One thing I noticed while making batches of cookie bark is that baking at a low temperature for a longer amount of time almost always results in an evenly cooked and very crisp product. Recently, I've been applying this to some of my miniature cookie recipes. I've always loved teeny tiny mini crisp chocolate chip cookies (especially the ones from Trader Joe's), but prefer them to have a uniform crispness throughout, and for the longest time I kept getting cookies that were just too brown around the edges and not cooked enough in the center. The low temp, long bake time fixed that problem completely!
Low Temperature for Crispy Cookies
These crisp little chocolate chip cookies are baked at 300 for about 25 minutes. They brown evenly, have a light and crunchy texture and spread into perfect circles (well, most of them). This particular dough works well, but I'm going to experiment with a few other high butter/high sugar (doughs notorious for spreading) as well.
Pastry Bag Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
I don't know why I didn't try this sooner, but using a pastry bag for mini chocolate chip cookies makes the process feel somewhat less tedious. It's also easier to make the cookies the same size. To make chocolate chip cookies with a pastry bag, don't put the chocolate chips in the dough. Put the dough in a large pastry bag and gently squeeze the dough directly onto the baking sheet. Poke a few chips into each bit of dough and then squeeze a little more dough over the chips. If you are someone who likes to chill the dough, Squeeze the blobs of dough out onto a dinner plate covered with plastic wrap or wax paper. Add chips. Refrigerate or freeze until firm.
More Good Mini Chocolate Chip Dough Tips
#1. If you are okay with using shortening, try making these crunchy chocolate chip cookies using the method below (tiny drops of dough baked at 300). These are light and have a nice structure thanks to the shortening.
#2. If you want an all-butter mini cookie recipe, make these crunchy cookies as minis using the 300 degree method. They're a little harder and crunchier (as opposed to light and crunchy) and thicker.
Recipe
More Thin & Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter (114 grams /4 oz)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour (140 grams/5 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Beat the butter until creamy using an electric mixer. Beat in both sugars, and vanilla. When creamy, beat in the egg. When egg is mixed in, beat in salt and baking soda. Add flour and stir until it is almost blended in. Add the chocolate chips and stir until all flour disappears.
- Line two large baking sheets with regular foil.
- Using a ¼ teaspoon measure, scoop up rounded spoons of dough, each with about 3 chocolate chips (you'll have what appears to be a lot of chips and a tiny bit of dough). Shape into marble size balls and arrange on baking sheets spacing about 1 ½ inches apart.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 25 minutes (check at 15) or until cookies are evenly browned. Let cool slightly, then remove from baking sheets to finish cooling.
Anna says
Brooke, thanks for leaving the comment. I made a batch today too! I found an unmarked bag of flour and wasn't sure what kind (turns out it was a gluten-free blend) so I used them in these cookies. Whatever the gluten-free blend was, it worked too. LOL. Thanks for the Heath tip.
Brooke says
I have used this recipe so many times and I always come back to it. I love it! Whenever I scoop, I have leftover dough and I have started putting Heath pieces in the left over batter. It's amazing!
Anna says
Hi Rosalie,
Thanks for the comment and for the baking tip. Much appreciated!
Rosalie says
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. I made the 1/4 tbs, 1/2 tbs and 1 tbs cookie sizes, and they were all yummy and crunchy. I think I prefer the 1 tbs size which provides more opportunities to crunch into them, plus less rolling needed. I have a convection oven which meant baking for 20 min at 150oC was enough.
Anna says
Jessica, thanks for sharing your oatmeal version. I'm definitely going to try it!
Jessicanoel says
These are phenomenal! My boyfriend (aka cookie monster) was skeptical that the crispy cookies of his dreams could be made at home, but with your recipe I managed to shatter his expectations. For the next batch he requested oatmeal so I adapted the recipe using 1/2c+2tbs flour and 1 1/2c oats, plus a 1/2tsp cinnamon. In my boyfriends words, they turned out "dangerous." I'll be using this recipe again and again. Thanks so much for sharing!
Anna says
That's awesome, Farah! I admire your patience because these tiny cookies take a while to shape.
Farah says
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! Made 2 batches recently and finished up in a jiff! Everyone loves it! Gonna bake another batch tomorrow.
Anna says
Great, Nia! Glad it worked for you. And no, you can substitute chips without making any changes.
Nia says
This cookie recipe is the best by far! love the crunchiness! if i substitute the choc chips with butterscotch chips, do i need to change the recipe?
Fifi sam says
Very good recipe! Thank you so much I’ve been searching for crispy cookies recipe. Kinda taste a bit like Famous Amos cookies! Everyone loves it! 🙂
May I know how to do in big batches? Do I double up the recipe?
Thanks
Anna says
Great idea! Thanks so much for sharing!
Pua Orine says
I just baked these wonderful minis. I rolled them in crushed potato chips before baking. "Amazing!"
Anna says
Hi Ani,
Glad to hear you liked the recipe! It's one of my favorites, but I haven't made it in a while. Sorry you had to adjust the temperature, but glad you were able to get the perfect texture by lowering to 275.
Ani says
Hey Anna, I followed the ingredients for this recipe as written but I doubled the vanilla and used mini Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. I tried the first batch at the recommended 300 degrees and at about 13min I had to pull them out because they were getting way too brown. I have a convection oven so I baked the next batch at 275 and they baked a perfectly crispy crunchy cookie at 12min. This overall was a great recipe, Thank you for posting!
Anna says
Glad you liked them! They are one of my favorites.
DT says
Made these and they were great! I don't mix in the chocolate chips but just add 3 to each cookie before baking. Thanks for sharing.
Nuraini says
Hello! I made these today, and it is really good. The dough was a bit wet so i was worried but it turned out really good. Thank you for the recipe! I've been searching for a crispy cookie recipe that works for so long. <3
Anna says
Thanks for the review, Eileen! I appreciate it. And thanks for the tip on adding coconut.
Eileen says
Love this recipe.. I also add toasted cocnut
Anna says
Hi Kathy,
Around here we just call those cookies "hard ladyfingers" so thanks for educating me on the name. The brand my store carries is called Alessi and I use the cookies for tiramisu since they soften nicely under cream. It will be a while before I can try some authentic Brooklyn bakery ones, so I too would like to have a scratch recipe. I'll look around! Thanks for the tip.
Kathy says
I just found your site while looking for recipes for the Italian cookies/biscuits called Savoiardi.......named after the King of Savoy. They are sold in most bakeries in Brooklyn but I have not been able to find an accurate recipe that creates the thin shell that forms on the top which is super thin and crispy. If anyone out there has ever made these I would sure love to have the recipe.....This site is amazing and I cannot wait to try those mini cookies.....bite size are the best .
Anna says
Cleo, yes. Any changes you make in butter or sugar will definitely change the outcome.
Anna says
Hi Paola,
I think the moisture from the Nutella might take away from the crispness of the cookies. However, you could probably chop up a chocolate/hazelnut candy bar and use that instead of the chips. Good luck!
paola says
Soooo cute! For a variation, could I ommit the choc chip and add perhaps nutella or similar ing?
Krista says
These are adorable! I can't wait to try!
Anna says
Our store had the Ghirardelli miniature chips around the holidays, but I haven't seen them since. Hershey's also makes miniature chips, but the only time I saw them was visiting the test kitchen at Hershey's. I'm not sure where they are distributed. So the default is Nestle, which are always available.
Katrina says
Oh, and I agree about low and slow--especially granola. But now I want to try cookies, too.
Katrina says
Minis would be "legal" for me to snitch. 😉 Love these!
Jan Harris says
Hmmm, I've only ever seen Nestle's minis.
Stephanie says
OH MY!! These will look great as cake and cupcake decorations!! Thank you for all of your recipe testing.
Michelle says
How adorable! I can't wait to try this recipe. I just know my daughter will love these. 🙂 After searching a while for a good quality mini-chocolate chip, I have found favor for the Ghiradellli miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips. They're hard to come across, but every once in a while I find a few bags.
Sue says
Those really are teeny tiny! They look store bought and I mean that in a good way.
Carolyn says
I love this idea for so many reasons! This past Christmas, my mom baked her shortbread cookies low and slow and they were the best ever. Just like letting some cookie doughs rest for a day or two in the fridge, I think there's additional flavour and texture development that happens with the low temperature. I feel some experimenting coming on!
Anna says
Yes, but I never seem to have them around. I'm also having trouble finding a brand of minis that I really like. For these cookies, I used regular size Guittard extra dark chips.
katie says
Would mini chocolate chips go good here?