Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies are super easy to make. Small Batch Cookies are made with brown butter and can be made by hand - no mixer required. This cookie recipe makes 12 homemade chocolate chip cookies, and can easily be doubled. This cookie dough freezes well, so that you can always have a stash of frozen cookie dough to bake as needed!
Hi hi! Just popping in to share this recipe for Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe makes just 12 cookies, and comes together with just a whisk or an electric hand mixer - no stand mixer required! The dough is great to freeze and have on hand in the freezer for whenever you need a cookie!
I have a lot of homemade chocolate chip cookies on my site, and few brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipes - my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, and brown butter salted caramel cookies, small batch cookie recipes, but wanted to make something that can be made by hand and doesn't make two dozen cookies.
These small batch cookies are great to whip up for a quick dessert, or to just have when you need a few cookies. Back when we used to have friends over, or if we were going somewhere for dinner, I would make cookie dough ahead of time and then pop it in the oven to bake after dinner.
Warm cookies and ice cream makes the best dessert. Now we just do that at home with just us, and it's just as delicious. Cookies are the best for any time! If you want a larger scale recipe check out my best chocolate chip cookies, and if you are after a dairy free recipe, my small batch olive oil cookies are amazing too.
The best small batch cookies
There are a couple of things that make these cookies so, so good. I think I made them about 8 times while testing - playing around with flour quantities, sugar ratios, leavening, chilling time, and baking time. I finally landed on what I think is the best small batch cookie dough.
- Small Batch - This recipe only makes 12 chocolate chip cookies, which is perfect if you are in a small household or have limited freezer space. You can easily double this recipe for a full 24 cookies if you need!
- Brown Butter - I love adding brown butter to recipes. It adds a depth of flavour that isn't immediately obvious what it is, but adds a complexity to the cookie.
- No Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies - I made these using just a bowl, a whisk, and a spatula! You can use a handheld electric mixer if you like, but a whisk works just fine.
- Easy to freeze - If you don't want to bake all of this small batch cookie dough off at once, you can freeze some of the dough. I'll add tips for that further down the post.
Steps for making Small batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are super easy to make - there is a little waiting for the brown butter to cool (so your eggs don't scramble), and for the dough to chill, so make sure you keep that in mind, but these are so easy to make!
- Brown the butter - The first step in making these is to brown the butter. Browning butter involves cooking the butter over the stove until the water evaporates, and the milk solids in the butter cook and turn brown, hence the name 'brown butter'. The butter is then left to cool just for a wee bit.
- Add the sugars and egg - Brown sugar, white sugar, and egg go in. Then, the mixture is whipped until thickened and lightened in colour. This aeration of the mix helps to give the cookies lift, similar to the process of creaming room temp butter and sugar.
- Add the flour, salt, and leavener - All these go in, and are mixed with a spatula until almost combined. This prevents any over mixing.
- Chopped Chocolate is added - I use chopped chocolate because I love having a variety of chocolate sizes in the cookie - from big chunks to tiny crumbs spread throughout. The chocolate goes in and is folded in to the mix. This also incorporates the rest of the flour at the same time.
- Scoop the cookies - The cookies are scooped using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, and placed on a parchment lined baking sheet. I prefer to scoop my dough before chilling it, because I don't like scooping chilled dough.
- Chill down time - This recipe needs a 30 minute chill, which is just enough time to firm up the dough to ensure that they don't spread everywhere in the oven. You can do up to overnight if you like, or bake some off now and leave some for later. If you want a no chill cookie recipe, my brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe is great for this.
- Bake them off - Now is the time to add additional chocolate on the top of the cookies, and then bake them off. I like to finish them off by scooting them until they are perfectly round with a cookie cutter, and finishing with a healthy dose of flaky sea salt.
The best way to freeze cookie dough
If you want to make this chocolate chip cookie recipe super small batch, and have six cookies now and six later, you can freeze some of the dough. Chill all the dough down. Then, place however many balls of dough you are wanting to freeze on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Cover lightly with plastic and then freeze until solid (also known as a flash freeze) - 30 minutes to an hour. Transfer the dough to an airtight container or ziploc bag, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I like to label the dough with what it is and baking time - you will need to add 2-3 minutes onto the baking time when baking frozen dough. There is no need to defrost. You can bake it straight from frozen! Sometimes we will bake just two cookies off to have in the evening. I like to drop the temperature when baking to 325°f / 160°c and increase the bake time by a few minutes to account for frozen dough.
How to get perfect chocolate puddles
I like to use a little trick to get those big puddles on the tops of my chocolate chip cookies. Just before the dough goes in the oven, I take each ball of dough, and flatten it slightly. I then press chunks of chopped chocolate onto the top. You can add some of the chocolate dust from chopping too. Then I squeeze it back into a ball, and place it on the baking sheet. This means that when the cookie bakes, the chocolate will end up spread across the top of the cookie, and give you those big chocolate puddles on the tops. If you are freezing your cookie dough, do this step before they go into the freezer. You can't squish frozen dough!
Why weighing ingredients in baking is important
If you've read even one recipe on my website you know how important it is that you bake by weight. You can read more about this on my FAQ page if you like, but in short - cups aren't accurate. Baking is a science, and it requires accuracy. Measuring with a measuring cup will not give you this accuracy, and will give you inconsistent results. There are so many ways to fill a cup with flour - scoop and sweep, packing it in etc, but realistically there is no way for me to guarantee that the way you fill your measuring cup is the same way that I fill mine.
Not to mention that US cups and cups from the rest of the world have different capacities. There is no way to give a standardized cup measurement that will be accurate. Cup measures suck. If you are serious about baking (or even if you're not and you just want your recipes to work), you need to be baking with a scale. As a recipe developer it makes sense too. By posting my recipes in grams, I know that you are using the exact same quantities of ingredients as I am, removing a huge margin of error. Also - how do you even measure one cup of chocolate? It just doesn't make sense. Here is the scale I use. I am super hard on it, and it has lasted well. It's pink. I love it.
If you bake in cups and want to convert my recipes, by all means feel free to google. But, you've been warned. If they don't turn out how you are expecting, it is because you haven't made the recipe accurately.
Moisture loss when browning butter
Ranting aside, it is particularly important that you use a scale to bake with for small batch recipes, or recipes using brown butter. Small batch recipes rely on the ratio of ingredients being correct and there is much less room for error. And the best way to get this correct is to by using a scale. Different butters will have different moisture levels, which affects the yield of brown butter. American style butter have a higher water content, so will produce less brown butter when the water is cooked off. European or New Zealand style butter, which is higher in fat than American butter, will have less water that needs cooking off, so you will end up with a higher yield of brown butter.
The quantity of the butter in the recipe is important here, so the best way to measure it is by using a scale. You start with an initial quantity of butter - in this case 120g, and then cook it down. You then re-measure the weight of the brown butter, and use 95g of that in your cookie recipe. I have accounted for the moisture loss from the initial quantity of brown butter in the recipe.
The role of Brown and White sugar in Chocolate Chip Cookies
This article by my friend Stella is one that I turn to time and time again. Sugar does a lot more in a recipe than provide sweetness - it also plays a huge role in texture too. This is why I don't recommend reducing the sugar in recipes without thinking carefully about how it will affect texture too. The method also plays a part in the role of the sugar - whether a recipe uses creaming room temperature butter and sugar, or whether the butter is melted. Have a read of the article - I learn so much every time I read it!
I use both brown and white sugar in this Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, and when I was testing, I played around with the ratios. A general rule of thumb is that brown sugar will make cookies a little thicker, while white sugar will cause them to spread more. I play around with ratios when I am testing. If I want a cookie to spread out thin and have crisp edges, I up the quantity of white sugar in relation to the brown. It is important to also take the leavener used in the cookie into account here too though - brown sugar is slightly acidic, so will react with baking soda in the recipe. Science!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are there two measurements of butter in the recipe?
When you brown butter, you cook off some of the moisture, so end up with less butter than when you started due to this. The recipe accounts for this moisture loss - so you will start with 120g butter, then use 95g brown butter in the recipe.
What Cookie scoop do you use?
I use a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop - I like this 2 tbsp cookie scoop. You can also weigh your dough balls if you don't have a scoop. Mine weighed about 55g each.
For more homemade chocolate chip cookie recipes, check out:
Made this recipe and love it?
If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
Print
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
Description
These Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies are super easy to make. They are made with brown butter and can be made by hand - no mixer required. This recipe makes 12 chocolate chip cookies, and can easily be doubled.
Ingredients
- 120g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge is fine
- 120g dark brown or light brown sugar
- 45g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 140g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp espresso powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 180g chocolate from a bar, chopped (I used 100g dark and 80g milk, use what you like here), plus extra for pressing on top, if desired
Instructions
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted, and then continue to cook, swirling the pan often, until the butter foams and turns golden brown and nutty - this should take 3-4 minutes.
- Measure out 95g (see Notes section below) of the brown butter into a medium or large mixing bowl, and set aside for 15-20 minutes to cool so that it doesn't scramble your eggs.
- When the butter is cool, add the brown sugar and white sugar, and whisk briefly to incorporate.
- Add the egg and whisk well for 1-2 minutes, or mix using an electric mixer, until the mixture has lightened in colour and has thickened.
- Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour, salt, espresso powder if using, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix to combine with a rubber spatula until there are some flour streaks remaining - this is to ensure you do not over work the dough.
- Add the chopped chocolate and mix with a spatula to incorporate and finish incorporating the flour.
- Line a quarter sheet pan or other container with parchment paper. Using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough (approx 55g) , arranging them on the parchment (they can be touching). Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. See "how to freeze cookie dough" in post for tips on freezing
- 10 minutes into the chilling period, preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Arrange 6 cookie dough balls onto the pan. If desired, flatten each ball of dough, press more chocolate on the top, and roll into a ball, then space evenly on the pan.
- Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes, or until set around the edges and golden brown. Bake for closer to 11 minutes for still gooey inside, or 12-13 for more set cookies.
- Remove from the oven, and if desired, use a cookie cutter slightly bigger than the cookies to 'scoot' them into a round shape.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if using. Leave to cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Repeat the baking process with the remaining 6 balls of dough.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
You may notice that there are two quantities of butter in the recipe - the initial quantity of butter, then a second measurement in the method which is the quantity of brown butter. The larger initial quantity is to account for water loss when browning - read more about that in my FAQ.
Please note that if you use the 2x button to double the recipe, this only doubles the ingredients list and not the quantities within the method, so you need to weigh out 190g brown butter to use in your cookies.
Keywords: Small batch, Small Batch cookies, Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brown Butter, Brown Butter chocolate chip cookies
Comments
Simply the best cookie recipe😍 it’s an extra step to brown the butter but hey, you would’t regret it. Especially when your asian mum asks “what did you buy inside?! It’s so fragrant” 🙈
★★★★★
Had friends over for dinner and I threw these together, popped them in the fridge while we ate, and then baked them up after. So easy and so good. It was the perfect amount. Thank you!
Yayyy that's my favourite thing to do too! I often also double the recipe and then bake off frozen cookie dough too x
I was wondering are they like super soft thicker cookies or more thinner and chewier cookies??
Hi! They aren't super soft - I would say medium thickness?
So delicious- just made them for Santa, hopefully he’s a fan too. Love the fact I could weigh out each cookie (55g) made it so much easier to make them uniform. So it says 120g of butter in the ingredients but then 95g of burnt butter and I was a bit confused as to why you wouldn’t use the whole 120g but after burning you are pretty much left with 95g so it makes total sense.
★★★★★
Hi! So happy you loved! There is a note in the recipe with the heading 'moisture loss when browning butter' which explains this too 🙂
These were so so good! I doubled the recipe because I have a big family and we are serious about our cookies haha! When I measured out the butter it seemed to be a little less than 95 g x 2 but I went ahead with it anyway. It could be because I used American butter and not Europe because it’s what I had on hand. Additionally, when they baked they were super flat, not a bad thing just an observation. All the more reason to try them again and see how they turn out next time:)
★★★★★
Hi Erin,
I have made these cookies 3-4 times now (losing count as you can see!)...taken them round when invited for dinner, gifted them to friends and made them for family. They are by far THE BEST chocolate-chip cookies ever! I've had people ask me to send them the recipe as they enjoyed them so much. The rich, deep smell and flavour from the browned butter is so comforting, makes the house smell divine and of course tastes absolutely delicious! I always struggled to find a good cookie recipe, as any ones I tried were either cakey, dry or too flat. These are the perfect texture, even when reducing the sugar slightly - chewy on the inside and crispy on the edges. They are an absolute crowd-pleaser and I'm already exctied to bake them again...thank you sooo much for sharing this amazing recipe xx
★★★★★
Ahhh I am so happy you loved@
These are absolutely delicious and bake up so professionally! I’ve made them twice in the past month and have gotten rave reviews from everyone!
★★★★★
Ahhh yay! They are a fave around here too x
Not sure what I can add to what’s already been said other than perfect and I *don’t want to eat a whole a batch every time by myself it’s that good.*
Favourite dessert when sandwiched with some vanilla ice cream.
★★★★★
Idk what happened. I followed directions. Chilled them before hand and now I have 12 massive flat cookies 😂
I mean they taste good but where did I got wrong?
★★★★
Hi! Hmmm is your oven too hot? Often it is an oven temperature issue if they spread. Did you use fan bake (And if you did did you adjust the temp to account?)
I love small batch recipes, as even if I'm tempted to eat them all myself over a few days (which isn't healthy!), there's not very many to eat in total haha. Will definitely be giving these a go this weekend 🙂
Yay I hope you enjoy!
This is hands down the best chocolate chip recipe I've ever used.
★★★★★
Thank you so much! x
Hey Erin,
I love your blog and my whole family loves these cookies! They are delicious for dessert and whatever is left will thankfully be taken to school in a lunch box 😊
Definitely my favorite baking recipe at the moment!
(Can‘t wait to try your ciabatta recipe by the way - hope it‘ll be on your blog before Easter…?)
★★★★★
Delicious cookie recipe! Really appreciated the instructions on freezing. Now I keep a batch in the freezer and bake one or two at a time when the craving for cookies comes!
★★★★★
I made this recipe a while ago and I’m in love! all my friends and family loved the cookies so much 💗💗 the only issue is it becomes stale as soon as it cools down and I have to keep a piece of bread inside of the cookie jar and change it after the cookies suck all the moisture from it💔
★★★★★
Hi! These cookies keep for at least a few days before going stale - are you possibly over baking them? So happy you loved the recipe 🙂
These are the cookies I make if i want to impress people and make them think I’m a sensational baker!! Absolutely incredible, chewy, melt in your mouth!
Such an easy bake with very simple and informative steps. Every question I may have while baking this has been answered in the explanations from Erin!
I’ve even used salted butter as it was all I had and omitted the salt and they were absolute perfection still! 10/10!
★★★★★
Beautiful cookies, easy recipe. Soooo good!! Will make again.
★★★★★
This is a great recipe, I am forever experimenting with cookies and this one is a great one added to my growing list.
SUCH a good recipe - turned out perfect and every one of my friends went back for a second cookie. Super yum and has a slight savoury touch to it so isn’t too sweet.
★★★★★
Have just made these after trying your M&M cookie recipe last week. Busy eating one (ok, two...) right now. Insanely good! This is my new favourite cookie recipe. Thank you! xoxo
★★★★★
This is such a great cookie recipe (and I have tried many!), it's that perfect combination of crispy edges and a chewy fudgy centre. This is definitely part of my regular cookie routine from now on!
★★★★★
The ideal recipe for when you just want a quick cookie pick me up. Absolutely beautiful flavours from the browned butter and brown sugar. Perfect mix of crispy edges and chewy centre.
★★★★★
The depth of caramel-y flavour the browned butter gives these cookies really takes them to a whole new level. There is simply no going back to normal chocolate chip cookies after this. Thanks for the fab recipe with detailed steps and helpful tips to ensure the baker’s success. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 37 normal-size biscuits (I used a 2 T scoop, but did not weigh the balls). I did not use espresso powder, as I only had granules (wonder if they might work?).
The amount of butter turned out to be just enough after it melted (I used NZ butter) and I had to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan to get the right weight, but I reckon those browned bits added even more flavour. Oven set to 170, biscuits ended up flat as after 10 minutes, with bottoms a bit too browned and slightly too doughy middles. Of course, my oven is a complete POS (I rent, so unable to buy a new one). Your cookies look like they turned out great, so I don’t believe your recipe is the problem. I completely blame my oven. The cookies are still delicious, even flat as. Thanks again for this keeper of a recipe.
★★★★★
Hi! Ahh yes this def sounds like an oven issue! If you can get a thermometer (you can get them pretty cheaply at briscoes etc) it might be worth popping it in to see how far off your oven is!
I love this cookie recipe. Definitely one of the best I've tried. I love when I do the brown butter and my 4 year old says "what's that amazing smell"
★★★★★
These were so good! And I made my browned butter with Mykonos vegan butter which turned out great and didn't mess up the cookies in at all
★★★★★
Absolutely perfect cookies! Made these exactly as written with no changes and would definitely make them again. Not only are they delicious but they are a beautiful cookie too! The size and thickness were just right and they have remained tender into the next day. My new favorite CCC recipe - thanks Erin!
★★★★★