I think a lot has been said about the deep-dish chocolate cookie. I think it’s a fantastic idea. You get a warm, gooey cookie and a bonus gift: a place to hold your ice cream. I would love to do that for say, maybe 6-8 people as a nice way to end a dinner party. And I think that’s so suited to restaurants in lieu of other cake/pie offerings. My only issue with the deep-dish? I can’t make 50 at a time. I just simply don’t have that many ramekins handy, and even if I did, how would I store the completed cookie? I wanted the cookie but not all the mess.
But then i figured it out. I could have my deep-dish cookie army, they could be easy to store once baked, aaaaaaand…no individual portions! Mind you, I had no idea how this would work or if it would work, but i was willing to try (many times) to get it right. Thankfully, with a little monkeying of a family recipe and a mini-muffin tin, it only took me one try.
The cookie recipe itself is delicious all on its own: you can make regular cookies out of it and they turn out, well, just like a chocolate chip cookie should. If you do that, I’d set your timer for 9-11 minutes, making sure to check them early so you bake them according to your doughy-versus-crisp preference. Or, with a little mini-muffin tin magic and a few less minutes in the oven, they turn out like this:
Yum. And cute, right? And with the holiday season upon us, I’m always looking for new additions to rotate in to my annual cookie gift assortments. I need easy treats that don’t involve tons of labor and that make quite a few pieces per batch. These, although not necessarily “holiday-ish” in nature, make great little:
- gifts (just add small bag + ribbon)
- individual desserts (just add schmancy toothpick + silver tray)
- treats for the kiddos (just add kiddos)
Or they made fun treats for my baby, at least. She can’t get enough of them and they get surprisingly un-messy when molded into a muffin shape. Weird.
One warning: and I honestly not one of those people who go back again and again for sweet things if they happen to be around. I’m just really not. But these were a problem for me in terms of the repeat eating. I think it’s due to their exact perfect size–you feel like you had something decadent and at the same time like maybe you didn’t eat that much because it was just a tiny cookie, right? I mean, there’s a reason they call those muffin tins “mini”…right?
Don’t kid yourselves.
Adapted from my family’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Eat as many as you want. It’s holiday time.
Mini Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Grease the inside of a mini-muffin pan, making sure to get all the way up the sides.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using either a hand or stand mixer, beat white sugar, brown sugar, and butter together until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and add vanilla, beat again for a few seconds.
Add flour mixture in 2 parts, beating on low until mixed. Fold in chocolate chips (you can either use a wooden spoon or spatula for this; just don’t use the beaters).
Place dough in refrigerator (I leave mine in the mixing bowl; you can put it in another bowl if it’s easier) and let chill for about 15-20 minutes. I think this makes it a bit easier to form the balls which go into the muffin tin.
Once chilled a little, remove dough from refrigerator and form into 1-inch balls. place in muffin tin, pressing down just a bit to fill the cups a bit. They don’t have to be perfect balls at all: it just helps in terms of uniform sizing, since cookie dough doesn’t just ooze into tins evenly.
Bake for maybe 7-8 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs, checking them at the 7 minute mark for doneness. Let cool in their tins on a metal rack for 10 minutes.
Once you’re ready to unleash your mini deep dish goodies, take a small, thin knife and use it to stick it down the side of each and sort of just pop them out. I don’t know a better way to describe it. they should come out undisturbed and without a fuss.
Give them away as gifts, serve them at a party, and hide the rest from yourself.
42 Comments
oooo…mini chocolate cupcake. so convenient to pop into mouth. 🙂 great for my company party (which is next week!) Happy holiday!
Hi, just found your blog… goodness do these look delicious! I can’t believe I’ve never seen or thought of these before. Planning to try it out soon. Thanks! 🙂
Hi, been following your blog recently and came across this recipe which we can’t stop making! We’ve been sharing these with family and friends and everyone loves them. Thanks for sharing this recipe
hi colleen, i’m so happy you like the deep dish cookies! we lived on them this past december (like, LIVED), and i can’t tell you how many batches i’ve made to give as gifts. it’s my pleasure to share them with you.
I pinned these a couple of weeks a go and my friend made them first and she’s made them twice since then and I made them last weekend. Amazing!!! I will never make regular choc. chip cookies again. I always have issues with choc. chip cookies but these were amazing and came out perfect. Love, love!! Thanks! My husband does have one complaint, he said they go down way to easy and he can’t stop eating them. HA!
shalee, thank you so much for trying these little gems! you and your friend just made my day with your mini-chocolate chip cookie love. you are so welcome, and tell your husband not to worry; that’s everyone’s complaint. They do go down way too easy; i think we made about 4 batches of them over the holidays and magically, they disappeared each time we made them. christmas miracle, i suppose. 🙂 i love that you love these as much as we do around here.
This is great!!!! But, should we grease the muffin tin before we bake the cookies??? thanks!!
Hi Rosie!
And this is the best part about these cookies; no need to do any muffin-tin greasing! They act just like a normal cookie would on a cookie sheet; the butter inside the cookie does the work for you. Just let them cool a bit in the muffin tin and then pop them out. You can either flip it over, or do what i do and take a thin-bladed knife and pop them out one by one. Hope you love them!
Hello!
How many cookies does this make? I don’t know if I missed that while reading the post. If I did, my apologies! 🙂
Hi Jennifer! I’ll have to read through it and note it; I may have forgotten to give the yield. It should make two mini-muffin pans full – so around 48, give or take a few depending on the size of your cookie balls. I can sometimes squeeze close to 55 out if i’m running them smaller. One batch makes many, so it’s great for large quantities at once. 🙂 Happy holidays!
Hi, just wondering if they stay soft and moist on the inside. I have been trying to make something similar and have a problem with them hardening too much. Yours look delicious! I am looking for more of a cakelike consistancy in the middle.
hi barbara! Yes, they are lovely and soft and chewy on the inside, but that’s all in the timing. Since everyone uses different color/quality of pan, and everyone has a different oven, err on the side of caution and watch your first batch like a hawk; these aren’t finicky cookies, but they don’t take long to go from done to overdone. When you make them, take them out on the early side of things because they do tend to cook more in the pan, just a little, as they cool. The muffin tin gives them even, direct heat all around, so you shouldn’t have to worry about an underdone cookie on these. good luck!
I want to make these for a sweet table. Do they freeze well? I’m making them today – thank you for posting this.
Hi Sue! Yes, they freeze very well. Let them cool to room temperature, then make sure to store them in a freezer-safe container or bag. They’re good for up to 2 weeks, but I think they’re best if used within the week. Happy Baking!
I wanted to bake chocolate chips cookies as “thank you” gifts for the guests at my wedding next week, And then I discovered here that I could bake the cookies in mini-muffins pans! Best idea ever! I just baked a “test” batch with my usual recipe, and it’s so cool!
Cindy, you just made my day! I’m thrilled you’re using the idea for wedding thank-yous. When i got married a few years ago (way before i started blogging), i made those little mexican wedding cakes for my thank-you favors; i was married in december and they look like snowballs, so we all thought that would be fun. We made thousands, but they turned out so well and the guests loved the personal touch. Happy wedding to you! Have fun, try and remember everything, think good thoughts, all of it. 🙂 Best to you.
I just made these and they are DELICIOUS! My one note would be that I am cooking them for 12 minutes because they were still very raw after 7 minutes, and not cooked through until 12. Even at 375. Maybe my oven is off?
oh yay! it’s great to hear you liked them, Sarah. It’s hard to say with home ovens: we all have different ones, and i like to think mine is pretty par for the course, but it can depend on the pan, too. I use a darker coated pan for these, but if your pan is lighter and/or uncoated, that could lengthen the bake time? or yes, there’s always that our ovens maybe not be syncing; i try to encourage people to go with their gut with baking and keep them in if they need them.
Sarah, i thought of something else too, as i made these this past week for my little one’s birthday party. I was doing other things, so i ended up making the dough and chilling them overnight (just to get them done). I noticed the next day while baking them that they took a few minutes longer when refrigerated overnight versus just the 1/2 hour so refrigeration, so temp of the dough could factor in as well, for sure. I know it made a difference in mine the other day. Thanks for making me think about it! 🙂
[…] borrowed this recipe from Shannon over at A Periodic Table, you can get the recipe there or you can see it […]
These are delicious! To give any potential bakers a guesstimate: Mine made about 40. I also had to cook them longer than 7-8. I added a minute each time but it was probably right around 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, though because the time varied.
I recommend! 😀
Paige, thank you for the hints! I should note that yes, this does make between 40-50, depending on how big your scoops are, and the pan color and type can make the time vary by a few minutes, for sure. Happy you liked them!
Is it bad that I made these 2 days in a row? These cookies are the bomb.com #cookieLUVR4eva! XD XD XD
yay! i’m so happy you liked them, Celine! And no: NEVER bad to make chocolate chip cookies two days in a row (although considering how many they make, i hope you shared the first batch.) 😉 Always nice to hear, thank you.
Wowzers! These cookies are the scrumptious!! I totally luv ur blog, would u follow my blog too? XD
inn-tolerable.tumblr.com <<<< #superKAWAIIblog! c:
thanks bunchez! :3
Thank you! Happy you liked them.
You have changed my life!! Okay, so maybe just my chocolate chip cookie life. 🙂 I bake quite a bit but my chocolate chip cookies almost always come out flat no matter what recipe I use. These are just perfect! I made them in mini cupcake liners sprayed with baking spray. They are adorable and a perfect bite. Using my mini ice cream scoop mine made approximately 60 cookies! What a great yield in one sitting! I will definitely be adding these to my holiday baking list for next year! Adding the red/green chips would be cute and festive. I’m also going to try with white chips! I will be using them for my 3 daughter’s birthday parties with little mini cupcake toppers to match their themes! My kids are in love and so am I! Thanks again for sharing.
Danielle, if i can change just one person’s chocolate chip cookie life, then i’ve done my job. 🙂 I’m so happy you liked them! great idea to bake them in the liners, too: i haven’t done that yet, but certainly it’s a good way to go, especially for kids. That recipe really does make a ton, which is why i use it for cookie trays and the like; saves you lots of time, for sure. I love your idea for the red/green chips and the white chips! let me know how it goes!
I don’t know if you saw this post, but I actually made these again for my 3-year old’s birthday this past summer: i topped them with cream cheese frosting and little party hats, and everyone really loved them (the 3 year olds especially. here’s the link, and thanks so much for commenting! http://aperiodictableblog.com/?p=4918
These came out great. Have you tried to do this with other recipes? Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle, etc… would like to try with a Snickerdoodle recipe.
Would I need to alter it or just leave it the same? Thoughts? Thank you so much, the runners at a race coming up will LOVE these!!!
Hi Steph – so happy you tried these! You know, I actually have done a snickerdoodle version, with interesting results (see here: http://aperiodictableblog.com/?p=1497 and you’ll get the idea)…they worked, but in a very different way due to snickerdoodles being a very different structure of cookie.
I’ve not tried this, but i’d say if you wanted a “snickerdoodle” type flavor in this format, i’d begin with a non-cookie cutter type sugar cookie (so one which puffs/spreads) and add cinnamon; i think you’d get more of what you were looking for with a cookie as opposed to my snickerdoodle “cups” – but the cups are great for ice cream. 🙂
How much you’d have to alter different flavors depends on the structure and ratios in each cookie, i think: if it acts like a chocolate chip, has similar ratios and chemical components, then it should work. If i were to do a peanut butter one, i’d pick one like i picked a snickerdoodle: a type which spreads and puffs.
thanks so much for your comments! always nice to hear when someone finds these and enjoys them…they’re a favorite around here. 🙂
If I use a regular size muffin tin, do I cook them differently?
Do you think this would work with mini chocolate chips?
I do think this would work quite will with mini chocolate chips: in fact, I think i’ve used them when that’s what i’ve had in my pantry. Go for it! 🙂
Hi, I’ve made these twice now, first time round they came out great, I made half a batch (24) and they were gone within two hours in a family of four. Today I made them again, I made a half batch but I think it must have been the baking powder and soda because I forgot to half them and the cookies rose well over the edge also I greased the baking tin with low fat oil spray the first time and they came out easy, I greased it with butter this time and they stuck I love the taste though, they are still great Bute n my mum are currently sat using a spoon and scooping them straight out the tin.
Clara, i know i’m late on replying, but thank you for your kind words! I’m thrilled you like the cookies: we make them all the time, and they’re great fun. If you’re making them in a nonstick muffin tin, you may try just not greasing the tin at all: the nonstick + the butter in the cookies should allow them to pop out, no problem. But hey, scooping them out with a spoon and eating them with your mum? not a bad strategy either.
I am confused about one thing. In the directions you mention to grease the sides of the muffin tins. However, in one of your answers, you say that it is not necessary to grease the muffin tins. Thank you for sharing your recipe, they look delicious. I am anxious to try these.
I’m going to correct this right now, but no: no need to grease those muffin tins! what a pain that would be anyway.
Do I need to grease the muffin pan?
Awesome, made some and took to work. They were a hit. Did not need to grease muffin tins! Thank you for sharing receipt.
Sheril, thanks for making these – i’m thrilled you liked them and that you shared them with your work! I’m just seeing your other question about greasing the muffin tins, and you were right to not grease: i should add that to my recipe notes on the post. thank you!
Thanks for this idea. My Kids came up with a variation of this recipe. They put in 3/4 c cocoa powder and put in about 1/2 c less flour so that the dough isn’t too dry. Then, they replace at least half of the chocolate chips with peanut butter chips. (Usually, they use 1 c peanut butter chips and reduce the chocolate chips to 1/2 c.)
This has become one of their favorite, easy-to-make indulgences for the weekend.
please tell your kids that love their substitutions! I may have to try them myself. 🙂 I’m thrilled they like them – we also love to make these as a little weekend treat from time to time. thanks for writing!