How to bake just two chocolate chip cookies

Freshly-baked cookies are a once-in-a-while treat by necessity, as any home baker will tell you. There is the licking of the spoon, the taste-testing, the batch of 40 plus cookies that suddenly becomes a batch of 35 and so on. And unless you are blessed with a super metabolism or terrific willpower, it's very hard (nearly impossible!) to eat just one or two homemade cookies. So, what to do?

Inspired by the brilliant idea of a food blogger at No.2 Pencil, I took the Chatelaine Kitchen's ultimate chocolate-chip cookie recipe and reduced it over and over again until it became a recipe for just two ultimate chocolate chip cookies. With this super-small batch for one (or two if you're sharing), it is amazing how satisfied you can be with a couple of warm cookies. Give it a try:

Two Chatelaine ultimate chocolate chip cookies
Prep 5 min Total 15 min

1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened 2 tbsp lightly packed brown sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/4 tsp vanilla 3 tbsp all-purpose flour 1/8 tsp baking soda pinch of salt 2 tbsp chocolate chips

PREHEAT oven to 350F (180C). Lightly spray a baking sheet with oil. In a small bowl, stir butter with brown sugar until creamy. Stir in 1.5 tsp lightly beaten egg and vanilla until fully incorporated. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

SPOON chocolate chip cookie batter onto baking sheet in two equal mounds, about 2 tbsp apart.

Bake in centre of oven until cookies are golden around the edges, from 8 to 10 min. Remove sheet to a heatproof surface and leave for 2 min. Then remove cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Tada! I was amazed at how well these chocolate chip cookies turned out. Ironically, I likely ate a full batch perfecting this recipe - but that's a bit of an occupational hazard! I'm addicted to this concept - and think I 'm going to adapt all my favourite cookie recipes to single servings. When I do, I'll be sure to post them.