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These soft and chewy air fryer chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with melty chocolate chips, all without turning on the oven. If you’ve ever tried air frying cookies and ended up with dry or overbaked results, this recipe fixes that.
This small batch air fryer cookie recipe uses a classic chocolate chip cookie dough, then bakes it gently in the air fryer basket so the edges set while the inside stays gooey and tender. The result? The same flavor and texture you love from oven-baked cookies, ready in a fraction of the time.
Whether you’re air frying late at night, avoiding heating up the kitchen, or just craving a quick dessert, these soft and chewy air fryer chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite cookie recipes to make on repeat.
Why These Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies Work
- Lower air fryer temperature: Baking at 300°F prevents the outside from overbaking before the inside sets.
- Brown sugar and butter: Light brown sugar keeps the cookies moist and chewy instead of dry.
- Small batch dough: Fewer cookies in the air fryer basket means better air circulation and even baking.
- Slight underbake: The cookies finish baking as they cool, giving you soft centers.
Let’s Chit Chat!
I’ll be honest, I didn’t always trust baking cookies in the air fryer. I assumed they’d come out dry, uneven, or just… not worth it. But after testing different temperatures, dough sizes, and air fryer models, this recipe completely changed my mind.
I love air frying cookies when I want something quick, cozy, and low-effort, especially during late nights or hot summer days when turning on the oven sounds awful. These cookies bake fast, use simple pantry ingredients, and give you that classic soft-and-chewy chocolate chip cookie texture without the wait.
If you’re new to air fryer baking, this is one of the easiest cookie recipes to start with, forgiving, reliable, and honestly a little dangerous once you realize how fast you can make them.
Table of Contents
- Why These Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies Work
- Why Make Cookies in the Air Fryer?
- Ingredients for chocolate chip air fryer cookies
- Ingredient substitutions and variations:
- How to make chocolate chip cookie in the air fryer?
- Air Fryer Cookie Tips for Soft & Chewy Results
- Frequently Asked Questions- FAQs
- Chocolate Chip Cookies in the Air Fryer Recipe
Why Make Cookies in the Air Fryer?
- No need to preheat a full oven
- Perfect for small batch cookie cravings
- Fast bake time with soft, chewy results
- Great for hot days when you don’t want extra heat
Ingredients for chocolate chip air fryer cookies
Here are the ingredients you will need for these air fryer chocolate chip cookies. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card to see the detailed ingredient measurements.
- Unsalted Butter– You will need room temperature butter for this cookie recipe.
- Brown sugar & granulated sugar– Just like any regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, you will need brown sugar and white sugar.
- Egg yolk– Since this is a small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe, you will only need one egg yolk at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract– Vanilla extract is definitely a must when it comes to chocolate chip cookies.
- Flour– All purpose flour is what you will need to make this soft and chewy cookies.
- Salt– Always add a little bit of salt to your baked goods to balance out the flavors.
- Baking soda– The baking soda will be our leavening agent to give the cookies a little height.
- Chocolate chips– Last but not least, can’t have chocolate chip cookies without the most important ingredient, chocolate chips! Make sure to use good quality chocolate chips for better tasting cookies. Any chocolate would work, think semi-sweet, milk chocolate chips or even white chocolate chips!
Ingredient substitutions and variations:
When it comes to the base cookie recipe, it is best not to substitute the inrgedients. But you can always use different ingredients instead of the chocolate chips. A few things I like to add to my chocolate chip cookies are:
- Chopped nuts
- Peanut butter chips
- Dried cranberries
- White chocolate chips
- Sprinkles
How to make chocolate chip cookie in the air fryer?
Here is how you can make your own chocolate chip cookies in the air fryer. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions!
- Preheat the air fryer basket to 300F for 5 minutes.
- Make the cookie dough by creaming the butter and sugars in a large bowl, then adding the yolk and vanilla, then folding in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula.
- Place a piece of air fryer parchment paper (or not if you’re baking your cookies in the base of the air fryer) then place 3 cookies in the air fryer basket.
- Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes, you will notice the cookie edges are turning brown but the center still looks a bit raw. Don’t worry the cookies will continue to bake as they cool. Sprinkle with some sea salt for a fancier touch.
- Let the cookies cool in the air fryer basket for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.
Air Fryer Cookie Tips for Soft & Chewy Results
- Let them rest: Cooling in the basket for 5 minutes helps the texture set without drying out.
- Preheat the air fryer basket: Just like ovens, air fryers bake more evenly when preheated.
- Don’t overcrowd: Bake 2–3 cookie dough balls at a time so air can circulate.
- Use parchment paper correctly: Use air fryer parchment paper or poke holes in regular parchment paper so it doesn’t fly around.
- Watch the centers: The cookies should look slightly underbaked in the middle when you pull them out.
Reader tip: Microwave your cookies for 10–15 seconds the next day for that just-baked gooey chocolate chip texture!
Frequently Asked Questions- FAQs
Yes, when baked at a lower temperature and slightly underdone, air fryer chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy inside with lightly set edges. This recipe is designed specifically for that texture.
Yes! You can bake cookies in the air fryer just like you would in an oven, you just need a slightly lower temperature and shorter bake time. Air fryer cookies bake quickly and develop crisp edges while staying soft inside.
Cookies usually turn dry if the temperature is too high or they bake too long. For soft and chewy air fryer chocolate chip cookies, bake at 300°F and pull them out while the centers still look slightly underdone.
You can, but the cookies will be thicker and less chewy. For best results, let frozen cookie dough balls thaw slightly before baking so they spread and cook evenly.
Parchment paper works best, especially air fryer parchment paper with holes. If using foil, make sure to poke holes so air can circulate properly in the air fryer basket.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Absolutely. Bake at 350°F for 8–10 minutes for soft and chewy cookies. For a full oven version, check out my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.
Chocolate Chip Cookies in the Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- First start by preheating the air fryer to 300F.
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter, the brown sugar, and the granulated sugar together. Add in the egg yolk and the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add in the four. salt, and the baking soda and mix just until the dry mixture disappears. Add in the chocolate chips and gently fold until combined.
For this step you can either remove the air fryer rack and place the cookie dough directly onto the air fryer basket or place air fryer parchment paper on the air fryer rack and place the cookies on top of that.
- Using a small cookie scooper, scoop out 8 equal cookie dough balls. Set 3-4 cookie dough balls in the air fryer basket with enough space between each one ( as shown in the photo) Bake the cookies for 6 minutes at 300F, turn off when they're done baking and let them rest for 5 minutes. Gently remove the cookies from the air fryer basket and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
yummys in my tummys
That’s great!
SO GOOD and so easy!!! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
These cookies are amazing! I love them so much and they are the best cookies 🍪 ever! Barely any work involved too which is 👍🏻
Enjoy these,
Annabelle
YAY! Thank you Annabelle!
This is actually the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made! Taste and texture are like no other!!
YAY!!! So glad to hear that!
I try not to use the oven in summer here in Arizona. These cookies were a wonderful surprise. Cooked to perfection with a slightly crisp outside and soft, chewy inside. Outstanding! Thank you
Thank you so much for letting me know how your cookies turned out, Sandra! Glad to hear you loved them 🙂
Chahinez
I tried these air fryer chocolate chip cookies and the whole family loved them! Thank you!
Thank you so much for trying these, Tamy! Glad you liked them 🙂
Have a great day,
Chahinez
I’m so impressed! I had no idea you could bake in an air fryer!
Air fryers are like the holy grail of kitchen equimment haha!