Name: Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 1/4 cup dark brown sugar; 3 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 large egg yolk (egg white reserved for another use); 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/8 teaspoon fine salt; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/3 cup chocolate chips

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Small batch chocolate chip cookies for your next cookie craving! Make just a half batch of chocolate chip cookies the next time you need a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie!

I’m sharing this recipe today with so much love. I’ve been scaling down recipes since 2009, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I started this blog. One of the first things I wanted to share here in this space is a small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe.

If I remember correctly, small batch chocolate chip cookies were one of the first 20 recipes I shared. My actual first recipe was chocolate cream pie for two, however.

We all need chocolate chip cookies every now and then, but we almost never need four dozen of them. I still believe in the dessert for two doctrine after all of these years. A little bit of the real dessert is better than a lot of the fake stuff. Small batch desserts fit into our lives so easily!

Some of you said: why don’t you just freeze leftover dough?

While I realize I can store leftover cookie dough balls in the freezer, I cannot be trusted around frozen cookie dough. I’m one of those people that thinks frozen dough is even better than the baked cookie! Plus, if I froze every leftover batch of cookie dough, I would soon need to buy a deep freezer for additional freezer space!

It seems I cannot be trusted around a batch of cookies that makes more than one dozen cookies. I’m hoping you’re the same way as me! I’m guessing since you landed on this site, you might be. If that’s the case, welcome!

Chocolate chip cookies with shortening?!

You guys loved my original recipe for small batch chocolate chip cookies. I’m so glad that you guys think it’s so amazing to have a small recipe for cookies that you could bake whenever a cookie craving hits. And, you love that the recipe only makes 10-12 cookies, not the typical 4 dozen cookies of standard recipes.

I love that neither of us trust ourselves around leftover cookies. We’re the same, you and I.

However, my original recipe for a small batch of chocolate chip cookies contained shortening. I grew up in the South, and shortening is a common ingredient to me, when used in moderation. But, I’ve learned that most of you guys avoid shortening at all costs.

After many emails poured in asking if the recipe could be made with all butter, I finally decided to try it myself! I’m so glad I took your advice.

As it turns out, chocolate chip cookies made without shortening are amazing, and it’s possible to still have the chewy, melty, gooey cookies of our dreams. Butter is where it’s at, friends!

You’re going to love these cookies because they contain all butter and dark brown sugar. If you have my first cookbook, Dessert for Two, you can use this new formula to adapt the recipe.

If you want to keep making the original recipe with shortening, that’s perfectly fine, too friends! I’m just here to make sure you get enough cookies in your life. The original ratio is 4 tablespoons of butter to 2 tablespoons of shortening.

It would be super fun to make both recipes side by side and host a taste-test party!

Shortening makes cookies fluffy while still giving them a crisp edge. It’s magical stuff, but I understand if you don’t want to bake with it.

Tips for making small batch chocolate chip cookies:

-Use softened butter. That means butter that sits out at room temperature for about 20 minutes. You can press a finger into the butter to make an indent, but your finger will not go all the way through easily. Softened butter is not room temperature butter.

-Use dark brown sugar. The only different between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar is the molasses content. And when it comes to cookies, the more molasses, the better. Molasses makes cookies a lovely shade of golden brown, and it’s key for chewy cookies.

-This recipe uses just an egg yolk (because it’s small batch). I have a collection of recipes that use leftover egg whites, if you’re interested.

-Use 1/3 cup of chocolate chips for the dough, but feel free to push a few more chocolate chips on top right when they come out of the oven. That’s a pro tip ;)

Ok, friends! I hope you love and adore this recipe for a small batch of chocolate chip cookies. I hope you make it at least a few times a month just like I do!

If you’re looking for Gluten Free Teff Chocolate Chip Cookies, my friend Sarah has the best ones I’ve ever tasted that use teff flour and chewy dates. They’re so incredibly delicious.

Another fun variation is to add orange zest to your cookies. I also want to mention that you can use any type of chocolate chips and add nuts, if you prefer your cookies that way. I have a small batch cranberry white chocolate chip cookie recipe that is a variation of this recipe.

Yield: 1 dozen