Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These soft and chewy bite-size chocolate chip sprinkle cookies are made with only 9 simple ingredients and require no chilling. They come together quickly so they’re the perfect cookie for last-minute baking! Recipe includes instructions for making 8 standard size cookies.
THE QUICKEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE I HAVE
As someone who has over 200 cookie recipes in her collection, there are well over a dozen just in the chocolate chip cookie category, and that collection grows every year.
Long ago, I worked hard to create a quick and simple small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe that yields 6 thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies, ready from start to finish (in your belly, of course) in under 30 minutes, given that your ingredients are ready to go.
When I wrote my cookbook, The Classic Cookie Companion, dedicated entirely to cookies, I used that recipe as a starting point for my mini chocolate chip cookies. The result was perfectly soft and chewy bite-size cookies that are ideal for little hands, small bites, and, my favorite, goodie bags or lunch boxes.
This chocolate chip Christmas cookies recipe is that mini chocolate chip cookie recipe, all dolled up for the holidays.
And you know what the best part is? Well, there are a few best parts…
• the recipe itself is no-chill so it’s ready quickly
• you can bake all 32 cookies in just two sessions in the oven
• you can customize the sprinkles to your liking
• you can match any color scheme in the “off-season”
I think you’re going to adore these easy chocolate chip Christmas cookies, and if you’re in a pinch for time or trying to work with basic ingredients that you have without making an extra trip to the store, there’s a really good chance you already have what you need to make the.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Nothing out of the ordinary here! But you will need some mini chocolate chips and some holiday sprinkles. Be sure you’re using room temperature butter as well as an egg yolk that’s also at room temperature for the best incorporation of your cookie dough. See the recipe card below for a comprehensive list of ingredients and amounts you’ll need.
OVERVIEW: LET’S MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Make the dough: this is a quick dough! You can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer. I’ve used both and the hand mixer is my preference, only because we’re getting these done in a timely manner!
Portion out the cookie dough balls: since the bake time on these cookies is so fast, I like to scoop all of my dough at one time and then split them up between two baking sheets. I usually bake 16-18 cookies on each tray, one at a time. That’s under 15 minutes of total bake time for 32 cookies! Amazingly quick!
Bake: these cookies will take about 7 minutes in the oven, but could take a minute longer if there are more cookies on your tray. Do not bake more than 24 cookies at a time, and know that if there are only, say, 6 cookies on your second tray, you may need to bake them for even less time. Bake just until edges are set and tops have puffed! They will settle as they cool.
Re-shape and re-decorate, if desired: I always re-shape hot cookies from the oven with a round cookie cutter so they’re perfect circles. Work quickly, because these cookies cool fast! Once they’re reshaped, I press one or two mini chocolate chips into the tops of the hot cookies just for looks. It makes them extra cute!
MAKE MINI OR STANDARD SIZE COOKIES
Since these holiday Christmas cookies came from a standard sized cookie recipe, you can keep them that way or make them mini like in the recipe below.
Use a leveled-off mini cookie scoop for mini cookies. This is about 1 teaspoon of dough. If you don’t have a mini cookie scoop, use a teaspoon measure and your hands or another measuring spoon to get the dough out of the spoon. Shape the dough into a round ball as best as you can.n baking sheet for 8-9 minutes.
Use a level #50 cookie scoop for standard size cookies. My small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe makes 6 thick cookies, which I achieve by using a heaping scoop of dough. You can stretch this cookie dough to 8 cookies if you level off the scoop!
WHAT KIND OF SPRINKLES SHOULD I USE?
I recommend using confetti quins, jimmies/rods, and one color of nonpareils, if you want to use them. You can see that I used white and red nonpareils (the teeny tiny balls) which worked well because even when the red nonpareils started to bleed into the cookie dough near the end of my scooping, the white ones do not bleed, so there was no muddling of colors.
To be safe, don’t use any colorful sugar for these cookies. Those will definitely bleed into the dough and turn your cookie dough a muddy color.
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS?
No problem! You can use standard size chocolate chips for these cookies if you chop them up before putting them into the dough! You could also use a bar of chocolate chopped really fine. Don’t not make these just because you don’t have mini chips.
CAN I USE OTHER ADD-INS?
You can absolutely use other add-ins, and I’ve often put mini m&m’s in these cookies! The holiday ones would fit perfectly. See the notes in the recipe for detailed instructions on amounts of add-ins based on what you have and what you’re going to combine.
25+ OTHER GREAT CHRISTMAS COOKIES
While I do have a plethora of cookies on my site, I rounded up an entire collection of the best holiday cookie recipes when you’re in a pinch for time and/or ingredients.
My post about last minute Christmas cookies includes more than 25 recipes that use basic ingredients and have either no chill time or 1 hour or less of chill time.
I’ve also chosen the cookies that might require only 1 or 2 additional regular ingredients in order to make them (think cream cheese or Andes Mints or peanut butter or powdered sugar) so you can make something fabulous with what you have and call it good (or really good, in the case of all of those recipes!).
Mini Chocolate Chip Christmas Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature1
- ⅓ cup (67g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature2
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips3,4
- 1 Tablespoon (15g) Christmas sprinkles3
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a medium size bowl with a hand held mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and beat again on medium speed until everything is combined and no lumps remain.3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (67g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 large egg yolk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly until completely combined. Add the mini chocolate chips and sprinkles and mix again on low until evenly dispersed.2 Tablespoons (30g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips3,4, 1 Tablespoon (15g) Christmas sprinkles3
- Using a mini cookie scoop (1 teaspoon size), drop rounded balls onto baking sheet (do not bake more than 24 at a time). Bake for 7-8 minutes until sides are set. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Baked cookies may be frozen up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen, up to 2 months. Bake frozen on baking sheet for 8-9 minutes.
- Make standard size cookies: while you can use mini chocolate chips, you may want to use standard size chips for larger cookies. Use 3 Tablespoons standard size chocolate chips and 2 Tablespoons sprinkles. Use a level #50 cookie scoop and bake for 11-13 minutes.
Notes
- Softened butter: since this recipe is meant to be quick, if your butter isn’t ready, use a shortcut to soften it quickly– microwave a cup of water to boiling, stop the microwave, place butter on a plate, and put the plate in the microwave. Close the door but do not turn it on. Allow the butter to sit in the microwave with the warm water for 10-15 minutes and it will be perfectly softened.
- Room temperature egg: place your egg in hot water for 5-10 minutes to bring it to room temperature quickly.
- Mini chocolate chips: since these cookies are tiny, I prefer mini chips in them. Standard size will work, but they don’t fit into the cookies as nicely. If you’re using standard size chips, use ⅓ cup and consider chopping them up a bit.
- Sprinkles: I prefer to use jimmies or quins here as nonpareils could bleed into the cookie dough and muddle the color. You can see in the photos that I used white and red nonpareils, since white won’t bleed at all and the red wouldn’t blend with another nonpareil to make brown. You can also use anything colorful and mini here, though, like mini m&m’s. If you are using m&m’s alongside or instead of the mini chocolate chips, aim for about ¼ total of add-ins (sprinkles take up less space).
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.