This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Just like the packaged ones but with a lighter sweetness.
Texture: Ultra chewy, fudgy, and soft. Perfect.
Ease: Very easy, you’ll just dirty a few dishes.
Why you’ll love this recipe: Improved from-scratch version of a favorite childhood treat.
As a kid, there were many packaged treats I loved. Cosmic Brownies. Nutter Butters. Little Debbie’s Fudge Rounds.
I’ve recreated the Cosmic Brownie recipe, Oreo Cookies recipe, and Homemade Pop Tarts, all with stellar results – so it seemed only fitting that I move on to Homemade Fudge Rounds!
Actually, I had all but forgotten that Fudge Rounds existed until shopping at Target during back-to-school season.
All the end caps were piled high with packaged treats for lunch boxes, and it inspired me to tackle a copycat version without any artificial ingredients.
Seriously decadent and chocolaty without being too rich, these Fudge Rounds will be a crowd-pleaser at any picnic or BBQ, or a hit with the kids after their first day back to school!
What are Fudge Rounds?
Little Debbie Fudge Rounds are fudgy round chocolate cookies, sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream. Think Whoopie Pies, but richer and fudgier! A box of these treats can be found at pretty much any American grocery or convenience store.
Store-Bought vs. Homemade Fudge Rounds
Nowadays, store-bought Fudge Rounds are much too sweet and artificial tasting for me. When you make them from scratch, you can get extra generous with the amount of filling. See what I mean in the photo below comparing the homemade vs. store-bought cookies:
Key Recipe Ingredients
Corn Syrup: Helps prevent sugar from recrystallizing, creating a texture that’s bendy, chewy, soft, and fudgy. Don’t skip it.
- Swap: Use an equal amount of golden syrup, if needed.
Natural Cocoa Powder: Use a high-fat, natural, unsweetened cocoa powder for the best chocolate flavor and texture. I recommend Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder. Avoid Dutch process, since this recipe relies on natural cocoa and baking soda. Read more about the differences between Natural and Dutch-Process cocoa powders here.
Cornstarch: Helps keep the cookies soft and tender without making them cakey. Don’t skip it.
How to Assemble Homemade Fudge Rounds
Make the cookies. Mix the ingredients and scoop the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake the cookies. At 350°F for about 8 minutes, until they’re slightly puffy and set.
Decorate. Melt the chocolate chips with vegetable oil, then drizzle or pipe over the cooled cookies. Refrigerate until set.
Make the filling & pipe. Pipe or spread the filling onto the flat side of half the cookies.
Finish assembling. Gently sandwich with the remaining cookies.
Storage & Make ahead
Make Ahead: Fudge Rounds can be assembled and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days before serving. They’re even fudgier when chilled!
Room Temperature: Store assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Freezer: Freeze assembled cookies in an airtight container, wrapped individually in plastic wrap, for up to 1 month. Enjoy frozen, or thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at cool room temperature
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (159 grams) all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons (32 grams) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the chocolate drizzle:
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) milk chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
For the filling:
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (11 grams) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons warm water (about 100°F)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times, until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, corn syrup, and vanilla. Scrape down the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients. Beat on low until combined. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky.
- Using a 1 ½-tablespoon spring-loaded scoop, drop balls of dough on baking sheets and bake until the cookies are slightly puffed up and the edges are set, about 8 to 9 minutes. Remove baking sheets to cooling racks and remove cookies after a few minutes to continue cooling. Cookies will flatten as they cool.
Decorate the cookies:
- For the chocolate drizzle, microwave milk chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 15 seconds until smooth. Drizzle or pipe on top of each cookie. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, at least a half hour.
Make the filling:
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sifted cocoa powder and powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the warm water and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Pipe or spread filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Gently press another cookie on top of the filling.
- Serve or store assembled Fudge Rounds in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. The colder the Fudge Rounds are when serving, the more fudgy they’ll be!
Notes
More Copycat Recipes You’ll Love:
This post was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2022 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
This recipe is on point! These taste just like the fudge rounds in the store today. That being said, the only problem with that is the sugar content! These are so sugary, and I saw a review that said so, but I also like to try the recipe the way that it is written first. I will try it with a reduced sugar amount because they were super good, just too sweet for me. I may just increase other ingredients while leaving the sugar amount alone… I will have to see. The filling was great! I would not change that, the only change would be the cookies. I used a mixture of sweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate blocks for the decoration on top because I did not have milk chocolate chocolate chips. I am happy that you shared this recipe! It definitely gives me a great foundation for homemade fudge rounds, I just prefer a less sugary cookie .
Nice to have this recipe!
Added to the weekend todos.
Yay! Let us know what you think once you’ve given these a try!! 🙂
These are amazing! Ny husband said these are the best thing I’ve made!
Haha my husband said the same thing, Mykala! So glad you both enjoyed this recipe so much 🙂
Absolutely love this recipe and so did my boyfriend! I found this recipe when looking for a recipe to make fudge round cake for his birthday. I kept asking him what kind of cake he wanted me to make for his birthday. He jokingly said a fudge round cake. I Googled and told him I should be able to make that happen. He was amazed by how the fudge rounds turned out. He said he likes them better than the ones I buy at the store. The cake turned out great!! To make the cake I ended up using two 9 inch round pans and making a batch of cookie mix for each layer. I cooked each one for 13 minutes and then kept checking it. I believe it ended up being about 18 to 20 minutes.
YUM, that sounds amazing, Tammy! Thanks so much for sharing with us your creation, so happy your boyfriend loved it! 🙂
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I made these last year and they were delicious! My daughter requested that they be added to my Christmas baking list. Thanks for a great recipe!
Can I make the cookie dough and the filling and refrigerate for a few days before baking and assembling the cookies?
Hi Kathy! We haven’t tried that, but it should be ok! I wouldn’t recommend chilling the dough for longer than 48 hours. When ready to bake, set the mass of dough at room temperature until it’s just soft enough to scoop, then follow the instructions to bake. You’ll want to take your filling out a couple hours in advance, depending on the humidity/climate where you live, and re-whip until light and fluffy. Let us know what you think of this recipe!
My husband’s favourite. Mine is Oatmeal Cream Pies. I could eat the whole box, Ha. Will you PLEASE, please make those next?
Hi Mary! Be sure to check out this month’s baking challenge page linked here! August’s baking challenge is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, and we include a creme filling in the customization ideas! I can’t wait for you to give it a try!
Hi! My name is jayjay and I love the fudge round recipe!! So I have this goal that by my birthday this year I want to be able to make a fudge round birthday cake that can feed a few ppl! So pretty much your recipe but with enough ingredients to make a fudge round cake. Can you please help me??
Oh how fun!! I honestly haven’t tried making these cookies into a cake, but I have had success taking other cookie recipes and making them into bars (like in a 9×13 pan). What size cookie cake are you looking to make? You’ll definitely want to experiment with this ahead of time, but I’m almost wondering if you’d be able to just take this cookie recipe and make it in cake pans instead? You’ll for sure have to add time to the bake. Let me know how it goes!
Mine are nowhere near the picture. The only thing I did differently is double the recipe for a larger batch. The spread is to much and causes the edges to crisp up into basically bread. I’m going to have to use another recipe with a better cookie/cake base.
Hi Wesley, I’m sorry your fudge rounds didn’t turn out! Is it possible your butter was too warm? Cookies that spread too much are usually due to the butter being too warm.
Hi Tessa my butter was 63F at it’s core and was softened at 20% power in the microwave
Fun and delicious! They were easy to make and a childhood nostalgia!
So glad to hear that!
So I had the cookies in the oven for the 7-9 mins and when I took them out they looked really under done so I let them bake for a few more mins but now that the cookies are cooling they seem harder especially around the edges. Any suggestions? Are the cookies supposed to be doughy looking when you take them out after the 7-9 mins? Thankfully the recipe isn’t very difficult to make so I can remake the cookie portion if I need to! Thank you so much!
I made this for our dessert option for the biggest pro football game of the year. My brother’s comment was “These are so good!”. Since then, everyone that I share them with can’t stop asking for more. They are quite sweet, but oh my! Thanks for the great recipe.