Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect recipe for the next time your sweet tooth strikes. This recipe makes a dozen chewy chocolate chip cookies in less than 30 minutes - no chill-time required!
Ever had a craving for homemade, hot out of the oven chocolate chip cookies? Bookmark this recipe for later! You can have a dozen warm and chewy chocolate chip cookies ready in less than 30 minutes.
Sometimes, a standard cookie recipe (like my Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies) can be too much. For a few people, three or four dozen cookies is too many to keep in the house.
Plus, this recipe makes an incredibly chewy, perfectly baked chocolate chip cookie, with no chilling time required.
Ingredients and substitutions
I don't offer many substitutions for baking recipes, since each ingredient has its purpose and baking is an exact science.
The unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter.
You can substitute the ½ cup of chocolate chips with your favorite mix-ins. Try ¼ cup of white chocolate chips and ¼ cup of pecans, or butterscotch chips and walnuts.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Using a medium cookie scoop, you'll get exactly 12 cookies from this dough. If you don't have a cookie scoop, simply roll your dough into 12 balls and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
If you'd like to make more than a dozen cookies, I suggest trying my recipe for Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Tips for baking cookies
Room temperature ingredients will help your cookies have a consistent, creamy, and even dough. When beaten, the eggs and butter form an emulsion, which traps air in the dough, which bakes up into a soft and fluffy cookie.
Properly measuring flour is an issue I see frequently. If you have issues with your cookies not spreading, or turning out extra thick and tall, you probably measured too much flour into your cookie dough.
To properly measure flour, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, then level off with a knife. By scooping flour directly from a container with your measuring cup, you're compacting the dough into the cup. This can add up to 25% more flour to your dough.
Using parchment paper helps prevent your cookies from spreading too much while baking. A greased baking pan will guarantee your cookies spread more than they should, so I always suggest parchment paper (or a reusable baking mat) instead.
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup (53 g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (80 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (85 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda to remove clumps.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, stirring until just combined.
- Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- The ingredients in this recipe are scaled to make 12 cookies. If you'd like to make a larger batch of cookies, I recommend trying my Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies instead of doubling or tripling this recipe.
- Your cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, you can place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- You can keep raw cookie dough in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I had this recipe from a while ago, couldn't find it - so glad I remembered (sort of) the page, so pulled it up and printed it off again. These are so good. They're easy to set together, just the right amount for a small family. Thanks..
do i add the whole egg or just the yolk?
Just the egg yolk!
If I do not have brown sugar can I substitute with either white granulated sugar or with maple syrup or honey?
You can use granulated sugar instead!
1/2 tsp chocolate chips? 🤔
That should be 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, I have updated the recipe card. Thanks for noticing that!