Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
These small batch chocolate chip cookies are perfect for when you’re craving a cookie, but don’t want to make a full batch. This simple recipe yields just 8 to 10 cookies and includes several recipe variations too!
Do you ever find yourself craving a chocolate chip cookie, but not wanting to make a full batch? If so, I think you’re going to love this small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and it quickly became a reader favorite and one of mine too. Over the past few months I’ve been working on a cookie cookbook (yes, a cookbook is finally happening!) and I knew that this is one recipe that needed to be included in it. So today I wanted to update this recipe to make it even better and and share it with you again.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Requires only one bowl
- Makes just 8 to 10 cookies
- The cookies turn out super soft and chewy
- Just 10 minutes of dough chilling time
This recipe also makes a fantastic base for other cookies, so I’ve included instructions for how to make these cookies 4 different ways!
Recipe Ingredients
These easy small batch chocolate chip cookies use similar ingredients to my regular chocolate chip cookies with a few minor adjustments. Here’s what you will be using:
- Unsalted Butter: I highly recommend sticking with unsalted butter in this recipe. Since it makes such a small amount of cookies, this will allow you to control the amount of salt going into them.
- Sugar: You’ll be using a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar adds moisture and creates a chewy cookie while the granulated sugar helps them spread.
- Egg Yolk: Since this recipe doesn’t make too many cookies, a whole egg is far too much. An egg yolk is the perfect amount to bind the dough together and add some moisture to it too. You can use the leftover egg white in another recipe like my candied pecans.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: For a little extra flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: This provides the structure for your cookies so that they don’t fall apart when you pick them up. I found that 1/2 cup of flour wasn’t quite enough and 2/3 cup was just a bit too much, so this recipe calls for 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Baking Soda & Salt: The baking soda helps lift the cookies and the salt enhances the flavors.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: When I originally posted this recipe, I only used 1/3 cup of chocolate chips. I’ve increased the amount to 1/2 cup so that you get some chocolate chips in every single bite!
How To Make A Small Batch Of Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, it’s time to prepare the cookies. To start, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set the baking sheet aside and prepare your cookie dough.
To make the cookie dough, you’ll beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for a minute or two or until they’re well combined. You can also skip the mixer and just cream the butter and sugars together with a fork, so feel free to do whatever is easiest for you! Next, mix in the egg yolk and pure vanilla extract.
Once the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined, add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix them in until just combined. Then, add the semi-sweet chocolate chips (or your favorite mix-ins) and fold them into the cookie dough. At this point, you want to cover the cookie dough tightly and place it in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes, remove the cookie dough from the freezer and use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto your baking sheet. You should get about 8 to 10 cookies depending on how small or large you scoop them, but I usually get about 10.
Then, just bake the cookies for 10 t0 12 minutes or until they’re lightly browned around the edges and the tops are set. I suggest letting them cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, but they’re delicious right out of the oven too!
Recipe Variations
Want to try these cookies another way? You can leave out the 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix in the following ingredients for each type of cookie:
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut: Add 1/3 cup white chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of chopped macadamia nuts
- Chocolate M&M: Add 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of mini M&M’s
- Funfetti: Add 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of sprinkles
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, make sure to use the spoon and level method. Too much flour can lead to cookies that don’t spread very much in the oven.
- Feel free to use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips in place of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Don’t skip chilling the cookie dough in the freezer for 10 minutes. This will help ensure that the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
More Small Batch Recipes To Try!
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Apple Crisp For Two
- Small Batch Peanut Butter Cookies
- Single Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined.
- Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Then, mix in the semi-sweet chocolate chips on low-speed until fully incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Cover tightly and transfer to the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
- Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown and the tops are set.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
I have made these cookies SO MANY times. I’m part of a family of 3 including me and one doesn’t like cookies or sweets for that matter but she LOVED them. The only thing is that I add a bit more chocolate chips to make it more chocolate like. LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!
These were amazing! I used an all purpose gluten free flour and mini chocolate chips. I only used about half the chocolate chips though as i prefer more cookie than chip but they were fabulous. Gluten free doesn’t always taste the same as non gf when it comes to baked goods but these came out perfect and just the right amount.
My 4-year old son and I made these today. So easy and fun! And they were delicious! I love that you’ve created a small batch recipe. It’s just perfect for the two of us.
These chocolate chip cookies were fantastic!! The only change I made was to use dark brown sugar instead of light. They came out absolutely perfect.
Since I didn’t wish to make a whole batch, this pared-down recipe was something I can do and not feel guilty afterwards. 🙂
Thank you!
Very, very yummy! I had to cut up semi-sweet chocolate and use salted butter (they were all I had) and forgot to chill them. They turned out great! Will certainly make them again.
Thank you for the response! I made them again last night with your tips and they were much better! Added the extra tablespoon of flour, was a bit dry so sprinkled water until good consistency. Refrigerated the dough for 30 or so minutes, then rolled into balls. Froze the balls for about 10 mins and then baked. PERFECT! I would note that it made 9 cookies and needed 1-2 more mins in oven.
Mine turned out flat and way spread out, followed recipe to a T.. what could have gone wrong?
Hi, Robin. This could be due to a few reasons. You want to make sure to use butter and not margarine (or sticks of margarine). Secondly, if your cookie dough was too warm that can cause them to spread too. You can try chilling the dough longer and see if that helps or add an extra tablespoon of flour to the dough.
What size cup to u use for measuring?
Hi, Sylvia! I’m not quite sure what you mean by what size cup?
Had a sweet tooth. Didn’t have much brown sugar. I found this recipe and WOW they are amazing. Although the batter was a little too thick and crumbled, I added a little more butter. Added tons of chocolate chips and absolutely amazing. The best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe a few times and I love it whenever I make it I usually have a cheeseburger I make or my glazed bbq ribs time of the month cravings. Ty for such a nice recipe I’ve also made this vegan and dairy free as well!
I used granulated brown sugar and it turned out perfectly! I am a 13 year old kid who loves baking! If you have any good recipes you can email me. Thank you!
These were wonderful (tho I got 9). Nice for a quick summer bake because you don’t have to open and close the oven so much and overheating the house. With just 2 of use at home, we will not have any waste (waist?). Will make often
Best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! I didn’t have choc chips, so I roughly chopped up some baking chocolate instead 😀 So delicious! They didn’t last one sitting!
Just made these and I’m a huge fan! It made the most perfect dough and delicious cookies! I got exactly 10 cookies out of it 🙂
I just made these cookies and they are PERFECTLY DELICIOUS. Thank you for sharing this gem of a recipe!
These cookies are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten.
I’ve made these cookies twice, and they are delicious but when I make them they don’t seem to spread out like the pictures, do you know what I could’ve done wrong?
Hi, Sarah! Did you make sure to spoon and level your flour? If so, you can skip the dough chilling and see if that helps.
Hello, I’m looking forward to making these big is it ok to use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar?
Yes, that’s fine.
Can this be turned into bars instead? If so, what would be the best pan size and your suggested baking time?
Thanks.
I think that would be fine. I think an 8-inch square pan may be a bit big, something like a 9×5 loaf pan may work better.
They were sooooo good! I doubled the recipe and got 19 cookies. Yummm!
Our new favorite cookie recipe!
We even like eating the raw dough.
Just got done giving this recipe a try very delighted in the small batch… fresh cookies in a pinch… very soft pleasant consistency with a light crunch on bottom…yum
can I use almond flour??
I haven’t tried it in this recipe, so I’m not quite sure.
Followed this recipe but veganized it! Used a vegan butter and a flax egg. Turned out awesome. Yum!!! Also subbed for coconut sugar and two Tbsp of maple syrup.
Hello:
I just finished doing this recipie and my cookies came out really good and just the exact amounts needed. I even used dark brown suggar and the texture was good after a little bit more than 12 min.
Thank you very much! you made my night. 🙂
Thank you! This recipe makes the perfect amount. Have used it multiple times!!
I just made these and they are PERFECT!
These are so good! And for the record, I am one of those “something always goes wrong” people in the kitchen. I had to sub 3x the baking powder because I was out of the soda. I also used salted butter and just reduced the salt. Maybe because of my subs, the cookies did not spread. I say that as a tip to someone who may need it, not as a criticism to this recipe.
These came out perfect! I clicked on this recipe based on the picture a good Ole soft chocolate chip no fuss cookie ….It has become a weekly favorite!
I was looking for a small batch of chocolate chip cookies to bake. I didn’t try it yet, but just one thing? Is it ok to use self rising cake flour? Anyway, hope to try baking these soon.
Thanks and nice site here!
Hi, Teresa! You probably could, but cake flour is lighter than all-purpose so you’ll want to use a bit more, maybe 1-2 tablespoons. If it’s self-rising it also has baking powder added to it, so you’ll likely need to omit the baking soda or reduce it.
I made these and they turned out really good! I like how it makes a smaller batch, Me and my sister love them and bookmarked them for when I need a snack.
I would like to make bigger batches do I double as 2 egg yolks or do I use a full egg.
For a larger batch that will make about 20, I recommend using my chocolate chip cookie recipe here and just cutting that recipe in half. I hope that helps!