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!
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?
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Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
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⭐️ Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor afterwards 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 ½ cup unsalted butter, i.e 1 stick). Stir in ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¾ cup light brown sugar and mix with a whisk for 1 minute, or until mixture is cooled down.
- Add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract and whisk for 2 minutes until smooth & creamy.
- Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and stir in.
- Add 1 package instant vanilla pudding and stir.
- Add 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and mix until incorporated.
- Stir in ¾ cups mini chocolate chips.
- 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.
Did you make this?
I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts! Leave a review & photo of your creation and be sure to mention @DesignEatRepeat or tag #DesignEatRepeat on Instagram!Save this recipe!
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Literally have been searching for a good, reliable chocolate chip cookie recipe for years. These were a huge hit with my picky family (and myself), so I guess I can stop the search! 😊
I am so happy to hear you and the fam enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Katy!
Tired these for my kids and they absolutely loved them! As did I 😁
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Kaitlyn!
Very easy step by step recipe and my cookies were soooo good!! With the batch I was only able to get 44 cookies using 1tbs as my measuring size.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! I really appreciate it!
Is it possible for not putting the vanilla pudding and just adding all purpose flour instead?
I haven’t tested this one that way but yes, you can try that.
Followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect! Made it easy for me to give my coworkers a Christmas gift before we left for break :) love this!
I'm so glad you loved the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lav! Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review!
Okay these are the best cookies I’ve ever had! I brown the butter to give it a deeper caramel flavor and it makes them even better!!!!
I'm so glad the mini chocolate chip cookies are your favorite, Meg! Thanks for taking time to leave a review!
I love these cookies with my whole heart! What a gem of a recipe!
I'm so glad you love these mini chocolate chip cookies, Falcon! Thanks for taking time to leave a review!
My 10 yr old niece and I made these and we all loved them! They’re well-balanced, with the perfect amount of butter and chocolate chips. This will be our go to recipe from now on. Thank you for the amazing recipe and the great tip of adding instant pudding to maintain moisture.
I'm so glad you loved the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Jennifer! Thanks for making this recipe your go-to! Thank you for leaving a review. I appreciate it!
I was looking to make this recipe for a Xmas gift (aka cookie mix in a jar). Do you think the mix would work fine to add all dry ingredients together into the jar, and then add the butter, eggs, and vanilla all at once when they would prepare them? Normally you start with the butter and sugar and go from there so before making the gift, I wanted to ask your thoughts. Thanks!
Hi, Meghann! I haven't made them this way. However, I think the only difference will be that they may puff up a little more. Hope this helps!
Just made this with my daughter and is truly delicious. The instructions are easy to follow and the cookies came together in no time. This recipe will now be a staple in our family for sure! Thanks so much for sharing it!
I'm so glad you enjoyed these mini chocolate chip cookies, Cindy! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review! It is appreciated!
I tried this recipe and my family loves them.
Thanks
I'm so glad your family loved the mini chocolate chip cookies! Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review!
Just made these and they turned out perfect.
I'm so glad the mini chocolate chip cookies were perfect for you, Katie! Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review!
Thank you so much for sharing, cookies came out well.
I'm so glad you liked the mini chocolate chip cookies, Cece! Thanks for taking time to leave a review. I appreciate it!
Hi. Why did mine puff up? Why isnt it flat? The first time i baked it, it looked exactly like yours but the 2nd time around it puffed up.
Hi, Maria! This can be caused by a couple things. The oven temp may be off. If you don't have an internal oven thermometer, you can find them for around $5.00 on Amazon. How did you measure your flour? If the flour to fat ratio was off, it could also cause the cookies not to spread. I hope this helps!
I made everyone love them .. thank you
I'm so glad everyone loved them, Elonna! Thanks for taking time to leave a review!
Made these over 10 times now.... the perfect recipe! Everyone loves them and they disappear quick!
I'm so glad you all love this recipe! Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review!