These soft-baked double chocolate chip cookies are rich, fudgy chocolate cookies loaded with melty chocolate chips and finished with a touch of flakey sea salt.
Soft and Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
These double chocolate chip cookies are soft-baked and fudgy in the middle (a must), packed to the hilt with melty chocolate chips (obviously), and finished with flakey sea salt (try it, you’ll see!).
I’ve taken my chewy chocolate chip cookies, filled them with cocoa powder, and amped up the brown sugar. The result is soft, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookies with enough fudgy flavor to more than satisfy any chocolate craving.
Why You’ll Love These Fudgy Chocolate Cookies
- Double the chocolate. Chocolate is the star of the show. Every bite is filled with rich fudgy flavor and melty pockets of dark chocolate chips, met with a sprinkle of flaked sea salt for an irresistible sweet-salty contrast.
- Quick. Have your fudgy double chocolate chip cookie dough ready for the oven in 10 minutes. No chilling the dough!
- No special equipment. You can easily make this dough with a hand mixer. If doubling the recipe for a larger batch, you might want to consider using a stand mixer.
Ingredient Notes
Double the chocolate, double the fun. Below are some notes on the key ingredients. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe and ingredients list.
- Melted Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Cocoa Powder – My favorite is Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, but other types of cocoa powder also work, see below.
- Chocolate Chips – Semi-sweet or unsweetened dark chocolate, or any kind of chocolate chips that you prefer.
- Sea Salt – A sprinkle of flaked sea salt, like Maldon salt, over the finished cookies is magic!
What Type of Cocoa Powder Is Best for Cookies?
My preferred cocoa powder for these chocolate chocolate chip cookies is Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate cocoa powder (linked above and in the recipe card). It gives the cookies a richer, fudgier flavor and produces very consistent results.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is my next favorite option, or you can use a natural unsweetened cocoa powder, though the flavor and color won’t be as fudgy. Learn more about the differences in my resource post on natural vs. Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
How to Make Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’re impatient (like yours truly) then these fudgy chocolate cookies are meant for your kitchen! You don’t need to chill the dough, and you’ll have them ready for the oven in minutes:
Step 1: Combine the wet ingredients. First, cream the melted butter with brown and granulated sugar, then add an egg, and vanilla.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients. Next, whisk together flour with cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet batter to form the dough. It has a similar consistency to brownie batter, but will thicken a bit as it settles. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Step 3: Scoop the dough. Portion the chocolate cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet using a large cookie scoop. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with flaked sea salt (see below photo).
Step 4: Bake. Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 9-11 minutes. You’ll want to take the cookies out when they’re slightly underbaked. They’ll continue to set up on the baking sheet, after which you can move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Even if you’re a beginner baker, you can rest easy knowing that these double chocolate chip cookies will turn out perfect! Follow these tips:
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- Use a silicone baking mat or line the baking sheet with parchment paper. This keeps the bottoms of the cookies from over-browning and prevents over-spreading.
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- Don’t overbake. The secret to thick, soft, and gooey double chocolate cookies is to take them out of the oven before they’re fully baked and let them finish baking on the sheet.
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- Fix cookies that have spread. Right after baking, take the flat edge of a knife, spatula, or angled spatula, and gently press the edges of the cookie back toward the center. The cookies need to be fresh from the oven for this to work.
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- For a prettier presentation, set aside a handful of chocolate chips and then press them into the tops of the cookies right when they come out of the oven.
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- More add-ins. Change up the add-ins depending on your preference and the season. In addition to or instead of chocolate chips, make double chocolate peppermint cookies for the holidays, or try chocolate peanut butter cookies.
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- Super-size these cookies. Check out my recipe for giant chocolate cookies for a jumbo-sized version.
Can I Make The Chocolate Cookie Dough Ahead?
These are best when baked when the dough is prepared. I find that as the dough sits (or after it’s been refrigerated or frozen), the cookie don’t bake up as nicely. However, baked cookies freeze like a charm. See below for freezing the baked cookies.
How to Store and Freeze
- To Store. Store your chocolate cookies in an airtight container once they’ve completely cooled. They’ll stay fresh at room temperature for up to 4-6 days.
- Freeze. You can also freeze the baked cookies airtight for up to 2-3 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature or microwave the frozen cookies for approximately 15-20 seconds before serving.
More Chocolate Chip Cookies to Try
- Andes Mint Cookies
- Cookie Monster Cookies
- Giant Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 large cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft-baked double chocolate chip cookies are fudgy chocolate cookies loaded with chocolate chips and finished with a touch of flakey sea salt.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) Unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (110g) Light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (48g) Granulated sugar
- 1 Large egg
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) Pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (105g) All-purpose flour
- ½ cup (55g) Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¾ cup (135g) Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Melt and cool the butter for a few minutes. Combine the melted butter with the brown and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Next, add the egg and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Stir to combine add the dry ingredients into the dough, mixing on low speed until the dough starts to form. Before the dough thickens, add the chocolate chips and finish mixing with a spatula.
- Scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop and place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake for 9-11 minutes. The center of the cookies should be slightly under-baked but not too gooey. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Chocolate chips: Any type of chocolate chips can be used
- Cocoa powder: My preferred cocoa powder is Hershey’s special dark. A Dutch processed cocoa powder is my next favorite option, but an natural unsweetened cocoa powder will also work.
- Butter: I’ve made this recipe with both salted and unsalted butter. Either will work. If using salted butter, reduce the added salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
- Pro tip! Right when you pull these from the oven, place a few chocolate chips on top of the cookie for extra chocolate goodness.
- Storing and Freezing these cookies: These are best stored in an airtight container once completely cooled. You can also freeze these baked cookies in an airtight container. Microwave the frozen cookies for approximately 15-20 seconds. To freeze, I would recommend freezing single scoops of dough, thawing to room temperature and then bake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 263
- Sugar: 23.6g
- Sodium: 191.8mg
- Fat: 14.2g
- Saturated Fat: 8.6g
- Carbohydrates: 34.3g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 3.4g
- Cholesterol: 43mg
Excellent
Thank you!
These are my absolute favorite cookies ever! I bake these so often and they are so easy to make. They’re always a hit and make great gifts!
That is amazing! Thank you so much Christina! I just made a batch last week.
So rich and so good. Perfect with a cup of milk. I used unsweetened cocoa powder since I didn’t have the dark chocolate, and it came out delicious.
Thank you so much Bella! I am so glad you enjoyed them!
These are absolutely incredible! I found this recipe, then lost it, then found it again. I have now bookmarked it and plan on making these all the freaking time.
I am so happy you’re back Nicole! Thank you!
I made these for my family today and wow they were amazing! I used hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder because i didn’t have the dark chocolate one but they still came out great!! Perfect for dipping in milk 🥛 😍
Sounds so perfect Jackie! Thank you for sharing!
These cookies are so good!! I needed a relatively quick recipe, one that didn’t require chilling, and I hoped that Julianne would have one. This recipe was perfect! I made a few minor changes (used Dutch process cocoa, which worked wonderfully, and some white chocolate as well as the milk). Overall, they turned out fantastic–soft and tender, with amazing flavor. They taste so good with a tall glass of cold milk! This is definitely a new favorite; thanks, Julianne!
Amazing Erin! I love the mix of white and milk chocolate and I am SO glad you loved these!
My cookies came out great and they spread as well! Left off the salt. And only had unsweetened natural cocoa powder so used that. Truly delicious. Next time i will definitely double the batch to make more! Thank you!
Woohoo! Thank you so much Rinki!
Delicious cookie. I substituted one 1 t. Peppermint extract for half the vanilla and topped with pieces of peppermint bark when they were warm out of the oven for a holiday twist.
Thanks Bev, I am so glad you enjoyed.
These were fun to make and turned out super cute when I added Reese’s pieces on top instead of chocolate chips. I made them for a friend and I was hoping for some leftovers but it only made one dozen cookies! I wish I would have noticed this before I started baking. I guess I’ll have to make them again. 😊
Thanks for sharing Shannon! I love them with peanut butter too!
Once again your recipe is spot on!!!! I made these today with Toll House Espresso chips and another batch with Bailey’s chips. Because of the flavoring of the chips, I didn’t add the salt on top. These are SOOO good! Thank you again for sharing your amazing talent with us!!!
Okay I think I am going to have to make that because I love both the espresso chips (they taste just like coffee!) and the Baileys chips! So good! Thank oyu for sharing!
These cookies are DELICIOUS. The richness of the chocolate paired with sea salt made them both savory and sweet. I gave these to my family for a bday treat and they all commented on how they looked like professional cookie store cookies. My cookies baked how I hoped – didn’t spread too much but also settled into their shape. I kept them rather large portions but it helped make the sides slightly crunch and then soft in the middle. I will be saving this recipe and making many, many more times. (I used the unsweetened trader joe’s cocoa powder and it was the perfect dose of chocolate flavoring in the dough). Bless you for sharing this!
That’s amazing Alicia! Thank you so so much!
I made these cookies tonight, looking to add a little more to my Christmas cookie trays. I doubled the recipe and I followed the recipe to a T and for some reason my cookies came out flat. Any ideas why?
Hi Kristin, was the dough “wilting” when you put in on the cookie sheet or did it hold it’s shape? If it was wilting, then it probably needed more time to rest. It’s hard to say for certain but could be a number of things like incorrect measurements or true oven temperature. I’ve actually made quite a few batches of these in the last two weeks and mine were never flat.
Dough wasn’t wilting. It was still sticky, used a small scoop to put on the parchment. Usually I try and get my pans cold before putting in the oven or the dough cold as well. I’ll have to try different things to make it work. These are seriously the BEST double chocolate cookies I’ve tasted, even with them being flat!
These are so good so quick and easy to make my whole family loves them!
Woohoo! Thank you so much Susan! I also love how quickly these come together!
Reading these comments, mine didn’t spread out either. The only thing I did differently was add a tbsp of instant coffee… hmmm
I decided to remake the recipe again after seeing this, and I have reduced the cocoa powder and increased the baking soda. Thanks for your feedback- love the idea of instant coffee and I also have espresso baking chips- YUM!
These were good. Not outstanding, but a decent double chocolate chip cookie. I’m not crazy about the salt, but that’s just personal preference. Mine also didn’t spread out. They stayed in the shape of the scoop. That didn’t affect the taste though so no big deal. Also pay attention to serving size. It doesn’t make many, at least not a “normal” batch like most are accustomed to. But, the taste is good.
Thanks for sharing Christy. Odd that yours did not spread at all- did you make any adjustments to the recipe? I’ve never seen that happen before. You can easily double the batch to get 20-24 cookies.
I decided to remake the recipe again after seeing this, and I have reduced the cocoa powder and increased the baking soda. Thanks for your feedback
These cookies look deeeeelicious, Julianne! I’m a chocolate fanatic through and through (although, I’m a fanatic of many things), so these cookies are definitely going on my list of must-bakes! But I think I need to go and hunt down some of this Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. Dutch-processed seems to be more common here in Canada, and I haven’t seen many other kinds. Maybe I’ll just have to order it off Amazon. Because I want to try making homemade Oreos, and apparently, that’s the cocoa powder you need to make them.