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    Susan Brings Dessert » Recipes » Cookie Recipes

    Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Published: Jul 2, 2024 by Susan Gravatt · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    These small batch brown butter chocolate chip cookies yield the perfect amount of cookies for a gathering with just a few friends or family. But want to know the two best parts of this recipe? For one, it uses a no-chill dough. AND no electric mixer or hand mixer needed to bake a batch of these! You can easily combine all these ingredients by hand. Follow the steps below to make eight soft, perfect chocolate chip cookies.

    Up-close overhead shot of chocolate chip cookie, pulled apart to show the melted chunks.

    Small batch recipes are great when it's just you and maybe a couple of friends (or really, you just want to eat a few extra cookies yourself - live a little). I've got a few others to suggest, like my browned butter peanut butter cookies (they make 8!) or small batch vanilla cupcakes. All are good options for parties of 6-8!

    This particular cookie recipe is modeled off of my big batch chocolate chip cookie recipe. I definitely recommend using that instead when you're serving desserts for a larger crowd.

    And if you're searching for another yummy cookie option to try, my oat flour chocolate chip cookies are chewy and super easy to make. Plus, they're gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free oats or oat flour!

    Jump to:
    • Recipe Highlights
    • Ingredients in this Small Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Guide for Browning Butter
    • Step-by-Step Cookie Recipe Instructions
    • Top Tip for Perfectly Round Cookies
    • Small Batch Cookie: The Holiday Edition
    • Cookie Storage & Freezing Instructions
    • FAQ for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • More Cookies to Try
    • Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Recipe Highlights

    Unlike similar small batch cookie recipes, no chill time - I specifically made this recipe so that you don't need to chill your cookie dough in the refrigerator before baking. When I'm in the mood for baking or eating a cookie, I want to eat it ASAP. I bet you do, too.

    Fast and easy - This recipe gets extra points for coming together so quickly! From start to finish, you can have a freshly baked cookie in your mouth within an hour of starting this recipe. That's a win. Plus, you don't have to worry about wait around for room temperature butter. The butter here is melted.

    Less cleanup - Craving a classic chocolate chip cookie? But also kind of feeling lazy with your baking? Same. Often. But the beauty of small batch recipes like this one is that they require fewer ingredients and less work.

    No special equipment necessary - Let your stand mixer take a break. You can easily whip up a batch of these small-batch chocolate chip cookies with a medium bowl, whisk, and spatula.

    Up-close overhead shot of chocolate chip cookies on a baking tray with parchment paper beneath them.

    Ingredients in this Small Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Overhead shot of ingredients for small batch cookie recipe.

    After recipe testing five times, I was happy with the end result here. Below are some recipe highlights, and all the details are in the card at the bottom of the post, too.

    • Egg yolk - The yolk contributes to the richness and moisture of the cookie, thanks to the fat content that adds flavor, too. You also need the egg yolk to help in giving structure and stability to these brown butter cookies; the yolk helps hold them together. It also makes them deliciously chewy.  
    • Chocolate chunks – Dark or milk chocolate chips will work, too. However, unlike a chopped bar of chocolate, chips contain ingredients that make them keep their shape, meaning they don’t melt as easily. Instead, chop chunks of chocolate. They make your cookies unique in appearance as bits and larger pieces of chocolate scatter throughout. If you need further convincing, read this Epicurious article called “Why Chocolate Chips Ruin Chocolate Chip Cookies.” I usually throw in a mix of milk and dark chocolate chunks, avoiding bars with greater than 70% cacao. I once tried 80%, and it made my cookies taste bitter!
    • Browned butter – Browned butter provides a rich flavor and nutty aroma. Brown butter doesn't take a long time to make. I highlight the steps below. 
    • Vanilla extract – An undervalued hero in desserts, vanilla extract helps elevate other flavors in a recipe. It also adds that familiar sweet aroma and classic flavor associated with cookies! It's a must.

    Guide for Browning Butter

    Browning butter helps the butter's water content evaporate while the milk solids caramelize. This process leaves behind a deliciously nutty flavor.

    I also suggest you use a pan or pot that has a lighter colored bottom. That makes it easier to notice the subtle changes in your butter’s color.

    If you’re new to browning butter, watch your pot closely. 

    Place your sticks of unsalted butter in a pot or small saucepan over medium heat. 

    Leave butter in pot for about 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the butter begins to foam. It'll become golden brown.

    Be sure to scrape all the brown bits and flecks of caramelized butter from the pan or pot. This is where the flavor is!

    Once golden brown, it's ready for pouring it into a heatproof container. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and let your brown butter cool on the counter.

    Step-by-Step Cookie Recipe Instructions

    After you’ve browned your butter, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and start measuring out all your other ingredients.

    Pieces of chopped chocolate on a cutting board, next to vanilla extract

    If using chocolate bars instead of chips, roughly chop them into small pieces and set aside. 

    Mixing bowl containing wet ingredients for cookie dough.

    After your butter has cooled for 20 minutes, in a large mixing bowl, whisk the cooled brown butter, white sugar, light or dark brown sugar, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda. 

    Mixing bowl with cookie dough in it, before adding chocolate chips and flour.

    Add your egg yolk to your bowl and whisk until incorporated.

    Glass mixing bowl with cookie dough in it, before adding chocolate chips.

    Pour in your all-purpose flour, mixing with a spatula until the wet ingredients have moistened the dry ingredients (but avoid over-mixing).

    Mixing bowl with chocolate chip cookie dough in it.

    Fold in your chocolate chunks or chips. 

    Balls of chocolate chip cookie dough on a baking sheet.

    Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to place golf-ball sized portions of your cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (no mat or parchment paper needed), with about 2 inches between each of the cookie dough balls. Right before putting your cookies in the oven, place and press down extra chocolate chips or chunks into the tops of the balls of dough. This helps the chocolate melt across your cookies as they bake and spread in the oven.

    Baked small batch chocolate chip cookies on a silver cookie sheet.

    Bake small batch brown butter chocolate chip cookies for 11 minutes.

    Brown butter chocolate chip cookies, baked and cooling on a wire rack.

    Transfer them to cooling racks after they’ve sat on their baking sheet 5 or so minutes outside of the oven and are firm enough to handle. 

    Top Tip for Perfectly Round Cookies

    As soon as your cookies exit the oven, you can also help shape and round them if you'd like.

    Use a cookie cutter or even the open side of a glass that's slightly bigger than the cookies to gently slide them into a more rounded shape.

    Small Batch Cookie: The Holiday Edition

    I’ve enjoyed experimenting with these chewy cookies for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Easter, too. 

    chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies with Christmas M&Ms
    chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies with Valentine's Day M&Ms
    Easter chocolate chip cookies, with mini Cadbury eggs and chocolate chips scattered throughout 5 baked cookies on an aluminum baking sheet

    Instead of chopping up two and a half cups of chocolate bars, I sometimes throw in holiday M&Ms, depending on the season.

    During the spring, I tweak these small batch chocolate chip cookies, subbing in chopped mini Cadbury eggs or pastel M&Ms.

    Cookie Storage & Freezing Instructions

    One of my favorite things to do is make all at once the dough for these small batch brown butter chocolate chip cookies.

    The dough freezes well, so you can store it in an airtight container in the freezer. Bring out the dough balls to bake them whenever cookie cravings hit!

    You can also store already-baked cookies in your freezer for up to 3 months.

    And if you plan to eat these cookies shortly after baking, they'll still taste fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days. Just be sure to keep them sealed in an air-tight container.

    Baked chocolate chip cookies on a parchment lined sheet.

    FAQ for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

    What is the trick to chewy chocolate chip cookies??

    Among many factors, dark or light brown sugar and browned or melted butter help produce cookies with soft centers.

    Also, toward the end of baking, remove your cookies from the oven once the edges are set but the centers still look slightly undercooked. The residual heat will continue to cook them as they cool on the sheet pan, which keeps them nice and chewy and more soft than crisp.

    What makes a cookie soft and thick or thin and crispy?

    A cookie’s chewiness or crispiness depends a lot on the ratio of ingredients in it.

    For instance, if you wanted a classic chocolate chip cookie with more spread, which will also tend to be on the crispier side, look for a recipe that uses mostly granulated (white) sugar.

    Brown sugar, on the other hand, contains more liquid in it, which is key in making a more moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie.

    However, these aren’t hard and fast rules for *every* cookie recipe because the role of sugar changes a bit with the ingredients around it. You can read more about each kind of sugar in this fascinating article from Serious Eats.

    Overhead shot of chocolate chip cookies on a parchment lined sheet.

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    Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Up-close overhead shot of chocolate chip cookie, pulled apart to show the melted chunks.
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    Full of chocolate, these small batch brown butter chocolate chip cookies are delicious and don't require an electric mixer to make them.

    • Author: Susan
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 10 minutes
    • Total Time: 45 minutes
    • Yield: 8 cookies 1x
    • Category: Dessert
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 6 T (85 grams - ends up being about 65 grams once melted and browned) unsalted butter for browning
    • ½ cup (70 grams) assorted dark and milk chocolate chips or chunks roughly chopped
    • ¼ cup (65 grams) white sugar
    • ¼ cup + 1 T (60 grams) firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
    • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
    • ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling (for regular table salt, use about half as much)
    • Pinch of grated nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
    • ⅔ cup (75 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

    Instructions

    Browning your butter

    1. Brown butter over medium heat (approximately 8-12 minutes). Stir occasionally and watch as the butter begins to foam and becomes golden brown. Monitor closely to avoid any burning. Once it smells nutty and becomes amber in color, remove it from the stovetop.
    2. Pour your browned butter into a heat-resistant container and place it on the countertop. Set a timer to let it cool for 20 minutes while you move ahead with this recipe. When you next use the butter, it’ll still be slightly warm but should not be so hot that you can’t touch it.

    Baking your cookies

    1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and start measuring out all your ingredients besides your brown butter, which should be cooling on the counter.
    2. If using chocolate bars instead of chips, roughly chop them into small pieces and set aside. 
    3. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cooled brown butter, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix for about 90 seconds, scraping the bowl's sides halfway through the process to ensure your ingredients are incorporated. 
    4. Pause mixing to add your egg yolk and incorporate it into wet ingredients for about 30 seconds.
    5. Pour in flour and mix with a spatula until it’s evenly distributed in the dough.
    6. Fold in your chocolate chunks or chips. 
    7. Scoop golf-ball sized portions of your cookie dough onto ungreased aluminum baking sheets, with about 2 inches between each of them. Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer them to cooling racks after they’ve sat on the baking sheets 5 or so minutes outside of the oven and are firm enough to handle. 

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag @susanbringsdessert — would love to see your creations!

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    About Susan Gravatt

    Susan is a recipe developer and food photographer. She specializes in sharing original dessert recipes and unique buttercream cake designs and tutorials. Her goal is to help readers feel kitchen-confident when they're baking desserts and decorating cakes at home.

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    I'm a self-taught baker who loves creating straightforward, easy-to-follow dessert recipes for the home baker. My goal is to give you the photos, tips, and tricks you need in each post so you can make jaw-dropping desserts in your own kitchen.

    My favorite part about this site is sharing all these ideas with you, especially when it comes to fun and unique ways to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and cookies with buttercream!

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