Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
The perfect bite-sized chocolate chip cookie. Tiny, thin, golden, crisp, a bit nutty with plenty of shaved chocolate.
I recognize the lead photo for this post makes these cookies look enormous. They're not. In fact, one of these cookies is about the size of a half-dollar, and you might be able to fit a dozen of them in the palm of your hand. And while the photo might be a bit misleading, the trade-off is that you can see all the flecks of shaved chocolate, oats, and walnuts that are packed into every tiny cookie. The grains of sugar on top? They give the cookies just the right amount of crunch. These are the perfect bite-sized cookie, and each batch makes nearly twelve dozen of them.
I started working on this recipe over the summer (it took a few tries!). I knew I wanted my cookie to be tiny. I wanted it to be thin, and I wanted it to be golden, crisp, nutty, with plenty of chocolate. I started shaving the chocolate early on, instead of using chips or chunks. It ended up being one of the things that makes these cookies unique -and it allows you to press the dough near flat.
The recipe doubles easily, and I can't resist mentioning that ice-cream sandwiches made with them are tres cute and tasty.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- David Lebovitz's Great Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Or explore more favorite cookie recipes - I especially love the classics like these shortbread cookies, these limoncello macaroons, these ginger cookies, or these special snickerdoodles. Have fun baking!
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Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I use whole wheat pastry flour here, but you can substitute unbleached all-purpose flour if you like, or if that is all you have on hand. You might also add-in some finely chopped crystallized ginger, chopped raisins or currants, or wheat germ. You could try barley flakes or spelt flakes in place of the rolled oats. There are lots of different ways to take this cookie.
5 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar (Scharffen Berger 62%)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, very, very finely chopped (by hand)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
scant 1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
scant 1 tablespoon organic unsulphured molasses (blackstrap)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup large-grain sugar (for ex: turbinado)
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, racks in top and bottom third. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.
Finely chop the chocolate bar into 1/8-inch pieces, more like shavings really. Try to avoid big lumps and chunks, which make flattening out the cookie dough later more difficult.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, walnuts, and shaved chocolate. Set aside.
Using a mixer (or by hand) beat the butter until fluffy. Beat in the sugar and mix until it is also light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the molasses, then the egg, mixing until both are well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and stir by hand until the ingredients barely come together into a uniform dough.
I like these cookies tiny, barely bite-sized, so I scoop out the dough in exact, level teaspoons. I then tear those pieces of dough in two before rolling each 1/2 teaspoon of dough into a ball shape. Place two inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Gently flatten each dough ball into a thin, round patty with two fingers and then sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of large-grain sugar. Bake for 7 minutes or until cookies are golden and fragrant. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.
Makes about 12 dozen tiny, bite-sized cookies.
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Comments
Very sweet! I'm interested in the blackstrap molasses ingredient--I've taken it sort of like medicine to get iron in my diet, but I've never baked with it! Anyone have any tips about how and when to use it in baking, in general?
These are adorable. And an ice cream sandwich made with these sounds heavenly!
Oh. Em. Gee. These are so cute, I can't wait to make them!
To Meg: According to the book on my shelf, Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife, cf is gluten free and absorbs liquid like crazy so it cannot be substituted 1 for 1 in standard flour recipes. Increasing liquid is a must. Using 1/2 cup cf? Increase liquid by 1/2 cup. The example he provides for a general rule of thumb is recipe calls for 1 cup wheat flour substitute it with 3/4 cup wheat flour, 1/4 cup cf, AND 1/4 cup liquid. If one needs to be gluten-free as well, there would need to be a whole lot of more substituting going on to remove the rest of the wheat flour.
These sound great! I like the idea of the sugar on top.
These look der-licious, and I can't wait to try them. Their teensiness makes you feel so virtuous. I made the triple-ginger cookies last week - a smashing success.
Heidi, I love this recipe! I have been trying to back with coconut flour (a lot better for low carbs and diabetes) but every time I bake with it (combined with splenda) it is a MESS! The CF seems to take all the moisture out, its horrible the batter NEVER comes together and it all crumbs. Have you ever worked with it? Any help? Thanks! keep the recipes coming! m.
These look so cute! I wonder if it would work to put the chocolate and walnuts in a food processor and reduce it to rubble? That might work to get the pieces nice and small - although I guess you'd have to make sure everything was fairly cold to avoid the processor motor melting the chocolate. Will have to give it a try (although keeping things cold in London right now = not hard!)
So, if you can fit a dozen of them in your hand, that means you should be able to fit at least one and a half dozen in your mouth at once, right? Sorry, I have a 12 year old son. Ideas like that one are common around here!
Oh my - these look amazing! Will be perfect to make for Valentine's Day next week!
Oh how very cute!!!! The entire recipe is perfect!
Oh my. Those look delicious...although I am sure I could polish off two dozen at once!
I love everything itsy bitsy! I always bake my cookies teeny, so I'm excited to try these since they are tailor-made to be small! I think I will try your crystalized ginger suggestion. That sounds really good with the chocolate and walnuts.
These look wholesome with the incredible and deep flavours of chocolate.
These look great! I'm going to make a big batch for the office next week. I really appreciate your use of healthier ingredients in your baking. Is the molasses for flavor or to reduce the sugar? Is there a way to eliminate the cane sugar entirely? Would it work to sub agave nectar? On another topic, I'm wondering why some McDonald's ads are appearing on your blog? I totally understand the need to advertise, but that particular ad seems contrary to your philosophy. Is there no way to filter them out? Thanks for a great blog! HS: HI Rose, if you end up doing a non-cane version with success - let me know. I didn't go that route here. And thanks for the heads up re: the ads, I'll look into it.
these are adorable. Scharffen Berger is definitely the best option :)
These look very sweet Heidi. I love it that you've tailored the recipe so carefully to make sure that these work well small. I have lots of nutritionist and health conscious friends and tiny cookies tend to go down very well (they still eat three or four of them mind!).
Mmmm.... ice cream sandwiches!!!! Now I've got to give them a try -- serving them as ice cream sandwiches in a party is such a fun idea!
these look so amazing. i too, can't wait to try them. thanks! i'm really really excited about these.
These are so cute, can't wait to try them. I just made a gluten-free version of your triple chocolate espresso cookies and posted them on my site. Thank you so much for your awesome recipes and inspiration!
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