Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

These mini chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and perfectly bite-sized with mini chocolate chips packed into every little cookie. They bake quickly with no chilling required, making them an easy batch of poppable cookies for parties, snacking, or cookie trays.

The Story Behind My Viral Mini Cookies

The idea for these cookies actually started when my wife put out a bowl of Nestlé Toll House mini chocolate chip cookies while we were hosting. Everyone kept grabbing them by the handful, talked about them all night, and they disappeared way faster than I expected. The next time we had people over, I figured I could make a homemade version that was even better.

I wanted them to stay legit mini, soft and chewy instead of crunchy, and have enough chocolate in every bite. That’s why I use mini chocolate chips rather than regular ones. They distribute evenly through the small cookies, so you get chocolate in practically every bite without overwhelming the dough.

Once I got the recipe where I wanted it, I shared this video of these cookies on social media and it ended up getting millions of views. The tiny size, quick bake time, and soft centers seemed were a hit and they’ve been one of those recipes people have continued asking me about ever since.

Ingredients

• 3 and ½ tablespoons softened butter
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ⅛ cup granulated sugar
• About ½ egg, beaten
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• ⅛ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Ingredient Notes

• Egg: Since this is a small-batch recipe, you only need half of a large egg. Beat one egg until completely combined, then measure out 25 grams for the dough. Save the remaining egg for another recipe.
• Mini chocolate chips: Mini chips are important for getting the right chocolate-to-cookie ratio. Regular chocolate chips are large compared with these bite-sized cookies, while mini chips spread throughout the dough so you get chocolate in nearly every bite.
• Softened butter: The butter should be soft enough to press easily with your finger but not melted. Properly softened butter creams smoothly with the sugars and helps the cookies bake up soft rather than greasy or overly flat.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and gives the centers their chewy texture. The small amount of granulated sugar helps the edges set while the cookies bake.
• All-purpose flour: Measure the flour carefully since even a little too much can make such small cookies dry. For the most consistent result, use the 90-gram measurement rather than scooping directly from the bag.

How to Make Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1: Make the cookie dough

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth.

Mix in the beaten egg and vanilla, then stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt just until a soft dough forms. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.

Step 2: Portion the mini cookies

Scoop the dough into ½-tablespoon portions and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie. Try to keep the portions evenly sized so they all bake at the same rate.

Step 3: Bake

Bake for 4-6 minutes, or until the edges are just set and beginning to turn lightly golden. The centers may still look slightly soft when you remove them from the oven. That’s what you want since they’ll continue setting as they cool.

Step 4: Cool and serve

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack or serve once they’re cool enough to handle.

Expert Tips for Soft and Chewy Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Stir only until you no longer see dry flour. Overmixing develops more gluten and can make these tiny cookies firmer instead of soft and tender.
• The short bake time is intentional. Four to six minutes may sound extremely quick, but these cookies are tiny. Pull them when the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft. Waiting until the centers look completely baked will give you crispier cookies instead of chewy ones.
• Bake one tray at a time. Mini cookies bake so quickly that even small temperature differences between oven racks can matter. The center rack gives you the most consistent results from the entire batch.
• Let the baking sheet cool between batches or two sheets. Placing fresh dough onto a hot pan can melt the butter before the cookies reach the oven, causing the next batch to spread more than the first.
• Use a light-colored baking sheet if you have one. Dark pans absorb more heat and can brown the bottoms of these small cookies before the centers have the texture you want.
• Add a few extra mini chips on top before baking. This doesn’t change the recipe, but it gives each little cookie more visible chocolate and makes a big difference if you’re serving them at a party or putting them on a cookie tray.
• Don’t overcrowd the baking sheet. They’re small, but they still need room for heat to circulate around each cookie. A little space between them helps the edges set evenly.
• Make a test cookie if your dough seems unusually soft. Bake one or two first. If they spread much more than you want, refrigerate the remaining dough for 10-15 minutes before baking the rest.

How to Store Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

• At room temperature: Let the cookies cool completely, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. For the softest texture, keep the container tightly sealed so the small cookies don’t dry out.
• To freeze baked cookies: Arrange the cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container or bag, placing parchment between layers if needed. Freeze for up to 2 months, then let them thaw at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
• To freeze the cookie dough: Portion the dough into ½-tablespoon scoops and freeze them on a parchment-lined tray until firm. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
• To bake from frozen: Place the frozen cookie dough portions directly on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F. Start checking around the normal bake time and add about 1-2 extra minutes as needed, removing them once the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft.

Mini Chocolat Chip Cookies FAQs

How small should mini chocolate chip cookies be?

I use about ½ tablespoon of dough per cookie. That keeps them genuinely bite-sized while still leaving enough dough around the mini chocolate chips for a soft, chewy center.

How long do you bake mini chocolate chip cookies?

Bake these mini cookies at 350°F for 4-6 minutes or 325°F for 5-7 minutes. Remove them when the edges are just set and the centers still look slightly soft. They’ll continue setting on the hot baking sheet as they cool.

Do mini chocolate chip cookies need to chill before baking?

No. This recipe is designed as a no-chill mini chocolate chip cookie recipe, so you can scoop and bake the dough immediately after mixing. If your kitchen is very warm and the dough becomes unusually soft, a short 10 to 15-minute chill can help control spreading.

Why are my mini chocolate chip cookies spreading too much?

Cookies can spread too much if the butter is overly soft or melted, the baking sheet is already hot, or the flour was under-measured. Use softened rather than melted butter and let the pan cool completely between batches or use two pans.

Why are my mini cookies hard or crunchy?

The most common cause is overbaking. Because these cookies are so small, even another minute can change them from soft and chewy to crisp. Pull them from the oven while the centers still look slightly underdone.

How do you keep mini chocolate chip cookies soft?

Don’t overbake them and store the completely cooled cookies in a tightly sealed container. The brown sugar in this recipe also helps the cookies retain moisture and stay chewy after baking.

Can I use regular chocolate chips instead of mini chocolate chips?

You can, but I prefer mini chocolate chips because they fit the small cookies much better. If you only have regular chips, roughly chop them into smaller pieces before folding them into the dough.

Can I make these into regular-size chocolate chip cookies?

Yes, but the baking time will need to increase. Scoop larger portions of dough and bake until the edges are set and lightly golden while the centers remain soft. The exact time will depend on how large you make them. 

Can I double this mini chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Yes. This recipe doubles easily, and it actually makes the egg measurement simpler since a double batch uses 1 whole large egg instead of 25 grams of beaten egg.

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• Banana bread chocolate chip cookies
• Microwave cookie
• Nutella stuffed scoopable cookie
• Chocolate chip cookies without baking soda
• Neiman Marcus cookies
• Dubai chocolate cookies