These soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies are supremely fudgy and tender. They’re very easy to make, and there are so many fun ways to decorate them!

Looking for more sugar cookie recipes? Try these easy vanilla sugar cookies!

A stack of five sugar cookies with every other cookie covered in nonpareil sprinkles

Super Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Once you sink your teeth into one of these moist and tender sugar cookies, you’ll be hooked for life. They’re so rich, fudgy and chocolatey, and they practically melt in your mouth! With minimal effort required to make them, you can spend your time and energy on the fun part – the decorating.

Whether you want to cover your cookies in sprinkles or add a drizzle of sweet white chocolate on top, they’re going to look and taste amazing. And if you’d like to prepare the dough in advance, it’s easy to do so! You can store it in the fridge or freezer, then bake it up when you’re ready for your chocolate fix.

What Are Drop Cookies?

There are two main kinds of sugar cookies – cut-out sugar cookies and drop sugar cookies. Cut-out cookies require the rolling of the dough, whereas drop cookies are made by simply dropping balls of dough onto the baking sheet. Cut-out cookies tend to be harder and crunchier, so if you’re more of a soft cookie person, drop cookies like these ones are the way to go.

Homemade sugar cookies arranged on a dessert plate on top of a white piece of cloth

Ingredient Notes

These chocolate sugar cookies are made with a simple lineup of kitchen staples, including a secret ingredient to keep them extra soft and chewy!

Unsalted Butter – Be sure to soften your butter before making the batter.
Granulated Sugar – You can use additional sugar to roll the dough balls in if desired.
Cocoa Powder – Dutch-processed cocoa powder will give you the richest chocolate flavor.
Cream of Tartar – Secret’s out! I encourage you to not leave it out – the cream of tartar is what makes these cookies so wonderfully soft.

A close-up shot of a chocolate sugar cookie coated in granulated sugar

How to Make Chocolate Sugar Cookies

One of my favorite things about this recipe is the fact that you don’t have to chill the dough. All in all, your cookies come together in less than 30 minutes!

Cream the butter and sugar. Soften the butter in the microwave for 10-12 seconds. Combine the butter with the sugars and beat on medium speed until the ingredients are well-creamed together.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing them with the creamed butter and sugar until the eggs are well beaten.

Creamed butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a glass container on top of a marble counter — Cream the butter and sugar.

The combined wet ingredients in a glass container with the eggs and vanilla fully mixed in — Cream the butter and sugar.

Add the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add the mixture to the combined wet ingredients, beating on medium-low speed until well combined.

Chocolate sugar cookie dough in a large measuring cup with some being scooped onto a rubber spatula — Add dry ingredients.

Fifteen unbaked dough balls lined up on top of a bright white surface — Add dry ingredients.

Scoop the dough. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough and roll them in granulated sugar or sprinkles, if desired. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

A ball of dough being rolled in a small dish of granulated sugar with coated dough balls in the background — Roll in sugar or sprinkles.

Balls of dough on a countertop with alternating coatings of sprinkles and granulated sugar — Roll in sugar or sprinkles.

Bake and cool. Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 11-13 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a bit, then move them to a wire rack.

Can I Make the Cookie Dough Ahead of Time?

Indeed – you can make the dough in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. If you’d like to store it for longer, keep it in the freezer instead. If you are going to freeze the dough, I don’t recommend covering the dough with sprinkles. As the dough comes to room temperature, the color on the sprinkles can run.

Thaw out frozen dough before scooping and baking your cookies. After the dough has been in the fridge, you will need to leave it out on the counter until it comes to room temperature so it’s soft enough to scoop.

A sprinkle-covered chocolate sugar cookie propped up against a cold glass of milk

Tips for Success

There are a few extra steps you can take to make sure your chocolate sugar cookies turn out flawless. I’ve got the inside scoop right here!

Pre-scoop when making ahead. If you form your dough balls before you store them in the fridge or freezer, you’ll be able to bake your cookies right away rather than having to wait for the dough to soften. This also allows you to bake just a few at a time! Keep in mind that you may need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

Use a silicone baking mat. A silicone baking sheet is preferable to a sheet of parchment paper when it comes to lining your pan. It adds a thicker layer under the cookies, which helps prevent the bottoms from over-baking.

Stop baking while the centers look soft. Slightly under-baking your cookies is better than over-baking them. This is because they continue to cook for a little bit on the baking sheet after you remove them from the oven. If you take them out while the centers are still a little bit doughy and the edges are a little bit crispy, your cookies will be perfect.

If you’re looking for a cut-out cookie version, try my easy chocolate cut out cookies!

Seven chocolate sugar cookies stacked on top of one another with a bowl of rainbow sprinkles in the background

How to Decorate Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Decorating these cookies couldn’t be more simple. And there are plenty of different ways to do it!

Roll in sanding sugar. If you’re decorating these cookies for Christmas, I recommend rolling them in red or green sanding sugar instead of regular granulated sugar. It makes them nice and festive for the holidays.
Roll in sprinkles. If you’d like to roll your dough balls in sprinkles rather than sugar, that’s another great option you have at your disposal. I like to use the round nonpareil sprinkles – either rainbow ones or a festive holiday version. This is best if you are baking the dough right away and not freezing the dough or finished cookies.
Drizzle or dip with white chocolate. I love using white chocolate for cookie decorating, especially around holidays like Christmas. A few drops of food coloring make all the difference! Use melting chocolate rather than white chocolate chips for the best results.
Top with frosting. Why not sweeten these cookies up with a little frosting? My Oreo Buttercream and Peanut Butter Frosting are both top-notch icing options.

A pile of chocolate sugar cookies with various decorations on top of a white countertop

Storage Instructions

Once cooled, these cookies should be stored in an airtight container or a resealable bag with all the air squeezed out. You can keep them at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Can I Freeze These?

Yes, you can. Store the cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container, placing parchment paper in between layers if stacking is necessary. Frozen cookies will last for up to 3 months. Thaw them out in the fridge or on the counter before enjoying them. Be sure to see the notes about freezing cookies with sprinkles.

More Easy Sugar Cookie Recipes