The best Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie

Every Sunday night after a long week I crave a sweet treat before bed. These small-batch cookies are an all-time favorite of mine to whip up in a sugar pinch.

Keep scrolling to the bottom for more tips to bake a successful cookie!

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 15 min Bake time: 10 minutes

Servings: 5 to 6 cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1/4 unsalted butter (melted)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk (room temp.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips… or more if you measure with your heart instead like I do!

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 ^oF
2. Heat butter in a microwave-safe bowl until just melted. Set aside
3. Combine the dry ingredients, the flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder, in a bowl. Set aside
4. Combine butter and sugars until fully incorporated; about 2 minutes of mixing
5. Add vanilla and egg yolk to the wet batter, mix until combined
6. Slowly fold in the dry mixture until just combined
7. Fold in chocolate chips
8. Use a large spoon to scoop and roll the dough into balls; it’s time to bake!

Tips for the perfect cookie

What’s the best way to melt the butter?

I prefer to microwave my butter in 15-second increments

Mix until the butter is fully melted and do not overheat; it may cause the butter to splatter

Can I use alternative flour? (ex: almond, oat, or rice flour)

I have not tried any alternatives, but if you happen to, please share how it worked out! My best guess would be oat flour would best replace wheat flour for this particular recipe

If you are extremely sensitive to gluten or making this for someone who is, be sure to look for the “gluten-free certification” added to the label

Can I brown the butter for this recipe?

Absolutely! Remember, butter is composed of water and fat and the browning process evaporates part of the butter. Compensate for this by using 5 tablespoons of butter (also written as 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)

Also, give your butter an extra 15-20 minutes to cool on the counter before adding it to your recipe

Can I refrigerate or freeze this dough?

You betcha! You can refrigerate this dough in an air-tight container or saran-wrapped for up to 3 days before baking it; be sure to write the day you made the dough on the container somewhere.

To freeze, store in an air-tight bag or container and write the date somewhere on the container. These will last up to 2 months in the freezer

I like crispier cookies, how should I adjust the recipe?

After forming balls of dough, flatten your cookies with the back of a mug or your hands to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch

Keep these in the oven for a little longer than the recipe calls. At 10 minutes you should start to notice a light brown on the edges, keep these in an extra 1 to 2 minutes until you see a deeper golden brown

Be careful not to burn your cookies! Keep a close eye on them for the last couple of minutes

Can I add anything else to these cookies?

You can and should! Some extra ingredients are…

• toffee chips
• m&ms
• crushed pretzels
• white chocolate chips
• peanut butter chips
• pecans
• walnuts
• sea salt (topping)

Didn’t see your questions answered? Let me know down below and I’ll get back to you ASAP 🙂

Happy Baking!