Mrs Fields Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (Blue Ribbon)

Name: Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Cookie Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 84 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup packed dark brown sugar; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks); 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

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These Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, gooey, and loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips. The recipe comes from one of Debbi Fields’ 1990s cookbooks, making it an authentic Mrs. Fields recipe—not the oatmeal-and-grated-chocolate cookie recipe that circulated for years as an urban legend.

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Debbi Fields opened her first Mrs. Fields cookie shop in Palo Alto, California, in the late 1970s. At a time when packaged cookies like Chips Ahoy and Famous Amos were especially popular, Mrs. Fields became known for serving warm, soft, thick cookies that tasted homemade.

The company and its recipes have changed over the years, but this Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe came directly from Debbi Fields’ cookbook. I’ve made it several times using her original baking instructions and with a few adjustments of my own. Both versions are delicious, but chilling the dough, making the cookies larger, and baking them at 350 degrees produced the thick, gooey cookies shown in these photos.

This is an authentic Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie recipe published in one of Debbi Fields’ cookbooks during the 1990s. It should not be confused with the recipe containing ground oats, grated chocolate, and a Hershey bar that circulated for years under both the Mrs. Fields and Neiman Marcus names.

That recipe was attached to a well-known chain-letter story claiming that someone was charged hundreds of dollars for a cookie recipe and then shared it with the public as revenge. Both Mrs. Fields and Neiman Marcus have denied that the story and recipe came from their companies.

Debbi Fields’ Blue Ribbon recipe is much simpler. It uses all-purpose flour, butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

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Is This the Original Mrs. Fields Cookie Recipe?
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
What Makes Mrs. Fields Cookies Different?
Tips and Tricks
Cookie Recipe Ingredients
How To Make Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why Chill the Cookie Dough?
Baking Tip
Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQs
More Famous Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Cookie Recipe

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

An authentic Mrs. Fields recipe. This Blue Ribbon recipe came from Debbi Fields’ cookbook and is different from the famous cookie-recipe hoax that circulated for years.
Soft and gooey. Dark brown sugar, real butter, and plenty of chocolate chips create cookies with soft centers and rich flavor.
Two ways to bake them. I share Debbi Fields’ original method as well as my larger, chilled version so you can choose the cookie size and texture you prefer.
Simple ingredients. You only need basic baking ingredients and a bag of chocolate chips to make these nostalgic cookies at home.

What Makes Mrs. Fields Cookies Different?

Mrs. Fields became famous for cookies that were soft, warm, and noticeably more homemade than the packaged cookies commonly sold at the time. Debbi Fields’ recipe uses more brown sugar than granulated sugar, which gives the cookies extra moisture, chewiness, and caramel-like flavor.

Her original method uses small scoops of unchilled dough baked at a low temperature. My adapted method uses larger portions, chills the dough for one hour, and bakes the cookies at a higher temperature. This creates thicker cookies with golden edges and soft, gooey centers.

Tips and Tricks

I’ve made this recipe several times, following Debbi Fields’ original instructions and testing different cookie sizes, chilling times, and oven temperatures. The ingredients and measurements remain exactly the same in both versions. The only differences are the size of the cookie dough portions, whether the dough is chilled, and the baking temperature and time.

Debbi Fields’ Original Method: The original recipe calls for rounded tablespoon-sized portions of dough baked at 300 degrees for 18–22 minutes. The dough may be baked chilled or unchilled. This method produces smaller, soft cookies that spread a little more and have a light, tender texture. My cookies appeared fully baked closer to the 15–16 minute mark, so begin checking them early. Oven temperatures and baking sheets can affect the final baking time.
My Thick and Gooey Version: For the cookies shown in these photos, I portioned the dough with a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, chilled the dough balls for one hour, and baked them at 350 degrees for 13–14 minutes. This method produced thicker cookies with lightly golden edges and soft, gooey centers. They reminded me of the warm, homemade-style cookies that made Mrs. Fields’ original shops so popular.

All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour provides enough structure for cookies that are soft but still hold their shape. This is the flour I use for most of my cookie recipes unless otherwise noted.
Baking Soda and Salt: Baking soda helps the cookies spread and brown, while salt balances the sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavor.
Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar, giving the cookies extra moisture, chewiness, and rich caramel flavor.
Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar helps balance the brown sugar and creates lightly crisp, golden edges.
Butter: The original recipe uses salted butter, but unsalted butter will also work. If using unsalted butter, you can add a small additional pinch of salt if desired.
Eggs: Two large eggs add richness, moisture, and structure to the cookie dough.
Vanilla Extract: Two teaspoons of vanilla add plenty of warm flavor. As always, feel free to measure vanilla with your heart.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Use one 12-ounce bag, or approximately 2 cups, of your favorite semi-sweet chocolate chips.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Thick and Gooey Version

Metal mixing bowl with butter, sugars and egg mixed.

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Step 2: Blend the sugars and butter. In a large bowl, combine the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the butter and beat at medium speed until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step 3: Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix at medium speed just until blended.

Metal mixing bowl with chocolate chip cookie dough.

Step 4: Finish the dough. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips. Mix at low speed just until the flour disappears and the chocolate chips are evenly distributed. Avoid overmixing.

Step 5: Portion the dough. Scoop the dough into 3-tablespoon portions and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Step 6: Chill. Refrigerate the cookie dough balls for one hour.

jumbo blue ribbon cookies on baking sheet with parchment paper

Step 7: Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange 4–6 cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Step 8: Bake. Bake for 13–14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still look slightly soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Chilling the dough allows the butter to firm up and gives the flour time to absorb moisture. This slows spreading in the oven, helping the cookies bake up thicker with soft, gooey centers.

Debbi Fields’ original instructions allow the cookies to be baked either chilled or unchilled, but I prefer the texture of the chilled version.

Baking Tip

I test my cookie recipes using light-colored metal baking sheets. Dark baking sheets absorb more heat and may cause the bottoms to brown faster, so begin checking the cookies early if that is what you use.

Debbi Fields’ Original Baking Method

Source: Debbi Fields’ cookbook

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the sugars at medium speed. Add the butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs and vanilla and mix just until blended.
Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips. Mix at low speed just until combined.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart.
Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until lightly golden. Begin checking the cookies around 15–16 minutes since ovens and baking sheets vary. Transfer the cookies immediately to a wire rack or cool surface.

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQs

Is This the Real Mrs. Fields Cookie Recipe?

Yes. This Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was published in one of Debbi Fields’ cookbooks during the 1990s. It is not the oatmeal-and-grated-chocolate recipe that circulated under the Mrs. Fields name as part of an urban legend.

What Makes Mrs. Fields Cookies Soft and Chewy?

The higher proportion of dark brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness, while real butter creates rich flavor. Slightly underbaking the cookies also helps the centers remain soft.

Is the Mrs. Fields Recipe the Same as the Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe?

No. The recipe containing ground oats, grated chocolate, and a Hershey bar circulated under both company names as part of a chain-letter hoax. Although it may make a delicious cookie, it is not the official signature recipe of either Mrs. Fields or Neiman Marcus.

Why Did My Cookies Turn Out Flat?

Cookies may spread too much if the butter is overly soft, the dough is warm, the flour is undermeasured, or the baking sheet is still hot from a previous batch. Chill the dough for one hour and bake it on a cool, light-colored baking sheet for thicker cookies.

Can I Bake the Dough Without Chilling It?

Yes. Debbi Fields’ original recipe allows the dough to be baked chilled or unchilled. Unchilled dough will generally spread more, while chilled dough produces thicker cookies.

Can I Freeze the Cookie Dough?

Yes. Portion the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet until firm. Transfer them to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to three months. Bake from frozen, adding approximately 1–2 minutes to the baking time.

How Should I Store Mrs. Fields Cookies?

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. Adding a slice of sandwich bread to the container can help the cookies remain soft, but keep the bread from resting directly against them.

Can I Make Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies at Home?

Yes! This authentic Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon recipe uses simple pantry ingredients to make soft, bakery-style chocolate chip cookies at home. For thicker, gooier cookies, portion the dough into larger balls, chill them for one hour, and bake at 350 degrees.

Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies on cooling rack.

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