Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Ultra chocolaty with that perfect combination of tropical coconut and nutty, earthy pecans.
Texture: The cookies are ridiculously soft yet chewy and loaded with melty chocolate chips. Top that with the super gooey yet crunchy coconut topping and each bite is pure bliss.
Ease: A few more steps involved than your typical cookie recipe but so worth it! The topping may seem weird at first but just follow the directions and you’ll be good.
Appearance: Taking the extra time to drizzle melted chocolate over these really does elevate them to a new level, especially because the topping looks kinda strange on its own.
Pros: Super fun and flavorful twist on a cookie.
Cons: None, except maybe that I preferred these cookies on the first day they were made.
Would I make this again? Definitely!
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I’ve seen German Chocolate Cookies a few times on Facebook. Each time I saw a recipe I made a mental note to add it to my “to bake” list.
Unfortunately most of the recipes I kept seeing involved cake mix. Now, I have nothing against cake mix on a moral level. Sometimes you just gotta take a shortcut.
BUT on a pure food level, I almost never use the stuff. If you couldn’t already tell, I’m all about homemade from scratch goodies whenever possible. They just taste better! And if you only eat special treats when you can make them from scratch, it’s pretty hard to overdo it. Unless you’re like me and you bake things for a living. Let’s not get into that right now…
This recipe takes cookies to a whole new level. I’ve had way too many sickeningly sweet yet bland cookies in my life. What a waste of calories. That’s why I love these German Chocolate Cookies. They’re rich and pack a huge flavor punch so they’re incredibly satisfying. And if you’re a huge chocoholic like me, you’ll adore them! Plus, as a total cookie queen, you know I got you covered with a solid recipe.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make German Chocolate Cookies
What Type of Cocoa Powder is Best For German Chocolate Cookies?
I recommend using Dutch-process cocoa for these cookies. It can be difficult to source in grocery stores, but it can be purchased easily online. My favorite brands of Dutch-process cocoa powder are E. Guittard, Penzey’s, Bensdorp, or Valrhona.
Why Use Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder?
I recommend using Dutch-process cocoa because it provides a deep color, more moisture, and a flavor that I think complements the sweet coconut topping perfectly. Dutch-process cocoa has more fat than most grocery store natural/unsweetened cocoa powder products, which is what we want for flavor and moisture in this specific recipe.
If you must use natural cocoa powder, go ahead. Just note your German Chocolate Cookies may be lighter in color and slightly drier in texture. You can learn more about the differences between cocoa powders here.
What Baking Sheet is Best for German Chocolate Cookies?
A light-colored aluminum half-sheet pan is my favorite for baking cookies. Avoid dark nonstick pans altogether, they brown too much and may burn the bottoms of your cookies. This is particularly important for dark-colored cookies like these German Chocolate Cookies, as it can be harder to tell visually when these are done baking. The below photo features cookies from the same exact batch of dough, baked for the same amount of time at the same temperature. The only difference was the baking pan!
Check out my Baking Pans 101 post for all the surprising details. Or, just click here to score my favorite baking pans for cookies (and everything else!)
Why Use a Cookie Scoop?
- One of the KEYS to beautiful, uniform, evenly-shaped cookies.
- Saves you *so much time* in forming the balls of dough.
- Ensures each ball is evenly sized so the cookies bake evenly.
- No small overbaked cookies or large underbaked cookies.
- I love using a 1.5-Tablepsoon size cookie scoop for this cookie recipe.
- Learn more about Cookie Scoops and how to use them here!
How to Store German Chocolate Cookies
Store German Chocolate Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Store cookies with a tortilla, apple wedge, or piece of bread to keep them soft a little longer.
Recommended Products:
- My Favorite Baking Sheets
- Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
- Medium Cookie Scoop (1.5 Tablespoons)
- Parchment Paper (I love these pre-cut sheets)
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Black & White Chocolate Chipper Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Recipe
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German Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 1/4 cups (5.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 heaping cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until combined. On low speed gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
- Using a medium (1.5-Tablespoon) size spring-loaded cookie scoop, drop the dough by 1 1/2 tablespoon rounds onto the prepared baking sheets
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
For the topping:
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine the milk, sugar, egg yolk, and butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Let cool until thick enough to spread on top of the cooled cookies.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the cookies. Let everything set for at least 15 minutes before serving. Cookies are best served the day they’re made.
Is it okay to omit the chips in the dough, or are they needed to develop the chocolate flavor? Do the chips melt or stay relatively solid while baking?
Hi Shirley! While we haven’t tested leaving out the chocolate chips from this cookie recipe before, it should still work out fine. The cocoa powder in the cookie dough should give them a chocolatey taste, though they might not be quite as rich without the chocolate chips. After baking, the chocolate chips will be gooey and delicious, but they’ll firm up again as your cookies cool. I hope this helps! Please let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try! Happy baking! 🙂
Hi, can I swap the granulated sugar for honey?
We wouldn’t recommend that as the taste and texture of the cookies will change. Sugar actually does more than just sweeten! You can learn more about how sugar affects baking in an article that Tessa wrote here. I hope you find it helpful 🙂
I am about to make these,can I put an indent in center and then bake?I bought coconut pecan icing for the center,I didn’t get the stuff for center
Hi Patti! We have only tried the recipe as Tessa wrote it, but let us know how it goes 🙂
can these be frozen if I need to make them a couple days early?
Hi Beth! We haven’t tried that, so we can’t say for sure – but other readers have reported success with doing this. Let us know if you give that a try 🙂
Can I use light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar?
Hi Kumi! Yes, that will work just fine. You will lose a tiny bit of richness and moisture from the additional molasses in dark brown sugar, but your cookies will still be delicious! Let us know how it goes 🙂
I made with light brown sugar. My husband and kids loved it. I usually don’t eat chocolate cookies but this one was so delicious, not so sweet. Thank you Kiersten!
So happy to hear that, Kumi!
This recipe makes an awesome German chocolate cookie. I have made this several times. Everyone loves it
Hi. I am wondering if these could be made a bar cookie, like a brownie?
Hi Julie! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure! Let us know how it goes if you give that a try 🙂
I love this cookie! It’s the best chocolate cookie ever! I followed the cookie recipe exactly. I didn’t need to refrigerate the dough because I used the cookie scoop recomended and that worked great. Thanks for the tip to use the light cookie sheets. I did turn down the heat for the topping to cook it as long as it needed to cook. This made the topping the thickness it needed and after only several minutes cooling, it spread on the cookies nicely. I took the advice of someone to put the melted chocolate in a ziplock bag and cut the tip off to drizzle the chocolate. It worked perfectly!