Rich and soft chocolate sugar cookies made with a secret ingredient! If you love chocolate, these decadent cookies are for you!
Something about the last few weeks of this pregnancy has me craving all things bread, ice cream and cookies! I’ve been pretty careful about balancing sweets with lots of healthy food, but lately that’s been a bit of a struggle. In hopes of keeping this little blog alive while we adjust to life as a family of 5, I’ve been working overtime in the kitchen. Thanksgiving and Christmas… I’m ready for you!! Our freezer is full of frozen cookie dough, half batches of soup, and lots of bread! The important stuff 😉
I had originally planned on posting these soft chocolate sugar cookies with you in December, but I just couldn’t hold out! They’re everything you want in a “drop” sugar cookie. Simple to make & easy to bake. No dough rolling or decorating required, although these would be pretty amazing dipped with white or dark chocolate and topped with peppermint pieces or festive sprinkles. Can you tell I’m excited for the holidays?!
Let’s talk about this recipe for a minute. The dough is made with a stick of soft butter and a stick of melted butter, which means it produces a nice soft & chewy cookie. It also means it needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour (reflected in the prep time). Do NOT skip that step. You’ll end up with super flat cookies.
Second, I used a dutch process cocoa which gave me dark cookies. You can use special dark cocoa or even your run of the mill natural unsweetened cocoa. Just use a quality product. The important ingredient (and my secret ingredient in a lot of my chocolate baked goods) is espresso powder. It is the ultimate enhancer. These cookies will not taste the same with out it, trust me. You can pick up a little jar of it next to all of the other coffee products, or it may even be located on the baking aisle in some stores. King Arthur Flour & Williams-Sonoma also sell it.
When you’re ready to bake off the dough, you can either roll it in sugar or leave the dough as is. The choice is yours! I love how these look (and taste) with the sugar on them, however they taste just as good without. Take care not to under or over bake them. You’ll know their done when the edges are set and the centers are soft but not gooey, about 8-10 minutes.
Let them cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, or long enough to not burn your tongue! Serve with a tall glass of milk and ENJOY!
Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - melted
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar - packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp expresso powder
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup +2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar - for rolling
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and espresso powder, mix until combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Refrigerate dough for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, set aside.
- Using a standard size cookie scoop (#40 or 1.5 tablespoons), scoop dough and roll in the granulated sugar, if desired. Place on prepared sheet, then bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be soft in the center but set on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Looking for more delicious chocolate cookie recipes? Try these:
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- 1 XXL Death by Chocolate Cookies – Sally’s Baking Addiction
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- The Best Bakery Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies – The Food Charlatan
- Fudgy Chocolate Cookies – Pretty. Simple. Sweet
- Fudgy Brownie Cookies – Life Made Simple
hey girl- these cookies look amazing! right up my alley!
These are GREAT! We forgot the espresso powder which would kick them up even more. Better than brownies.
hi!! isnit instant espresso powder or regular? thx 😉
Instant 🙂
Que cantidad significa 1c.?
One cup
Wow! I have a chocolate loving friend who can’t make to save her life, even from a box! She depends on me to fulfill her treat seseires so when she asked for a cookie that’s like a brownie, I knew I needed to look long and hard to find the best rrcupe. I bake often and sell some of my goods so I knew by reading this recipe it was going to be good. I just didn’t know HOW good. I’m amazed and thankful. Thank you for sharing your baking genius! To those trying to swap ingredients, DON’T! Make it as is and bake for 10min. Perfection. You’ll thank her.
Have added nuts , m&m minis and froze all works for me
Hi, It looks nice. But I have one question.
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, room temperature
It need two parts butter?
Hi Phoebe,
To get the correct texture, you melt one stick and leave one stick soft. It helps to create a chewy cookie 🙂
Can the dough be refrigerated longer? (ie put dough together tonight and bake tomorrow night?)
Yes!
Hi, Any chance of getting this in grams as i am not in US and sticks are different here. Thanks!
I was out of espresso powder so I used instant coffee granules. It won’t be the same but very close in taste. I used 2 tsp. Dissolved in the melted butter.
Sometimes I do that too!
Can I roll out the dough to make shapes?
I am going to make these with black cocoa that I have. I also have espresso powder that will make these really rich.
Hi, Can I use table salt instead of kosher sea salt? I have only coarse kosher salt and coarse sea salt on hand.
Thanks,
Andrea
Yes, I just updated the recipe to include table salt, you will only want to use 3/4 teaspoon because it’s a lot finer.
First off, the cookies are delicious! My only problem was that the cookies did not really spread or thin out. I ended up pressing prior to baking 🙁 Could it be that my baking soda is old? I have also read baking powder should be used instead of baking soda with dutch processed cocoa (which i used). My first time using dutch process so i was curious what the differences were so i did research prior to making these 🙂 Is it worth trying my next batch with double the amount baking powder to see if more effective?
I had the same problem. I had to mash them with a glass or they were just giant balls of half cooked dough.
Sorry to hear that. I haven’t had that issue. Perhaps try only chilling the dough for 15 minutes, or not at all.
Made these for my very picky family, HUGE SUCCESS
Everyone loved them! Will DEFINITELY be using this recipe frequently. Thank you for sharing
These taste amazing! They are like the Archway chocolate cookies- I love them!
These look so delicious. Can you freeze the dough for future baking?
You sure could 🙂 Hope you like these!
What about substituting gluten-free flour?
I personally have not, but you for sure could 😉 Enjoy!
I am not a fan of coffee. Is the taste of coffee noticeable?
It’s not over-powering. I wouldn’t like them, if it was. It is a slight taste!
How many cookies does this make?
About 2 dozen 🙂 Hope you like them!
Loved them. Thanks for the recipe.
You are welcome!! I am glad you liked them & glad you let me know!
Love this chocolate version!! They are delicious!! They were so soft!
The look amazing! Soft and Chewy Cookies are the BEST! Making these this weekend!
These are wonderful!! I sell cookies at Christmas and my 14 year old couldn’t get enough of them! I rolled mine in turbinado sugar because I like the way it looks after baking. Great cookies . Thanks!
You are welcome! I am glad you tried them & that they were a hit!
Can’t wait to try these cookies! I love chocolate and sugar! 😍 I just have one question. How long should I thaw them or just bake them right out of the freezer? Well I have two questions, sorry. How long do they keep in the freezer?
They are so good! If you were to freeze the dough, I would get it out the morning of. I haven’t tried baking them right from the freezer, but I am sure that would work too. The dough would last a few months. I tend to not leave it in there longer.
Do these cookies get flat when baked? I made a Dutch cocoa cookie recipe and they always get flat. I am trying to find a cookie that tastes similar to the Archway Dutch Chocolate cookies.
Yes, they do flatten, but are super yummy 🙂
I just made these and they are amazing!!! I baked them for 10 minutes and they were absolutely perfect!!
So happy to know that you liked them! Thank you for letting me know that 🙂
Oh my goodness they were sooooooooooo good!My dad ate like, half the dough before it was cooked!
LOL…yeah, that happens over here, too! So happy you liked them! Thank you!
OKay quick question about the 2 tbsp of cocoa powder… Is that supposed to go into the dough as well or is that to add to the sugar for rolling? I feel like it is such a silly question hahah
Just a tiny bit confused… ThANK YOU 🙂
It goes into the dough, in step 3. So, it’s 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of cocoa powder. Hope that helps & hope you like the cookies!
These are my absolute FAVOURITE chocolate sugar cookies! I’ve made them so many times and almost always have a ball of dough in my freezer ready for me when I crave them. Amazing recipe!
That makes me so happy! Thank you for saying that!
These cookies look amazing. I love the recipe; thanks for sharing it.
Thank you! I love sharing recipes that I love!
Absolutely delicious chocolate cookies! They are like a much better version of an Archway chocolate cookie.
The only thing was that I did have to flatten them a bit before baking. I tested one first, without flattening, and it didn’t spread at all when baked, it was just a chocolate ball. But, they came out perfectly when I flattened them with the bottom of a glass before baking. In my oven, they baked for 11 minutes.
Thanks so much for the recipe! I love chocolate cookies and these are perfect. Now, I have to go check out your other recipes!
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies. Hope you find some other recipes you enjoy!
These were so good! I made a simple icing and made them into homemade Oreos and they were so perfect!
Oh, wow! You took an already amazing cookie and made it even better.
These are the BEST chocolate cookies. I am obsessed. And so is everyone I’ve baked them for. Absolutely scrumptious. Game changer! THANK YOU!
Hi Amberly, so glad you love them like we do!