This Chewy Chocolate Cookie recipe will be your new go to easy chocolate cookie. A super quick cocoa cookie, these can be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes and are made with pantry staples!
Hi hi! I am just popping in to share this chewy chocolate cookie recipe with you! These cookies kind of came about as an accident - I originally developed them as a base for my chocolate crinkle cookie recipe but was having some issues with the powdered sugar melting. So I switched to an oil based recipe, but this easy chocolate cookie recipe is so so good, I wanted to share it with you still!
These chocolate cookies are cocoa cookies, and are made with pantry staples - no chopping chocolate needed! (although they would be delicious with some chocolate chips or chopped chocolate added)
How to develop a recipe: Thick chocolate cookies.
I love writing about my recipe development and testing process. Now that I have been a baking blogger full time for quite a few years, I have developed a whole lot of base recipes that I often use as a kicking off point. I love tweaking my own recipes, and changing the ratios of ingredients to give a slightly different outcome.
For this chocolate cookie recipe I used my chocolate sprinkle cookies as a starting point. That recipe bakes up quite thin, and I wanted a slightly thicker, more substantial cookie, but still wanted a chocolate cookie that came together fast without any chill time. Here is what I changed to give a thicker cookie:
- Increased the flour. There are a few ways to get a cookie to be a little thicker, and changing the butter to flour ratio is one of them. Either you can decrease the butter in the recipe, or increase the flour to make the cookie spread a little less.
- Changed the ratio of sugars. The sprinkle cookies use only white sugar, which gives a cookie that spreads a lot and is quite chewy. I wanted some spread and chew while still keeping some of the thickness, so I switched out some of the granulated sugar for brown sugar.
How to freeze chocolate cookie dough
If you would like to make chocolate sugar cookies ahead of time, you can freeze the dough before baking and store in a freezer bag or ziplock. Leave off the sugar mixture and apply that just before baking - I like to give the dough 10 minutes or so out of the freezer to allow the surface to get slightly sticky so that the sugar sticks.
You will want to drop the oven temperature to 325°f / 165°c when baking cookie dough from frozen, and add a few more minutes onto the bake time.
For all my tips and tricks on freezing dough and cookies, check out my post: How to freeze cookie dough
Cookie coating and flavor options
If you would like to change up these chocolate cookies to suit your liking, here are a few ways to finish them, aside from rolling them in granulated sugar like I have. You can also add in mix-ins:
- Roll in cinnamon sugar. Rolling these chocolate cookies in cinnamon sugar would be a super easy way to make them extra delicious and festive!
- Chunky sugar / sparkling sugar: Everything is better rolled in a crunchy sugar. Use a turbinado sugar / demerara sugar to roll these in or a sparkly sanding sugar if you want something a little more textured.
- Add mix-ins. This is a cocoa cookie so fairly straightforward flavor wise. You can add things like chopped nuts or chocolate chips to them to fancy up the flavour as you like.
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
30 minute Chewy Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Chewy Chocolate Cookie recipe will be your new go to easy chocolate cookie. A super quick cocoa cookie, these can be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes and are made with pantry staples!
Ingredients
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 50g dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 200g brown sugar
- 100g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (50g not including the shell), at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Granulated Sugar for Rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line three baking trays with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined. Add the flour and cocoa mixture, and beat on low until just incorporated.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop 2 tbsp worth of mixture at a time (about 40g). Roll into a ball using your hands, then roll generously in granulated sugar. Place on the baking tray, leaving room to spread (I had 8 cookies per baking tray).
- Bake one tray at a time for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies have puffed up and are beginning to crack on the tops, and the edges are set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking tray for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
I played around with stuffing these chocolate cookies with cream cheese (the same way I filled them with caramel for my caramel stuffed chocolate cookies) and it worked super well. To fill these with cream cheese:
Make cookie dough as directed. To make the cream cheese filling, beat together 225g room temperature cream cheese and 50g powdered sugar until well combined.
Using a #24 cookie scoop, scoop balls about 3 Tbsp in size (about 75g). This makes 12 large cookies.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten a ball of dough with your hands. scoop 1 tbsp of the cream cheese filling onto the dough and then carefully enclose the filling with the cookie dough.
Flatten the cookie slightly so that it bakes down evenly (if you leave it as a ball the cream cheese will cause a hump when it bakes).
Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.
Roll the cookies generously in granulated or raw sugar and arrange on a baking pan - I do 6 per pan.
Bake as directed for 14-15 minutes, until set around the edges. Remove from the oven and scoot into a round shape using a slightly larger cookie cutter than the cookie. Leave to cool on the pan.
Comments
Liesje says
Erin does it again! These cookies are delicious, like a cross between a brownie and a cookie.
whenever I need a recipe cloudy Kitchen is the first place I look. have yet to have a failure when using her recipes (and accurate scales)
User2929 says
Wow!
These cookies turned out really good. I put the cookies in for 15mins and they cooked perfectly. Also it was really good with white & dark choc chips.
Little mushroom valley says
I didn't have a stand mixer and my butter didn't turn out light and fluffy but I kept going. Fortunately my cookies turned out good and so delicious! I even thought the flour was too much but I trusted the recipe knows better. Great simple and clear recipe!
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! If this happens again you can warm a little of the butter and sugar mixture and put it back in to help bring up the overall temperature of the butter and sugar which should help it to whip.
J Sa says
Such a perfect cookie when your pantry is low! Delicious and soft, they came together easily with a short bake time as well. Second time I made them I added white chocolate chips. I found both times I made them I had to bake for an additional 2-3 minutes.
HR says
these are really good. It was really easy to make and they tasted really good.
Jessie says
These cookies are addicting! I make the cream cheese-stuffed and plain versions and my family and friends love them, I have been making *at least* one batch per week per their request. The only thing I added was some instant espresso powder to add depth to the cocoa flavor; every other ingredient and step I followed to a T and they always turn our beautifully. This is an excellent recipe to add to your cookie repertoire!
Karen says
Brilliant recipe! Turn out perfect every time, bloody delicious! And so simple to make.
Allison says
Made these twice now and they were great! I use salted butter and reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp. So soft and chewy, and it's a really easy recipe to follow! Bakes up quickly too 🙂
Andrew Kavros says
Almost too good to share! My wife and I devoured these with impunity. Erin is THE first and last on all things baked.
angela li says
this recipe was really easy to make and tasted delicious! i would definitely recommend.
Caroline Žak-Duport says
My 5yo and I have been baking together most weekends since he's been 2. Usually we do something different every week, but since coming across this recipe, we've made these for the 4th week in a row now. They're just so, so, so good! We absolutely adore them.
We've made the cookies slightly smaller (to give us more to eat at the end 🤭🤣) and haven't bothered with the sugar coating, but honestly - just the most scrumptious and chewy cookie recipe we've ever come across.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Ashleigh says
Absolute top tier recipe for both ease and deliciousness. A fave in our house! Nailed it yet again thanks Erin!
Naima says
Hi! I just made these and they are great, but they didn’t melt in the oven, so when they came out they were still in balls…does anyone know why this happened?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! Did you make the recipe by weight?
Hannah Allsop says
I made these today with gluten free self raising flour (Coeliac Disease) so added 1 teaspoon of Xanthan Gum to the mix.
Forgot to roll in sugar!
Weighed at 30 grams each and baked for 11 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius as my oven incinerates anything baked higher 😆.
They are absolutely lovely!
Am looking forward to trying some more recipes just making them with GF ingredients.
Erin Clarkson says
Ahhh they look perfect! Thank you so much, these comments are so so helpful when people make things gf and report back! xx
Texas Grandma says
Easy, quick and yummy! I didn’t sprinkle any sugar on top after baking and my family still enjoyed them. Would have been helpful to use US measurements instead of grams, but I looked up the measurements and they turned out fine. Will definitely make again.
Erin Clarkson says
Happy you enjoyed! A scale is a great investment (and super affordable!) to have 🙂
Jane says
I might have tried this recipe if I could have found it. After 5 minutes of waiting through unnecessary text and ads, I never did find the recipe and gave up.
Erin Clarkson says
Oh no Jane. If only there were a jump to recipe button directly at the top of the page. You seem to have managed to find the comments section which happens to be below the recipe though, strange.
Aditi says
These were delicious. But weirdly for me they did not spread at all, even on the silpat! I am an experienced baker, followed instructions precisely, but I ended up with little nuggets that were not necessarily chewy but had a pleasant dense texture.
Also two cookies jumped in the oven, see photo. I guess my oven is possessed! I added mint sprinkles on a few for my kid.
Anyway, they turned it to be perfect for dipping in milk!
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, strange! did you make the recipe by weight? Happy you enjoyed them! If you make cookies smaller too they do tend to spread less! This looks like quite a lot of cookies on one sheet
Donna says
Erin, have made these chocolate cookies many times. We love them! I was wondering if it would be ok to roll in sprinkles? And btw love your responses to the anti-scale people out there. Hurray for scales less work and less dishes !!
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, yesss it will work great!
david bourke says
hi Erin, butter is expensive here in NZ so I use margarine but find the mixture soft and can not roll , I have tried adding more flour or reducing the margarine on different occasions but just cant get it right, when I use butter they are perfect and delicous, as they are with margarine hence why I wont give up, any suggestions as I'm sure others will be doing the same ?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, I would recommend making them with the butter
Alex H says
A go to cookie recipe for me - have made half a dozen times now, usually without rolling in sugar, but with some white choc added in - to recreate a flavour which is no longer manufactured by a popular NZ cookie company 😉
Nanci says
I would make these but I don't have a scale that works:(
Erin Clarkson says
You might need to get one then! 🙂
Jackie says
These are absolutely worth buying a scale for! Everyone in my family loves them!
Laura Thewes says
HI! Some of my cookies were super flat and the others were plump and cracked like the directions said. What did I do wrong to get so many flat cookies?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! You probably didn't combine your dough properly and would have had some butter pockets at the bottom of the bowl
Molly says
Delicious and easy to make. They were really soft, melty, slightly crunchy on the edge one of the best coockies i´ve ever had!
Lily brady says
Hey! Every time I've made these they've been perfect and everyone loves them, thank you! I was just woondering if they would stll be just as good if I did 50g cookies instead of 40g?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! Yep it will be fine they will just spread a tiny bit more 🙂
Helen says
I used this recipe to make teddy bear cookies, I doubled it and added the cocoa to one half and chocolate chips to the other, they came out great and perfect for my son’s teddy bear picnic! So yummy, would recommend.
Erin Clarkson says
Omg these are SO cute!!
Jocelyn Hett says
Amazing. I love the texture that Erin has in her cookies, with just a little crunch around the edge.
Story time: I made a bunch of the chocolate cookies a while back: these, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and Chocolate Sprinkle Sugar Cookies. They've been stocked in my freezer (for um.. months... don't judge me!) and I'll bake off a tray or so whenever we get a craving. I think I just had some of these because they were so soft and fudgy inside. Guests were very impressed these came out of the freezer and baked up so nicely.
I rolled this batch in skor bits (aka toffee bits) and it's bonkers yummy. Had to share the suggestion.
Erin Clarkson says
Yummmm skor bits would be SO good! So happy you love!
Tysin says
Can you use tapioca flour instead of flour
Erin Clarkson says
No sorry - they are totally different ingredients
Diane says
I followed the recipe but was very disappointed. Given the cost of the ingredients I put the batter into a cake pan and baked it and had it for dessert. It was fine but like a rock the next day.
Erin Clarkson says
If you put the ingredients into a cake pan that's an entirely different recipe you're rating now and can't have followed the recipe....
julie curnock says
Make these every week always perfect...
val says
I doubled this recipe, however, I wanted to fill half with cream cheese, to me the ratio of cream cheese and powdered sugar doesn't seem right. It ends up it weight by being one 8oz brick of Cr.Cheese to a 1/4 cup of P.Sugat
Although I did do the measurement in grams with a scale
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, the measurements are correct 🙂
AO says
My family and I absolutely loved these! The recipe was easy and came together beautifully. Perfect Friday sweet treat. They had a ton of chocolate flavor and were a great chewy texture!
Kristin says
This was my first time baking a Cloudy Kitchen recipe and I can't believe I've waited so long to do so. I made a batch on a whim on a Sunday evening after dinner and couldn't be happier with how easy it was to follow the recipe and how quickly it came together. These cookies are DELICIOUS. Not too sweet, even with the sugar coating, and perfectly, indulgently chocolatey. An instant add to my baking rotation for sure!
Nicole Mullen says
wonderful recipe. family favorite.
anton says
these are the best cookies ive ever made - appearance and taste wise! if you want to make a good cookie use this recipe it is a blessing to this earth
Molly says
Needing something for my daughter and I to do this weekend and we somehow managed to make these work even when I ran out of butter and had no brown sugar or molasses. I subbed in about 25 grams of honey to make the “brown sugar” component and then later I was short 100g butter so subbed about 5 tablespoons of veggie oil. They still turned out great magically! I weighed each dough ball to 35g and they were a great size and so satisfyingly chewy with beautiful cracks through the shiny sugary surface! Will make again!
Maire says
Hi, love the recipe thx! Could you explain the reason behind only baking one tray at a time? Thank you!
Erin Clarkson says
It just depends on how much you trust your oven! If you trust yours then go for it and do two at a time! I Just find they bake more evenly with one at a time
Jennie says
This will be my go-to chocolate cookie recipe from now on. Absolutely delicious. Thank you!