This quick and easy Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is one of the recipes I make most often. These cookies bake up with crisp edges, soft centers, and lots of chocolate chips.
This recipe makes 4 to 6 cookies with one bowl, no mixer, no chill time. For those times that you want a cookie, but don’t need several dozen cookies sitting around, you can reach for this recipe.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
Quick: Start to finish, this recipe takes 30 minutes or less.
Easy: This recipe is simple and straightforward.
No mixer: No mixer? No problem! This recipe comes together in one bowl with a silicone spatula.
Flavor: The classic flavor of a sweet and buttery cookie packed with chocolate chips.
Texture: Crisp edges with soft and chewy centers.
Ingredients needed
- Unsalted butter: It should be really soft and a tiny bit melty.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar: Using a combination of both creates the best cookie texture.
- Baking soda: For the perfect lift.
- Salt: Just a couple pinches to balance the sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla, not imitation.
- Large egg yolk: Since this is a small batch recipe we only need the yolk, no white.
- All purpose flour: You’ll need ⅔ cup, spooned and leveled.
- Chocolate chips: Use any kind of chocolate chips that you like.
Step by step overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Stir softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fully combined.
Stir in egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Sprinkle in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.
TIP: Chop a tablespoon of your chocolate chips so that you have tiny chocolate shards running all throughout the cookies along with the larger chips.
Scoop the dough. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake!
TIP: For thicker cookies, form your dough balls into mounds that are taller rather than wider.
Cookie sizing
I like to make 5 large cookies with this recipe by scooping the dough into generous 2-tablespoon portions. If you’d like to stretch this recipe, you could get 7-8 cookies by making the dough balls a little smaller (if so, reduce the cook time by 1-2 minutes).
Success tips
- Ingredients: It is super important to be precise when making small batch recipes. Since you’re using such a small quantity of ingredients a little more or less of one thing or another can make a huge difference.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper: This will help the cookies from spreading too much. Bonus: It makes clean up a breeze!
- Measure flour properly: Lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off OR use the weight measurements provided.
- Light brown sugar vs. dark brown sugar: You can use either for this recipe. I have noticed that the extra moisture in dark brown sugar makes the cookies spread a bit more than the light brown sugar, but they’re equally delicious either way.
- Don’t overbake: Pull these cookies from the oven before they are baked all the way through. The edges should be golden, but the center should still be slightly underdone. They should be so soft that they would fall apart if you tried to pick them up straight from the oven (pssst, don’t do that). Once they cool on the baking sheet they will firm up. Underbaking slightly ensures a soft and tender cookie.
- Use your favorite “chips”: I most often make these cookies with chocolate chips/chocolate chunks, but I have also made them with white chocolate, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips and walnuts (like a Kitchen Sink cookie). Use your favorite mix-ins.
Serving and storage
Serve these cookies warm or at room temperature. My family LOVES them served warm alongside a bowl of vanilla ice cream (Tillamook is our fave!).
Store leftover cookies (if there are any) at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
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Recipe
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (56g), *very soft with some melted spots (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (38g)
- 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar (38g)
- 1 large egg yolk (19g)
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour (86g), spooned and leveled
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips, plus extra for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, using a silicone spatula, stir together butter and both sugars until well combined (at least one minute). Add the egg yolk and vanilla, stirring until combined.
- Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt over the butter mixture. Stir until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough into generous 2-tablespoon mounds. Place on the baking sheet a few inches apart (you should have 5-6 dough balls). If desired, press some additional chocolate chips onto the tops. Mound the dough balls higher rather than wider to ensure they won't spread too thin. Bake for about 9-12 minutes**, until the edges are beginning to get golden brown and the centers are still slightly under-baked. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to let the cookies cool and firm up.
Video
Notes
**This is the bake time I used for cookies made with two tablespoons of dough. If you make yours bigger or smaller, adjust the baking time by a couple minutes either way.
Recipe update May 2024: I added more precise measurements, including weights. I also made a slight adjustment to the temperature of the butter and the quantity of sugar which produces a more consistent result. See previous recipe here. 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!
Lauren Sparkes
Fabulous! Left them in for 2 more minutes. Also, I was a little leary bc the dough was a bit thin, but they baked up beautifully!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Laura C
Really great! I like making bar cookies and everyone gobbled them up. I used regular size chips and saw no problems from this change.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Aria
This recipe is perfect!! Absolutely love it and will always be using it, it’s so easy to make within a short period of time! I totally recommend this recipe, makes a good amount! The only thing is I left them in for two more minutes and they were yummy!
Celebrating Sweets
Thanks for the review, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
G Smith
I followed all of the directions using top quality ingredients but unfortunately the cookies taste like flour. I am not sure why. I will try again because I love the portion size.
Celebrating Sweets
I haven’t heard that complaint before. Are you sure you measured the flour and melted butter correctly? Did your dough look similar in consistency to mine (see the 4th photo)?
M
Hey! I loved the small batch chocolate recipe and its been a family favourite so i decided to give this one a try too. I was wondering can i use vegetable oil instead of butter?
Celebrating Sweets
I don’t think that will work. Butter solidifies when it cools which helps the cookies hold their shape. The vegetable oil will likely make the cookies flat. If you decide to try it you might need to add a bit more flour and sugar.
Melissa
Loved these. My boys wanted cookies and I didnt want to have the hassle of making a huge batch of cookies. This was perfect to give them the sweet treat they wanted.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Devon
These were amazing!! I needed a small batch cookie to whip up for tree decorating and they were perfectly simple yet delicious. I subbed gluten free flour and used mini Christmas m&m’s to make them festive, and the whole family gave them rave reviews!
Can you triple or quadruple the recipe and get the same results? Now I want this in a large batch for our annual Christmas cookie baking!!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I have not tried multiplying the recipe. I think double should be fine, but I’m not sure about more than that. If I play around with it, I will let you know. Thanks for stopping by!
Trish
Tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago and loved them so much I had to come back and make them again! Just right!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Lindsay
Hi there,
I was just curious but my dough didn’t hold together very well. is it possible I didn’t use a large enough egg yolk? I also only used the yolk.! Also I wanted to know if it is 180k calories per cookie or the batch of 6 cookies?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi! The nutrition facts are per cookie. This is a very wet dough (see the 4th photo in the post), so it definitely should have held together. Perhaps you over measured your dry ingredients? Or under measured the melted butter? The measurements for small batch recipes need to be really precise, because there is such a small amount that you are working with.
Lindsay
Thank you! I’ll try it again. I ate all 6 cookies ? they turned out really small because of the way they cooked so now I feel terrible for eating them all a lot of calories ??♀️
Ben
Well so I decided to cook these because I wanted cookies and I put some peanut butter chips in for my wife, it took me 45mins to mix and get the cookies on the tray ?
Then the cookies were taking way longer than 9mins to cook and I discovered I put 1/4 of a cup of baking soda… I’m waiting now to see if they’re OK ??
They’re not ok ??? lol
Celebrating Sweets
Oh no! I can’t even imagine what that looked and tasted like. Haha! Better luck next time.