These Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies taste just like the little cookies you get at the state fair! They're soft, chewy, and the perfect snacking size!
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Why I Love These Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Bite-sized cookies: This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies & the small size makes these the perfect chocolate chip cookies for cookie platters, potlucks, and holiday trays! Plus, mini desserts are just so much fun!
- Great for gifting: This chocolate chip cookie recipe makes a ton of cookies so it's one of my favorite recipes for gifting. These delicious cookies are the perfect size for stuffing in a bucket or treat bag for the cutest treat!
- Cheaper than the fair: Skip the $20 bucket of cookies at the state fair and enjoy these mini cookie bites at home with a glass of milk any time you want!
Ingredient Notes
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in most of my baking but if you only have salted, you can use that and simply omit the salt.
- Sugar: You'll need both light brown sugar and granulated sugar for these cookies. You can also use dark brown sugar, if you have it on hand.
- Eggs: Using a whole egg helps to bind these cookies together and keep them moist.
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix: The pudding mix is the key ingredient to making these mini cookies soft and chewy like the bucket of cookies you get at the state fair! It also helps prevent these smaller cookies from drying out.
- Flour: I mainly use all-purpose flour for homemade chocolate chip cookies. I have not tested this recipe with other flour varieties but if you give one a try, be sure to report back! Try to measure the flour correctly, using the spoon-and-level method. Adding too much flour can cause dense and dry cookies.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: I love using mini chips to ensure chocolatey goodness in each cookie!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites
Step 1: Make the dough
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e 1 stick). Stir in granulated sugar (¼ cup) and light brown sugar (¾ cup) and mix with a whisk for 1 minute, or until mixture is cooled down.
- Add eggs (2 large) and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and whisk for 2 minutes until smooth & creamy.
- Add baking soda (1 teaspoon) and kosher salt (½ teaspoon) and stir in.
- Add instant vanilla pudding mix (1 3.4-ounce package) and stir.
- Add all-purpose flour (1 ½ cups) and mix until incorporated.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips (¾ cups).
Step 2: Scoop and roll
- Allow the dough to sit for 10 minutes to firm back up. This will make it possible to scoop them.
- Scoop into 1 tablespoon scoops, split each in half, and roll into a ball.
- Place on a parchment lined baking tray, then press extra mini chocolate chips into the top of each one.
Tip: Press extra chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough balls before baking to help give these cookies that iconic mini chocolate chip cookies in a bag look!
Step 3: Bake
- Bake at 350℉ for 5-7 minutes. You want them to have just the tiniest amount of brown on the edges and look slightly underbaked (trust me, that's perfect!).
- Remove from oven and place entire pan on a cooling rack. Allow the cookies to cool on the hot pan for 10-15 minutes before removing them. This will allow them to finish baking on the hot baking sheet.
- Once cooled, use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
Tips & Variations
- Time-saving tip: It is so much easier to use a 1 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the dough out of the bowl and then split it in half rather than trying to scoop out a ½ teaspoon of dough at a time. Plus, this way you only have to scoop 36 times instead of 72. However, you can also just use a regular spoon or just grab the dough and eyeball it if you wish.
- Mix-ins: Replace the chocolate chips with mini M&Ms or your favorite chopped chocolate candy!
- Don't over mix! In order for these chewy cookies to turn out soft like we want, be careful not to over mix. You want to make sure your dry ingredients are incorporated just enough that all the flour disappears.
Storage & Freezing
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days for optimal freshness.
- Freezing: You can freeze these cookies baked or unbaked. To freeze baked cookies, let cool completely. Then place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for 1-2 months. To freeze cookie dough, scoop the dough and place on a lined baking sheet. Place tray in the freezer and once dough is frozen solid, transfer to a resealable freezer bag. When ready to bake, you can bake directly from the freezer - just add a minute or two to the baking time, or until lightly golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Of course! You can make these bite-sized chocolate chip cookies larger if you wish. If you want to make regular-sized cookies (~2 tablespoons), you will just need to add additional baking time. I'd recommend starting with 9-11 minutes. or until they turn slightly brown.
No, you do not need to chill the dough for this recipe.
Since we aren't creaming the butter and sugar, you don't need to use a stand or electric mixer for this recipe. However, if you wish to combine the ingredients using a stand or hand mixer, you can do so on the low setting but just be very careful not to over mix.
Gifting Ideas
Freshly baked cookies or frozen cookie dough is the perfect thing to keep in the freezer, or to gift to a friend!
To make these cookies really look like the bucket of cookies you get at the state fair, grab a cheap plastic bucket from Hobby Lobby or the Dollar Store and fill it with these mini cookie bites. Then tie one of my free printable cookie tags to the bucket to help you gift them!
Download the Printable Cookie Gift Tags!
Check your email for the link to download!
You can also check out these 7 Easy Cookie Packaging Ideas if you need more inspo!
Looking for more desserts in miniature form?
Did you make this recipe? If so, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (i.e. 1 stick)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding (3.4-ounce)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups mini chocolate chips + more for topping
Tools
- 1 tablespoon scoop
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e 1 stick). Stir in granulated sugar (¼ cup) and light brown sugar (¾ cup) and mix with a whisk for 1 minute, or until mixture is cooled down.
- Add eggs (2 large) and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and whisk for 2 minutes until smooth & creamy.
- Add baking soda (1 teaspoon) and kosher salt (½ teaspoon) and stir in.
- Add instant vanilla pudding mix (1 3.4-ounce package) and stir.
- Add all-purpose flour (1½ cups) and mix until incorporated.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips (¾ cups).
- Allow the dough to sit for 10 minutes to firm back up. This will make it possible to scoop them.
- Scoop into 1 tablespoon scoops, split each in half, and roll into a ball.
- Place on a parchment lined baking tray, then press extra mini chocolate chips into the top of each one.
- Bake at 350℉ for 5-7 minutes.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Mahogany says
This is my favorite cookie recipe to use…thank you for sharing it.
Adrienne Bee says
My family loves this cookie recipe and ask for a second batch every time I make them! I do have one major problem; I have made these cookies several times and I run into a sticky batter situation. There are times, the batter firms up without any problem, but recently the two batches I have made are still sticky after sitting for 10 minutes. What am I doing wrong? Please help!!
P.S. This recipe is so amazing!
Melissa says
I’m so glad to hear these cookies are such a hit with your family! Stickiness can vary depending on how the flour is measured, humidity in the kitchen, or even the brand of flour. If the dough doesn’t firm up after resting, I recommend chilling it in the refrigerator for 15–20 minutes or adding 1–2 tablespoons of flour until it reaches a scoopable consistency. Report back how they work out next time!
Jennifer says
Amazing and Delicious Cookies!🍪 🍪🍪
These cookies are so freaking amazing and delicious! I’ve made them at least a dozen times and I can confidently say and confirm these are the Best Cookies EVER! My family and friends think I’m the best at making cookies now because of this recipe and say they taste like they were bought at the mall or at the fair (and I’m talking about those cookies that are sold in a bucket and are overflowing). All this to say, THANK YOU for the delicious recipe (and the only recipe I now use) and the great tip about adding pudding to the batter.😊
Pudding Mix Observations/Tip: When it comes to the pudding mix brand I recommend using Jello than an off-brand mix. I’ve noticed that when baking my cookies using the off-brand pudding mix they’re not consistent or even in terms of bake time and that the cookies spread out too much. However, when I use the Jello pudding mix my cookie batches come out perfect and even each time.🤷🏽♀️
Melissa says
Yay, that makes me so happy to hear! Thank you so much for leaving such a thoughtful review and for leaving your tips & tricks, Jennifer! I really appreciate it!