Bakery-Style Double Chocolate Cookies
Thick, dark, fudgy-centred cookies studded with melting chunks.
Before you start
A double chocolate cookie should sit somewhere between cookie and brownie: dark crumb, soft centre, chunks that stay molten. Cocoa replaces a fifth of the flour, which dries a dough out fast, so these carry an extra yolk and slightly less flour than instinct suggests. Underbake by a minute and let the tray finish the job.
Everything you need
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, soft
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 + 1 egg, plus 1 yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (43 g) cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- 1 cup (170 g) dark chocolate, in chunks
Weigh, don't scoop. Measuring flour by cups can overpack it and dry out your bake. Tap any ingredient to open its converter.
Method
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Beat the butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy, a full 3 minutes.
For this step
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
-
Beat in the egg, the yolk and the vanilla.
For this step
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
-
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together (cocoa clumps), then fold into the butter mix until barely combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
For this step
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
- 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (43 g) cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- 1 cup (170 g) dark chocolate
-
Chill the dough 30 minutes while the oven heats to 180°C / 350°F. Line two trays.
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Scoop into 18 fat balls and space them well apart. Bake one tray at a time for 10 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and the middles still look slightly wet in the cracks.
-
Rest on the tray 10 minutes. They finish cooking there, which is the difference between fudgy and dry.
Baker's tips
- You can't see golden brown on a chocolate cookie, so go by the cracks: set edges, moist-looking fissures, and out. When they look fully done in the oven they are overdone on the plate.
- Chopped bar chocolate beats chips here. The flat shards laminate through the dough and stay softer.
Make it your own
- Press a square of chocolate onto each hot cookie the moment the tray comes out.
- Swap ⅓ of the chunks for white chocolate for contrast, or add a pinch of espresso powder to sharpen the cocoa.
Storing & freezing
Airtight for 4 days at room temperature. The scooped dough freezes for 3 months and bakes from frozen with 2 extra minutes.
Frequently asked
How do you tell when chocolate cookies are done?
By the edges and cracks, not colour: edges set, centre puffed with moist-looking cracks. On a dark dough colour tells you nothing, and the tray carry-over finishes the middle.
Why are my chocolate cookies dry?
Cocoa is a sponge. Too much flour or a full bake dries the crumb, which is why this dough runs slightly low on flour, carries an extra yolk, and leaves the oven a minute early.
Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.
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A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.
Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.