Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

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Quick, easy, and NO HOUR-LONG CHILLING! A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. Recipe from chelseasmessyapron.com

Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. via chelseasmessyapron.com

Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

Because sometimes you need a giant delicious chocolate-chip cookie, but you don’t need an entire batch. Or even a small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe for that matter… That’s where these single serving size cookies come in!

AND unlike pretty much every other cookie recipe here on Chelseas’s Messy Apron, these cookies do not require an hour of chilling.

As much as I love what chilling does to a cookie recipe, if you are wanting a single-serving, small batch cookies, you are probably wanting it ASAP, am I right? The way we get around the chilling in this recipe is by not melting the butter at all and by popping them in the freezer for just 15 minutes while the oven finishes pre-heating. 

A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. Recipe from chelseasmessyapron.comSMALL BATCH COOKIES! A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. Recipe from chelseasmessyapron.com Quick, easy, and NO CHILLING! A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. Recipe from chelseasmessyapron.comI’ve honestly made this recipe no short of a dozen times. A few weeks ago when I needed to bring a batch of cookies to a function, I did this recipe about 10 times to have the right amount and to thoroughly test this recipe 🙂

Because I’ve made it so many times I know what will work and what won’t and honestly if you can get the butter right, these are totally foolproof! Such a simple ingredient, but if the butter is melted even a little bit these cookies spread like crazy and the texture is all off. I’ve tried even melting the butter for very short amounts (10 seconds) in the microwave and even that throws them off.

If you want these cookies to work perfectly, do not melt the butter! Let it come to room temperature just to where you can mix it with hand mixers (if you can stir it with a spoon it’s too soft). It should still give you a little bit of push-back in the mixing because it is still solid butter and not at all melted.

After that, you’ll just want to quickly mix all the other ingredients to keep that butter as not-melted-as-possible (especially if you have a warm kitchen — you do not want the butter getting melty!) before you’ve formed these into cookies and popped them in the freezer.

Along with having room temperature butter, having a room temperature egg yolk is important too. Pull out the butter AND egg at the same time and let them come to room temperature before starting on these cookies.
Quick, easy, and NO HOUR-LONG CHILLING! A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. Recipe from chelseasmessyapron.com

My two favorite ingredients to take chocolate chip cookies from good to GREAT: the chocolate chips and the vanilla. If you are able to find Mexican vanilla it is a huge game changer for flavor. And more than anything, the chocolate you use is key! I love Ghirardelli or Guittard milk chocolate chips.

Not only are these cookies packed with chocolate-chips before being baked, but I also add some onto the tops of the cookies right out of the oven. It’s not just to make them look pretty (although it does that too!), it also gives them a better texture and a boost of chocolate (obviously: more chocolate chips = more chocolate!). I don’t know about you, but if I’m eating a chocolate-chip cookie I want plenty of chocolate in every.single.bite.
Quick, easy, and SO DELICIOUS! A small batch, single-serving-sized bakery style large chocolate-chip cookies. Recipe via chelseasmessyapron.com

 

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Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

4.96 from 62 votes
Print Recipe

Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

4.96 from 62 votes
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Servings 2 -3 large cookies
Chelsea Lords

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg yolk (discard or save whites for another recipe)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, optional
  • 1/2 cup white, all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons chocolate chips (we prefer milk chocolate)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a bowl, beat together the ROOM TEMPERATURE butter (if it is melted at all these cookies will be flat. Don't microwave it) with the brown and white sugar until creamy.
  • Add in the vanilla extract, egg yolk, baking soda, and cornstarch. (Add 1/8 teaspoon salt here if using unsalted butter)
  • Beat until just combined.
  • Add in the flour and chocolate chips and beat until just combined.
  • Form 3 evenly sized, large and tall balls of cookie dough
  • Place the cookie sheet with cookie balls in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  • Remove and immediately bake for 9-14 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. (Cookies are always best slightly under-baked!)
  • If desired (pretty appearance + more chocolate!), press a few additional chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies right after pulling them out of the oven.

Video

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Recipe Rating




137 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I agree that sometimes you just need to have a warm chocolate chip cookie (or 2, or 3) straight from the oven, but you don’t need the temptation of a whole batch. I, too, have learned the hard way that melted butter messes up your cookies texture. Basically, I love your recipe except for one thing. The chips HAVE to be semi-sweet. Other than that, these are perfect. Thanks for figuring this one out for me.

    1. Haha 🙂 I don’t really like semi-sweet chocolate chips so it’s definitely milk for me! But definitely feel free to use semi-sweet! I hope you love these! Thank you Patti 🙂

  2. Love this idea! Sometimes my husband works on the weekends and it’s way too dangerous to make an entire batch of cookies. This is perfect! =)

  3. 5 stars
    YES! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ruined weeks of hard work with a batch of cookies. Plus my son LOVES to bake so I use him as an excuse. With this he still gets to back and my indulgence is far more reasonable.

    1. Yes perfect!! 🙂 I am the same way. I have to stick to a small batch or I’ll eat them all haha 🙂

  4. Oh man I have been slightly melting my butter in the microwave for years and haven’t figured out why my cookies are so flat until just now. I’ve been buying new baking soda thinking it must have been too old. Lol. Thank you for the tip. That will save me from more years of frustration.

    1. Yay!! I’m so glad to help a little 🙂 I totally did the same thing for years. I’m so impatient!!

    2. I had to cook mine (4 of them) for 20 minutes, and I am wondering why there is no egg white or baking soda in the recipe to help the dough rise? They look and smell right, so fingers crossed this works!

  5. 5 stars
    Oooh I love that you add more chocolate chips right after taking your cookies out of the oven! I’m of the mindset too that you can never have too many chocolate chips in chocolate chip cookies! lol Great tip about the butter, thanks!

  6. My dough was still wet after mixing in the flour. When I watched your video, your dough was much more stiff. I couldn’t form mine into balls like you. I even added a bit more flour, but it was still wet.

    1. Definitely shouldn’t be wet. Did you follow the recipe exactly? (Only an egg yolk, not a full egg? Butter not melted and only 3 tablespoons?)

  7. 5 stars
    Wow, thank you for the recipe. It was perfect. Though I did substitute the egg yolk with 1/4 of a banana since my daughter has an egg allergy. And the cookie had a hint of banana but it was still chewy and gooie, and extra perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream right out of the oven. I will definitely keep this recipe around. 🙂

    1. So happy you enjoyed these cookies! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your adaptations Nereyda! 🙂

    2. Instead of banana, you can also sub 1 TBSP milled flax seed mixed with 1 & 1/2 TBSP warm water (let sit for a couple of minutes). Great binder!

  8. I made these yesterday and I’m making them again today…easily the best cookies I’ve ever made! Thank you for this perfect recipe.

  9. Thank you for the great recipe! Mine were a little dry when rolling into the balls. Then when baking they stayed as large mounds of dough and didn’t cook properly.

    Any suggestions as to where I went wrong? Followed recipe exactly.

    Thanks again.

    1. It sounds like you packed your flour in. If you press a measuring scoop into a bag of flour you are going to pack a whole lot more in. I would recommend spooning and leveling the flour and making sure it’s quite precisely 1/2 cup (maybe start at 1/3 cup and add more until the flour just pulls away from the bowl. It shouldn’t be dry at all)

        1. Oh I’m glad we got it figured out! I hope you love these and have success tomorrow AJ! 🙂

    2. 5 stars
      I just realized… that’s what I did wrong!I just added another egg yolk because the other one wasn’t “large” like the recipe called for and I needed it to not be so dry. They still taste great, though. Definitely will be using this recipe again sometime soon!

  10. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for posting this recipe Chelsea. They are delicious and perfect when you shouldn’t really eat a whole batch – which I am known to do ?

  11. 5 stars
    I do not comment on a lot of recipes unless they become staple recipes for me…this is one of those! Wow so good, my best friend and I have a weekly movie and wine night. These have become a go to treat for those nights in watching Netflix or a Redbox.

    I sometimes add nuts for variety. Like 2-3 Tablespoons of toasted walnuts or pecans and it gives a great crunch. I also make 4 still fairly large cookies, because two cookies each are best!

    1. Awe your comment made my night! 🙂 Thank you so much Jarrod! I am thrilled these have become a go-to treat 🙂 And the toasted nut addition sounds amazing!!

  12. 5 stars
    I’m terrible with sugar. This will feed the monster – but I don’t care at this point. Even though I try to avoid sugary foods at the grocery store, I always get out of it somehow by making things like this, where I can just use ingredients I already have. I actually just made the cookies and am waiting anxiously for them to come out of the oven! 6 more minutes… I can’t wait 😉

  13. 5 stars
    I absolutely LOVE this cookie recipe! It’s the only one I make now unless of course I need more then 3. 🙂 I have made this now 4 times and 2 out of the 4 times I had room temperature butter (I’m terrible at remembering) and honestly I liked them better microwaving the butter 5 seconds. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

  14. I’ve made these a handful of times now and they are absolutely perfect!! I’m not much of a sweet tooth but I love a cookie once in a while and these are so easy to whip up and enjoy in a pinch! Thank you!!

  15. 5 stars
    This receipe is wonderful, such good cookies! Question: what does the optional cornstarch add to the receipe/ how does it change the cookie?

    1. I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed these cookies! 🙂 Cornstarch in baking actually softens the final baked good when combined with flour so you’ll get a slightly more tender/soft cookie 🙂

      1. I was scrolling the comments, hoping some one had asked this. I don’t have cornstarch, but I also prefer crunchier cookies, so sounds like it will work out well for me!

  16. I followed the recip but decided to use butter straight out of the fridge and only let sit out while I got everything ready (maybe 4 minutes). My cookies melted and turned into one large pan shaped cookie in the oven. I have yet to taste it – it like like it may taste okay but definitely would be embarrassing if I wasn’t the only one here!

    1. Hi! Did you freeze the cookies before cooking them? It could also be an altitude thing and you need a bit more flour!

  17. 4 stars
    These really were tasty, I needed them in my life and realized the kids ate most of my Toll House moresles. If not for you, I would’ve given up and been grumpy Dad. Oh and I’m hysterical, the pic of your mixing bowl has the tell tale signs of microwaved butter, I totally found u out didn’t I? …?

    I forgive you xoxo

    1. Haha you’re right! I think I did microwave it in that picture 🙂 Trying to “speed” through some of those process shots before I lost the light in my kitchen hah. But I definitely don’t recommend it if you aren’t trying to take pictures of the process! So happy these were enjoyed!

  18. 5 stars
    BEST cookies!!! I’ve made these so many times and they always turn out perfect. I double the batch and bring them to cozy nights with the ladies. It’s the best treat when you are craving a cookie and don’t want to make a couple dozen! I can’t rave about these enough!! Eating a fresh warm one now !

  19. 5 stars
    I have to say, I was quite skeptical before making this recipe as i’ve tried so many other single serving chocolate chip cookie recipes and they lack flavor. This recipe is AMAZING! The ooey gooey cookie is so good my husband and I fought over the last cookie !! I made a single batch last night and hubby wants me to make many more tonight lol This is definitely going into my recipe book! Thanks so much Chelsea!

  20. I love this recipe, although I don’t make the individual cookies. I place the dough in a 6” cast iron skillet and it fits perfectly. 15-20 mins in the oven, and it’s sweet perfection. Ice cream doesn’t hurt either. ?

    1. I’m so happy you love this! And YUMMM!! I need to try that! Thanks for your comment Chari! 🙂

  21. 5 stars
    Just made these cookies and they were delicious!! Probably the best cookies I’ve made. Now I want to make a whole batch 🙂

  22. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! It’s just my husband and I in our house so keeping sweets to a minimum is a plus. These are always gone immediately though! Does anyone have any cool variations or mix in ideas to change it up? Came batter, smores, etc. I might have to do some experimenting ????

    1. I’m so happy you guys have enjoyed this! You’ll have to let us know if you try any variations! Thanks for your comment! 🙂

    2. The video says to put them in the freezer for 5 minutes but the written out directions state 15 minutes. Could you clarify??

  23. I was wondering if you knew if this recipe amount would work in one of those small 5 or 6 in. Cast iron skillets to make one cookie instead of 3. Have you ever tried that? I have the skillet I just don’t know what amount to use too make anything in it. lol. I guess I could just take my chances. I was just asking.

  24. 5 stars
    these are the single best cookies i’ve EVER made!! i made 8 regular sized cookies from this recipe and they were perfect! sooo yummy i’ll 1000% make these again! thank you!

  25. I used dark brown sugar, softened unsalted butter, and semi sweet chips. I was able to get 4 1/2 cookies out of it. I rate it a 4.5 not bad

  26. 5 stars
    The best cookies i’ve ever made and super easy as well.The amount of cookies is just perfect. Love this recipe.

  27. 5 stars
    Oh. My. Good. Gravy.

    Made these for a midnight craving and WOW. This is the best soft and chewy cookie recipe EVER, and it makes it even better that it’s “single” serve (because c’mon, we can all eat three cookies at once). Crispy outside, salty and sweet, I used semi-sweet chips but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.

  28. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice now and every time the cookies come out perfectly!!! They are absolutely delicious and both chewy and gooey!

  29. 5 stars
    Ok, so yeah these will be added to the rotation. Got 3 cookies out of this— so good! I used what I had (coconut sugar instead of brown sugar), omitted the cornstarch since I like a crunchier cookie, and added a swirl of unsweetened almond butter on the top after they came out the oven for a sweet and salty combo. I think I baked mine for at least 14 mins and they are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle! Thanks, I am eating a second one now 😂

  30. Hi, the written directions say to freeze the balls for 15 min but video states 5 min – how long should they be in the freezer for?

  31. 5 stars
    Tastes and looks amazing! Please do undercook it, burnt cookies are not good and you don’t get the full fluff of the cookie. It was a wonderful 3 cookies! Fast and yummy!

  32. 5 stars
    Your single serve chocolate cookie recipe is my go to recipe lately. So simple and makes awesome cookies.

  33. 5 stars
    This recipe was perfect!!! Sometimes I’ll get a very specific craving for something sweet, but the batches are so big that I can never finish them myself before they go bad. This is just enough for me to satisfy my craving without wasting anything 🤩🤩🤩

  34. 5 stars
    If I could rate this recipe 10/5 stars I would. I don’t know if it’s just me but I have tried many other chocolate chip cookie recipes and they just don’t taste the greatest. THIS IS THE BEST RECIPE I have ever done. Everyone I have given one of these cookies absolutely LOVES them. I have made this recipe docens of times now, I even memorized it! I just simply LOVE it!!!! THANK YOU!

  35. What do I bake them at? It doesn’t say in the recipe and that would probably be a big part of me being able to bake them properly

    1. Hey, it can be a bit confusing because the recipe starts with the bake time so you can pre heat the oven and often times we skip over it! We bake them at 350!

  36. 5 stars
    I keep a zip-lock bag of these cookies ready to bake in my freezer at all times. My wife and I eat one of these cookies every night as a treat. They’re her favorite so I get brownie points(or cookie points) for making them. Thanks for the recipe.

  37. 5 stars
    I just want to thank you from the bottom of my chocolatey heart for this public service. Thank you!!! <3

  38. 5 stars
    Finding this in 2022 and these are the best cookies I have ever made at home… omg… someone PLEASE help with a full batch recipe!!!!

  39. 5 stars
    It’s really good I accidentally added 1/2 tbsp of vanilla and it came out a little spongy. It’s still good I made it on a skillet to so I would do this recipe again

  40. 5 stars
    WOW. How are these so delicious???!!!

    I skimped a half tbsp of butter (because I am running super low) and that made it so my tall 15-min frozen balls never really went down–they stayed tall. The flavor was still insanely delicious! Next time will use the full butter amount. Thank you so, so much for this perfect and amazing recipe! I’m THRILLED!

  41. 5 stars
    This recipe is perfection and the cookies are delicious. Absolutely satisfied my chocolate chip cookie craving! Followed directions as listed and they turned out exactly as described and pictured in the post. Thank you.

  42. 5 stars
    I used cake flour cause that’s all I had, but they were SO GOOD! I got 6 good sized cookies out of this.

      1. 5 stars
        Yes- these can be very dangerous because I have all the ingredients in the house!

        I used semi sweet because I love the dark
        chocolate flavor and milk chocolate is too sweet for me. I also baked them 2 minutes more as I prefer a crispier cookie. Perfection!

  43. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! It was just the
    right amount for my husband and I. The
    recipe was great with my non dairy (no milk) substitutions :)! Yay!

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