Adorable doesn’t begin to describe these mini chocolate chip cookies ~ these little one bite cookies are grab-able, snack-able, and utterly irresistible!!
Honey I shrunk the cookies!
Imagine your favorite chocolate chip cookie, shrunk down to the size of a nickel. Now imagine grabbing a handful of those itty bitty mini chocolate chip cookies, each with exactly 2 chips each, and snacking on them like…popcorn! This is game changing. And delish.
This recipe came about because reader Adrian got in touch after getting my recent email about my Tate’s copycat Thin and Crispy Cookies. She explained that she’s been trying to recreate her favorite JK Micro Chip cookies for a while now without any luck, and thought maybe I could help.
I jumped at the challenge ~ tiny little snackable cookies sounded amazing ~ and, heads up ~ they are! These small but mighty cookies are a lot of fun to make, but I have to say, they’re even more fun to eat. Mine aren’t quite as small as micro chips, but I like them a little better because they give the full CCC experience.
Let’s dig in
Mini chocolate chip cookies ingredients
- all purpose flour
- white and brown sugar
- white sugar provides crispness and browning, while brown sugar adds moisture, chewiness, and caramel flavor. Together, they make the perfect texture and flavor in your chocolate chip cookies.
- egg
- shortening
- it’s one of the secrets to these little gems! Shortening helps prevent them from spreading. I use Crisco butter flavor.
- salt and baking soda
- vanilla
- chocolate chips
- I’m using regular chocolate chips, and we’re adding a whopping 2 chips per mini cookie!
How to make mini chocolate chip cookies
These small but mighty chocolate chip cookies are made just like your regular recipe, with a few small tweaks.
- Cream shortening and sugars together. Blend in egg and vanilla.
- Fold in dry ingredients to form a soft dough.
- Scoop out 1/4 teaspoon sized amounts of dough.
- Push 2 chocolate chips into each piece of dough and roll round in your palms.
- Chill the pan while you prep the next pan.
- Bake at 375F for 5-6 minutes until puffed but not browned.
- Let cool before enjoying.
a word about spreading
Your micro chip cookies will cook up one of two ways: they will puff and come out like little rounded nuggets, or they will spread slightly and look like perfect mini chocolate chip cookies. Either way works and either way is delicious. If you have a preference, follow the tips below.
Important tips for micro chip cookies
Follow the recipe exactly. With something this small, even the slightest variation will change the results. If you want to experiment, I’m all for it. But if you’re looking for cookies like the ones you see in my photos, then make this recipe as written, at least for the first time.
For teeny tiny cookies like these, don’t get greedy and measure out more than 1/4 teaspoon of dough, or add more than 2 chocolate chips to each ball of dough.
ALWAYS do a test cookie or two to check how the dough performs on your cookie sheet in your oven. You may need to make small adjustments to the amount of flour, or the oven temp or baking time.
If you find your micro chip cookies are spreading:
- Try another baking sheet. Use an uninsulated, stainless steel pan for best results. Do not grease or line.
- Chill the dough for 15 minutes, and then keep the dough chilled between batches.
- Blend in a little more flour (start with a tablespoon or two.)
If your cookies do spread a bit, no worries, they’ll still be adorable and delicious! In some ways, I like them better when they spread and look like perfect little miniature chocolate chip cookies.
we love these mini chocolate chip cookies!
So many things going right here:
- The cookies, although tiny, taste the same as your favorite chocolate chip cookies, you’re not sacrificing flavor or texture here.
- The fun of popping tiny chocolate chip cookies into your mouth like popcorn can’t be overestimated 🙂
- The dough is forgiving. Even when chilled for a long period it stays scoop-able (due to the shortening.) You can make half a batch and save the rest of the dough for another day.
- The cute factor! This means they’re great for entertaining and gifting.
- Kids love them.
- Adults love them.
- Basically everybody loves them.
Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- non-insulated baking sheets
- 1/4 teaspoon measure for portioning out your dough.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco shortening
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup golden brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Cream the shortening and sugars together with the vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything incorporated.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Fold the flour into your wet ingredients and mix until there are no dry streaks of flour left.
- Scoop out 1/4 teaspoon amounts of dough and place on baking sheet. Note: it seems like a ridiculously small amount of dough, but trust the process!
- Press 2 chocolate chips into either side of each scoop of dough, then roll round in your palms. Place each round back on the baking sheet, an inch apart from each other.
- Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 15 minutes (you can begin prepping the next pan while the first chills.)
- Bake the chilled cookies for about 6 minutes, or until puffed but not browned (they may be just starting to turn golden around the edges.)
- Remove the cookies to a cooling rack and let the hot cookie sheet cool down before reusing.
- Repeat for all the rest of the cookies. Note: you can save half the dough for another time, if you like. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for longer storage.
Notes
- use slightly less dough and one chocolate chip to make smaller cookies.
- use 1/2 teaspoon of dough with 3-4 chips for larger mini cookies.
Can you use butter instead of the crisco?
Hi Sandra — yes you can, but your cookies may spread a bit more, so just be aware of that if you do! You can chill the dough for a bit longer to help with this.