Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 from 5 votes

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

This Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies is a Levain Bakery copycat recipe made with simple ingredients, resulting in 8 cookies that are crisp outside and gooey, soft, and moist inside. They are big, cost much less, and are super delicious!

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Prep Time 26

Cook Time 14

Total Time 40

Servings cookies

Calories665 kcal

Author Denise Browning

Cost $ 1.00 per cookie

Equipment

1 Stand mixer
1 large mixing bowl
1 spatula
1 cookie sheets
1 oven

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into small chunks
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour sifted
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups semi-sweet chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204º C) for at least 20 minutes. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cold butter and sugars together until combined and crumbly (about 3 minutes).
Add the first egg, beating on low-medium speed until fully combined. Repeat with the second egg. Then add the vanilla extract and the nutmeg.
In a separate large bowl, sift the flour and mix together with the other dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, and salt).
Carefully pour the flour mixture into the mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until the mixture is fully combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula or wooden spoon.
Form eight 6-ounce rough/messy balls of cookie dough. Weight each one of them so they have even size/weight. Divide the 8 cookies onto the two prepared baking sheets. NOTE: If the edges of the cookie dough ball are rough/not smooth, that’s better to get crispy tops!
Cover and chill them in the fridge for 45-60 minutes before baking. When baking in winter, the dough tends to be pretty stiff and solid and doesn’t require chilling.
Bake for 10-14 minutes. This time may vary depending on your oven (I used the conventional oven, not convection) and also whether you chilled your dough (and for how long). Make sure to check the cookies after they hit the 10 minute mark. Look but don’t touch them! They must present patches of deep golden brown and lighter golden brown.
But if you removed them from the oven when they are too light, let them cool and set in the baking sheet for 15 minutes before serving. If you took them out at the perfect or later time, you can gently transfer them to a cooling rack after 4-5 minutes of cooling/setting in the pan. They will have crisp edges with a gooey middle.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Chilling Time: 45 minutes (Inactive Time)

Pro Tips and Tricks

Use chilled butter and eggs.
Measure well and sift the flour before adding to the dough.
Use good-quality chocolate chips so they will stay melted for longer.
Use a kitchen scale to weigh the cookie balls so they will have even weight/size and bake evenly. Each must weigh about 6 ounces.
Do not flatten the tops of the cookie dough balls!
Chill the cookie dough balls before baking so they won’t spread much under heat in the oven. The cookies must be thick and chubby.
For getting crisp edges, don’t smooth the cookie balls when forming them.
Make sure to preheat the oven for at least 15-20 minutes before baking the cookies.
Preferably use gloves to form the cookie balls because they may be sticky.
The baking time may vary depending on your oven and also whether you chill the dough and for how long.
Bake the 8 cookies in two cookie sheets. Because they are enormous, they will need to be baked far apart and with enough room to expand.
Take a peek at the cookies after baking them for 10 minutes.
Let the Levain Bakery cookies come to room temperature before handling. They must be golden brown and crisp outside with soft, gooey centers.

Storage

Store these baked and cool easy chocolate chip cookies in a Ziploc bag or airtight container at room temperature for about 2-3 days, removing as much air as possible from the bag.

You can freeze small batch chocolate chip cookies (baked cookies) but after thawing they won’t have crisp edges anymore yet they will still be moist. You may wrap each in a paper towel and microwave for about 15-18 seconds to defrost faster. I rather recommend to freeze the raw cookie balls for about 2 months and bake them as needed!

Nutrition

** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.

Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.

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