These viral Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookies are everything you love in a classic homemade treat—simple, nostalgic, and irresistibly chewy. Made with basic pantry ingredients and no special equipment, this easy cookie recipe comes together in under 30 minutes for warm, bakery-style cookies every time.
Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line two 13x18-inch baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a Danish dough whisk (preferred) or a wooden spoon, cream together ½ cup salted butter, ½ cup light brown sugar, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt until pale and fluffy - slightly resembling frosting. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix at speed #4 for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Mix in 1 large egg and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract until fully incorporated, with no streaks of yolk visible.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon powdered milk, and 1½ teaspoons baking soda, then mix into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until most of the flour has been incorporated.
Add 1½ cups mini chocolate chips and fold until evenly distributed throughout the dough and no more flour is visible.
Use a #24 cookie scoop to portion out the dough into 1.8-ounce portions. Roll the dough into balls with your palms and place the cookies at least 3 inches apart on the baking sheet.
I offset and fit eight cookies per 13x18-inch baking pan. You can use baking sheets of different sizes, but make sure you place the dough on a cool baking sheet each time (pop it in the freezer for a couple of minutes between batches, if needed).
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, just until the edges are turning light golden brown.
Optional: As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press additional mini chocolate chips onto the tops and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.