How to Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies from Scratch with Your Kids

Learn to make delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies with simple ingredients and easy steps the whole family can enjoy.

1. Gather Your Ingredients. You'll need: 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup butter (softened), ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup packed brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 2 cups chocolate chips. Make sure your butter is soft enough to easily press with your finger - take it out of the fridge about an hour before baking. Check that your baking soda isn't expired by testing a pinch in a small bowl of vinegar - it should fizz if it's still good.
2. Prepare Your Kitchen. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them with butter. Get out two mixing bowls - one large and one medium. This is a great time to let kids help wash their hands and put on aprons. Set up your workspace so little hands can safely reach everything they need.
3. Mix the Dry Ingredients. In your medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. This is a perfect job for kids - show them how to use the whisk in circular motions. Make sure everything is evenly combined with no clumps. Set this bowl aside - you'll add it to the wet ingredients later.
4. Cream the Butter and Sugars. In your large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter with both sugars until the mixture looks light and fluffy - about 2-3 minutes. The mixture should be pale yellow and increase in volume. If you don't have an electric mixer, you can do this by hand with a wooden spoon, but it will take more muscle and about 5-6 minutes of mixing.
5. Add Eggs and Vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add the vanilla extract. The mixture might look a little curdled at this point - that's totally normal. Make sure everything is well combined before moving to the next step. Let kids help crack the eggs into a small bowl first, then add them to the mixture to avoid any shell pieces.
6. Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients. Gradually add your flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed or stirring gently by hand. Mix just until the flour disappears - don't overmix or your cookies will be tough. The dough should come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Now fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon, making sure they're evenly distributed.
7. Shape and Bake the Cookies. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart - they'll spread as they bake. You can use a cookie scoop or two spoons for this job. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are golden brown but the centers still look slightly soft. Don't overbake - they'll continue cooking on the hot pan after you remove them from the oven.
8. Cool and Enjoy. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. This waiting period is the hardest part, especially for eager kids! The cookies will be very soft when they first come out, so don't try to move them right away. Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to a week - if they last that long.