This Small Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe makes just 8 soft, chewy cookies in one bowl and from mixing bowl to cooling rack in just 15 minutes. There's no chilling the dough and no melting the butter so you can have warm cookies with soft centers and crisp edges faster. It doesn't get much better than that!
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Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies are classic, from-scratch chocolate chip cookies scaled down to make 8 instead of 3 dozen. They have crisp golden edges, soft and chewy centers, and plenty of melty chocolate chips. As far as cookies go, these are one of my and my husband’s absolute favorites!
From my test kitchen experience, scaling a cookie recipe down isn't as simple as dividing by four. I tested this small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe with all kinds of combinations of flour, baking soda and baking powder, and even tried melted butter. In the end, the old-fashioned way of creaming softened butter with the sugars gave me the softest, chewiest cookie, and it's still a one-bowl recipe with no dough chilling!
Now that we're empty nesters, I really don't need 3 dozen cookies sitting on the counter tempting me all week. A small batch of chocolate chip cookies recipe like this one is perfect for a weeknight treat for two, or anytime that cookie craving hits. And the leftover egg white? I use it to make a batch of my 3 Ingredient Cinnamon Sugar Toasted Pecans. If you love small batch sweets, try my No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites and Mini S'mores Pies too!
Shortcuts
- Small batch means less time. Making 8 cookies instead of a few dozen means just one pan in the oven, so you're in and out of the kitchen in under 15 minutes. No standing over the oven swapping pans for an hour.
- One bowl does it all. The butter, sugars, egg yolk, flour and leaveners all go into the same bowl, so there's only one bowl and a set of beaters to wash. Sprinkling the baking soda and baking powder right over the flour skips the separate dry-ingredient bowl.
- No chilling, no melting. Many chewy cookie recipes ask you to melt butter or chill the dough for hours. This dough goes straight from the bowl to the baking sheet.
Ingredients to Make a Small Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies
Scroll down to printable recipe for exact ingredient quantities.
- Salted butter: Salted butter saves you from adding salt. If unsalted butter is what you have on hand, just add ¼ teaspoon salt to the dry ingredients. Make sure it's softened to room temperature so it creams up light and fluffy.
- Light brown sugar: Brown sugar's molasses keeps the cookies soft and chewy and adds that caramel flavor. Pack it firmly into the measuring cup.
- Granulated sugar: A little white sugar helps the edges turn golden and slightly crisp.
- Egg yolk: Using just the yolk instead of a whole egg is the secret to scaling down without a runny dough, and the extra fat makes the cookies rich and chewy. Save the white for my Cinnamon Sugar Pecans.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla gives the best flavor in a small batch where every ingredient counts.
- All-purpose flour: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and makes dry, cakey cookies.
- Baking soda and baking powder: You only need a tiny bit of each. The baking soda helps the cookies brown, while the pinch of baking powder gives them just enough lift.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: The classic choice, but see Substitutions & Variations for other chips you can swap in.
Substitutions & Variations
- Mix up the chips: Swap the semi-sweet chips for milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips or even M&Ms. Keep the total at ½ cup.
- Add nuts: Replace 2 tablespoons of the chips with chopped pecans or walnuts. Toasting them first, like my Roasted Pecans in Air Fryer, brings out even more flavor.
- Unsalted butter: Use the same amount and add ¼ teaspoon salt with the baking soda and baking powder.
- Dark brown sugar: Use it in place of light brown sugar for a deeper molasses flavor and an even chewier cookie.
- Mini chips: Mini chocolate chips spread through the dough more evenly, so you get chocolate in every bite.
How to Make this Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe with detailed instructions.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, or lightly grease it.
- Cream. Beat the butter with a hand mixer until creamy. Add both sugars and beat until light and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add the yolk. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla just until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour on top of the butter mixture, but don't stir yet. Sprinkle the baking soda and baking powder over the flour, then beat everything together until blended.
- Add the chips. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop and bake. Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to make 8 dough balls on the baking sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes, until golden on the edges and still slightly underdone in the very center.
- Cool. Let them cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack... if you can wait that long!
Little tip: No cookie scoop? Use a heaping tablespoon of dough per cookie, or divide the dough in half, then each half into 4 equal pieces, and roll them into balls.
Pro Tips
- Don't overbake. Pull the cookies when the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They'll finish setting on the hot pan and stay soft and chewy once cooled.
- Soften the butter, don't melt it. The butter should give slightly when pressed but still hold its shape. Butter that's too soft or partly melted makes cookies spread thin and flat.
- Measure the flour carefully. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it with a knife instead of scooping from the bag. In a small batch, even an extra tablespoon of flour can turn soft cookies dry and cakey.
- Use a small pan and leave room. A quarter sheet pan holds all 8 cookies with room to spread. Space the dough balls about 2 inches apart so they don't bake into each other.
What to Serve with Small-Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
These easy small batch chocolate chip cookies are at their best warm with a tall glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee in the afternoon.
For an easy summer dessert, sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies, or serve them alongside a bowl of my Easy Orange Soda Sorbet. Put them on a dessert board with my Miniature Brownie Bites and Sugardoodles, or tuck a few into a lunchbox for a sweet surprise!
A small batch is also just right for gifting: stack the cooled cookies in a cellophane bag or box tied with ribbon or a small tin lined with parchment, and you’ve got a thoughtful homemade Christmas gift, get-well or just-because treat.
Storage
- Store: Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Tuck in a slice of bread to keep them soft.
- Rewarm: Microwave a cookie for about 10 seconds to bring back that fresh-baked, melty-chip texture.
- Freeze baked cookies: Freeze cooled cookies in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Make ahead (freeze the dough): Scoop the dough into balls, freeze on a parchment-lined plate until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
- Refrigerate the dough: Cover the dough and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it's soft enough to scoop.
Kathleen Answers Your Questions
The yolk alone adds richness and helps make the cookies extra chewy.
The most common cause is butter that was too soft or partly melted. Measuring the flour too lightly can also cause spreading, so spoon and level it. Lastly, parchment is the best. Silicone mats and lightly greased baking sheets tend to spread the cookies.
Halving a standard recipe leaves you trying to measure half an egg if it calls for 3 eggs. This recipe was tested and balanced specifically for 8 cookies, so it works every time!
Leave a comment below the printable recipe if you have questions or tell me how you liked the recipe. Don't forget to rate it 5 stars if you love it!
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Small-Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup half stick salted butter, softened
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk (Use the egg white in another recipe like my Cinnamon Sugar Pecans)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F° degrees.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the pan.
- In a medium size bowl, beat the butter until creamy with a hand mixer. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar, beating until light and creamy (about 1 minute).
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Beat just until combined.
- Add the flour to the top of the butter mixture. Do not stir, yet. Sprinkle the baking soda and baking powder over the flour. Now, you can stir it all together until blended.
- Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a spoon or a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making 8 cookies. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and almost done in the very center.
- Let cool on the baking sheet 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely… if you can wait that long… I usually can’t! I love these cookies served warm.
Notes
- Butter: Use softened butter, not melted. It should give slightly when pressed but still hold its shape. If using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon salt with the baking soda and baking powder.
- Flour: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off. Too much flour makes the cookies dry and cakey.
- Don't overbake: Take the cookies out when the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly underdone. They'll firm up as they cool and stay soft and chewy.
- Chips: Swap the semi-sweet chips for milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips, or M&Ms.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Make ahead: Freeze scooped dough balls for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
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