small batch chocolate chip cookies

these small batch chocolate chip cookies are the perfect treat, with crisp, golden edges that give way to soft, chewy centres. made with brown butter and packed with pockets of melty chocolate, each bite is full of nutty, caramel-like, chocolatey goodness.

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these small batch chocolate chip cookies blend the rich, nutty flavour of brown butter with warm, chewy cookie centres and perfectly gooey chocolate chips. great for satisfying all of your homemade cookie cravings, this recipe brings together the ultimate balance of chewiness and crisp, made just right in a smaller batch.

why you will love these small batch chocolate chip cookies:

• easy recipe with simple ingredients: these small batch chocolate chip cookies use ingredients that you probably already have at home, making it easy for bakers of all levels (and perfect for sudden cookie cravings!). the hardest thing about this recipe is browning the butter, which is really a lot easier than it looks.

• perfect for sharing and gifting – pack up these small batch chocolate chip cookies in a cute little box or jar and give them to friends or family as a thoughtful, homemade gift!

• perfectly chewy – these small batch gooey chocolate chip cookies have the perfect texture. golden and crispy on the edges with a chewy, melt-in-the-mouth middle and pools of molten chocolate.

• brown butter – the brown butter in these small batch chocolate chip cookies instantly elevates the flavour of a classic cookie to new heights. just one simple change adds such a nutty, rich depth that will have you adding brown butter to all of your favourite cookie recipes.

how to make these small batch homemade chocolate chip cookies:

to make these small batch chocolate chip cookies, we’re going to start off by browning our butter and mixing it with sugar. add an egg, vanilla, a splash of heavy cream and dry ingredients to make a dough, then load it up with chocolate chips or chopped chocolate pieces. chill in the fridge, then bake until golden and soft and we’re done!

small batch chocolate chip cookies ingredients:

• butter – i like to make this small batch of chocolate chip cookies with salted butter as the salt balances out the sweetness perfectly. you are welcome to use unsalted butter as well, but i would recommend adding a little bit of salt to the dry ingredients to balance out the flavours. we’re going to be browning the butter for an extra caramel-like depth of flavour that will perfectly complement the rich chocolate and buttery cookie base.

• brown sugar – i’m using light brown soft sugar for this recipe. this is what helps gives these chocolate chip cookies their soft, chewy texture and gives them a nice flavour. this light muscovado sugar is one of my favourites.

• granulated sugar – this recipe uses a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar. the brown sugar keeps these cookies soft and chewy and the granulated sugar helps them spread.

• vanilla extract – optional, but will add a nice, subtle vanilla flavour.

• egg – this recipe only uses one large egg.

• double cream/heavy cream – my secret ingredient for extra chewy cookies! i like to add just a tablespoon of cream to keep the middle of these cookies soft and gooey. this will also help add back any moisture for the butter that is lost from browning it.

• flour – we’ll be using plain flour/all purpose flour for this recipe

• baking powder and baking soda – for these small batch chocolate chip cookies, we’re going to use a mix of baking powder and baking soda – this will increase chewiness but also give them a bit of rise.

• chocolate – as with all of my chocolate chip cookie recipes, these cookies are loaded with chocolate. i prefer chopping up a bar of milk or dark chocolate (dark chocolate in this case) because i love the pools of melty chocolate, but if you’re wanting a more classic chocolate chip cookie look, chocolate chips will also work great.

tools:

• a pot for browning the butter – we’ll be browning the butter over the stove.

• large mixing bowl – we’ll be adding everything to one bowl so you’ll need a large bowl to fit all of the ingredients in so that it’s easier to mix and handle the cookie dough.

step by step instructions

for full measurements, keep scrolling down to the recipe below.

step one: add butter to a pan or pot and heat up over medium heat. keep stirring until golden brown and toasted. you’ll know you’re done when the butter starts to smell almost caramel-like. (detailed instructions on browning butter in faqs section).

step two: add the brown butter to a large mixing bowl, making sure to scrape out all of the milk solids from the bottom of the pan and into the bowl. put this in the fridge or freezer to chill for 10-15 minutes until the brown butter has cooled.

step three: once the butter is cool, remove from fridge/freezer, then add sugars to the bowl. mix into the butter until combined.

step four: add egg, vanilla and a splash of heavy cream, and mix this into the butter and sugar mixture until combined.

step five: in another bowl, add flour, baking powder and baking soda, then mix together. add this to the butter and sugar mixture and gently fold the flour in until a sticky dough is formed.

step six: add chocolate chunks/chocolate chips to the dough and fold those in. the dough should be thick and fairly sticky.

step seven: leave the dough to chill in the fridge for a good 2-3 hours. this will ensure less spreading, increase chewiness and develop the flavours better.

step eight: preheat oven ten minutes before baking, then shape your cookies into even portions and place on a lined baking tray with enough space in between them.

step nine: add extra chocolate chips/chocolate chunks on top and press them into the dough, then bake for 18-22 mins, depending on the size of your cookie.

step ten: serve with a glass of cold milk, and let’s eat!

tips and notes

• keep an eye on the butter when browning it – butter can quickly go from nutty and toasted to burnt. once the butter starts to smell caramel-like and toasty, and you can see it start to turn a golden colour, remove the pan from the heat.

• make sure you give the brown butter time to cool before adding the rest of your ingredients. this is why i like to place it in the fridge or freezer for a while before going ahead with the rest of the recipe.

• chill the dough for as long as you can. to keep these small batch chocolate chip cookies chewy and soft, i recommend chilling in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. this will improve texture and allow the flavours to develop better.

• portion out the dough evenly. to keep these small batch chocolate chip cookies even and consistent in size, i recommend splitting the dough into equal portions. you can either measure out each portion using a scale, or simply use a cookie scoop so that each cookie is the same size.

• i usually make my cookies pretty big, but for the smaller cookies pictured, measure them out into 60g dough balls and bake for about 13 minutes.

• make sure to use a room temperature egg, as this will combine with the rest of the ingredients easily and not mess with the texture of the dough.

• adjust baking time as needed. every oven is different, so i always recommend keeping an eye on your chocolate chip cookies as they bake. don’t just bang them in the oven and leave until the designated time is up. i like to take them out of the oven when they’re slightly underdone as they will continue to cook as they cool once they’re out of the oven. over baking will result in dry and cakey cookies, which is not what we want.

• once these small-batch chocolate chip cookies are out of the oven, they should be too soft to pick up. let them cool for a good 10-15 minutes before trying to pick them up. they should still be soft and gooey, just easier to pick up without them falling apart.

• use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. while i add both metric and cup measurements for this recipe, i always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients for most accurate results.

• enjoy these cookies warm! the best way to eat this small batch of cookies is warm and fresh out of the oven, when the chocolate is still gooey and the edges are crisp. if you end up with leftover cookies (which is doubtful), just reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds to recreate that freshly-baked feel.

frequently asked questions

1. how do i brown the butter for this small batch of chocolate chip cookies?

   – to brown the butter, starting by adding cubed butter to a pan. melt this over medium heat, and stir constantly as the butter melts. the butter will melt and then begin to foam and sizzle. you’ll know the butter has browned when the foam starts to tone down a little and the butter looks golden brown underneath the foam. the butter will start to smell slightly nutty and toasty. once this happens, remove the pot from the heat and transfer the brown butter to your mixing bowl to cool.

2. can i use unsalted butter in this small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe?

   – yes, you can use unsalted butter. if you use unsalted butter for your cookies instead of salted, i would recommend adding around 1/4 tsp of salt to the cookie dough with the rest of the dry ingredients just to balance out the sweetness of the sugar and chocolate.

3. do i have to use vanilla extract to make these small batch chocolate chip cookies?

   – the vanilla extract in this cookie recipe is optional. i like the subtle vanilla flavour it gives to the cookie dough, but if you would prefer not to use it or don’t have it, that’s also completely fine.

4. my chocolate doesn’t melt, how do i get the melted pools of chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies?

   – use chopped up chocolate in your cookies over chocolate chips if you’re looking for pools of chocolate. chocolate chips often come with stabilisers and emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, so they are actually designed not to melt in the oven. for the perfect combination of chewy bite and melty chocolate, you could even use a mix of both chocolate chips and chopped chocolate in these cookies.

5. why did my chocolate chip cookies turn into a cake instead of gooey like yours?

   – there are a number of reasons why your chocolate chip cookies didn’t come out gooey like mine. the number one reason is likely because of baking times. you should take your cookies out of the oven while they are slightly underbaked as they will continue to cook and firm up as they cool. even if you followed the exact timings in the recipe, every oven will bake things differently so timings will vary depending on your oven. i highly recommend checking on your cookies every once in a while, especially towards the end of the written times to make sure they don’t over bake.

   – another reason could be that there was too much flour in your cookie dough. to make these small batch chocolate cookies as accurately as possible, be sure to measure your flour using the spoon-and-level method if using cup measurements, or weight out the flour using a kitchen scale.

6. can i make small-batch chocolate chip cookie bars instead of cookies?

   – you can absolutely turn these into cookie bars with a few simple changes. just follow the recipe as stated, add your small batch chocolate chip cookie dough to an 8×8 or 9×9 baking tray and increase baking time. for the cookie bars, you can also skip the chilling time to make things extra quick and easy!

7. do i have to use brown sugar to make this small batch of chocolate chip cookies?

   – brown sugar is recommended for these chocolate chip cookies, as it helps gives the cookies their chewy texture and rich flavour. however, if you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute it with granulated sugar. bear in mind, that using all granulated sugar for this cookie recipe might result in cookies that are crispier, less chewy and maybe even a little drier. for best results, use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar as stated.

8. do i have to use heavy cream for this small batch of chocolate chip cookies?

   – the use of heavy cream in this recipe helps balance the moisture loss that occurs when browning the butter and also adds extra richness to these cookies. if you’re looking for substitutes for the heavy cream, add the same amount of milk or butter or even add an extra egg yolk in place of the cream to keep these cookies chewy and rich.

9. why did my cookies not spread?

   – one of the reasons why your cookies didn’t spread might be due to your oven temperatures being too low. make sure to preheat your oven 10-15 minutes before adding your cookies in so that the oven is hot enough.

10. can i make the dough ahead of time and bake the cookies later?

    – you can absolutely make this small batch chocolate chip cookie dough in advance and store it in the fridge before baking. i would recommend making the cookie dough 24 hours in advance and letting it rest in the fridge. when you’re ready to bake, just leave the bowl out for around 10-15 minutes while the oven is preheating – this will help the dough soften up so you can easily portion it out.

recipe