These are the world’s best chocolate cookies. They stay delightfully chewy in the center with crisp edges, and are packed with both milk and semi‑sweet chocolate chips for an extra‑chocolaty bite.
Looking for more dessert recipes? Try chocolate chip walnut cookies, coffee cake bars, or caramel fudge brownies.
This recipe was first published on Feb 7, 2022.
I’ve tested and refined this recipe until the texture was exactly right: soft and chewy in the middle, with nicely crisped edges. A few key choices make a big difference—instant espresso powder to deepen the chocolate flavor, two types of chocolate chips for variety, and dutched cocoa powder for a richer, less acidic chocolate profile.
Dutched (alkalized) cocoa has a darker color and smoother, more rounded chocolate flavor than natural cocoa. You can usually find it next to regular cocoa powder at the grocery store. This recipe is written for dutched cocoa; using natural cocoa will change the flavor and the way leavening reacts.
These are large cookies—each uses about 3 tablespoons of dough, roughly double the size of a standard rounded tablespoon scoop. I strongly recommend sticking with the larger size; smaller cookies tend to bake through and lose that chewy center.
This isn’t a sponsored post, but I prefer Ghirardelli chocolate chips in this recipe—the chocolate quality and chunk size give especially gooey pockets of chocolate.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (do not use margarine)
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar (cane sugar preferred)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dutched cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup semi‑sweet chocolate chips
Dutched Cocoa vs. Natural Cocoa Powder
This recipe uses dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder. The label usually indicates if cocoa is dutched. Visually, dutched cocoa is a darker, richer brown while natural cocoa is lighter and more reddish-brown.
Dutched cocoa is less acidic and generally considered more neutral, which affects leavening chemistry. This recipe still uses a touch of baking soda because of the overall balance of ingredients and to achieve the ideal texture and flavor.
How To Make Chocolate Cookies
Cookie dough. In a mixer, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar for 2–3 minutes until light and slightly fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the whole egg and egg yolk, mixing until fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, dutched cocoa powder, kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda and instant espresso powder.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once and mix on low speed until no streaks remain. Stir in both types of chocolate chips with a large spoon.
Chilling. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes before scooping. Chilling firms the dough and helps control spread during baking.
Scooping the cookies. Use a 3‑tablespoon cookie scoop for large cookies. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place scoops of dough on the sheet, leaving enough space for spreading—about 7 cookies per standard sheet works well. Roll each portion into a ball and gently flatten with the palm of your hand.
Baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 10–11 minutes; the cookies should look slightly underbaked when you pull them out. Let them rest on the baking sheet until they are set enough to move without splitting, then transfer to a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool a further 15–30 minutes so the centers finish setting and reach the ideal chewy texture.
FAQ
This recipe is written for dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder. Using natural cocoa will change the flavor and how the dough reacts with leavening, so the result will be different.
These cookies are meant to be slightly underbaked when removed from the oven so the centers stay chewy. Let them rest on the baking sheet until they firm up enough to transfer to a rack; waiting 20–30 minutes yields the best texture and prevents them from falling apart.
You can, but the texture will differ. These proportions and the larger 3‑tablespoon size are designed to produce a chewy center with crisp edges. Smaller cookies tend to bake through and lose that chew.
More Cookie Recipes
- Best Pecan Sandies
- Chocolate Dipped Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Oreo Funfetti Cookies
- S’mores Cookie Bars
Chocolate Chocolate Cookie Recipe
These cookies deliver deep chocolate flavor with a chewy center and crisp edges, loaded with both milk and semi‑sweet chips.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup dutched baking cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- ¾ cup milk chocolate chips
- ¾ cup semi‑sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cream together butter, brown sugar and white sugar for 2–3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- Add the whole egg and egg yolk; combine on low speed until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and espresso powder.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low until fully combined.
- Stir in the milk and semi‑sweet chocolate chips by hand.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 20–30 minutes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 3 tbsp cookie scoop, drop scoops onto the tray, roll into balls and gently pat down.
- Bake for 10–11 minutes; they should look slightly underbaked when removed.
- Let them cool on the cookie sheet until set enough to move.
- Transfer to a wire rack once firm enough.
- Allow cookies to cool another 15–20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Ghirardelli chocolate chips work especially well here—the larger milk chocolate chips create extra gooey pockets of chocolate.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20
Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 339
Total Fat: 18g
Saturated Fat: 11g
Trans Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 6g
Cholesterol: 46mg
Sodium: 182mg
Carbohydrates: 41g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 29g
Protein: 3g
Nutrition figures are estimates from online calculators.