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Cookie Cups are made with a classic chocolate chip cookie dough baked to chewy perfection in muffin tins! These bite-sized treats are ready to be devoured in under 30 minutes, and can be filled with anything you like – try nutella, ice cream, or caramel! You can also bake them in mini tart pans or mini muffin tins for a fun twist.
Why you’ll love my Mini Cookie Cups:
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – Classic chocolate chip cookies are even more fun when baked into fillable cups!
- Customizable Fillings – Dress up these little treats with any filling your heart desires! Or, set out a few options and let your friends or kiddos fill their cookie cups themselves. It’s an easy & fun dessert spread for a party!
- Easy Recipe – This quick dessert takes less than a half hour from start to first bite, and is an easy way to venture into baking if you’re a beginner.
- Perfect for Dessert Emergencies – You know those times that you just need something for your sweet tooth NOW? These are perfect because the dough comes together in about 10 minutes, and they bake in 10 minutes or less! Plus – you can fill and eat them immediately.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before baking – creaming cold butter is not easy.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Eggs – Use large eggs.
- Chocolate Chips – I recommend using chocolate chips here and not chopped chocolate bars, as they make nice melty puddles of chocolate which are great in cookies, but can make these cups difficult to handle and eat.
- Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract for best results.
Recipe Variations:
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free butter to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Vegan/Egg Free – Use 1/2 tablespoon (which is equal to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons) of corn starch dissolved into 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of cold water.
How to Make this Cookie Cup Recipe:
Step 1: Make Cookie Dough. Melt your butter in a large bowl (you can even brown it for more flavor – directions are in the recipe card below!). Whisk in the sugars, then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips until everything is combined (feel free to use your mixer on medium speed here if the dough is a bit hard to mix by hand – don’t worry – it will come together and will not be dry).
Step 2: Press Dough into Pans. Press the dough into a muffin or cupcake tin prepared with cooking spray. You can also use a mini cupcake or muffin pan, or mini tart pans. All options work well and I’ve given dough quantities and bake times in the recipe card below!
Step 3: Bake. Bake as directed in the recipe card below for best results. The cookies will be a tad puffy and lightly golden brown. Use the back of a wooden spoon, or something similar, to press the bottom down flat, making an indent for the nutella or other fillings (You can see in the photo below most have been indented except for a few along the outer edge). They will also settle down some as they cool.
Step 4: Fill. Once the cookie cups are out of the oven, let them cool just until you’re able to safely handle them and pop them out of the pans. Now for the best part – add whatever fillings your heart desires to your little cups! See ideas below.
Serving + Storing:
Enjoy these chocolate chip cookie treats while they’re warm from the oven, with the fillings of your choice! Store empty cookie cups in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. I recommend filling them just to serve. Gently reheat leftovers in the microwave for a gooey cookie experience! For another gooey cookie experience, try my Jumbo Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Cookie Cup Fillings:
- Fill them with my easy Salted Caramel Sauce!
- Or add the no bake and egg free cheesecake filling from my Cheesecake Jars recipe.
- Nutella
- Nut Butters – Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, etc.
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – Add a spoonful of melted chocolate in the bottom, then fill with peanut butter, and top with another chocolate layer!
- Fresh Berries – Add fresh fruit and whipped cream to your cups.
- Ice Cream – Add a scoop of ice cream to the center of each cookie cup for a decadent treat!
Expert Success Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes you can! If you halve it, you’ll need 1/4 of one egg, or you can use 3/4 tsp of corn starch dissolved in 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of cold water as an egg substitute.
Yes you can! Freeze dough balls in the size of the cookie cup you want to make (see bake section of the recipe card below). Freeze in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Transfer to a freezer bag once frozen. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
You’ll need to press the indent in the center back down a bit after baking, as the dough will puff up. Use the back of a spoon. They’ll also de-puff as they cool.
No, as long as you grease the muffin pan well you shouldn’t need paper liners.
Recipe Variations:
- Chocolate Chips – Feel free to use milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips. You can also use a mix of chocolate and white chocolate chips or chocolate and peanut butter chips!
- Nuts – Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts if you like nuts in your cookies.
- Sprinkles – Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rainbow sprinkles to make these extra fun for kids!
- Peanut Butter Cookie Dough – Use the dough from my peanut butter cookies or Monster Cookies for a peanut butter or monster cookie dough base.
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups – Use the dough from my peppermint hot chocolate cookies to make hot cocoa cookie cups! Fill with marshmallow fluff – then be sure to invite me over!
- Chewy Sugar Cookies – Omit the chocolate chips to make deliciously chewy sugar cookie cups! Fill with cream cheese frosting and fresh berries.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Love:
- Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Jumbo Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (No chill!)
- Edible Cookie Dough Bites
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups (Nutella filled!)
Ingredients
- 9 tbsp salted butter, Start with 127 grams. You'll want 103 grams left after browning. See note below.
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed, 82 g
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar , 78 g
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 195 g
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
For Filling:
- nutella, peanut butter, or any other desired fillings, See other filling ideas in the blog post above.
Instructions
- Prep: Let butter soften a bit at room temp. Preheat oven to 350℉. A Note about Yield: This recipe is a smaller batch recipe. If you want, you can double it. As written, in the small batch amount, this recipe yields 7-8 tart-sized cookie cups or about 16 to 18 of the regular muffin pan size, or 35 of the mini muffin pan size.
- Brown the Butter (Optional!): Add butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter, stirring occasionally. Once it's melted, turn the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently. The butter will get foamy and bubbly, then turn a deep golden shade with a nutty, caramely aroma. (This will take about 4-6 minutes once the butter has melted.) Pour into a medium bowl, making sure to scrape in the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and allow to cool while you gather the other ingredients. It can still be warm – but not piping hot.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Add the sugars to the bowl with the butter, and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and combined, about 30-45 seconds. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the chocolate chips last.
- Bake: Spray your pans of choice with nonstick spray. For the mini tart pans, use about 3.5 ounces or 1/3 cup of dough for each. For the muffin tin, use about 2 ounces or about 2 generous tablespoons of dough for each. For the mini muffin tin, use about 1/2 ounce or 2 teaspoons of dough for each. Press the dough in and up the sides. Bake Tarts for 10 minutes. Bake cups in the regular size muffin tin for 8-9 minutes. Bake cups in the mini muffin tin for 6-8 minutes. Cookies should be a bit puffy and lightly browned around the edges when done. They may look a tad "wet" or underdone – they'll set up to the perfect soft baked consistency in the muffin pan as they cool, so don't be tempted to over bake!The centers will close up some during baking – gently use the back of a measuring spoon to help create an indent for the filling. They'll also de-puff a bit as they cool.
- Serve + Store: Once they're cool enough to handle, lift them from the pan with a spoon or butter knife. Or, flip the pan upside down on the counter and firmly tap the bottom with a butter knife to knock the cups out onto a cooling rack. Fill with nutella, peanut butter, ice cream, caramel sauce, or anything else you like! Enjoy immediately! Store leftovers (hehe, not likely) in an airtight container at room temp for 3-4 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really quick, easy and tasty recipe! Will definitely use it again!
But – I used a regular standard muffin tin and put around 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, as per the instructions, and only got 11 cookie cups and not 16+ as mentioned.
Hi Diana! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. I don’t think every standard muffin tin is actually the same size – I have two “standard” muffin tins that are actually different sizes when you look closely, and I can tell when I bake with them because cupcakes come out different heights & widths. I suspect that’s why the yield was different. Sorry about that!
Made last night. I did the big version, but amazing. Will make again!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Lync!