31 Chocolate Cookie Recipes, Emphasis on Chocolate
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Before we dive into the chocolate cookie recipes, a message: We recently (and controversially) posited that chocolate chip cookies are better absent chocolate chips. We even went so far as to develop a chocolate chipless cookie recipe to prove such a thesis. For the chocolate lovers with us today, scorned, alienated, and/or offended by that audacious take, consider this list—which celebrates the merits of a chocolate-forward cookie rather than one without—our rebuttal.
We have all types of chocolate cookies for your perusal. These recipes double or triple down on the chocolate, incorporating cocoa powder into the dough, decorating the biscuits with a glossy sheen of chocolate frosting, and, of course, folding in loads of chocolate chips or chocolate chunks into the mix (sometimes both). There are chewy chocolate chip cookies, toasty macaroons encasing a dark chocolate core, and two types of fudgy brownie cookies too. (Feeling unhinged? Try these chocolate-feta cookies.) With the holiday season jingling its bells just around the corner, we’ve got tons of chocolaty cookie swap candidates, made extra festive by peppermint, pistachio, and plenty of powdered sugar. Time to crack out the baking sheet and parchment paper, preheat the oven, and get to baking one of our best chocolate cookies.
Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell1/31Cheesecake Brownie Cookies
If a brownie and a cheesecake had a baby, it’d be these cream-cheese-stuffed brownie cookies. A combination of melted chocolate and Dutch-process cocoa powder gives the chocolate cookie dough a deeply fudgy texture.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones3/31Cocoa-Coffee Almond Cookies
These cocoa-coffee almond cookies from Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, chef-owners of NYC’s Don Angie, crack dramatically as they bake to reveal a deeply fudgy interior. They’re made extra chewy by almond paste, while espresso powder adds depth.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens4/31BA’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
What makes these chocolate chip cookies the “best,” you ask? They have crispy edges, a buttery chew, and plenty of chocolate chunks in every bite—all without a stand mixer or even an electric mixer. Even more, they boast a short bake time. Use a good vanilla extract here that stands up to bitter chocolate.
Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott5/31Chocolate Blackout Cookies
Another frosted number on the list, these cookies boast a whoopie pie–like texture and extra long sprinkles to boot (any store-bought sprinkles will do in their place, but we like the drama).
Kelsey McClellan6/31Frosted Malt-Chocolate Cookies
Malted milk powder adds toasty, nutty notes to baked goods of all stripes. Case in point: these pretty chocolate cookies, topped with a smooth dollop of frosting and a nonnegotiable sea salt sprinkle.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova7/31Chocolate-Filled Toasted Coconut Macaroons
These toasty coconut mounds house a molten dark chocolate center, melty when eaten warm but just as good eaten straight out of the freezer. Toasting sweetened shredded coconut first ensures the baked cookies are golden and nutty all the way to the center, and light brown sugar enhances the caramel notes.
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Pearl Jones9/31Digestive Cookies
Wheat germ, the nutrient-rich heart of wheat kernels, gives these cookies their hearty, nutty crunch while also keeping them tender and crumbly. A chocolaty varnish, made by melting oil with any percentage of chocolate (milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, dark chocolate, it’s your choice) gets swooshed on top.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks10/31Caramel Crunch–Chocolate Chunklet Cookies
Jesse David Green11/31Double and By Double I Mean Triple Chocolate Cookies
A combination of melted white and dark chocolate mixed with toasted ground sunflower seeds, coconut, cocoa, and the standard cookie dough players form the base of these chonky treats, which get a final fold on white chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips for good measure. (We think that makes them quintuple chocolate cookies, actually?)
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Hazel Zavala and Caroline Newton12/31Tiramisu Snowball Cookies
The winning flavors of tiramisu—espresso, chocolate, and mascarpone cream—join forces with the textures of another classic, the snowball cookie, to create a sure-to-please holiday dessert that’s both easy to make with a cookie scoop at hand and heavy on the cocoa powder drama.
Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio13/31Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cozy fall cookies employ both chunks and chips for textural diversity. You’ll also add pure pumpkin purée and pecans, or any other nut of your choice. Or no nuts at all. You do you. (The homemade pumpkin spice can be mixed up to 3 months ahead; store it in an airtight container at room temperature and use it in everything.)
Peden & Munk14/31Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Seed Cookies
For the most satisfyingly molten pools, skip the chips and use chocolate wafers for these wrinkly cookies flavored with cinnamon and cocoa.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susan Spungen, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski16/31Chocolate-Tahini Linzer Cookies
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susan Spungen17/31Salty Buckwheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These cookies get their speckled look, earthy and nutty flavor, and chewy middle from buckwheat flour that you’ll mix with all-purpose flour. Left with extra buckwheat flour and not sure what to do with it? These baby cakes are your next move.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Alex Massillon18/31Giant Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
This giant, unfussy cookie comes together in one bowl, requires little prep time, and bakes in a cast-iron pan or stainless-steel skillet. After letting it cool down till it’s warm, not hot, top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve to rave reviews.
Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou21/31Anytime Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
The dough for these oatmeal-packed chocolate chip cookies is optimized for being portioned and frozen so that you can grab one or two (or 10) cookie dough balls at a time and bake them straight from the freezer. They also have coconut, nuts, and seeds for heft. Looking for an even chocolatier oatmeal situation? These no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies are a forever favorite.
Photograph by Laura Murray. Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova23/31Trail Mix Cookies
These hearty delights are absolutely stuffed with bittersweet chocolate, dried fruit, tons of raw nuts and seeds, and old-fashioned oats.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore25/31Chewy Date and Dark Chocolate Cookies
Rich, chewy Medjool dates stud these cookies alongside bittersweet chocolate chunks. They’re savory-sweet thanks to a power duo of olive oil and tahini.
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Michelle Gatton26/31Black-and-White-and-Green Cookies
Dipped asymmetrically in chocolate, this Art Deco–looking cookie draws from the Thin Mint and New York City’s iconic black-and-white cookie as its dual reference points. Chopped fresh mint delivers both a pale green hue and a breezy flavor.
29/31Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés
Coarsely chopped pistachios mingle beautifully with this cocoa-powder-tinged dough. Even better, the sablé dough freezes well for make-ahead slice-and-bake convenience.
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott30/31Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookies
These nutty cookies hail from Detroit’s Ochre Bakery. Coarse raw sugar gives every bite a subtle crunch, but you can replace it with an equal amount of granulated sugar if needed.
31/31Double Chocolate-Peppermint Crunch Cookies
Christmas cookies call for peppermint, and so does this recipe for chocolate cookies topped with crushed-up candy canes and a fork-drizzle of chocolate.
