These rich chocolate chip cookies are baked in a muffin tin for cupcake-sized treats. These cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and they’re packed with chocolate. Enjoy them as-is or top with buttercream, whipped cream, or ice cream.
There are few things better than a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. These cookie cups are pure perfection, packed with everything we love about a chocolate chip cookie with a fun presentation.
These cookie cups are
Made from scratch: Adapted from our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with just a few changes. The dough comes together in minutes!
Rich and flavorful: Packed with chocolate, flavored with brown sugar, and vanilla and topped with your favorite topping.
Great for parties: These cookie cups are a great alternative to cake or cupcakes. They’re fun and festive.
Easily adaptable: Swap out the chocolate chips for white chocolate, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips. Top with chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, whipped cream, or ice cream. Make them your way!
Recipe overview
Begin by making the cookie dough:
- Beat butter and sugars.
- Add egg and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cornstarch).
- Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop the dough into 3-tablespoon portions and roll into balls. Place one dough ball into each cavity of a 12-cup muffin pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Once the cookies have baked and cooled you can top them with the topping of your choice (more on this below).
Toppings
When the cookies cool a small cavity will from on the top. This is the perfect place to add a topping. Here are some of our favorites:
- Vanilla buttercream frosting
- Chocolate buttercream frosting
- Whipped cream
- Ice cream
Once you’ve added the topping of your choice you can garnish with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, nuts, and more.
Make ahead option
If you need to get a head start on this recipe you can make the dough in advance. We recommend baking the cookie cups when you need them rather than in advance.
Freeze: Freeze portioned dough balls double wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Refrigerate: Dough can be portioned, double wrapped, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
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Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
Ingredients
Cookie cups:
- 1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened slightly
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark), it should be fresh and soft
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, cold, straight from the fridge
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Frosting:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- ¾ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk, plus more, if needed
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, optional, for chocolate frosting
- chopped chocolate or chocolate shavings, for garnish
Instructions
Cookie cups:
- Preheat oven to 325°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 12-cup standard size muffin pan.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined (about a minute). Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture until fully combined. Add the chocolate chips, mixing until combined.
- Scoop the dough into 3-tablespoon portions and form into balls. Place one ball in each muffin cup (don't flatten them; they'll spread and fill the cup while baking). Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown and the centers are still underdone. The cookie cups should be so soft that if you tried to lift them out of the muffin pan they would fall apart.
- Place the muffin pan on a cooling rack and cool completely, they will firm up as they cool. Once cool, proceed with the frosting.
Frosting:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add half the powdered sugar and all the cocoa powder (omit cocoa powder if making vanilla frosting). Beat in vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk followed by remaining powdered sugar. Add as much more milk as you need to get your desired consistency (if you're making chocolate frosting you'll need a bit more milk than for vanilla frosting). Turn speed up to medium-high and beat for 30 seconds. Using a piping bag fitted with an open star tip to swirl frosting onto the top of each cookie cup. Top with chopped chocolate, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Liz says
These cookie cups are so cute and so fun! I love how easy they are to make!
Marsha says
Awesome recipe! These were absolutely delicious, especially with the frosting.
Allison says
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by!
Layla says
I have a question, how many grams of butter did you use?
Allison says
For the cookie portion of the recipe, 113 grams (one US stick of butter).
Ashley Saint John says
mine didn’t sink down at all help!? what should I do?
Allison Mattina says
Hi! You can press down the center of each cookie cup when it is still warm. But if they don’t sink that’s ok, you can still add frosting on top.
Shanelle says
Hi! Just wondering how you remove them from the muffin tin once cooled. Do you scoop them out or flip them upside down onto a cutting board or something? I’m excited to try your recipe but nervous because I’ve failed with previous recipes and methods for this.
Allison Mattina says
Hi, Shanelle. They should cool completely in the pan, on a rack. They will be too delicate to remove from the pan straight from the oven. They set up as they cool. I use a thin, sharp knife to help pop them out of the pan once cool. Enjoy!
Tina Rayne says
Would this same recipe work for mini muffins or would I need to adjust any of the ingredients and/or baking time?
Allison Mattina says
Hi! Yes, you can use a mini muffin pan. Bake time will likely need be reduced by several minutes. Ingredients will stay the same. Enjoy!
Debbie Fowler says
I put these in mini muffin cups used about 1/2 the amount of dough. Baked for 12 min at 325.
When they came out hot I put a rolo in center of each one.
They were perfect bite size bits of cookie and Carmel chocolate.
Thanks this recipe will definitely go in my favorites
Allison Mattina says
That sounds great! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Porter says
I had a craving for a chocolate chip cookie cup, à la Great American Cookie Company, but I live in the UK, so I needed to make my own. I baked these yesterday and they are perfect! I didn’t make the frosting as neither of my kids like frosting, but they were still delicious without it. I’m definitely saving this recipe!
Allison Mattina says
That’s great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂