Easy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Add Preferred SourceThese double chocolate chip cookies go from bowl to oven in about twenty minutes, with no dough to chill first. The deep chocolate comes from two places: cocoa powder in the dough and semi-sweet chips folded through. A cocoa dough bakes dark from the start, so it won’t brown to tell you it’s done, and I’ll show you the cue I go by.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- No dough to chill, so there’s nothing standing between mixing the batter and sliding a tray into the oven.
- Crunchy edges around a soft, almost fudgy center, which is the texture a cocoa dough does well.
- Deep chocolate from two places at once: the cocoa powder in the dough and the chips folded through it.
- They’re 100% vegetarian, and the only thing worth a glance at on the label is the chocolate chips, since some brands aren’t suitable for vegans.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder. It gives the dough its color and the first half of the double. Sift it in with the flour so you don’t get dry cocoa pockets. Leave the cocoa out, and you’ve basically got my soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies; here the cocoa is doing the real work.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips. These are the second half. Small or large, both work. I keep white chips for a separate batch rather than mixing them in here.
- Unsalted butter. Softened, not melted. Softened butter whips up with the sugar and holds its shape in the oven, while melted butter is what sends these spreading thin.
- Light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Both go in. The brown sugar brings moisture and chew, and the granulated crisps the edges.
- All-purpose flour. Too much flour is the quickest route to a dry, cakey cookie, so measure it with a light hand rather than packing the cup.
- One egg and vanilla. To finish the dough. There’s nothing to swap here; they’re doing standard cookie work.
How to Make Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Mix the dough
Sift the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt together and set them aside. Beat the softened butter with both sugars on medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the dry mix on low speed, just until it comes together, and fold in the chocolate chips last. Stop as soon as the flour disappears, because over-beating at this stage works the air in and can flatten the cookies.
Scoop and space
Heat the oven to 375°F (180°C) and line your baking sheet with parchment or a reusable silicone mat so the cookies lift off cleanly.
Scoop the dough into balls of about one and a half tablespoons and set them on the sheet two inches apart. They spread as they bake, and crowding them is how you end up with one joined-up sheet instead of separate cookies.
Bake and watch the edges
Slide the tray into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Take them out when the rims look firm, but the middles still look a touch underbaked, then let them settle on the hot sheet for a few minutes before you move them to a rack.
To get ahead, scoop the raw dough into balls, freeze them on a tray, and bag them once they’re solid. They bake straight from frozen; you just add a minute or two. Freeze the dough within a couple of hours of mixing rather than leaving it out on the counter.
If you want a different cocoa cookie altogether, my chocolate crinkle cookies are a cocoa dough rolled in powdered sugar so it bakes with a crackly white top.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Sift the dry ingredients. Cocoa clumps in the tub, and a quick sift with the flour keeps it from baking into dry pockets through the cookie.
- Let the tray cool between batches. With no chill step, a hot sheet melts the butter on contact, and the next batch spreads too far. Give the sheet a few minutes, or keep a second cool one going.
- Soft butter, not greasy. If you’ve softened it in the microwave and it’s gone oily at the edges, let it firm up again before you start, or the cookies spread.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the semi-sweet chips for white chocolate, or do half of each, for a sweeter, milder cookie. For an all-white batch, my white chocolate chip cookies take it further.
- Peanut butter chips in place of some of the chocolate ones add a nutty edge. If peanut butter is your thing, my peanut butter cookies are built around it.
- Fold in a handful of chopped toasted walnuts or pecans with the chips for crunch. Stir the nuts in at the end and keep the two-inch spacing.
- For big, bakery-style cookies, scoop the dough larger. I haven’t tested that size here, and a bigger ball needs a longer bake and a close eye so the center doesn’t stay raw.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. If you’re freezing the baked cookies, let them cool fully first and layer them with parchment so they don’t stick, then thaw at room temperature. They hold their texture well frozen, so I usually bake a double batch and stash half for later.
What to Serve With Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
A cold glass of milk is the obvious partner, and it’s the one I pour while the cookies are still warm. Coffee does the same job in the afternoon. For a proper dessert, warm a cookie for a few seconds and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or press ice cream between two for sandwiches.
If I’m putting out a spread for a bake sale or a get-together, I set these next to my cream cheese brownies so there’s a fudgy option alongside the chewy one.
FAQs
No. This dough bakes straight away, which is the main reason I make it on a weeknight. Chilling firms up the butter so cookies spread less, but this recipe is balanced to work without it, so you can scoop and bake.
Yes. A handheld or stand mixer makes creaming the butter and sugar quicker, but a wooden spoon and a few minutes of stirring can also get you there. The dough is stiff, so it takes a little effort once the flour goes in.
Almost always too much flour. Scooping the cup straight from the bag packs in more than the recipe wants, which dries the dough and puffs the cookies up. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off, or weigh it, and they’ll come out soft.
Go by the edges, not the color. The cocoa makes this dough dark from the start, so it won’t brown to signal it’s ready, and waiting for color is the usual mistake with a chocolate cookie. Pull the cookies once the edges are set, and the centers still look soft.
More Cookie Recipes to Try
If these are your kind of cookie, here are a few more I come back to:
- Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. For when I want chocolate with a bit more chew and heft behind it.
- Sugar cookies without butter. The ones I make when the butter dish is empty, and I still want something soft and sweet.
- Butter pecan cookies. When I’m after something nuttier and a little more grown-up.
- Christmas sugar cookies for the days there’s time to roll, cut, and frost a proper batch.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F/180°C
- In a mixing bowl, sift together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Using a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar, and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy. Then add your egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Then, on low speed, gradually mix in your flour mixture until combined, and then stir in chocolate chips½ cup unsalted butter, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup chocolate chips
- Using a scoop, scoop the dough mixture of approx. 1½ tablespoons onto a prepared baking sheet, approx. 2 inches apart
- Bake until the edges are golden, approx. 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy your cookies!
Notes
Nutrition
