6 secrets to making the perfect chocolate chip cookie

Chocolate chip cookies. No matter how you like them, they're a treat for all ages and are one of those foods that will always take you right back to your mom's kitchen. With that being said, these cookies are always best when homemade, especially if they're fresh right out of the oven.

But there's more than one way to bake a perfect chocolate chip cookie. After all, it depends on how you like your cookies. Some like them soft and chewy, while others like them crisp and crumbly. No matter how you like your cookies, you'll be sure to find at least a few tips below that will help you make them just right every single time.

1. For cookies that are super chewy, add powdered milk
For this tip, it doesn't even really matter what the recipe calls for. Make it exactly as stated but when preparing the dry ingredients, add two tablespoons of powdered milk. Because you're still using more liquid (albeit in powdered form), the cookies will have less of a chance to dry out and will be softer and chewier.

2. For thin and crispy cookies, add more white sugar than brown
There are those that like super soft and chewy cookies, and then there are those that like them a bit crisper. If the latter is the side of the cookie you fall on, just add more white sugar than brown. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for both but add just half of the brown sugar it calls for and replace the remaining amount with white sugar. All sugar causes cookies to spread out, but white sugar has less of a leavening agent than brown sugar does, making them spread out even more. When they do, the cookie gets cooked through a bit more and while the entire thing gets crispier, the edges get particularly crunchy.

3. For rich flavor, use more brown sugar than white
Not only does brown sugar have more leavening agents in it, it also has molasses - something white sugar is completely deficient in. When this molasses is baked, its flavor turns from just sugar into a gooey, caramel-type of flavor, and that can be dynamite when added into chocolate chip cookies. Just like in the above tip, to get this type of cookie, use only half of the white sugar called for in the recipe and replace the rest with brown sugar. Or, really go for it and use only brown sugar for both sugars called for in the recipe.

4. Use chunks instead of chips
Chocolate chips are great, but they're designed to keep their shape which can result in chips that aren't quite melted through when baked. Instead, get a piece of good-quality chocolate and chop it into chunks. This will not only result in a more gooey cookie, but those chunks will also be more evenly distributed. Not to mention that because those chunks will be of different sizes, it will provide for a surprise in every bite!

5. Let the dough chill for at least 24 hours
No matter what kind of cookie you like, no one likes to have a cookie break as soon as they pick it up to eat. This is a result of the flour not completely absorbing the wet ingredients, and that also results in the flavors not fully marrying with each other. While the cookie may still be sweet and tasty, it could also be so much better (and not broken in half!)

To get the perfect cookie with perfect firm dough that's flavored throughout, the solution is simple. Just chill the cookie dough for at least 24 hours, and as long as 36 hours, before baking. That will give the dry ingredients plenty of time to absorb the wet ingredients and will also result in a firmer cookie that's better for traveling, or just for picking up.

6. Or at least use cold butter
If that cookie craving is strong and you just can't possibly wait 24 hours, at least use cold butter instead of the softened butter most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for. This won't only help result in a firmer cookie, it will also provide for a more even temperature throughout the cookies, helping them bake more evenly through. But how do you incorporate cold butter into a cookie recipe, especially when it calls for the sugar and butter to be creamed together? Use frozen butter and just grate the amount that's needed in. It will still cream together with other ingredients, without dropping much in temperature.