This easy recipe for Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies makes six perfect cookies in 20 minutes.
I call these cookies my instant-gratification chocolate chip cookies because they go from cookie desire to cookie reality in 20 minutes.
These photos have been updated. Don’t worry, you’re in the right place. 🙂
The Best Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
This recipe is designed to make the best chocolate chip cookies possible FAST. It uses melted butter so there is zero waiting time for butter to come to room temperature AND you don’t have to chill the dough.
So you can throw these cookies together with no planning needed and then pop them right into the oven.
It will make half-a-dozen chocolate chip cookies, and they come out soft, a little chewy, and packed full of gooey, melty chocolate chips.
How you choose to distribute those six cookies is up to you, though I vote for being a cookie monster and eating two for breakfast and then hiding the rest of them at the back of your freezer so you don’t have to share.
How to Make Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Start with melted and slightly cooled butter. Your butter should NOT be hot to the touch as it can cause bits of your egg to cook if it’s too warm. Mix the butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Add the yolk from a large egg and vanilla. Make sure you’re working with a large egg or you might not have enough liquid in your dough for it all to come together.
- Add flour, measured precisely, and the other dry ingredients. Flour measurement is really important in small-batch recipes. Measure by weight or using the spoon and sweep method (stir the flour in your container to fluff it up and then spoon it into your measuring cup, sweep excess off with the flat of a knife). Too much flour can lead to a dry, sandy dough.
- Add chocolate chips. This recipe calls for semi-sweet, but you can use any chips you prefer (or add M&Ms and make M&M Cookies).
- Bake. Do not overbake your cookies! Bake just until the cookies look set and then pull them from the oven. They might still seem a little gooey, but they’ll continue cooking on the hot baking sheet as it cools.
Tips and Tricks
Can I freeze these cookies? Yes! Just store the cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag and they’ll keep for up to 2 months in the freezer. Give them five minutes at room temperature to soften a bit before eating or enjoy them frozen on a hot summer day.
Can I double the recipe? Yes! If you want to double the recipe, you can do so with no changes or use one whole egg instead of two yolks.
Cookie Troubleshooting
If you’re having trouble with your cookies, here are a couple troubleshooting tips that might help:
My dough is dry/crumbly: This is usually caused by too much flour in the dough (make sure you’re measuring it by weight or the spoon and sweep method) or it can happen when you get a particularly small egg yolk, so there isn’t enough liquid for everything to mix well. To fix crumbly dough, add a little milk or water by the half teaspoon, just enough so that everything comes together and there are no dry bits of flour at the bottom of the bowl, and your dough should be good to go.
My cookies didn’t spread: There are a couple of things that can cause this. One is (again) because there’s too much flour in the dough. Next time make sure to measure by weight or the spoon and sweep method. Changing the recipe, particularly cutting the amount of sugar, can also cause the cookies not to spread as much as they should.
More Small-batch Cookie Recipes
- Small-batch Peanut Butter Cookies
- Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies
- Perfect Small-batch Sugar Cookies
- Small-batch Gingerbread Cookies
- Small-batch Buckeye Brownie Cookies
Or check out my entire Small-batch Cookie Recipe Archive.
This recipe uses just one egg yolk. Check out these Egg White Recipes for ideas on what to do with the leftover egg white.
No-chill Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (80g) all-purpose flour measured by weight or the spoon and sweep method*
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (2oz) butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1/3 cup (66g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup (3oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and brown and granulated sugars. Add egg yolk and vanilla and whisk until well-combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just mixed and fold in the chocolate chips.
- Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls (just under two ounces) onto your prepared cookie sheet (for the most perfectly round cookies, roll into ball first), and bake for 9 to 12 minutes, until the cookies just look set. Cool on the cookie sheet and enjoy!
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Cyli says
I’ve made this recipe way more than I’d willingly admit, and every time, something goes wrong in my baking process. The first time was fine and I loved the results, but the second time my vanilla extract vanished under suspicious circumstances and I had to go without, and my most recent time was tonight, in which not only is my vanilla still gone, I’m out of baking soda! Didn’t find out until midway through making the dough so I had to make do with baking powder. Both times, the cookies powered through! I couldn’t tell a difference with the vanilla-less batch, and with tonights batch, the cookies are a little thin and crunchier but still amazing! This has to be my favorite cookie recipe; small batch, quick to make, and able to power through even with some baking difficulties.
Tracy says
Your comment cracked me up, Cyli! So glad to hear they’ve worked out for you, even under less than ideal circumstances. 😉
Staci Cappotto says
I made these tonight. However i has not idea how it would turn out. I didn’t have all purpose flour I only had whole wheat which I used. I also didn’t have vanilla extract so I used almond extract and I needed to steal a stick of butter from my sister across the street lol!!! You weren’t lying when you said when you want a cookie you just want a cookie!!!! With that being said they actually turned out pretty good!!!! Bake time was extended a little by about 6 mins but they are gooey and yummy and my 4 year old is currently asking for another!!! Awesome recipe and I am going to try with the proper ingredients next time!!
Tracy says
LOL, I’m glad you were able to scrape together the ingredients to make yourself some cookies! 😉 And so happy to hear they worked out for you!
Mel says
I melted the butter with the brown and white sugar. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly with a food scale. The cookies tasted okay but it wasn’t amazing. Not sure if melting the butter with the sugar affected anything?
Tracy says
Hi, Mel. Definitely don’t melt the sugars with the butter! It will change the entire way the cookies bake up and yield a sub-par cookie.
MichConnors says
Love this recipe, decided to make them at about 9pm on a Friday night. Took no time at all, baked them in the toaster oven! Thanks for sharing this.
Tracy says
Thanks for reporting back. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!!
Lana says
Absolutely delicious. Very fast and will be making them again.
Tracy says
Glad you enjoyed them, Lana!
Kay says
Have been looking for a small batch cookie recipe and this is IT! Quick and delicious too, what more could you want. I used chocolate morsels because that was what I had on hand and they worked fine. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Tracy says
Thanks, Kay! So happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Amy Chiu says
Thanks so much for this easy and delicious recipe. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Lovely. Many thanks
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them, Amy!!
Lauri says
I never leave comments on blogs, but I just love this recipe so much. They come out perfect every time, there’s very little mess, and the recipe makes just the right amount–ten small cookies to share after dinner with my little family of four. Perfect! Thank you!
Tracy says
This makes me so happy to hear!! I’m glad the whole family could enjoy them, and thanks for taking the time to let me know!
April says
These taste exceptionally good! I used my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. Had to use salted butter because we are out of unsalted, and they turned out fine. Will definitely make again!
Tracy says
Thanks, April! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. And yay for another kitchen scale user! I really don’t know what I would do without mine! 🙂
Louie says
I do not necessarily agree with the egg yolk. Using the whole egg is more efficient in my opinion. Doing it without made the batter dry and crumbly. Everything else in the recipe is up to par. The cookies come out to be delicious and chewy. Truly a lovely recipe.
Tracy says
Glad you found a way to make them work for you, Louie!
Sarah says
Your recipe came out perfectly using an egg yolk. Weighing dry ingredients makes a huge difference when baking! Thanks!
Tracy says
Thanks, Sarah! Totally agree with you on baking weights, and so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Sahar says
Mine came out dry and crumbly. Thanks for your tip, louie. It came out much better after adding the remainder of the egg!
Tracy says
Glad you were able to make it work, Sahar. Usually a crumbly dough means there’s too much flour. Next time, try measuring the flour by weight or the spoon and sweep method. Should take care of that problem!
Tia says
Yes I agree too, need The Whole egg!
Katy says
I’m loving your blog!! My mom and grandmother and great grandmother are all avid bakers so I grew up with very picky tastes when it comes to baked goods. If it ain’t good I don’t want waste my time on it. Problem is that all the tasty things I grew up eating, the recipes make such huge amounts so when I want a cookie or cupcake I cave in and get something store bought but it’s NEVER satisfying and I just don’t have the time and energy to commit to a bake off for a damn cookie. Well I got a hankering for chocolate chip cookies and after trying your one bowl one banana recipe I came back here and whipped these up, threw some toasted pecans and walnuts and WOW what an awesome cookie. I didn’t even eat them with milk, which is rare for me. They were THAT good they didn’t need the milk. I think the cookie base would work great for a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie spin-off. Keep it up! You are my resource for small-batch baking now!
Tracy says
Thank you so much, Katy!! This comment totally made my day. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies, and I love the idea for the white chocolate macadamia version! 🙂
Gee says
I too would rather not get a cookie from the store but dont want to be stuck with a huge batch. This is a great recipe.
Tracy says
Thanks, Gee! So glad you enjoyed them!
MeenaV says
I tried these today! Great recipe – my kids loved it!
Tracy says
Yay! So happy the kiddos enjoyed them!!
Valerie says
These were delicious and so gooey! 🙂 I added some cinnamon to the dry ingredients, and also used half bittersweet/half white chocolate chips. Thanks for the easy and great recipe!
Tracy says
Thanks, Valerie! Your version sounds delish! So glad they worked out for you.
Karly says
Thank GOODNESS this is small batch, because I’m already scared of just how many of these I could eat in one sitting. They look so soft and chocolatey!
Tracy says
Hehe, thanks, Karly!
Bethany says
There is absolutely nothing I love better than a good chocolate chip cookies! Especially straight from the oven! These cookies are really making me hungry!
Tracy says
Lol. Right!? Thanks, Bethany!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I say do what you say….be a cookie monster and keep all these for ma self 😀 Love how quickly these come together and I totally know what you mean about when you want a cookie, you want a cookie….and, like, then and there! These look so good and the chocolate is all melty and gooey. The recipe is for a small batch, but I’m thinking I may have to make extra cause hubby is gonna want some and one batch won’t do it 😉 Happy weekend!!
Tracy says
That’s why I say to hide them. Because they’re just a small batch, who wants to share them? 😉 Thanks, Dawn. Hope your weekend was awesome!
Adeline says
Hi Tracy!
So, I am about to make these and am wondering if I have to have the parchment paper/ baking mat on the baking sheet. Can I go without?
Thanks
Tracy says
It helps them cook more evenly, but they should be just fine without. Hope you enjoy them!
Sophia McIntyre says
I do them without all the time! It’s my new favourite way. I find in some recipes the butter will spread if not applied to direct heat!
Trin says
Hi! Do you have a regular batch recipe? This might be a dumb question but I can figure everything out besides the egg.
Tracy says
Hi, Trin. I don’t have full-size recipe that’s no-chill, unfortunately. If you’re not sure how to separate the egg, here’s a good site with a few ways to do it. https://www.wikihow.com/Separate-an-Egg Method 2 is what I usually do. Hope that helps!
Carmen says
I’ve made this delicious recipe several times. I always get 10 medium-large cookies from one batch. I made them with milk chocolate chips today. Man.. I liked them a lot!