I recently had a reader write and ask for some small batch baking recipes. And since we are a family of four, I will frequently scale down recipes when I’m baking so we don’t have as many cookies lying around leftover waiting to derail us from healthy eating goals. I also send a lot of treats into the office with my husband. But until now I haven’t shared those versions on here. This is my small batch chocolate cookie base recipe and I’ll use it to make any kind of chocolate cookie we like just by changing up the mix-ins. It’s super versatile and results in 4 really large cookies or 6 perfectly sized cookies. I’ve been doing a lot of small batch baking lately and some of our other favorites are Small Batch Sticky Buns, Small Batch Muddy Buddies, Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Small Batch Brownies. If you love chocolate and cookies, you’ve come to the right place. Be sure to also check out our Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies, Copycat Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies, and Rocky Road Cookies next!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Enjoy them while they’re fresh. Sure you can freeze cookie dough balls or baked cookies to have something sweet relatively quickly any time you want, but it’s just not quite the same, is it? And I like the process of baking anyway, so a small batch approach is more satisfying in a lot of ways. Perfectly balanced flavor. The rich chocolate cookie base is made with Dutch processed cocoa powder so it’s nice and dark with amazing chocolate taste. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder works as well, the cookies will just be a bit lighter in color and the flavor is more milk chocolate. Chewy. These bake up soft in the middle with barely crisp outer edges that results in a wonderfully chewy texture that you’ll love.
Ingredient Notes
This is a quick overview of some of the important ingredients you’ll need for this small batch triple chocolate chip cookie recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
Cocoa powder: My favorite brand of Dutch processed cocoa powder is Ghiradelli or Rodelle, but Hershey’s special dark is good too. And you can absolutely make these with regular unsweetened cocoa powder without any other adjustments and they will still be delicious, just not as chocolatey. Flour: I use regular all-purpose flour and a scoop & level approach to measuring for baking cookies. Sugar: A combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar gives just the right balance of sweetness, chewiness, and depth of flavor. Egg yolk: Instead of using the whole egg, when making a small batch of cookies like this all you need is the yolk. If you wanted to double the batch, use the whole egg instead of two yolks. Chocolate chips: You’ll want a total of ½ cup of chips for adding to the cookies, which is roughly 2 heaping tablespoons of white chocolate chips, semisweet, and milk chocolate chips. But I also usually add a few extras on top of each cookie right when they come out of the oven to make them look nice. Baking powder & baking soda: These two are leavening agents that work together to give just the right amount of lift and spread to the cookies.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cream butter and sugars. Use a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer to beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy and light, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla extract. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything gets mixed together well. Add dry ingredients. Next go in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well, starting on low speed, and give the bowl another good scrape with the spatula to make sure there aren’t areas sticking on the bottom so you get a nice, homogenous cookie dough.
Stir in chocolate chips. Add the milk chocolate, semisweet, and white chocolate chips. At this point you could chill the cookie dough, if you wanted, but we always bake without chilling and have no problems. Scoop the cookies. Use a small cookie scoop to divide the dough into 4 or 6 equal-sized cookies. Bake. You want these to bake just until set but not overdone so they stay soft and chewy. It’s 8-9 minutes in a 400 degree F oven. Let them set up for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Or just enjoy a fresh cookie while it’s still warm straight off the pan and skip the wire rack.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Measure correctly. The biggest issue I see most people having when baking cookies is inaccurate measuring, especially when it comes to flour. If you have a kitchen scale, it will always give the most consistent results and I’ve included weight measurements below. But if you want to make these without a scale, I suggest scooping the flour then leveling it off with a flat edge like the back of a knife. Use cold butter. If you find that your cookies tend to spread, try using cold butter instead of softened butter. Cut it into cubes and by the time it creams together with the sugars it will be the perfect temperature without being too soft. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Not only does this make for easy cleanup, but I find my cookies tend to bake more evenly on parchment paper than directly on the baking sheet.
Ideas for Mix-ins
Use this base to make any kind of chocolate cookies you like. As long as you stick to about ½ cup of mix-ins, you should be good. Here are some of our favorites:
Chopped nuts. Walnuts are my favorite, but any nut would be good in these. M&M’s candy. Or Rolos or chopped Snickers or Andes Mints or Reese’s. Peanut butter chips. Mint chips or peppermint bark.
Storage Instructions
How to store: If you don’t eat all six cookies in one sitting, you can keep extras in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. How to freeze: These cookies freeze well for up to 2 months. Just reheat in the microwave for a few seconds before enjoying.
More Cookie Recipes
Copycat Crumbl Cinnamon Swirl Cookies Biscoff Cookie Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies Big Blue Monster Stuffed Cookies
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Molasses Cookies Recipe
Copycat Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
