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.
Mabel says
Hi Tracy! I just made these tonight. I used half milk chocolate and half semisweet, and I ended up adding the whole egg because I just couldn’t throw it out and didn’t want to deal with saving it. Lol. Also added a dash of cinnamon, and some chopped walnuts and pecans. We are at just over 6,000 feet in elevation and they baked great. Nice and soft with a slight crunch around the bottom edges So delicious! Thank you for the great recipe!
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them, Mabel!!
Kim says
These were great. I’ve made them twice and will definitely make again. Second time I added some pecans to three of the cookies. They were wonderful, too. Thanks for sharing!
Tracy says
So glad to hear it, Kim!!
Shashi says
Tracy, these look absolutely sinful – thank goodness this recipe makes only 6 – you bet I’d eat them all and not be able to share any!
Tracy says
Thanks, Shashi!!!
Tya says
THANK YOU SO much Tracy for this recipe!! these are some of the best cookies i’ve ever made ❤️❤️
Tracy says
That makes me so happy to hear, Tya!!
Alma says
This recipe makes the softest most delicious cookies, I have made them a few times now with variations on ingredients (works really well with cinnamon and raisin!). They have been a massive hit with friends and family. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Tracy says
So thrilled to hear you enjoyed them, Alma! I love that cinnamon idea!!
Jack says
They seemed crumbly in the dough but after I baked them they turned out soft and delicious.
Jacki Thompson says
BEST COOKIES EVER!! THANK YOU!!
Tracy says
LOL SO THRILLED TO HEAR IT, JACKI!!
BB says
My daughter was craving some cookies, but being we don’t need to shop this week yet, I don’t want to make an unnecessary trip to the store right now! So came looking for a a half size recipe, as do have the ingredients for emergency cookies or such 😛 Bonus is the no chill, as I wasn’t gonna anyway haha These came out perfect! I had one to taste test, and she was very happy with them too. I used a mini halogen oven, so was the perfect size for one round tray of 6 cookies, and then just flipping them upside down onto another sheet of baking paper to make sure they cooked through. I don’t think I could have gone to the store and back in any less time than it took to make them, perfect thank you!
Tracy says
So thrilled to hear it!!
Valerie says
Can’t say enough good things about these cookies! I also love small-batch recipes since we’re a family of two. My husband suggested that I make a double batch so he could eat half of the dough. {wink} They were still soft and chewy the second day, which is a win in my book. I am thinking this recipe will work well in our pie irons over the campfire this summer! While I wouldn’t consider this a change, I used a combination of semi-sweet mini and regular morsels + dark chocolate morsels. I like the flavor/texture variations and the dark chocolate helps dial the sweetness back ever so slightly. Perfect!
Toni says
My first time baking cookies. I had no issues with crumbling etc. Rolled them into balls and plunked them on a tray and 15 minutes later gorgeous cookies! These are what I pray for when I buy them from a shop. So don’t bother and totally make these instead. Also loved the fact i could check off my ingredients. Freaking genius! I shall be trying more of your recipes.
Tracy says
Thanks so much, Toni!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies!!
Ashley says
I baked these yesterday and they came out great. I had a gourmet milk chocolate bar that had caramel in it and waffle cone pieces on top. I chopped that up and added about 1/2 cup into the cookie dough. It made 8 medium sizes cookies. My oven is 1 year old and it took 14 minutes for them to just start getting a tiny bit golden. I dipped them in milk to eat so it ended up being fine. When I bake them again, I’ll probably only bake them for 12 minutes even though they won’t be golden at all, yet will be a little softer. Thanks for the small batch recipe. This weekend, I will be trying your small cinnamon roll recipe 🙂
Tracy says
Glad you enjoyed them, Ashley! Hope you also enjoy the cinnamon rolls!!
Joey says
These have become my very guilty pleasure. I have made them way more times than i should have since discovering this recipe. May i also add they are the best choc chip cookies i’ve ever baked and i’ve tried a lot of recipes.
… i really shoudn’t ask but can this recipe be doubled easily?
Tracy says
LOL I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Joey! Yes, these double super easily without having to change a thing. 🙂
Shannon says
I absolutely love these. They don’t look like your pictures but I actually like them more this way. They spread a bit more (I made 6 cookies total) and have a sort of crackly top, a little crisp on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside, just perfect. I weigh all my ingredients, the only change I made was baking for an extra minute or two. They look like they could be in a magazine! So happy these turned out even better than expected, I’m planning on tripling the recipe tonight as my family is already begging for more!
Chloe Sokolich says
These cookies were great!! So effortless but yet delicious!
Hannah says
I just made these! My oven is a bit old, so they had to be in there longer. They turned out great! I’m taking these with me tomorrow for my friends. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Tracy says
So happy they worked out for you, Hannah! Hope your friends enjoy them!
Sarab says
These turned out wonderful. To compensate for the possibility of crumbliness I used to yolks, then about a tablespoon or two of flour to even out the dough later. I made it into 4 bigger cookies. Thanks for the quick recipe!
Tracy says
I’m so happy they worked out for you! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!