I’ve been wanting to make chocolate sugar cookies for awhile.
But not just any sugar cookies because I don’t even really like sugar cookies.
Sugar cookies are usually too crispy, crunchy, and dry. Those adjectives don’t belong with cookies.
These cookies are moist, soft, and chewy. And thick. So you can really sink your teeth into them.
And I didn’t want white-sugar sugar cookies. Way too boring.
So I made them dark in two ways. With dark cocoa powder and dark brown sugar.
If you don’t have dark cocoa powder and run into snags trying to find it like I did for over two years, order it to save time and a headache. Or use regular unsweetened natural cocoa powder. Your cookies just won’t be as dark.
I tested and wrote the recipe with dark brown sugar rather than light, and recommend it. If all you have is light brown sugar, you can make dark brown sugar by stirring in about 1 or 2 teaspoons of molasses into the 3/4 cup dark brown sugar. It’s not a perfect conversion, but it’ll work.
The recipe has a very short ingredients list and the batch size is small, only making about 15 cookies.
The dough comes together in no time. Make sure to chill it before baking so your cookies bake up thick. Baking with unchilled, warm dough will result in thinner, flatter cookies.
Although they’re thick, the cookies stay soft from using cornstarch. I have written about cornstarch so many times and why I love it. It’s my secret weapon for creating super soft cookies that stay soft, but not cakey.
They’re fudgy, rich, intensely chocolaty, and not overly sweet.
I try to judge a cookie overall by the quality of the dough. These aren’t loaded up with add-ins, candy, chocolate chips or chunks, or anything else. Just boldly chocolaty dough.
Cookies with Reese’s Pieces and M&M’s are destined to be good. It’s what you get when you strip that all away and focus on the dough, sans fillers. And these cookies deliver.
They’re the cookies I recommend for bad days, PMS days, or when the chocolate monster is calling your name and nothing else will do.
I imagine some people would like to wash these down with a big glass of milk or a cup of coffee. I recommend red wine, Homemade Baileys, or champagne. It’s a holiday week, after all.
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Dark Chocolate Dark Brown Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed (I have not tried using light brown sugar)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened natural dark cocoa powder, I used Hershey’s Special Dark; regular cocoa powder or Dutch-processed may be substituted
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use an electric hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the remaining ingredients and mix on low speedy until just combined, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping 2-tablespoon mounds (I made 15). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat or spray with cooking spray and place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart although they don’t spread much. I bake 8 cookies per sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set. It’s hard to tell with dark cookies when they’re done, but do not bake longer than 10 minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool; baking longer causes cookies to set up too crunchy and crumbly. (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Thanks for the 25 Buttery and Cheesy Recipes and Kerrygold Giveaway entries
What’s your favorite chocolate cookie recipe or dark chocolate recipe?
Sooo chewyyyy!! Yes dark brown sugar and dark cocoa powder, heaven!
You know I LOVE chocolate, so these gorgeous cookies are for me!!! I want to sink my teeth in one right now. xo
Never in a million years would have thought to make brown sugar cookies! Let alone with chocolate. They look like pure brownies! They are simple, yet fancy. Nothing to take away from the perfect chocolatey dough! I love a nice, deeply dark chocolate cookie. :) They look like they’d be SO good crumbled on top of frozen yogurt. That’s what I’ve been doing lately with cookies anyway lol. Their thickness is impressive too, Averie! What a creative cookie recipe – I look forward to your cookies each week!
You know me well enough to know I dole out 1 a week. Some weeks it just hits me, YES…this is what I am making. Other weeks, I feel like it’s more of a challenge. I really loved my coconut oil softbatch brown sugar cookies so much – and although they don’t have chocolate/cocoa in them, they got my wheels turning. And I have a few solely brown sugar cookie bases, so thought it was time to put cocoa in, too. My cookies I am determined naturally stay thick b/c it’s so dry here. I almost WISH they flattened more…either that or it’s all that dough chilling I do. lol
And I know you’ve made that C.I. recipe for choc cookies, and they are good….but it’s a 5-bowl+ recipe. Cannot handle that most times!
You’re so amazing for going outside the box and making sugar cookies the non-traditional way. These babies rock – definitely need to make them soon. I’ve been on an ice cream sandwich kick so I would love these even more sandwich in vanilla ice cream – YUM!
They are PERFECT sandwich-cookie cookies, too!
I am so excited to try these! Growing up my favorite cookies were double chocolate chip. My tasted buds have since matured and I haven’t found a chocolate cookies recipe that can fill that special place in my heart! This could be it!
If you want my most amazing choc cookie recipe, make these
https://www.averiecooks.com/2012/12/quintuple-chocolate-fudgy-brownie-cookies.html
They’re many bowls and a bit of a pain – but worth it.
If you want quick and easy, make the cookies in this post. They are very good. But just based on ingredients list alone, cannot compete with the Quintuple cookies. Sounds like you have something in your mind you’re wanting the cookies to live up to, and i KNOW the Quint cookies will!
You know I love what ever you bake :)
A dark chocolate sugar cookie that is fluffy and moist? Yes! I love the way you think and add ons definitely aren’t necessary here. Simple and sweet. Looking forward to trying these babies out!
Fabulous! LMK if you try them. Knowing your boys and this batch size, they will last 24 hrs, max :)
Fabulous! I love any chocolate cookie and when you mix chocolate with dark brown sugar- well, my mouth just waters. I love World Peace Cookies for an all chocolate cookie. It is more of a shortbread type cookie but if you slice them thick when you bake you get this delectable chocolate butteriness. And they have a bit of salt and salt and chocolate always floats my boat!
https://thisishowicook.blogspot.com/2012/01/world-peace-cookies.html
Normally I am meh about shortbread cookies but this –> “this delectable chocolate butteriness” – that sort of seals the deal for me! And the fact that you were able to keep them thick, mmmm so good!
I happen to have a bag of dark cocoa right now, so these cookies would be the perfect use! Love how thick and chewy these are… I’m envisioning them topped with PB frosting and it sounds like a dream! :)
I am still thinking about your graham bread! It’s….stunning!
Oh my goodness, just look how thick these are! Love how rich and chocolate-y they look – I just want to reach through my screen and grab one. Just gorgeous, Averie!
thanks, Ashley! :)
I love that these are not overly sweet yet super chocolatey. Perfect in my book!!!!
Thanks, Colleen!
These look like a fudgy brownie! SO amazing. WANT!
These would not last very long in my house at all. My kids and I are both big chocolate lovers. I love how fudgey and dark these are.
You had me at dark chocolate!! These look so decadent!
Holy Cow! I can’t believe how THICK those cookies are! They look absolutely mouthwatering.
If these cookies don’t knock a chocolate craving out of the ball park then I don’t know what would. Delicious Averie!
LOL and I agree :)