The best recipe for double chocolate chip cookies must obviously include extra doses of chocolate. These soft-baked thick and chunky cookies are as indulgent as they look: rich and fudge-like with chewy centers, slightly crisp edges, and oodles of melty chocolate chips in each glorious bite.
It’s the chocolate dough recipe I’ve been making for years and even included it in my cookbook stuffed with peanut butter cups. There’s no reason to stray from this basic chocolate dough!
Included in my cookbooks and used all over my website, this cookie dough is my go-to base for chocolate cookies. There’s a reason I work with this dough often: it’s because it WORKS and it’s pointless to stray from a tested, dependable recipe. (That’s also delicious!)
Why You’ll Love These Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy to make with a basic dough
- Soft-baked and chewy with fudge chocolate centers
- Recipe is easily doubled
- Cookie dough balls freeze well
- You can use the cookies to make chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches
- Versatile dough! Turn them into s’more chocolate crinkle cookies in the summer, peppermint mocha cookies, Andes mint chocolate cookies, or peppermint frosted cookies in the winter, chocolate crinkle cookies or salted caramel dark chocolate cookies any time of year, or switch to white chips for inside out chocolate chip cookies
My team and I receive many questions about turning this base chocolate dough into regular double chocolate chip cookies, so I figured having a separate spot for that particular cookie recipe would be ideal for chocolate cookie lovers everywhere. And I’m guessing that’s you. 😉
Grab These Ingredients
All of the ingredients required for this cookie recipe are kitchen staples. You need:
- Wet ingredients: Butter, white & brown sugars, egg, vanilla extract, and milk
- Dry ingredients: Flour, unsweetened natural cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt
You also need chocolate chips and I recommend semi-sweet. Mini chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or other flavors such as peanut butter chips or butterscotch morsels work too. You could even keep them plain and roll in chopped pecans to make chocolate turtle cookies.
Success Tip: Use Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Because the double chocolate chip cookies use baking soda, it’s important to use natural cocoa powder since it’s acidic. You could get away with dutch-process here (since brown sugar is also acidic), but the cookies may lose shape and taste dense. To avoid issues, I recommend natural. For further information, you can read about the differences between natural and dutch process cocoa powder.
Did you know? Cocoa powder is a very light, yet drying ingredient. To keep the cookies tender and moist, the dough needs liquid like milk. That’s why chocolate cake calls for so much liquid.
Overview: How to Make Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Cream the butter and both sugars together before adding the egg and vanilla extract. Separately, whisk the dry ingredients together and don’t be concerned about how little flour this recipe requires. (Remember that cocoa powder is another dry ingredient to bulk up the dough.) Combine wet and dry ingredients, then beat in the milk and then the chocolate chips.
Ensure you use proper room temperature butter, which should still be cool to the touch at about 65°F (18°C). If it’s too cold, it cannot cream and if it’s melty in the slightest, your cookies will be a mess.
Success Tip: Chill the Dough
The dough definitely comes together easily, but it’s sticky and tacky as a result of the cocoa powder mixing with liquid. It’s even stickier than the chocolate layer of pinwheel cookies. Therefore, the dough requires chilling before you can shape and bake. I recommend at least 3 hours in the refrigerator, but you can also refrigerate it overnight. Need cookies right NOW? Try giant chocolate chip cookies, Nutella chocolate chip cookies, or even one giant double chocolate cookie.
Expect a sticky, tacky dough:
How to Shape The Cookie Dough
This cookie dough is still a bit sticky even if you’ve chilled it, but it’s much more compact since it’s cold. Use a cookie scoop to help you portion the sticky dough. The medium size is perfect because each dough ball should be around 1.5 Tablespoons. After scooping the dough, shape it as best you can into tall column-like balls. I know that sounds odd, but it’s the trick I teach when making regular chocolate chip cookies. Taller balls of chilled dough = thicker baked cookies.
The cookie dough will undoubtedly stick to your hands during the shaping step, so have a kitchen towel or paper towel nearby. I usually wipe my hands clean after every few cookie dough balls because clean hands make rolling easier. (Same tip I recommend for peanut butter filled brownie cookies.)
If you’re looking for cookie cutter style cookies, here are my chocolate sugar cookies.
Get your cookies to spread: The cookies take at least 11 minutes to bake, however if they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven for a couple more minutes.
How Do You Know When Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Are Done?
It’s hard to see when the cookies are done because they’re so dark. Instead, give a cookie a light tap on the edge and if it feels slightly set, they’re done. Be careful with this because they’re hot! The centers will still look very soft and that’s ok. They usually take about 11-12 minutes.
Can I Freeze the Cookie Dough Balls?
Yes, once portioned and before baking, the chocolate cookie dough balls freeze beautifully. If the dough balls are a bit sticky, chill them in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes first. Place the balls in a single layer in a zipped-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can take a few dough balls out of the freezer at a time, and bake (no need to thaw) whenever that chocolate craving hits. Simply add another minute to the bake time. Read my full tutorial on how to freeze cookie dough here.
After publishing 200+ tested cookie recipes and 3 cookbooks, I know what works and what doesn’t, so check out my top cookie baking success tips if you’re ever having trouble. Additionally, my entire team and I put together our recommended 10 best cookie baking tools if you need top-rated suggestions. Happy baking!
PrintFavorite Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 20-22 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft-baked thick and chunky double chocolate chip cookies are rich and fudge-like with chewy centers, slightly crisp edges, and oodles of melty chocolate chips in each glorious bite. The dough needs to chill for at least 3 hours, but you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2/3 cup (55g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk (any kind, dairy or non)
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus a few more for optional topping*
Instructions
- Preliminary note: This cookie dough requires at least 3 hours of chilling, but I prefer to chill the dough overnight. The colder the dough, the thicker the cookies.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour into the wet ingredients. Beat on low until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. Switch to high speed and beat in the milk, then the chocolate chips. The cookie dough will be sticky and tacky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Scoop and roll dough, a heaping 1.5 Tablespoons (about 35-40g; I like to use this medium cookie scoop) in size, into balls. To ensure a thicker cookie, make the balls taller than they are wide (almost like a cylinder or column). Arrange 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheets. The cookie dough is certainly sticky, so wipe your hands clean after every few balls of dough you shape.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
- Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. During this time, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies. (This is optional and only for looks.) Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (step 3). Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Check out my tips + tricks for how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Stand Mixer or Handheld) | Medium Cookie Scoop | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats | Cooling Rack
- Larger Batch: The recipe is easy to double in 1 mixing bowl without overwhelming your mixer. Simply double all of the cookie dough ingredients. Dough chill time remains the same.
- Natural Cocoa Powder: Do you know the difference between natural cocoa powder and dutch-process cocoa powder? Use natural in this dough.
- Other Add-Ins: Instead of chocolate chips in the dough, you can use the same amount of peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, M&Ms, chopped nuts, or butterscotch chips.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Hi Sally! Can I use this to make a double chocolate chip cookie pizza?
Hi Lo, Sure can! The baking instructions will be similar to this cookie pizza.
Thank you! I want to make one for my birthday and was nervous that the measurements would be different converting cookies to pizza. I’m new to this so I’m going to start practicing now. By birthday is in November, I’ll write back to tell you how it goes
Hello!
Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes. My family has loved them all.
Quick question.. how many cookies does this yield. I want to make sure I am not making them too big or too small. I just made this recipe this morning and ended up with 15 cookies. Thank you!
Hi Cheryl, this recipe yields 20-22 cookies, so you may need to bake yours for slightly longer if they were a bit larger. You can find the yield near the top of the recipe card, which is located at the bottom of the post.
My last comment should say King Arthurs
I used king airy hues super black cocoa powder for these. I have the dough chilling for 3 hours. I can’t wait to take the dough out and bake the cookies! I will be topping them with chocolate ganache .
These cookies are so good. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make them because I really wanted something quicker. They ended up sitting in the fridge for 24 hours, and they were a little tedious to roll even after sitting out for 20+ mins. But so worth it in the end, they came out so good.
can I use melted butter like the recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies?
thanks sally!
Hi Ben, we don’t recommend it. It would require additional recipe testing to ensure we’re adding enough flour to help soak up melted butter. The cookies are still plenty chewy using room temperature butter here!
These are fantastic! I have made them 3 times. I scooped the flour and cocoa powder twice when I made them, and they came out great. I used the mass measurements once, and that batch came out too thin, so I think the mass measurements are off. I measured my scoops, and they had a lot more flour and cocoa powder than the recipe says.
Hi Daisy! So glad you loved these. You can read more about measuring baking ingredients in this post!
Can I reduce the chilling time if I put the dough in the freezer?
Hi Carlee, putting the cookie dough right into the freeze can cause it to chill unevenly, leading some cookies to spread more than others. For best results, we recommend following the refrigerator chill times as stated.
These cookies are to die for! A perfect cookie for a chocolate lover. I used Valrhona pure cocoa powder and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. 11 minutes in the oven was perfect. They looked a little soft when they came out but they set up after sitting for 5 minutes. Perfect recipe!
Double chocolate anything is always a ‘yes please’ in my book! These look absolutely delicious.
Hey Sally! I found a recipe for double chocolate espresso cookies, but the recipe isn’t great. If I add espresso powder to this recipe (I’ve never tried this recipe but I have no doubts that it’ll be amazing), how much should I add and do I have to take away any dry ingredients to compensate for it?
Hi Izzy, I think you’d be safe to add 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to this cookie dough with the dry ingredients. No need to remove any other dry ingredient in its place. I fear that may not be enough espresso flavor since the chocolate flavor is so strong, but it’s a good place to start.
I never write reviews for recipes but this time I just had to…Sally, these are the BEST cookies I’ve EVER made or eaten. Truly amazing!!! Normally I have to adjust baking times but not with these, 11 minutes (+banging them on the counter 9 minutes in) was PERFECT. I substituted most of the chocolate with chopped dark chocolate and added semisweet chocolate chips to the tops before baking – HIGHLY recommend doing this if you like pools of chocolate in your cookies!! Seriously, BEST COOKIES EVER.
Just made it….so chocolateyyyy. Love them….an easy to bake recipe. Thank you.
Hi! I want to prep the dough now and freeze the rolled balls of dough for baking at a later date. Would I still need to chill the dough for 3 hours before rolling into balls? Thank you! Your site is my go-to for baking recipes!
Hi Gwenn, we still recommend chilling the dough before rolling into balls, to make it easier to work with when you’re rolling them. Otherwise the dough will be quite sticky and hard to work with. You can try chilling them for less time–let us know how it goes! We have more tips on how to freeze cookie dough here.
Delicious, as always!
Whenever I’m working with sticky doughs, I very lightly dampen my hands every now and then. A quick splash under the faucet, then a few hand claps to let most of the water run off but leaving the palms a bit more resistant to the stickums!
Hi Sally, I generally prefer using Melted 70% Belgian chocolate since love the flavour, if i replace instead of coco powder, do i still need to add the milk?
This recipe is a keeper for our family! The chocolate flavor was brownie like, which the kids loved. The texture ended up being slightly crispy on the sides and pillowy and thick on the inside. Delicious. Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Sally,
Can I replicate this recipe for your salted dark chocolate cookie version? The only difference I noticed is not using the extra dark Hershey’s cocoa powder combination.
Hi Natalie! The extra dark cocoa powder is what gives those cookies their dark chocolate flavor, but the recipes are similar! You can add sea salt to these cookies for that delicious balance of flavor.
Hi Sally, I just made the dough and realized that I forgot to add the baking soda. Do you think the cookies will still bake? Thanks.
Hi Michelle, unfortunately, the cookies will not have much lift/rise without the baking soda. If you have enough ingredients, it would be best to start a new batch.
I baked off a batch of these yummy treats yesterday…after they spend 2 days in the refrigerator,
I dipped one side in colorful sprinkle dots for extra cuteness. I also did a couple of pan bangs for each of the two trays baked.
The final product was not only festive to look at but best of all…simply delicious. This recipe will be on repeat rotation for sure and will be added to my Christmas cookie list.
Thanks, Sally, for another scrumptious treat.
Can always trust your cookie recipes! Thanks for another great one. I used half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips. They were gone by the next day and my family asked when I can make them again!
Absolutely loved these!! I have another recipe for a similar cookie, but these are better. Moist, rich chocolate flavor. Adding these to my cookie gifts at the holidays 🙂
Hi Sally! Quick question: how do these cookies compare to your Favorite Brownie Cookies in terms of taste, texture, etc.? Thanks!
Hi Melissa! They taste a bit similar, but these have a slightly crispier edge.
So good and chocolatey! But I made mine a little smaller, I think, and cooked them for the 12 min, which was too long. They were a bit dry. Thankfully I only baked two (I was too impatient to chill for the 3 hours! And knew, also, I’d eat them all if I baked more, haha!), so the rest I will take out at 10 minutes.
I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except for using a mixture of Trader Joe’s 72% cocoa chips, and then chopped bittersweet chocolate bc that was what I had to make up the difference for the total amount of chips.
Have been making these cookies for years since you shared the white chocolate chip version. Definitely a sticky dough but the cookies are so yummy. Best chocolate cookies we’ve had thanks Sally!
Hello, I would like to know what the calories are for each cookie as well as the sodium for each cookie. These cookies sound amazing. I work in an adult group home for individuals with behavioral and intellectual needs that are also on a calorie and sodium diet. Thank you and have a good day
Hi Ksenia, I don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. However, many readers have found this handy online calculator helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 (The link may not be clickable, so copy/paste into your browser.)
Hello! As a person that’s on a calorie def- just take each gram of ingredient- find the calories for each one- add them all up- then portion it out.
Hi Sally,
These look amazing, looking forward to making them! Any changes for higher elevations-I’m at 6200(outside of Denver) and have difficulty with some cookie recipes…they end up turning into pancakes lol
Thx so much for the help AND great recipes~D
Hi Debbee, I do not have much experience baking at high altitude, however if spreading is usually the problem, what would definitely help this particular recipe is a couple extra Tbsp of flour. And if you need another resource, some readers at higher altitudes have found this chart helpful when making my cookie recipes: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Do you have a favorite natural unsweetened cocoa powder that you prefer to use to make these cookies?
Hi Monica, flavors do vary a bit by brand, we like to use Hershey’s (not the Special Dark, the regular) or Ghirardelli.
This is literally the best brownie cookies I have ever made
I’ve read your article about natural vs. dutch process cocoa powder, but I ran out of natural cocoa powder and don’t have ductch process.. I only have cacao powder. Does that work, or is it different in a way that’s incompatible?
love your recipes btw <3 😀 can't wait to try this
Hi Yumni, thank you very much! You can absolutely use cacao powder if that’s all you have, however natural unsweetened cocoa powder is ideal.
Hi, Sally. To make these into ice cream sandwiches, do you recommend adding some cornstarch an an extra egg yolk, as in your awesome “Chipwich” recipe? Also, not chilling the dough so they spread more? Thanks!
Hi Janet, I don’t recommend either. The cookies are already quite soft, though you could add 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch if desired. This dough does still need to chill, so follow the recipe as instructed then use the baked & cooled cookies for the ice cream sandwiches.
Thank you, Sally!
Made a test batch of these this morning, I am interested in using them as an ice cream sandwich cookie. MMMMMMMM. I baked most with chips, one cookie without chips for comparison. These are REALLY chocolat-y!!! Here’s what I did: Added 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Baked at 325° convection oven. Baked 1.5 ounces cookie dough and 1.75 ounces cookie dough to compare size. The chipless cookie spread nicely, the cookies with chips didn’t spread out as well. I did NOT chill the dough, even though it was a very soft and sticky dough. They did not flatten, so I had to use your tip of taking them out of the oven and banging on the counter 4-5 times. Then I got perfect spread. My conclusion: FOR ICE CREAM SANDWICHES, use 1/2 cup cocoa to cut the chocolate, as some people do not love that chocolate punch as much as I do, add the 1 teaspoon cornstarch, omit the chips, and no need to chill the dough. The chipless cookie was nice and flat all the way across, and 3.5 inches in diameter, perfect size. The cookies with chips were 3 inches in diameter for the smaller dough amount, and 3 1/4″ diameter for the larger dough amount. If you want more chocolate flavor and chips, go for the recipe as written! I recommend using mini chips, as Sally did in her “Chipwich” recipe (which are also fantastic!)
Hi Sally, can I add oats to this recipe?
Hi Ruth, I haven’t tested an oatmeal variation of this recipe but if I do, I will be sure to publish it. Let us know if you try anything.
I combined these cookies with your Toasted Smores cookies toppings (mini marshmallows and Graham cracker pieces added for the last 2 minutes of baking) and they are a huge hit! Thanks for another winning recipe!