Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies

This easy, no-mixer required loaded chocolate chip cookie recipe is my go-to when I need a quick (but delicious!) dessert but don’t have a lot of time. These cookies are absolutely stuffed with all the best candies and chocolates including chocolate chips, Cadbury mini eggs, and M&Ms. You can add all your favorite mix-ins and can be as creative with the flavor combinations as you want! Customize them to any special celebration or holiday by adding festive sprinkles and seasonal candy. Whatever you decide to do, this recipe is sure to be the hit of the party so have fun with it and get creative with fun combos!

How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie:

The recipe for the these chocolate chip cookies can be found at the bottom of the page but first, let's do a step-by-step on how to ensure you get the perfect chocolate chip cookie each and every time:

Measure flour correctly: to get the best results, always make sure you are measuring your flour correctly. To do so, use a separate spoon to “fluff” the flour. Then, use the same spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Level off the top with a knife or straight edge. Do NOT scoop your measuring cup directly into the flour. This compacts the flour and you will end up with too much flour in your recipe. 

Do NOT over-bake cookies: When making chocolate chip cookies one of the most important rules is to always take them out of the oven BEFORE they look done! They should be slightly golden around the edges and pale and puffy on top. *The cookies will continue to bake on the baking sheet once they are out of the oven so make sure you are not leaving them in too long!

Shape cookies: even the perfect cookie recipe can produce cookies that might not bake in a perfectly round shape. If you have one that is slightly askew or needs a little extra help, use a metal spoon to gently push the edges back into a rounded shape. NOTE: this needs to be done immediately after they are taken out of the oven. 

Melted butter: you do not need it melted completely but it does need to be mostly liquid (do not overheat it though!). Make sure you allow the butter to cool for 10 minutes before you begin making your batter. You do not want to start adding your ingredients when your butter is too hot. 

Add extra chocolate chips/mix-ins to baked cookies: my favorite tip to making your cookies look like they came out of a bakery is to add a few extra chocolate chips on top of the cookies immediately after taking them out of the oven. *It is important that you do this right away so that the heat of the cookies has time to slightly melt the added chocolate chips.

Room temperature eggs: it is a good rule of thumb to always use room temperature ingredients in your baked goods. Room temperature eggs are particularly important for this recipe because they mix into your dough easier and more evenly than cold eggs do. As a result, you will be able to avoid the possibility of overmixing.

Dry ingredients: I know it might seem unnecessary but I always suggest whisking together your dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to your dough/batter. This will ensure that your cookies rise evenly and do not have uneven pockets of leavening agents. 

Mix-ins Suggestions:

My favorite mix-ins are chocolate chips, M&M’s, and Cadbury mini eggs but other great combinations are:

• Chocolate chips, Reese’s peanut butter cups (the minis are great in this!), & peanut butter chips

• Variety of chocolate chips/chunks: semi-sweet, white chocolate, milk chocolate, & dark chocolate

• M&M’s, Reese’s peanut butter cups &/or peanut butter chips, & semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Butterscotch chips, peanut butter M&Ms, & semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks

• Peanut butter chips & chocolate chunks/chips

• Sno-caps, white chocolate chips, & chocolate chips

• Chopped snickers bars, peanuts, & chocolate chips (any type!)

  
  

Note: I love adding sprinkles to these when I am taking them to a birthday or a holiday especially when kids will be there! To do this, do not substitute the sprinkles for your other mix-ins. Instead, add your 2 & 3/4 cups of chocolate (or your choice of mix-ins), and then add the sprinkles to that mixture. 

Chilling the dough:

Once you are done making the dough, place the entire bowl into the fridge and chill for 30 minutes. Note: if you are using M&M’s as one of your mix-ins, be careful to not chill the dough for too long because the colors could start to bleed.

Recommended: as each batch of the cookies are baking, I always suggest placing the dough back in the fridge until it is time to do the next batch. This is not necessary but it is a good rule of thumb especially during the hot summer months.

Tips when making the dough:

The butter, brown sugar, & granulated sugar should be whisked together vigorously until you get a thick paste-like consistency (about 1-2 minutes). The sugars should be fully incorporated into the butter and you should no longer be able to see the sugar granules. It should look like this:

The chocolate/candies/mix-ins should be added to the dough at the last step. Please make sure if you are using larger sized candies/mix-ins that you chop them ahead of time!

Once you have finished adding all your ingredients the dough should be quite thick but should still be able to run a spatula through it.

How to Store Baked Cookies:

My favorite thing about this cookie recipe is that the baked cookies become even softer the next day! For this reason, it is truly the perfect recipe to make the day before especially if you are short on time.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Tip: you can add a piece of plain sliced bread to the container and it will help the cookies stay fresher, longer. 

Alternatively, baked cookies store well in the freezer and defrost beautifully (no one would ever know they were frozen!). To do this, allow cookies to cool completely before placing in a freezer-safe ziplock bag.

Note: to ensure they remain as fresh as possible, I always suggest double wrapping them. You can do this by placing the bagged cookies in a freezer-safe tupperware container or double-bagging the cookies. Either way works wonderfully. 

When you are ready to eat, take them out of the freezer and let them defrost on the counter (leave them in the bag/tupperware to defrost). They usually defrost in about 30 minutes. 

How to Make Cookies Ahead of Time:

There are multiple ways you can make them ahead of time:

1. Bake the cookies the day before and place in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to eat. Optional: place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies to help maintain freshness/softness.

   
   

2. Bake the entire batch of cookies. Once cooled, place the baked cookies in a ziplock bag and then into a freezer-safe airtight container and place in the freezer. These can be stored in the freezer 2-3 months.When ready to eat, take the container out of the freezer and allow it to defrost on the counter 30 minutes to an hour (do not remove the cookies from the bag/container until they are fully defrosted!). From here, you can eat them at room temperature or pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds so that chocolate gets melty!

   
   

How To Freeze (and Bake) Cookie Dough:

Place the cookie dough balls in a ziplock bag and then either put the bag into a freezer-safe airtight container or into an additional ziplock bag. Allow the dough to freeze completely before baking OR freeze overnight. Frozen dough can last in the freezer for 2-3 months. 

Frozen cookie dough needs to bake at a lower temperature to prevent the edges from browning prematurely. It also will need to bake in the oven for about 2-4 minutes longer. 

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Line a light-colored baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Do NOT defrost the cookie dough before baking.

Bake frozen cookie dough for 15-17 minutes or until the edges begin to become golden and the center is still pale and puffy. The cookies will look undercooked but that’s okay! They will continue to bake on the baking sheet once they are taken out of the oven. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes on the warm baking sheet before serving.