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.
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
- 190 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
- 150 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
Danit says
They looked really good, but when making them, I had to add another egg, because it stayed crumbs, no dough…
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Danit, so glad you enjoyed them. Were you able to measure the flour and cocoa using a baking scale? Sounds like you may have just added a bit too much flour and/cocoa. This is so easy to do when using cup measurements.
Jen says
I tried it, it’s really good but I just noticed that outside the cookie it feels a bit grainy to touch… inside it’s ok but the outside it’s a bit grainy feels
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jen, did you use regular brown sugar? Not raw or demerara?
Chaz says
I used dark chocolate bars from DollarTree, Hersheys Special Dark cocoa powder, and used a gram scale to measure exactly what you said except for the salt and baking soda. Mixing metric with America had to be sorted out. Each of 24 raw pastry balls weighed exactly 40g. These are wonderful puffy little cakes, but I wouldn’t call them cookies. I was reared that cookies were hard, crunchy, and milk was mandatory to choke them down! Smile.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Chaz, thanks for your feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed them. They definitely aren’t supposed to be hard and crunchy – more soft and chewy!
Bec says
This is the first time I have felt compelled to comment on a recipe simply because the actual result is identical to the images.
Beautifully thick cookies! An absolutely MUST add to your repertoire- thank you for a great recipe xx
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them Bec!
Crystal says
Really good but it’s a little bit to much Coco.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for your feedback Crystal.
Daniel says
Just made these I’ve never baked before in my life so followed every step and everything weighed exactly they are unbelievable I’ll definitely make these on the regular.great recipe try them you’ll not be disappointed
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Love hearing that Daniel!
Therese says
I love chunky cookies and these were amazing! Instructions were really easy to follow. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant! So glad you enjoyed them Therese!
Emily says
uhhhh… this was the most confusing cookie baking experience I’ve ever had in my life. the finished product is pretty good. It tastes better than it looks, but wow, the dough felt like kinetic sand. this was like entering the cookie twilight zone. the ratio of wet and dry ingredients had me questioning my ability to read and measure…. I’d still make it again though.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Emily, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Did you measure the dry ingredients using a baking scale? The dough shouldn’t be dry, if you keep mixing it should come together and be soft and easy to work with.
Aka says
Wow yummy!
Daisy says
Loved making these simply delicious cookies today!! The kiddos helped me and we had a good time trying them with some added candy coated chocolates. So fun!
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Daisy!
imsen says
That was an amazing and easiest way of making chocolate cookies at home. I am definitely gonna try this very soon.
Kate says
So easy to make, tastes great and I acually have all these ingredients on hand
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! Happy to hear that Kate!
Cassy says
What would I do if mine didn’t flatten as much as yours are and stayed pretty much together?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Cassy, if your cookies didn’t spread at all, try adding 35 grams (1/4 cup) less flour next time. Also, check out this post I wrote for tips on why cookies don’t spread.
Dasha says
wonderful recipe! thank you! delicious cookies!
Jessica Holmes says
So pleased you liked them Dasha!
Kay says
Wanted proper USA style cookies that you can’t seem to get in the UK…. Made this recipe and is was fantastic, cookies were thick and fudgy and chocolaty! My 2 small boys and husband loved them. I put a few white choc chips in as had some lying about which gave them some colour. 5 stars, definitely one for the family cookbook! Thank you.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Love hearing that Kay! So glad you and your family loved them.