last updated on September 22, 2026
What more can you need in life than a single-serve bakery-style chocolate chip cookie? This recipe makes two large, soft, gooey cookies topped with plenty of flaky salt. Whether you’re making them to share with someone else or keeping them for yourself, these are the only bakery-style chocolate chip cookies you need.
what is a single-serve bakery-style cookie?
A single-serve cookie refers to the number of portions it yields– just one. And yes, this recipe does make two cookies, but those of you who have tried it know, one cookie is just not enough. These cookies do not last long! Two is the perfect number for a date night, a girls’ night, or treating yourself at midnight when you have a craving. If you’re looking for other single-serve recipes, I have a single-serve biscuit with strawberries and cream, a single-serve s’more cookie, and a single-serve brown butter chocolate chip cookie that I think you will LOVE.
A bakery-style cookie is taller, denser, and chunkier than a regular cookie. My bakery-style cookies require chilling so they don’t spread in the oven. They are also slightly under-baked, so they get the soft, gooey inside that I personally love. If that is not your thing, you can always flatten the cookies and make them smaller for a crispier, classic cookie.
ingredients needed for a bakery-style chocolate chip cookie
- 1/4 cup (56 g) salted butter, softened – The base of this cookie, providing richness and flavor.
- 1/4 cup (54 g) brown sugar – Adds moisture and a deep, caramelized flavor to the dough.
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar – Helps achieve that signature cookie crispness.
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature – Provides the perfect texture and helps bind the dough together.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract – A key ingredient that enhances the flavor.
- 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour – The main structure for your cookie dough.
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch – Ensures a soft, chewy texture by preventing the cookies from spreading too much.
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda – Provides the rise and a slightly airy texture.
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt – Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- 1/2 cup (85 g) chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark) – The star ingredient that makes this a chocolate chip cookie.
how to make these single-serve cookies
1. Mix Butter and Sugars
Start by adding the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together for 2-3 minutes. You’ll want the mixture to be light and fluffy, which helps create the soft texture of your cookie.
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract to the sugar and butter mixture, then mix until well combined. The egg yolk adds richness to the dough, while the vanilla extract adds that comforting, aromatic flavor we all love.
3. Incorporate Dry Ingredients
Next, add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and kosher salt. Mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can result in a denser cookie. Cornstarch is a secret ingredient that makes your cookies extra chewy!
4. Add the Chocolate Chips
Stir in the chocolate chips, ensuring they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough. The more chocolate chips, the better, so don’t be shy with this step.
5. Shape and Chill the Dough
Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a cylinder shape. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer to chill for 1 hour. Chilling the dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much during baking and helps them maintain that bakery-style thickness.
6. Preheat the Oven and bake
While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). You want the oven to be fully heated before baking the cookies for the best texture and results.
After the dough has chilled, place your dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving enough space between them to prevent spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie are just set. For a gooey, soft center, remove the cookie from the oven on the earlier side of that time range.
8. Enjoy!
Let the cookie rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to set. Then, transfer it to a cooling rack to finish cooling. If you’re feeling impatient (we wouldn’t blame you), feel free to dive in early for a warm, gooey bite of chocolate chip perfection!
Tips for Making the Perfect Single-Serve Cookie
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your butter and egg yolk are at room temperature before mixing. This ensures smooth incorporation and a tender texture in your cookie.
- Don’t Overmix the Dough: When adding the dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing can result in a dense cookie.
- Chill the Dough: Don’t skip the chilling step! Chilling the dough for an hour helps the cookies keep their shape and prevents them from becoming flat and overly spread out.
- Use High-Quality Chocolate Chips: The chocolate is the star of the show, so make sure you’re using good-quality chocolate chips (whether you prefer milk, semi-sweet, or dark).
- Experiment with Mix-ins: Feel free to add other mix-ins, such as nuts or toffee bits.
equipment needed
faqs
You definitely can double or triple the recipe. If you triple it, I would recommend using 1 large egg instead of 3 egg yolks. If you would rather follow my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe (less math for you!), just make your dough balls a little bigger than the recipe calls for so they turn out bakery-style.
Absolutely! These cookies last 2-3 months in an airtight container in the freezer.
other recipes you will love
- brown butter raspberry chocolate chip cookies
- brown butter chocolate chip cookies
- rice krispie treat cookies
- tahini chocolate chip cookies
single-serve bakery style chocolate chip cookie
ingredients
- 1/4 cup (56 g) salted butter softened
- 1/4 cup (54 g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk at room temp
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (85 g) chocolate chips milk, semi-sweet, or dark
instructions
- Add the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar to a bowl. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to mix the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir until they’re evenly distributed through the dough.
- Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a cylinder shape. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer for 1 hour to chill.
- When the dough is almost done chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Transfer the dough balls to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just set. Let them rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then to a cooling rack to cool completely (or dive in early if you want an ooey-gooey cookie). Enjoy!
These cookies came out perfectly! The texture, taste, and size were also perfection! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us! I would like to make them in a larger batch of at least 12 cookies, how would I go about doing that?
hi! so glad you love these!! if you want these exact cookies, you’ll just have to multiply the batch by however many you want. if you are doing at least 3x, then instead of adding 3 egg yolks i would just add 1 large egg. everything else would be regularly multiplied! let me know if that makes sense or if you have any other questions.
I love your single serve recipes! They’re perfect for a girls night with just the 2 of us.
yay i’m so glad!! the perfect girls night!
Also, what does a “cylindrical shape” mean here? Pictures would have helped. I made the cylinders too tall and they came out raw in the middle.
feel free to watch the video of me making these on my instagram if you’d like to see the shape i make them into. these cookies are designed to be underbaked, so if you’d like to have them not underbaked in the middle, you can flatten them and bump up the bake time.
10-12 minutes is not nearly long enough for cookies this large. I had to put them back in the oven twice
every oven is slightly different, so adjust to how you need! this cookie is supposed to be slightly underbaked.
Delicious!
Seems like with the fat contact I may as well make the recipe for 3 dozen cookies and eat one dozen instead of just 1 large cookie
Omg I was gonna have just one, but I couldn’t resist and had both of the cookies! They were so perfectly crisp on the edge and gooey and warm on the inside. Love this recipe!!
YAY so glad you loved these!!! and yes its so hard to not eat both of them…
Ours came out like a crumbl cookie. Not what I was looking for BUT so glad I did! We got 4 of our usual size cookies out of this. Will be making again and again!
glad you enjoyed!!!!
I’ve been making these cookies this past summer and I love how they come out each time. I’ve experimented with different mix ins and processes changing the yolk to egg white ratio like and it’s so cool to see how creative one can get with these cookies. I was wondering however, how long would I be able to leave the dough in the freezer for?
yay i’m so so happy you love these and have been playing around with the recipe! it’s crazy how much a cookie can change with small tweaks. the dough should stay good in the freezer for 2-3 months if it’s in a airtight container.
i 2x the recipe and got 5 huge cookies and they were amazing!
yay so glad you love these!!!
so if i wanted to make 6 cookies, would i triple everything except the eggs, even the cornstarch and baking soda or will that mess up the texture? do you have another full size bakery style cookie recipe? sorry, i’m a new baker so i really don’t wanna mess up. but this recipe was so good, i’ve made it maybe 5 times and it’s one of the easiest things i’ve made. i’m making 6 because the cookies are always finished within a couple of hours by everyone in the house ?? thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!!
hi! yes, i have other chocolate chip cookie recipes! i’d recommend this one. you can make them extra large so they’re the bakery style.
I recently made these cookies, and these are scrumptious, they are so chewy, while being crispy on the outside with the perfect amount of sweetness!! Instead of 2 large cookies, I divided them evenly into smaller ones and freezing the rest to bake later. One question is, with your other chocolate chip cookie recipe, is that the same as this, just the full recipe? Do you also have to freeze them?
hi! i’m so glad you love this one! this recipe is not the same as my other ones. this one is specifically designed for small batch cookies.
i’ve made so many chocolate chip recipes and these are the best ones i’ve ever made by far?
i’ve made so many chocolate chip recipes and these are the best ones i’ve ever made by far?
yay i’m so glad!!!!!
Is it alright if I use an airfry for this recepie? And if so, what would be the time and temp?
hi! i haven’t tested these in an air-fryer so i’m not sure. i would start with the same temperature and time and check them a few minutes early. depends on how hot your air-fryer runs and what setting it is on!
If I wanted a cookie recipe just like this one, but with a higher yield, would one of your other recipes work? Or are they developed differently and I should multiply this one?
hi! these are designed specifically for small batches. if you want these exact ones you could make a higher yield, or i have several other chocolate chip cookies on my site and in my cookbook that make larger quantities!