Basic Cookie Dough For Mix-ins
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Next up in my basic dough series is this basic cookie dough for mix-ins. This is a reliable dough that produces a soft, but thicker cookie. It’s the perfect cookie dough for chocolate chips or chunks, nuts, M&M candies, dried fruit, or even by itself as a “chipless” cookie.
Why I love this dough so much
This is one of those recipes that never lets you down. The dough has primarily brown sugar, so the cookies are perfectly chewy and dense, which makes it a great dough for chocolate chip/chunk cookies, chocolate nut cookies, or even M&M monster cookies. It’s very versatile and can handle all kinds of mix-ins.
This cookie dough is also made with common ingredients that most bakers have in their kitchen at all times, so it’s one you can whip up without a ton of planning or preparation (a huge plus).
Let’s break down how to make this dough
- Start by creaming room temperature butter, brown sugar, and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing for another minute.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and sea salt together.
- Then, add the flour to the wet ingredients and mix with the mixer until mostly combined. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula.
- Once dough is made, you can add the mix-ins and bake the cookies right away or freeze the plain dough for baking at a later time. If you freeze the dough, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, let it come up to room temperature, and then add mix-ins.
To make chipless cookies
If you’re a purist and are looking to make chipless cookies (yes, that’s a thing), this is a great dough for that. Just scoop the cookies as you normally would, but sprinkle the tops of them with sugar just before baking. This will give them a little extra sweetness and crunch after they cool.
Chipless cookies are actually one of my personal favorites. I really appreciate being able to taste the dough, which is often lost or overpowered by mix-ins.
Questions about this recipe
Whether you make this dough as cookies with a mix-in or as chipless cookies, this basic dough will be your new go-to. Whip up a batch and let me know what you think.
Other basic cookie dough recipes for you
Basic Cookie Dough For Mix-ins
ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cup flour (unbleached)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium size bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar together with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy.1/2 cup butter, unsalted, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar
- Beat in egg and vanilla extract and mix for another minute.1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and sea salt together in a separate bowl.1½ cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Add flour to wet ingredients, half at a time, mixing with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Using a 1.5 TBS cookie scoop, scoop dough onto lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze.
can I make without sugar and then combine with store bought cookie dough(which is always too sweet)
I tried this recipe and it seems the flour to butter is off.. they basically melted into a pan cookie
Hi Lisa! Wow, I’m so sorry that happened to you – I’ve never had that happen with this recipe. Thanks for taking a minute to leave feedback, I appreciate it.
Weird! Mine barely changed shape and were perfect! Maybe the butter was too soft? Mine wasn’t quite down to room temp.
Lmaoo this recipe honestly would’ve turned out great if I didn’t mess it up somehow not sure what I did wrong. This tasted like muffins after and didn’t flatten out like normal cookies lol. Not sure what that’s about hopefully next time I can follow the recipe better.
Hahahaha Aleah what happened? Sounds like maybe you added too much flour. That usually causes cookies to puff up, be stiff, and not spread out much. I hope you have better luck with the next batch. Happy baking!
I added orange extract instead of vanilla because i wanted to keep them simple and they turned out divine! Excellent recipe
Oooh Sara, that sounds yummy! I’ve never added orange extract to cookies. I’ll put that on my list to try. Thank you for taking a minute to leave a comment, I appreciate it. Happy baking!
Hi! Do you have a recommendation for the ideal measurement for mix-ins? 1/2 cup?
Hey Natalie! I usually do 1/2 to 3/4 cup total. Happy baking!
I don’t usually leave reviews but thank you so much for this recipe. Perfect sweetness, perfect baking time and super easy.
I also love that the ingredient amounts are reminded for each step ; that’s how every recipe should be.
I added white chocolate chips and nuts.
Thank you so much, Catherine! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies and the recipe. I truly appreciate you taking a minute to leave a review, it’s so helpful. Happy baking! 🙂
Hello! Can I add oats to this base?
Hi Kimberly! It depends on how much actually. If you’re adding a small amount of oats, like a half a cup, you likely won’t need to make any adjustments to the recipe. The oats should incorporate into the dough without significantly altering the texture or consistency. It’s always a trial and error thing and I haven’t tried it, so let me know how it goes!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Can peanut butter be added and if so, how much?
Hi Arlene! I haven’t tried adding peanut butter to this particular recipe, BUT I have a basic peanut butter cookie dough that you might love too! Here’s the link if you want to check it out too. Happy baking!
🙂 https://kristineinbetween.com/basic-peanut-butter-cookie-dough/
hi , this recipe really worked
for me just right amount
nice to switch it up add nuts, raisons , pumpkin seeds , butterscotch chips easy !
Could I use this recipe as a base for NY style cookies, maybe without the baking soda and adding cornstarch?