The BEST thick and chewy BIG Chocolate Cookies. These Double Chocolate NYC Cookies are soft and fudgy and filled to the brim with chocolate. There’s no need to chill the dough so they’re ready in 30 minutes!
BEST EVER Chocolate Cookies! 💜 If you love thick and chunky New York-style cookies that are soft and pillowy and packed with loads of chocolate, you’re going to fall madly in love with my BIG Chocolate Cookie recipe!
They’re so easy to make and are sure to satisfy every chocolate craving. Just like my favourite Copycat Levain Bakery Cookies, these cookies use cold butter.
And even though there’s no need to chill the dough, you’ll be rewarded with a big fat cookie, that’s almost brownie-like inside. Let’s go! ❤️
Why you will love this recipe
- Thick and fat: These Double Chocolate Cookies hold their shape when baked, making them extra thick and chunky (but still soft and fudgy inside!).
- Quick to make: With no need to chill the dough, you can have these cookies ready to eat in under an hour.
- Simple ingredients: You only need a handful of regular pantry ingredients. And you can adapt the chocolate mix-in’s to your liking.
- Make-ahead: You can make the cookie dough ahead of time, and bake the cookies whenever a chocolate craving hits!
I’ve baked these a couple times now and can say you’ve hit the jackpot with this recipe. I’ve baked a lot of cookies in my life but this one is a class of it’s own, ultimate fave!
– Christina
Recipe testing
Ever since I made my Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies, I’ve been obsessed with making super chunky cookies at home.
Since discovering that COLD BUTTER makes the most gloriously thick and buttery cookies, I’ve made so many NYC-style cookies.
There’s been Biscoff Cookies filled with cookies and white chocolate, Caramel Coconut Cookies showcasing the magic of toasted coconut, and don’t even get me started on my Gingerbread NYC Cookies or my Chocolate Peppermint Cookies.
But now we’ve made a Double Chocolate Cookie. Somewhere between a cookie and a brownie, these cookies are soft and chewy with melted chocolate in every single bite.
Complete with big chunks of hand-cut chocolate, chocolate chips AND plenty of cocoa powder, these are reserved for true chocolate lovers only.
Ingredients
The best part of this easy Chocolate Cookie recipe is how few ingredients you need. In fact, you probably have everything you need in your pantry right now!
Here are a few notes on the ingredients to keep in mind, including any substitutions you can make.
- Butter: Make sure your butter is cold, straight from the fridge. This will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much when baked.
- Brown sugar: This recipe only used brown sugar (no caster sugar or white sugar). Regular or light brown sugar is best, rather than dark brown sugar.
- Cocoa powder: I recommend using natural, unsweetened cocoa powder. You could also use dutch processed cocoa powder if you prefer.
- Chocolate chunks: I like to use a block of dark chocolate (between 50-70% cocoa) and chop it up by hand. The irregular-sized chocolate chunks help make each cookie extra gooey.
- Chocolate chips: Add in some chocolate chips as well for a variety of textures. You can use milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips. Or mix it up with peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Chocolate Cookies from scratch
These cookies couldn’t be easier to make. I do recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment if you can. Working with cold butter can be hard for a hand-held electric mixer (but not impossible).
Step 1: Add cold butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Step 2: Beat on medium speed until combined and smooth. Add egg and mix again just until combined.
Step 3: Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until a soft, chocolate-y cookie dough forms.
Step 4: Roughly chop chocolate using a straight-edged knife.
Step 5: Add chocolate chips and hand-cut chocolate to cookie dough. Mix briefly.
Step 6: Portion out the cookie dough (roughly 1.5 tablespoons each) into balls, keeping them rustic and tall.
Step 7: Place cookie dough balls on baking trays, leaving room in-between.
Step 8: Bake for 12 minutes. Leave cookies to cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with sea salt.
COOKIE THICKNESS
This recipe is designed to make thick cookies. If you have trouble with cookies spreading, bake one cookie first. If it spreads too much, chill the dough for 30 minutes, then try again.
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Jess’s recipe tips (our cookie secrets)
- Cold butter: A big part of what makes these cookies thicker than regular cookies has to do with the temperature of the butter. While most cookie recipes rely on softened butter or melted butter, this recipe calls for cold butter. It helps the cookies not to spread too much in the oven. No flat cookies here!
- Extra flour: We also add a little extra flour to combat too much spreading – but make sure you measure it using a kitchen scale so you use the exact right amount. Too much flour and your cookies will be dry.
- LOTS of chocolate. The big chunks of chocolate also help to ensure these Chocolate Cookies are super thick and chunky – so don’t skimp! I like to do a mix of chocolate chips and chunks chopped by hand. Keeping in mind that chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape when heated, while a block of chocolate will provide those melty puddles we love!
Storing leftovers
Storage instructions: Once completely cooled, you can keep these cookies or any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make-ahead instructions: Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies or even freeze the cookie dough. To bake, bring the cookie dough back to room temperature and then bake as per the instructions below.
To enjoy warm, simply microwave for 10 seconds or so until gooey again.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
BIG Chocolate Cookies
Big, soft and chewy Chocolate Cookies made from scratch.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, COLD (straight from the fridge), roughly chopped
- 180 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
- 1 large egg, cold
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 40 grams (1/2 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 150 grams (1 cup) dark chocolate block (50-70% cocoa), chopped by hand
- 160 grams (1 cup) milk chocolate chips
- Sea salt flakes, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add cold butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until combined and smooth.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add egg and beat again on low speed just until combined.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and beat on a low speed until soft cookie dough forms. It might look dry at first (see notes below) but keep mixing and it should come together to form a chocolate cookie dough within 30 seconds.
- Add chocolate chunks and chocolate chips and beat briefly. Scoop out cookie dough, roughly 2 tablespoons per cookie, and piece together into rustic balls. I like to pinch and squeeze the dough together to form a ball rather than roll it smooth – this will give you a more lumpy, bumpy cookie with a textured finish.
- Place cookie dough balls on prepared oven trays, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
- Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes. Leave cookies to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool. Sprinkle cookies with sea salt.
Notes
Cold butter: Cold butter is magic for making thick cookies. I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one as it can take a bit of muscle to mix together the butter and sugar. If you only have a hand mixer, it’ll just take a bit longer. But if you’d rather use softened butter, you can. I just recommend chilling the dough for 1-2 hours before baking to achieve the same thickness.
Cookie dough: If you want to make textured cookies like mine, you want to scoop the dough and then sort-of just piece it together. I call this the ‘pinch and squeeze’ method. There’s no need to be perfect – and there’s no need to roll them smooth. Misshapen and messy is best!
Chocolate: You can use any chocolate you like. I like to use a block of dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips, but you can use all milk chocolate, all dark chocolate or even white chocolate for a tuxedo cookie.
Cookie spreading: This recipe should create a thicker cookie, however, if you’re worried about your cookies spreading too much in the oven, bake one tester cookie first and see how it goes. If it spreads too much, pop your cookie dough in the fridge for one hour and try again.
Leftovers: These cookies are soft and fudgy when fresh. They will firm up over time. I recommend heating leftover cookies in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to make them melty and gooey again.
Storage: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. You can freeze the cookie dough and simply bring it back to room temperature to bake on demand.
Reader feedback: Some readers have mentioned to me that their cookie dough looked dry. It will look dry at first (see my cookie dough below) but keep mixing and it should come together within 30 seconds. If it is actually too dry, you have added too much flour and/or too much cocoa powder. Make sure you measure your ingredients using a kitchen scale for best results.
Nutrition Information
Valerie says
Hello. I would like to try this recipe. But I think it’s to much. How long can I keep the leftover dough in refrigerator? Can I keep the cookies in room temperature
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Valerie, you can but it might be worthwhile freezing the cookie dough if you only want to cook half of it. That way, they’re ready to go when you need them. Just thaw and bake!
Daisy says
I want to make 1/2 of the recipe to test it out first how much egg should I add. Would I have to measure it?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Daisy, I haven’t tested half the recipe, but yes you’d likely use just half an egg. Otherwise, you can make the full batch and just freeze half the cookie dough for next time.
Sheila says
So I decided to do this recipe today on a blustery winter day lol….OMG! I did double the batch, but what I did differently was 1. I softened the butter 2. I added a 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1 egg and 1 yolk only….I also added vanilla chips along with the chocolate chips. And wow! just wow! my sons 21 & 33 said they were so good they thought they would go into a coma lol…My 21 yr old had to save some to share with his buddies…it was hard at the end to mix with the hand mixer, but I did get through it…Koodoe’s to this recipe! I took pics that I wanted to add but didnt see anyway of uploading them. I got 2 doz exactly out of doubling the batch and used an ice cream scoop to make the cookies.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sheila, so glad you and your sons loved these! I just made a batch today and I can’t get enough. If you’d like to show me a photo, feel free to share with me on Instagram using #sweetestmenu
Kai says
Amazing! I melted the butter because I don’t have the patience to try and cream cold butter, and I just used a wooden spoon instead of a mixer, and then my hands to form the dough, and it was great! At first I didn’t think the dry ingredients were going to mix into the dough but they did! I managed to make 18 medium sized cookies, and I only used 100g of chocolate chips and that seems fine. (Also for the last one I put some Nutella in the centre and covered it in dough and it was incredible!)
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Kai!
Cathy M says
I doubled this recipe because I was making a lot of cookies. I measured all of the dry ingredients and sifted them together in one bowl. In a separate bowl I placed the cut up cold butter and brown sugar. I used my hand mixer. The butter and sugar didn’t immediately cream together. There was a lot of sugar spinning out of the bowl. I had to keep stopping and smashing the butter with a fork until it finally began to blend with the sugar. I decided at this point, if I make these again, I will use softened butter and then refrigerate the dough before forming cookies. I added the eggs, then mixed the wet and dry ingredients. There wasn’t enough wet for the dry. At this point, I could smell the motor in my mixer getting hot. I added a couple tbsp of water and was able to finish mixing. I added the chocolate chunks and mixed with my hands. Split the dough into three and added milk chocolate chips to one, espresso chips to one and peanut butter chips to the other. The first batch i scooped and dropped and they never spread even a little. The next I hand rolled and pressed. The cookies are good, but the process wasn’t. Perhaps it is not a recipe that doubles easily.
Jessica Holmes says
Hey Cathy, thanks for your feedback. I haven’t had any issues creaming the cold butter but I do use a stand mixer with a paddle beater attachment so perhaps it’s a bit more powerful and sturdy than a hand mixer. I don’t usually recommend doubling recipes as if there’s any error, it’s even more amplified. If the cookies didn’t spread, you may have added too much flour and/or cocoa. I’ve got a step-by-step video on my Instagram Highlights called Big Cookies that shows me making my Levain Cookies which uses the same method that might be useful.
Larry says
What is missing I have a bowl of powder no liquid = no cookie dough
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Larry, that doesn’t sound right. When you beat the butter and sugar, even though the butter is cold, it should still combine and go creamy – it’ll just take a little more elbow grease.
Paula says
Omg amazing they even looked like the picture
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that Paula!
Kristine says
You can’t even mix it, cold butter doesn’t even melt the brown sugar the dough is strong like a stone I would not dare even to use my hand mixer. The taste is good but i used soft butter and they came out perfect.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kristine, if the butter is chopped, you shouldn’t have a problem using an electric mixer. So glad you enjoyed them!
Angella says
I absolutely love this recipe, I like my cookies big with chocolate chunks.
I wonder if you have a recipe to do this type of big cookies with nutella in the center.
Thank you!!! xx
Angella says
I’ve seen you have one 😅 but, is a chocolate cookie, do you have a recipe but with the standard flavour of cookies?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Angela, I do have a recipe for Nutella Stuffed Cookie Cups you might like to try.
Nicole R says
This recipe is really good but my cookies did not spread out. They remained like little balls(But they tasted perfect). What I did for the second batch was press them down with the flat end of a glass to make them even and they came out great.
I substituted butter for country crock plant butter so that might have to do with the cookies not spreading.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Nicole, glad you enjoyed them! These cookies don’t spread a whole lot because I’ve tried to formulate the recipe to create thick cookies. But if they didn’t spread at all, you may have over measured the dry ingredients, or it may be because of the butter you used like you said.
Tjay bierman says
They are amazing
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you like them!
Lisa says
Awesome! Worked out really well the first time. I had to put the remaining dough in the fridge as my kitchen was getting too warm.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Lisa!
Teri says
I just want to say thank you for sharing this delicious chocolate cookie recipe! Easy to follow and so yummy to eat. My whole family loved them and couldn’t get enough of them. I will definitely make these a family recipe! Thanks again! 😊
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so happy to hear you love them as much as I do Teri!
Jackie says
The best cookies ever!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you love them Jackie!
Yvonne says
Hi. Do I need to melt the chocolate chunk before adding into the batter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Yvonne, no the chocolate chunks are just added to the cookie dough like you would with regular chocolate chips.