20 Classic Small Batch Cookie Recipes

If a cookie craving hits and you don’t want dozens taking over your counter, these small batch cookie recipes are for you. From classic chocolate chip and chewy oatmeal cookies to buttery lemon shortbread, each recipe has been scaled and tested for smaller households. Whether you’re baking for two, for a few, or just yourself, these 20 small batch cookies are worth bookmarking.

Cookies are where most people start baking, and where I keep coming back. There’s something genuinely satisfying about a warm cookie straight from the oven. And I honestly can’t think of a better way to make cookies than in a small batch. small batch cookies.

Most cookie recipes yield at least a couple dozen cookies. And if you’re a smaller household, or you just have a hankering for a good chocolate chip cookie, that’s just impractical.

So, every recipe in this collection has been developed with you in mind. Each one goes through rounds of testing and scaled specifically for a smaller yield — not simply cut in half from a larger recipe.

You’ll find the classics here: peanut butter cookies, chewy oatmeal, and crispy-edged snickerdoodles. Then there are the fudgy flourless chocolate cookies that have become one of the most-made recipes on the site. Plus a few that go a little beyond the basics, like edible cookie dough and blondies worth their weight in brown sugar that belong on any cookie table.

For all of the cookie recipes on Butter and Bliss, be sure to check out the small batch cookies category page.

Tools Worth Having for Small Batch Cookie Baking

A small batch of cookies comes together quickly, and the right tools make it even easier. These are what I reach for every time:

• Small 3-quart mixing bowl — The right size for small batch doughs that would get lost in a full-size bowl. Works with a standard tilt-head mixer and keeps cleanup minimal.
• Hand mixer — Ideal for combining butter and sugar in small quantities without committing to the full stand mixer setup.
• Medium cookie scoop — The single most useful cookie tool in the kitchen. Consistent size, consistent bake, perfectly portioned every time.
• Half Baking Sheet — The most-used tool in my kitchen for cookie baking. The size is ideal for a small batch: roomy enough for six cookies to spread and bake evenly without crowding.
• Parchment Paper — Simple and non-negotiable. Cookies release cleanly, the pan stays clean, and you’re not scrubbing baked-on butter off a sheet pan at the end of the night.
• Mini Spatula — Essential for scraping every last bit of dough from the mixing bowl.