Chocolate Sugar Cookies

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These decadent Chocolate Sugar Cookies are supremely soft and chewy! They don’t need to be chilled before baking and they stay soft for days!

Looking for a classic sugar cookie recipe? Try my Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies recipe. 

Easy Chocolate Sugar Cookies

This quick and easy cookie recipe is an adaptation of my Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies. I wanted these cookies to have the same amazing texture with a chocolatey twist. So, I made a few tweaks to the recipe to bring you these fudgy and delicious chocolate cookies!

How I Developed this Cookie Recipe

I made several changes to my classic sugar cookie recipe to create these chewy chocolate cookies. Here’s how I did it:

  • Added some cocoa powder
  • Reduced the amount of all-purpose flour to compensate for the cocoa.
  • Reduced the amount of baking powder because baking soda is the way to go for chocolate treats. It gives a richer flavor and a better texture.
  • Removed the brown sugar.
  • Added an extra egg to make them ultra tender and chewy.

I didn’t want these to end up being really cakey and they turned out just right. Dense, not cakey, and chewy. I’m so totally in love with these chocolate cookies, it’s hard to stop eating them! They’re like a fudgy brownie in cookie form.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies Lined up on a Doiley

Recipe Ingredients

You won’t need any fancy ingredients to make these cookies. Here’s what goes into them:

  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Baking Powder
  • Salt
  • Unsalted Butter: Bring your butter to room temperature. You should be able to make an imprint on the butter with your finger, but it shouldn’t be so warm that your finger slides through.
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Sugar Cookies Lined up on a Marble Counter

How to Make Chocolate Sugar Cookies

  1. Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set them aside.
  2. Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set it aside.
  3. Cream Butter & Sugar: Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
  4. Add Eggs & Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined after each addition. Then, add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
  5. Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be thick. Do not over mix it. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
  6. Form Dough Balls: Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll each one into a ball, then roll them in the additional sugar to coat, if desired. Set the balls on the baking sheet. Press down on the tops of the balls just a bit (I used the bottom of a glass to do this).
  7. Bake: Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes. Don’t overbake them. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven, but they’ll fall a bit as they cool.
  8. Let Cool: Remove your cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
A Chocolate Sugar Cookie Cut in Half to Show the Chewy Inside

Tips for the Best Chocolate Sugar Cookies

  • Measure Flour Accurately: The best way to measure your flour is by weighing it with a food scale. But if you don’t have one, give your flour a stir, then scoop it out with a measuring scoop and level it. Do not pack it into the measuring cup.
  • Cream Butter & Sugar Well: Don’t stop creaming your butter and sugar until the mixture lightens in color. It should be nice and fluffy.
  • Don’t Over-Mix: If you over-mix your dough, the cookies may end up tough. Once the dough is smooth, you’re good to start forming your cookies.
  • Don’t Over-Bake: Don’t be tempted to leave your cookies in the oven for too long or they’ll be firm, rather than soft. They’ll be puffed up, but that’s okay – they’ll flatten out as they cool.
Seven Chocolate Cookies Stacked on Top of One Another

How to Store Homemade Cookies

Store your chocolate sugar cookies in an airtight container or a sealed plastic bag with all the air squeezed out. They’ll last for 3-4 days at room temperature and about a week in the fridge. To make them last longer, you can store them in the freezer between layers of parchment paper for up to 3 months!

More Great Chocolate Cookie Recipes

Double Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Grandfather’s Favorite Iced Chocolate Cookies
Baileys Chocolate Cookies
Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Read Transcript

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A Tall Stack of Cocoa Cookies
Recipe

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 8 minutes
  • Total Time: 23 minutes
  • Yield: 30
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These decadent Chocolate Sugar Cookies are supremely soft and chewy! If you’re a fan of rich chocolate desserts, you have to give these cocoa cookies a try.


Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups (228g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups (310g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup sugar (additional for rolling)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
  2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined after each addition.
  5. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
  6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be thick. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
  7. Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll each ball in the additional sugar to coat. Set the balls on the baking sheet. Press down on the tops of the balls just a bit (I used the bottom of a glass)
  8. Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. Don’t overbake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool.
  9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Be sure to measure the flour accurately. The best way is by weight with a food scale, but if you don’t have one, give your flour a stir, then scoop it out with a measuring scoop. Do not pack it into the measuring cup.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 136
  • Sugar: 11.7 g
  • Sodium: 87.1 mg
  • Fat: 6.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 18.6 g
  • Protein: 1.7 g
  • Cholesterol: 28.7 mg

Categories

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44 Comments
  1. Trish Burzminski

    These are the best choc sugar cookies, easy to make and so delicious! Do you have a plain sugar cookie recipe? Thank you






  2. Lori Miller

    So good, we’re enjoying them! I dissolved a very small (2.6 gram) packet of espresso instant coffee into the vanilla before adding it, to bring out the chocolate flavor even more. My daughter likes the way the sugar sparkles on the cookies.






  3. Toni Anderson

    Great cookie recipe! I am going to add the spices from a Mexican spicy hot chocolate cookie recipe to this the next time and frost done with a spicy buttercream and roll some dough balls in spicy sugar mixture before baking. Can’t wait to try it!!






  4. Lori Hunt

    This is the best sugar cookie recipe ever! My Grandkids and other family members love it as well. Instead of rolling them in sugar, I make your buttercream frosting. Delicious. Chocolate for the regular sugar cookies and vanilla for the chocolate ones. Love your recipes!

  5. MD

    I made these today, and absolutely delicious- followed recipe to a “t”! Thank you so much for sharing and making delicious desserts! I also follow your personal blog and it is inspirining!






  6. Jeff

    Mom suffers from dementia. Making these together makes a bad day so much better. Thank you for sharing and making a rough time a whole lot sweeter.






    1. Lindsay

      No, you’ll want a cut out cookie recipe. Unfortunately, I don’t have a chocolate one at the moment, but I’m working on it.

  7. Josephine Mullane

    I want to make these cookies as part of my Christmas Cookies. They look really tasty. I also want to tell you that I love the way you have set up the recipes to print. All the best to you.






    1. Lindsay

      That’s pretty typical. Most recipes use unsalted butter and then add the amount of salt that they would like so that they can control the salt content. If you omitted the salt you would want to use salted butter.

    1. Lindsay

      The dough spreads while baking, so it probably won’t hold the design really well. I’d try my cutout cookies or spritz cookies.

  8. Abigail

    Baked these for my coworkers at Kohl’s along with your snickerdoodles. They LOVED both of them! Snickerdoodles were gone before the store closed for the night and these were almost gone as well! One of my coworkers said that this was one of the best cookies she’s ever had!






  9. Delight

    It came out beautiful…thanks so much for this recipe been following it for a while now.
    I had a little trouble though. The cookies seem to have become so soft that they crumbled almost like they had been exposed to air, but it was just like 2hrs after baking just before I had them packed. Please help

  10. Grandma

    Do you think I could make the dough into balls, freeze then defrost to room temperature, roll in sugar and then bake? Need to do as much ahead as possible!  Thanks. 

  11. Wendy C

    I just made these cookies!  The picture was so enticing that I had to make them right away!  They were so easy to make and they look just like the picture.  They are delicious too! 😋
    P.S. just found out I had to go dairy free so I used vegan butter sticks and I couldn’t even tell a difference.






  12. Chuck Bittner

    Can I decorate these with royal icing and let them sit out to let the icing harden, or will the cookies dry out too much?

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29