One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies

These one bowl chocolate chip cookies are perfect for when you just need a sweet treat without a whole lot of fuss. Thirty minutes and one bowl is all you need to get to cookie nirvana.

How is it already the middle of December? Thanksgiving happened, I blinked, and now Christmas is right around the corner! To be honest, we’ve been woefully behind on all the holiday things. We don’t have our tree yet, I’ve only just begun to listen to Christmas music, and if online shopping wasn’t a thing, well I’d be in a real bad way.

Luckily this weekend we plan on dragging a tree home from whatever vendor still has some in stock, Sufjan Stevens’ Christmas album is currently piping seasonal tunes throughout the house, and my phone is BLOWING UP with Amazon alerts full of tracking numbers and estimated delivery dates.

So basically things are handled. But you know what? Even with all the conveniences of modern technology, the holidays (and the time leading up to them) are still hectic AF. And when things get like this, it’s easy to get caught up in the madness. But as a (preggo) person who has become increasingly aware of her physical limitations during this holiday season, I have one piece of completely unsolicited advice – TAKE A BREAK.

Chill, sit down, quiet your mind, have a snack (always a good idea). The world always looks better after a moment to yourself. And wouldn’t that moment be even sweeter with a still warm from the oven chocolate chip cookie?

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now I hear you when you’re like “Jo, if I need to take a damn moment, why are you trying to put more things on my to do list?” and to that I say…fair. If you need some time to yourself to do absolutely nothing, do just that. But if like me you find it meditative to pop into the kitchen, load up some tunes, put your head down, and emerge 30 minutes later with a plate of freshly baked cookies – well then today is for you my friend.

These cookies were designed to be the opposite of a production. No waiting for butter to soften, no overnight dough resting, and very light on the clean up. Another thing of note is that this recipe makes a reasonable number of moderately sized cookies – 16 to be exact. And while a smaller batch recipe may not be a mark in the pro column for all you cookie monsters out there, I find it to be much more approachable.

Are these the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever put in your mouth? I don’t know – they’re pretty damn good, especially for the amount of effort involved. But my personal stance is that any cookie, fresh from the oven, is automatically the best cookie I’ve ever had – so there’s that.

What You’ll Need to Make These Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This ingredient list is meant to be the kind that doesn’t involve a special trip to the grocery store. In that spirit, I’ve let you know where substitutions are a-ok.

• Flour – I usually use all purpose to bake (unless otherwise noted), but if you only have bread flour on hand you can use that. I wouldn’t make this with 100% whole wheat flour, but you could definitely sub in 1/3 of the amount with no issue.
• Butter – Go for unsalted if you’ve got it, but if you’re using salted butter just omit the kosher salt from the recipe and proceed.
• Eggs – Well one egg to be precise. Make sure it’s a large one (not extra large, not jumbo). It makes a difference.
• Dark brown sugar – I like the dark brown stuff because it has more of that molasses flavor that gives these cookies some richness and nuance. But if you’ve only got light brown, that’s totally fine.

• Granulated sugar – no skipping this stuff, but then again it’s a pantry staple so I’m guessing you’ve got it in your…pantry.
• Vanilla – extract is good, paste is fancier, imitation is also perfectly acceptable. But don’t leave it out altogether.
• Salt – I used kosher salt here because that’s what I use day to day. If you use table salt just cut the amount by half. And if you used salted butter, omit it completely.
• Leaveners – Sorry, but baking soda makes the cookie do all sorts of sciencey things that we can’t avoid.
• Chocolate chips – Or chunks, or shards, or whatever. Follow your heart.

How to Make One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies

Get your one bowl (make it a big-ish one) and something to stir with – here we go!

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F and get out a rimmed baking sheet (or whatever cookie sheet you’ve got handy)
2. Pop the butter into the bowl and melt it in the microwave – about 45 seconds.
3. Add both sugars and whisk until well combined.
4. Add the egg and vanilla, whisking until smooth.
5. Pour in the flour, and sprinkle the baking soda and salt evenly over the top. Stir just until a few streaks of dry flour remain – switching over to a wooden spoon or spatula is wise at this point.
6. Add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
7. Scoop eight, two tablespoon portions of the dough in tight balls onto your rimmed baking sheet. Leave two inches in between each cookie to account for spreading.
8. Bake on the center rack for 12 minutes or until they begin to brown slightly at the edges but are still very soft to the touch.
9. Let cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes before using a thin spatula to transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Bake off remaining dough and eat all the cookies!

Tips For Making Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tippity tips for your tip top selves

• Don’t forget to preheat your oven, first thing. The dough comes together quickly, and you want to make sure these go into a HAWT oven.
• If you want to bake two sheets at a time, make sure to switch sheet positions halfway through baking – ie: top sheet moves to the bottom and vice versa. This ensures even baking.
• There is no need to grease the pan, but if you are nervous feel free to line the sheet pans with a piece of parchment.
• If you want those big, melty pockets of chocolate, use bar chocolate that you chop yourself. It’s more work, but it’s real pretty.

• A cookie scooper like this one makes quick work of portioning dough, and ensures you’ll have evenly sized cookies every time.
• If you’re all about that meal prep life, feel free to freeze half the dough. Portion it out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and pop the whole thing into the freezer. Once the dough balls are rock hard, transfer them to a labeled zip top bag. You can bake them directly from the freezer in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 14-16 minutes.

So now that you have all the info you could possibly need, go take some “me time” and make some chewy, tender, chocolately treats for yo self.

And for some other no fuss holiday treats, hop on over to one of these:

• Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts
• Espresso Brownie Cookies
• Salted Crispy Peanut Butter Bars
• Roasted Delicata Squash with Maple Miso Butter

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