Yield: 8 (small batch) chocolate chip cookies // Total Time: 1 hr. 15 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. // Recipe updated 5/19/23
The BEST chocolate chip cookies, in small batch form.
small batch chocolate chip cookies
These might be the best chocolate chip cookies..ever. And of course that’s a big statement and everyone has their own preferences but hear me out. A combination of brown butter and dark brown sugar means that these cookies are PACKED with flavor in the dough itself. They’re also loaded with pools of melty chocolate. As far as texture goes, there’s no better way to go than crisp edges and a soft and chewy center. These cookies, are rich, flavorful, and so so delicious. So let’s get started!
small batch cookies
Like most recipes you’ll find here, these cookies are small batch, yielding just 8 cookies. I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. But don’t worry! If you are in need of more cookies, you can double or triple this recipe as desired. Just be sure you’re using grams to measure for the best result. If you’re looking for an even *smaller* batch of cookies, check out my 20 minute chocolate chip cookies!
what is brown butter?
Brown butter is super simple to make so don’t worry! It’s just regular butter that is cooked on the stove until some of the moisture evaporates, allowing the milk solids in the butter to be toasted. The result is this butter with an amber hue and little speckles that has a toasted and slightly nutty aroma.
Because the butter gets cooked for a while, you do lose most of the moisture present in butter – just another reason I highly recommend weighing your ingredients! You should have 90g of butter left from the 113g at the start. Any less and you’ll want to add some water to the butter to bring it to 90g, or you’ll end up with some dry and crumbly cookies.
recipe tips
weigh your ingredients
Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient which can give you some undesirable results. This kitchen scale is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out! If you don’t have access to a scale, here is the best way to measure flour: fluff up the flour with a fork, then use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup. Use a knife to level off the top of the cup, then use as directed.
mix the dough carefully
When you’re mixing in your flour, you’ll want to make sure you only mix just until that last streak of flour disappears in the dough. Otherwise, you run the risk of overmixing the dough which will make the cookies more tough and chewy.
under bake for perfect cookies
This is one of the best tips for getting these small batch cookies to be perfect, and really for making any cookie perfect.Cookies will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after being taken out of the oven. When the edges are golden brown and the middles of the cookies are just a little underdone, they are ready to be taken out of the oven! Let the cookies sit on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes after baking before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
cookie scooting
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
chill the cookies prior to baking
I know, I know – it’s frustrating to have to wait! However, because we’re using melted brown butter, we want to give the dough time to firm up. Letting the cookie dough chill just a little bit in the fridge means that the cookies will bake up thicker. This also gives the flavors a little bit of time to meld together.
ingredients and substitutions
All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
Baking powder & baking soda: for helping the cookies rise.
Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. We’ll also be browning the butter for some extra delicious toasty flavor. If you’re looking to make this dairy-free, Miyoko’s Creamery vegan butter has the ability to brown just like regular butter and works like a charm.
Granulated sugar & dark brown sugar: a combination of both gives us cookies with crispy edges and soft and chewy centers.
Egg: for binding and for moisture.
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend semi-sweet or dark chocolate. Please note that if you use all chocolate chips, the cookies will bake up a little thicker, and if you use all chopped chocolate, they will be a tad thinner.
how to make small batch chocolate chip cookies
Here’s a little look into the process of making these small batch chocolate chip cookies. The full recipe is at the end of this blog post!
small batch chocolate chip cookies q&a
can I double this recipe?
Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! Simply double all of the ingredients in the recipe to make 16 delicious cookies. I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely! Cookie dough only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge a little bit before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again!
how to store these small batch chocolate chip cookies
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will definitely taste the best on the day that they are baked, but will keep well for up to 3 days.
why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
a note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and aren’t always at the temperature they claim to be at. I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
did you make these small batch chocolate chip cookies?
If you made these small batch chocolate chip cookies I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 113 g unsalted butter (8 tbsp.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar* (½ c.)
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- ¾ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 150 g semi-sweet chocolate** (¾ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks.
- Transfer the brown butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. You should be left with at least 90g of brown butter, if you have a little less, just add in some water until you reach 90g.
- Once the butter has cooled down a bit, whisk in both sugars.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until a few flour streaks remain.
- Add in the chocolate and fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.***
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of the cookie dough. (If you chilled the dough for longer, you may need to wait 10-20 minutes for it to become soft enough to scoop.)
- Evenly space out the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and top them with extra chocolate.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.
- Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend "scooting" them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie a little more round.
- Let the cookies sit on the hot baking tray for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, serve and enjoy!
Tina says
Just baked these cookies and they turned out perfectly!
Thank you so much for having metric measurements since we’re used to use these in Europe and I didn’t have to convert anything. Makes trying recipes so much easier.
I used my ice cream scoop and happen to have 11 cookies. Having a bit of a smaller cookie turned down the baking time to 10 minutes, if anyone is interested.
Greeting from Germany ♥️
Priya says
If I make dough in advance, Is it ok to bake frozen dough or do I have to let it come to room temp before baking?
Erin says
Hi Priya! You can take either route when working with frozen cookie dough. I would recommend leaving the dough out for 20-30 minutes to let it become a little soft and then bake as normal. I haven’t tried baking directly from frozen but if you do I would recommend baking them at 325F for around 15 minutes. I hope this helps!
Claire says
My cookies didn’t flatten down, I followed the recipe perfectly.
Erin says
Hi, thank you so much for trying the recipe! I’m sorry it didn’t work out perfectly – are you measuring by weight? It’s possible if not that you added too much flour or took the brown butter a tad too far which would result in a thicker cookie.
Saadi says
love these! ive made them a few times and I made them again last night and froze them bc I didnt have time to bake them. I want to bake some later today, could you advise me how to go about that? (bring to room temp or not, oven temp etc?) Thank you!
Erin says
Thank you so much! I would let the dough sit out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes just to soften up a bit from the freezer and then bake them as normal. For future reference, you can leave the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days after putting it together, no need to freeze! 🙂
Saadi says
thank you so much! ok that’s a good tip! 😀 thanks
Cameron says
These were incredible and your recipe was very detailed and well written. I have a kitchen scale and was able to measure everything. They turned out so well even being my first try. So tasty and delicious! 10/10, will definitely be making again! The only thing I’d add, and apologies if I missed it, is a link to some instructions on browning butter. I looked at another recipe to ensure I did this at the right temperature. Never done this before, and it may be good for any inexperienced bakers out there. Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe!
Cameron says
Sorry, definitely missed this in floating back and forth between the recipe and the earlier sections with tips and images..
Erin says
No worries at all, thank you so much and I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Steph G says
Under the section “tips” under “semi sweet chocolate chips” are you mention the options but I think you also mentioned pistachio cream, which I believe belongs to a different recipe. I just thought I would mention that.
Erin says
Oops – thanks for letting me know! 🙂