Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip Cups

These Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip Cups started with a simple idea. For months, I had been wanting to test using clear dome cups filled with tiny homemade cookies with a chocolate dip tucked into a built-in insert. Once I finally tested the concept, I quickly realized these weren't just cute. They were practical, giftable, and absolutely delicious.

In making the mini chocolate chip cookies for gifting, the perfect dough portion weighs 5 grams. This produces a finished cookie about 1.25 inches across. This size is small enough to fit into a 9-ounce domed presentation cup with room for a 2-ounce chocolate ganache dipping insert. Each gift cup holds 10 to 12 mini cookies plus two tablespoons of the chocolate ganache.

With or without packaging, these little cookies are perfect for parties, gifting, Memorial Day Gatherings, summer cookouts, holiday dessert tables, and crowd-pleasing treats.

Quick Look at the Recipe

• Prep Time: 25 minutes. I weighed every piece of dough - you should too!
• Cook Time: 8 to 10 minutes, depending on whether the portioned dough is at room temperature, refrigerated, or frozen - all work well.
• Makes: 12 to 14 dozen mini cookies
• Difficulty: Easy
• Texture: Crisp around the edges, soft in the center
• Make-Ahead Friendly: Yes
• Kid Friendly: Yes
• Freezer Friendly: Yes
• Shelf Life: Up to 3 days assembled

Jump to:

• Quick Look at the Recipe
• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Why Cookie Size Matters
• Ingredients for the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Make the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Make the Chocolate Ganache
• Assembling the Mini Cookie Cups with Chocolate Ganache
• Chula's Test Kitchen
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Other Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• The bite-sized cookies are perfect for dipping and snacking
• Perfect for gifting and entertaining
• Impressive make-ahead dessert or party favor
• Cookie dough freezes beautifully, enhancing the make-ahead option
• Chocolate ganache is easy to make, but indulgent to taste

Why Cookie Size Matters

In my testing, I wanted to answer the question: How big should the mini cookies be? I wanted the cookies to be small enough to easily fit into the plastic dome cup, but substantial enough for dipping. I also wanted the cookies to be a uniform size.

To accomplish this, I weighed the individual dough portions, testing two weights: 8 grams and 5 grams. I also tested whether the size was dependent on whether the dough was refrigerated.

As this picture illustrates, the 8-gram cookies were noticeably larger than the 5-gram cookies. Of equal importance, it really didn't matter whether the dough was refrigerated before cooking.

With that, the question became, "Which size was better for the chocolate chip cookies in a cup?" The answer: The 5-gram dough was the clear winner, at least for me. I wanted mini to be mini!

Ingredients for the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

The ingredients for the mini chocolate chip cookies are standard ingredients for chocolate chip cookies.

• The Wet Ingredients: Unsalted butter, a large egg, and vanilla extract comprised the wet ingredients. I did follow an unconventional practice of adding the baking soda and the salt to the wet ingredients to ensure even dispersion in the cookie dough.
• The Sugars: Technically, sugar is a wet ingredient. Granulated sugar provided the basic sweetness and crisp texture. Light brown sugar added a depth of flavor and a chewiness to the cookies.
• The Flour: Good 'ole all-purpose flour was used.
• The Chocolate Chips: Because the cookies are mini, the chocolate chips needed to be mini. Regular-sized chocolate chips would have been too dominant in terms of both size and flavor.

Make the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. The Wet Ingredients: Start by beating room temperature butter on high until creamy, about 2 minutes. Then add the granulated sugar and light brown sugar and beat until well combined, another minute or two. After scraping down the bowl, add the egg, vanilla, salt, and baking soda and beat until light and fluffy.

2. The Flour: After scraping down the bowl, add the flour. Beat on low just until the flour is combined.

3. The Mini Chocolate Chips: Next, add the mini chocolate chips; stir to combine.

5. Portion the Dough: Using a small spoon, portion the dough into 5-gram pieces, about ½ teaspoon, and roll into smooth balls. Place on a parchment-lined half-sheet pan, leaving about 1 ½ inches between the pieces of dough.

6. Bake: Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. The baking time will vary depending on the temperature of the dough. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the pan. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate ganache might sound complicated or even intimidating. However, it contains only two ingredients and is easy to make.

Add the cream to the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and microwave for another 15 to 30 seconds or until the chocolate chips are melted. Stir the mixture until it becomes cohesive and dippable.

Assembling the Mini Cookie Cups with Chocolate Ganache

I purchased the 9-ounce mini cookie cups with 2-ounce inserts from WebrestaurantStore. I had previously ordered something somewhat comparable from Amazon, but ended up returning it because the dome lids did not fit well.

I wanted the mini cookie cups to look professional, even though I was gifting them. This meant putting a label on the cup. For that, I used a Nelko PM220 Bluetooth Thermal Label Printer with 2-inch round white labels.

I added 10 or 11 mini cookies to the clear cups.

Then, I placed the 2-ounce insert with 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons of chocolate ganache onto the cup and secured the dome lid.

What started as a fun packaging experiment quickly turned into one of my favorite make-ahead dessert ideas. The tiny cookies, rich ganache, and bakery-style presentation make these Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip Cups feel special while being simple and approachable.

Honestly? Watching people's reactions when they first see the cups may be the best part of all.

And, don't forget to treat yourself to a tasty snack if you don't want to gift the mini cookies! Yum!

Chula's Test Kitchen

• One thing that I tested was how long the cookies stayed fresh-tasting. When packaged in the dome cups with the chocolate ganache dip, they were still fresh-tasting after 3 days. When stored in a regular airtight container, they were still fresh-tasting after 5 days.
• Another thing that I tested was whether the temperature of the dough mattered when the cookies were baked. I honestly could not tell any visible difference among the cookies baked (1) immediately after preparing the dough, (2) when the dough was refrigerated, and (3) when the dough was frozen. The only thing that differed was the baking time, with another minute or two required for cold/frozen dough.
• I knew that I wanted very small cookies that appeared intentional in the 9- ounce dome cups. I only tested 2 variations - 8 grams and 5 grams. The 5-gram cookies were the clear winner.
• For the chocolate ganache, the perfect dipping consistency was achieved using a 2:1 ratio of mini chocolate chips to heavy cream.
• For this recipe, I weighed not only the ingredients to ensure consistent results, but also the portioned dough. I know that it sounds a bit tedious, which it was. After a while, I could tell what the proper amount of dough was for the 5-gram cookies, but I still weighed each piece of dough!
• Another thing that I did once the dough was portioned and rolled was to add several more mini chocolate chips to make them appear more prominent.
• If you don't have a kitchen scale, do yourself a favor and get one. They are inexpensive and are probably the most used piece of equipment in my kitchen!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Chocolate Chip Cookies

Want regular chocolate Chip Cookies? No problem - try these:

Recipe