to let them cool to room temperature.

When they cool, the cookie’s structure starts to form so it will keep its shape. The taste begins to mature. In short, the cookies start to develop into the delicious dessert you desire.

It takes willpower, sure. Maybe you need to eat a cookie or two before the process is complete. Go ahead. That is your baking prerogative.

However, if you let the cookies cool and then follow the next step, you will be rewarded for your patience.

Step 13. Put the cookies in an airtight container for 30 to 60 minutes.

This step is crucial to the chewy cookie texture you crave. Cookies straight from the oven are crispy, soft, and fall apart. Cooled cookies are still crisp.

Cookies cooled and stored in an airtight container transform into chewy chocolate chip cookies. They lose some of the annoying dry crispiness and replace it with a soft, chewy texture.

This is one of the reasons many people think that leftover cookies eaten the next day taste better than they did the first day.

Can You Use Hershey Bars Instead of Hershey Chocolate Chips?

If you love the taste of Hershey bars, consider using the candy bars in place of the chocolate chips. This worked well in my easy chocolate chip cake recipe (from boxed cake and pudding mix).

The cookies will taste amazing with chopped chocolate too! However, there are some points to keep in mind.

• Chocolate chips are manufactured to hold their shape. If you want uniformly sized chocolate distributed evenly in your cookie, stick with chocolate chips.

• When bars are baked in a cookie, the chocolate pieces stay softer (meltier, if that is a word) than the chocolate chips. This means you have messy cookies all around.

• You have to chop the bar yourself. Don’t get carried away with the chopping, or you might end up with slivers of chocolate.
  
  On the other hand, too big pieces in the dough lead to strange-looking cookies. Remember, the cookie recipe makes thin, chewy cookies. The cookie structure may not be strong enough to hold large chunks.

Use 12 ounces of Hershey chocolate bars in place of chocolate chips. Hershey bars come in a variety of sizes. Use any sized bar in the cookies.

Use fun-size Hershey chocolate bars (at 0.45 oz./bar) or a giant 7 oz. bar. Choose either milk chocolate or dark chocolate bars.

• Use 27 fun-size Hershey chocolate bars for a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe.

• Grab 8 full-size Hershey bars (@ 1.55 oz. per bar). You will have a bit of extra chocolate in the cookies.

• You need just short of 2 giant bars for the chocolate cookies. That means you can sneak a few bits while you bake.

• Want to change things up? Try half white and half milk chocolate.

How to Substitute a Hershey Chocolate Bar for Chocolate Chips

1. Gather the chocolate bar or bars. You need 12 ounces of chocolate.
   
   
2. Remove the wrappers.
   
   
3. Use a cutting board and a sharp knife to chop the chocolate into pieces close in size to large chocolate chips.
   
   
4. When the recipe calls for chocolate chips, stir in the chocolate pieces instead.

What to Serve with Your Best Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Serve Hershey chocolate chip cookies with a cold glass of milk in the summer or hot chocolate in the winter.

Another family favorite is a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a warm cookie.

How to Store Leftover Cookies

Leftover cookies stay fresh for 2 or 3 days if you store them in an airtight container (and keep the lid on the container). Wrapping them in plastic wrap before placing them in the storage container adds another layer of freshness protection. See more information on how to store chocolate chip cookies.

If you think you will have leftovers beyond 2 days, freeze the cookies.

To freeze cookies, make sure they are completely cool. Then store in the freezer in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 6 months.

To thaw, pull the number of cookies you need out of the freezer. Bring them to room temperature in an airtight container or zip-top bag for 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the temperature of your kitchen).

You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough balls. Freeze them for 1 hour on a tray and then put all the frozen balls in a freezer container and freeze for up to 6 months.

When you are ready for freshly baked cookies, place the frozen cookie balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake them. Add 1 or 2 extra minutes to the regular bake time, depending on the size of the cookie ball.

Lots of leftover cookies? Check out the creative recipes using chocolate chip cookies.

Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Variations

Try any of these popular recipes when you need some variety.

• Peanut butter soft chocolate chip cookies. Replace ½ cup of chocolate chips with peanut butter chips.

• Toffee chocolate chip cookies. Add ¾ cup of Heath Bits o’ Brickle.

• Hershey chocolate chip cookie bar cookies. Use the original Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe. Then spread batter in a greased 2x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Cook at 375° F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. This is a great recipe to serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

With all your insider cookie tips, you are ready to make the best Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Bake. Cool. Eat. Enjoy.

Hungry for More Cookie Recipes?

• Snickerdoodle cookies -- the cookie that launched the blog -- the cookie you can't stop eating.

• Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies -- variation of the original that is perfect for fall.

• Funfetti cake mix cookies -- cream cheese frosting and extra sprinkles make these cookies festive.

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