Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
TASTE: An homage to chocolate with three different kinds packed into one cookie!
TEXTURE: Thick, fudgy like a brownie, with big chunks of chocolate throughout.
EASE: No mixer required, but you do need to chill the dough for best results. Luckily, the cookies take just 7 minutes to bake!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Your friends will think you bought these at an expensive bakery. They don’t need to know how easy they were to bake!
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I have been counting down the days to share this recipe! Its creation was a labor of love. The recipe was meticulously tested across a dozen experimental batches to nail a cookie that’s perfectly thick, chocolatey, and rich that anyone can make.
In fact, one taste tester called these “the best cookies ever!”
I originally got the idea for this recipe while visiting New York City and sampling one of Levain’s Double Chocolate Cookies for the first time.
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
I didn’t want my version to be quite as massive and dense as the Levain cookies, but still wanted to yield decadently rich and fudgy brownie-like cookies with glistening pools of chocolate.
I’ve published an entire cookbook on cookie baking, as well as dozens of cookie recipes right here on my website, but I still get ridiculously excited when I nail a new recipe.
Read more below to peek into my recipe development process, as well as all my tips to ensure perfect cookies.
Sprinkle of Science
Key Ingredients for Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Learning about specific ingredients helps you understand how and why your favorite recipes work, and how to troubleshoot when things go sideways. The full ingredients list is found in the recipe card at the bottom, but here are a few special ingredients that help guarantee recipe success.
- Bleached All-Purpose Flour: This recipe was developed with Gold Medal Bleached All-Purpose Flour. When tested with unbleached flour, the dough was looser and stickier due to its lower absorbency compared to bleached. If using unbleached flour, you may need to add 1-2 extra tablespoons, especially if you live in a humid climate.
- Light Brown Sugar: We use only brown sugar to provide more moisture, flavor, and less spread than white granulated sugar.
- Egg Yolk: In addition to the whole egg, an extra egg yolk offers more richness for a fudgier texture.
- Natural Cocoa Powder: Typically I prefer the taste and color of Dutch-processed cocoa, but in this recipe, I found that natural cocoa created a chewier texture and a more nostalgic chocolate flavor.
- Instant Espresso Powder: This is a totally optional ingredient! Just a touch helps amplify the chocolate flavor without much noticeable coffee flavor.
- Milk Chocolate Chips: Milk chocolate balances the intensity of chocolate flavor while also providing a contrasting color tone for gorgeous, gourmet-looking cookies. I prefer the Ghirardelli ones, which are slightly oversized.
- Semisweet Chocolate “Super” Chips: I love using the Guittard Super Chips in this recipe. They’re giant chocolate chips that get all puddly and melty in cookies. They are pricey, so I like to stock up when they’re on sale at Sprouts. You could also use chopped chocolate chunks instead.
How to Avoid Dry Chocolate Cookies
Cocoa powder tends to zap moisture from cookie dough. This is why we’re using moisture-boosting ingredients like brown sugar and an extra egg yolk. However, it’s KEY to avoid over-measuring the cocoa powder, which will create dry, crumbly cookies. This is shockingly easy to do when using volume measuring cups.
I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure both the flour and cocoa powder in this recipe. It’ll ensure perfect accuracy for no dry cookies. See exactly how I measure flour the right way here.
Do I really need to chill the dough?
Yes, but I promise it’s worth the wait! Chilling the dough intensifies the chocolate flavor and creates more moist, thick, and fudgy cookies. Scoop the dough, wrap well in plastic, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour but preferably overnight or up to 48 hours. Learn more about chilling cookie dough here.
For Thick Cookies, Bake at a Higher Temperature
In one of my rounds of testing, I baked dough from the same recipe, portioned at the same size, at three different oven temperatures:
I found that not only were the cookies from the 400°F temperature batch thicker, they were significantly softer, fudgier, and more moist inside and stayed that way for longer after baking!
Can I Make Smaller or Larger Cookies?
Yes! Here are some guidelines:
- Smaller Cookies – portion dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls (use a medium cookie scoop) and bake at 400°F for about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Extra Large NYC-Style Cookies – portion dough into 6-ounce balls and bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
How to Store Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To keep the cookies extra soft, add a tortilla or piece of white sandwich bread to the container.
How to Freeze Double Chocolate Cookie Dough
Place the pre-portioned, already-chilled scoops of cookie dough in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Bake at 380°F for 11 minutes. Note that freezing will make these cookies slightly less moist.
Cookie Recipes You’ll Also Love:
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (143 grams) all-purpose flour*
- 2/3 cup (57 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) milk chocolate chips, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) semisweet chocolate super chips or chunks, plus more for garnish
- Flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the butter in 20-second bursts until melted. Whisk in the brown sugar. Let cool until just warm. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until completely smooth and combined. With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder (if using), and salt. Fold in both chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Dough will appear slightly greasy and sticky and will firm up as it sits.
- Using a large spring-loaded scoop, drop 3-tablespoon balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Roll dough scoops between your palms to smooth. Dot generously (more than you think!) with additional chocolate chips, pointing any tips down into the dough to avoid scorching.
- Wrap the scooped dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably overnight or up to 48 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Bake for about 7 minutes or until just set. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and recently revamped with an improved recipe and new photos. Photos by Jess Gaertner.
Hello Tessa,
You’re preaching to use weight instead of volume, but this recipe uses some weight and some volume. I’m used to weight in metric system, and I have no idea how much is 4 ounces…
Can you please have both volume and weight, and both american weight and metric system ?
Thank you very much in advance, these cookies look so like they belong in my stomach but I don’t want the headache of converting
Hi can you give all the measurements in weight if possible, I don’t use cups at all but would love to try this recipe!
Omg!! I made those cookie. It so delicious and easy to make. <3<3 just have one question can I put coffee instead of espresso? Or if I don't put espresso would it be they same taste? I have a thyroid and I m not allowed to have espresso etc.etc. by the way i love your baking 🙂
These are amazing <3 I make them all the time and it convinces even the most anti-sweet tooth person in the room that they amazing!
Mine turned out similar to Megan’s. The cookies didn’t spread out and just stayed as little balls. For the second batch, I flattened the balls. How did you get your cookies to spread out as shown in the photo?
Are you measuring your flour by volume or weight, Kim?
Living in Maine, we find this is the season for getting snowed in. After moving up here during last years brutal winter, I learned quickly to keep the pantry stocked with ingredients for crock pot cooking and baking supplies.
Today was no exception to being confined to our home. I had all of the ingredients on hand and was able to whip up a batch of these (I added peanut butter chips) quickly. They were a great surprise for my fella after he had been snow blowing the drive all morning. They were an absolute hit! Thank you for sharing your wonderfully crafted recipe; you’ve never let us down!
Elizabeth
Okay, thanks! 🙂 Also, very interesting about how egg whites affect the consistency.
How small should the chocolate be chopped? Into chunks, or more fine?
Chunks! That way each bite has some gooey chocolate goodness 🙂 At least that’s what I prefer, feel free to chop anyway you like.
Love your blog! These chocolate cookies look amazing — will they retain that inner ooey-gooey chocolatey-ness even after they cool? Thanks!
Thank you! They are definitely the most ooey and gooey the day they are made. They’re still wonderful days after, but you can always pop them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to amp up the gooey factor 🙂
We may be going out of town today- but I’m going to make these before we leave, because the moment I saw them, it was LOVE! Just waiting for my butter to come to room temp. Yet another fantastic recipe from you, I’m sure.
That’s awesome!! Enjoy the cookies and your trip 🙂
I could become obsessed with this kind of cookie!
“Like little brown circles of heaven, if there was ever such a thing” Made me lol! These look insanely chocolatey…which I am alll over. I also can never get sick of cookies or chocolate! Pinned