When you want to bake a small batch of chocolate chip cookies, turn them into Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars made in a loaf pan! They’re easier and faster than scooping cookies plus they won’t spread too thin.
It’s official – everything is switched over to Homemade In The Kitchen (Not sure where Chocolate Moosey went? Read my announcement post for details).
I thought it would be appropriate to kick off my new name with my favorite dessert in small batch form – Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars baked in a loaf pan!
I did it with my Small Batch Fudge Brownies. It was only a matter of time to bring you cookies.
In my opinion, the perfect chocolate chip cookie is soft and chewy in the middle while slightly crispy on the edges. If you agree, then these cookie bars have the perfect texture for you.
Why bake cookies in a loaf pan? It’s faster, easier, and you don’t have to worry about them spreading too thin. It also turns each piece into an end piece, which means no more fighting for the corner (there may, however, still be fighting for the last cookie).
The concept seemed simple enough – make a small batch of chocolate chip cookies but instead of dropping them on a cookie sheet, pat them into a loaf pan (affiliate link).
However, it wasn’t that simple. Turned out the dough would rise in the middle but then sink after cooling, causing a giant sinkhole, albeit a delicious sinkhole.
The obvious culprit was the baking soda because leavening is what causes recipes to rise. However, the middle kept sinking even when the baking soda was reduced to 1/8 teaspoon.
As I was debating on adding baking powder to the baking soda, my friend Susan, Miss Cookie Queen herself, messaged me that same idea. It sounds counterintuitive, but adding baking powder would help stabilize the baking soda and keep the middle from falling.
It helped but still not quite perfect. What else can cause sinking in my cookies? Sinking is a sign the structure isn’t stable, which usually results in the flour to liquid ratio not being balanced.
However, when you look at the recipe, there is no liquid in the dough, not even an egg white. There’s vanilla, but such a minute amount wouldn’t throw off the ratio.
Although there’s no obvious liquid like milk or egg whites, when sugar melts, it turns into liquid. That means when there’s too much sugar and not enough flour, the structure won’t hold. Hence sinking after cooling.
I cut back on the sugar and voila – it held! There is a slight dip in the middle, but that is the result of baking in a loaf pan. Think of it like turning each piece into an end piece.
After going through at least 6 rounds of recipe testing, I can say I’m officially the first person to make a true to size small batch chocolate chip cookies in a loaf pan.
I googled for similar recipes to research and compare notes, but all of the “small batch” cookie bars were made in 8×8 pans. That’s not small batch, my friends. This is.
Because I made so many cookie bars in one week, I wrapped a few pieces in plastic wrap and stuck them in my freezer. I can testify they do freeze well.
Looking to bake small batch cookies instead of bars? Check out my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
Looking for only one chocolate chip cookie? Check out my Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Want to roll out and decorate cookies? Check out my Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies.
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl on medium speed, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in the yolk and vanilla until smooth.
- On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture for 1 minute or until the dough comes together. The mixture will look dry and crumbly but will come together to pat into the pan. Do not overbeat. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Evenly pat the dough into the pan. Bake 18-23 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely before cutting.
Sam says
I’m confused. The recipe calls for a loaf pan, but two of the pics clearly show an 8″ or 9″ pan.
Carla says
No, it’s a 9×5 loaf pan. If you look at the handles, you can clearly see they are shorter than the sides.
Abby says
I really enjoyed reading this post…. and I really like the new name…. Thank you so much for all the work you put into making smaller recipes !! This is something that is hard to do once your family is grown & gone. I am excited to try these cookies… nice that you cut them in triangles too.
Carla says
Thanks, Abby! Glad you’re enjoying the smaller recipes.
Alicia says
Yum! Looks great.
Carla says
Thanks!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
yayyy! great job, they turned out amazing!
Carla says
Thanks :D
2pots2cook says
We are a small family, my son and me and it is so great to find small batch recipes ! Big fan :-)
Carla says
So happy to hear you’re enjoying the small batch recipes. Stay tuned for more!
Sandy says
Congratulations on rebranding! :-) Can’t wait to try the new recipe. :-)
Carla says
Thank you!
Tania says
This is exactly what I was looking for. I needed to make a nice dessert treat for just a few kids that work for me and this is perfect. Thank you. I’m going to take a picture and tag you on Instagram. ☺
Carla says
Glad the recipe was a hit! I’ll keep an eye out on Instagram for the photo.
Pegann says
Great little recipe! Thank you! For such a small batch I didn’t want to get the mixer out so I made a change.
I mixed very soft butter, vanilla and egg yolk together in a small bowl with my chop sticks.
Then I poured the mixture into prepared dry ingredients and stirred until combined and then added 2 TBS heavy cream and stirred a minute to combine then folded in the chocolate chips. Fabulous! Then I spread into a 9″ cake pan to the thickness I wanted. Fabulous giant cookie!!
Carla says
Glad it still worked out for you!
Jessica says
I love these for a sinful snack with built in portion control. My kids ask for the cookie bars, and they mean these. I’ve made these at least 10 times over a few months. Thank you
Carla says
Awesome! Glad the recipe is keeping everyone happy.
Kris says
These were soo good!! Perfect for a late night snack craving! I used salted butter and the 1/4 tsp of salt…oh that made them extra delicious!! Sweet, salty, crispy, chewy and fabulous!! They checked all the boxes!! Loved the idea of the small batch made in a loaf pan! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Carla says
Love the extra saltiness! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Debra Gomes says
Have made these a couple times/ love the recipe. One batch I put on the table outback to cool. Then we noticed a possum on the table enjoying our cookies! My kiddos have now named these the ‘possum Cookie’ recipe:)
Have you experimented with any other recipes? Oatmeal or peanut butter cookies?
Carla says
Ha that’s hilarious. Glad your family and the possum enjoyed the recipe. I do have peanut butter cookies, although they’re actual cookies and not bars. My guess is you can put the dough in a loaf pan, although I personally haven’t tried it yet.
Kirstin says
3 stars. Too cakey – nix the baking powder.
Carla says
These cookie bars are not cakey. Trust me – cakey chocolate chip cookies are the worst and I would never, ever publish a recipe resulting in that. With that said, baking powder doesn’t cause cakey cookies, so there will be no nixing of that. Did you use an egg yolk or a whole egg? Too much egg causes cakey cookies (hence why I used only the yolk). Another reason for cakiness is overcreaming the butter and sugar. And finally, make sure your oven is indeed accurate with an oven thermometer. I know when you overbake brownies, they go from fudgy to cakey. It’s possible that happened here as well.
Celeste says
Made these several times but just didn’t think to leave a review.
Everything about this recipe is great. I was going to visit a friend who has two children. I whipped these up in no time and everyone loved them. Thanks.
Carla says
Wonderful! Glad everyone enjoyed the cookies.
Sugarboo says
To anyone who wants to make these: I made the recipe and froze it in a log. Then defrosted for about 1-2 hours., Then just butter your loaf pain, par the sigh down , and pop them in the oven! So easy. I make several batches and freeze them all for when I’m ready to bake. Works great!
Sugarboo says
My phone is making things up again! My post above was suppose to say thst I make the dough and then roll into a log and then I put it into the freezer., Then a week later or a month or even just a few days later, I can take it out of the freezer , let it thaw out, then press it into a buttered loaf pan amd bake it.,
Carla says
Thanks for sharing! I’m sure others will appreciate the tip on making the dough ahead of time.
Camille says
Have you ever made these with less sugar? I made them today and they are honestly the sweetest cookies I have ever made. Too sweet for mine and hubby’s taste. Loved the texture and chewiness of them though!
Carla says
No, I haven’t. It’s only 6 tablespoons of sugar plus the chocolate chips, so it’s a normal amount of sugar for a chocolate chip cookie recipe given the size. With that said, you can probably reduce the brown sugar to 3 tablespoons and the chocolate chips down to 1/3 cup. I wouldn’t reduce the total sugar too much because then it’ll throw off the baking ratio.
Camille says
I’ll give that a try thank you 😊 looking forward to trying some of your other recipes 😊
Donna Weaver says
Made these tonight with the grandbabes. Turned out perfectly!
They looked just like you pictured .
They were moist and delicious.
I just hand mixed and baked in my over for 20 minutes.
These will be made a lot!:-)
Carla says
Wonderful! Glad everyone enjoyed them.
Mary Beth says
Thank you! These were delicious! I’m going to definitely be trying more of your recipes!
Carla says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Karen says
Would love, love to find the white dish with “rope”! Recipe yummy! Great gift idea!
Carla says
I found it at a thrift store and unfortunately it doesn’t have any markings as to where it came from. It seems to be a white marble cheeseboard (it’s heavy so it’s something sturdy and fragile).
Liz says
I want to try these, do you use light or dark brown sugar?
Carla says
Light