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.
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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
Serving Size: 1 cookie Calories: 335 Sugar: 29.1 g Sodium: 123.2 mg Fat: 16.1 g Carbohydrates: 46.3 g Protein: 4.9 g Cholesterol: 39 mg
Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.
Brandy says
These are great alone, but my kids and I love chocolate mint so I added mint chocolate on top. So good!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that sounds amazing Brandy! You could always add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the dough too!
Elle says
Don’t need a electric mister unless u hv hard butter but it’s fine if it’s melted. We added mint chocolates in the centre and they tasted so good and melted in our mouths.
Elle says
When I made it the dough was super dry and the flour wouldn’t blend in so I added a bit of milk and it helped a lot and they tasted wonderful
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback Elle! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Karen Strickland says
I want to add walnuts to this recipe. How much should I use. Should I change the amount of flour.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Karen, you sure can! Add 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts, no other changes necessary.
FERNANDA says
Hi Jessica, this recepie its really good, I have one question, if I make the dough balls about 20 or 25 grams to bake, how long should I let them bake in the oven. Because the 12 to 14 minutes I imagine is for the large cookies right? Another question, what happens if I use baking powder instead? what is going to change in the cookie?
THANK YOU
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Fernanda, I usually make 10-12 large cookies with this recipe. If you want to make smaller ones, just keep watch and see when the cookies have slightly spread and are no longer sticky on top. Keep in mind they will firm up as they cool. And baking powder is weaker than baking soda, so if you use the same amount, your cookies will be flatter.
Ananyaa says
Hi Jess! Can I use caster sugar instead of brown sugar?
Waiting for reply 😀
Thanks
Take care
Ananyaa
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, yes you can if you prefer.
Fernanda says
Hi Jessica thanks for your response.. another question I really love these cookies but it seem they don’t spread almost nothing.. I will like these cookies to spread a little more and not be like balls. Should I put less cacao? Less flour? More baking soda??
Jessica Holmes says
This recipe has been designed to create a cookie that doesn’t spread too much, but adding less flour will definitely help the cookies spread more. However, if you’re after a more regular-sized cookie, try this Chocolate Cookie recipe instead.
Lindsy Solomon says
Was hard to mix cold butter and dough was dry and crumbly. I popped it into oven thinking butter would melt n cookie would spread but it never moved and now i have chocolate cookie scoops that taste pretty good but are dry. I did not add the full two cups of chips, could this be why?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lindsy, this recipe is designed to make cookies that don’t spread much in the oven so they stay nice and thick – that’s why I’ve chosen to use cold butter. I’m glad you enjoyed the taste but if they were dry, it sounds like you may have added too much flour/cocoa powder. It’s very easy to do if you use cup measure so I recommend weighing them using a baking scale for accuracy next time.
Pj says
Needs vanilla!
Ash says
My family and I are obsessed with these cookies. They never make it to the next day!!! Popping them in the freezer before baking helps them stay super fudgey on the inside and oh so yum! I even have your recipe memorized haha =)
Thanks a bunch!
Jessica Holmes says
Aww that made my day! Thank you so much for saying!
Nina says
Do you use Dutch process or regular cocoa powder?
Jessica Holmes says
Either will be fine!
Rinki says
Hi! Thanks for the wonderful recipe shared by you. I tried them and they turned out to be divine.
But I have one doubt, are they completely soft after they cool down?
As the batch I made were hard outside and soft inside but after completely cooling they turned soft all over,
Is it OK?
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I think that sounds ok, they will firm up as they cool but they should still be quite a soft cookie.
Juli says
Hi! I want to make these today. Do you think I can add oreos to this for a chocolate cookies and cream cookie?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes definitely! Sounds delish!
Delfina says
Love with all my heart this cookies! very fudgy. Loves from Argentina!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Margaret O'H says
Great recipe Jess, thank you very much. I made them for my husband who is both the cookie monster and critic in our house and he is delighted with the treat. The poor bloke asked hopefully yesterday ‘are there any biscuits..?’ when I handed him a cup of tea, (we’re Irish, biscuits = cookies) knowing full well there wasn’t because I’m watching my diet. So today I felt so guilty I cycled to the shops for cocoa powder and before he even knew what was going on there was a delicious batch cooling on a rack when he came up for his lunch. He was over the moon with them. He confessed to having had three before the end of the day. Hey, it’s not my waistline.
I have never had a cookie-biscuit spread for me. I’ve tried chilled dough, warm dough, dry dough, moist dough, under-temp over-temp, five different ovens in recent years. It is all cookie voodoo to me, but I’m happy to keep trying. I’ve also never produced the same thing twice from the same recipe from the same oven, not even close – yet my mother produced the same-looking-tasting-textured apple tart winter or summer for forty years.
We’ve been in France for a few years now and the butter, flour and raising agents took a while to adjust to in baking terms, my breads and pizzas are now however (frankly) awesome – the base ingredients are just so beautiful. But I’m still working on my patisserie. With these (knowing they wouldn’t spread for me anyway) I added chopped nuts and and replaced some of the flour with whole rolled oats, plus a soupçon of spice and vanilla as per others here. My chopped chocolate was by-eye and culled from various jars and tins. A bit user-upper. I did them for 12 minutes then smashed the tops with the back of a spoon before sending them back in for a few minutes more. Result; chewy-middled, crunchy chocolately thick crispy loveliness, all looking the business. In summary, a super recipe to follow to the letter, but also a great starting base to go off-road with what you know you and your family love. It’s solid enough to withstand a bit of experimentation. Thanks Jess.
Jessica Holmes says
I love this Margaret! I’m so glad your husband enjoyed them! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. I also really enjoyed hearing about the changes you made – nuts and spices sound divine. And if you are looking for some answers about cookie spreading, check out this post, just in case there’s a little tip that might help in the future.
Margaret O'H says
Thank-you for the link. Perhaps I’ll try the recipe verbatim one of these days in pursuit of the magic ratio of fat to flour!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Haha do it!
Sophie says
This recipe is great! I just made them for Easter and they have such a good texture. I didn’t have cocoa powder so I substituted with Whittards hot chocolate powder and just reduced the sugar a bit which seemed to balance it out. They taste amazing and I can’t wait to share them with everyone!
Jessica Holmes says
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed them Sophie!
Harshi says
I want to try baking these cookies without eggs as I am a vegetarian. Can you please suggest a Substitute. I normally use ground flax seeds with water. Do you have a better substitute?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Harshi, I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs I’m sorry. If you do try it, let me know how it goes.
Cassy says
Apple sauce is a great substitute for eggs. 🙂