With plenty of cocoa powder and big wells of dark chocolate, these double chocolate cookies are so fudgy that a tall glass of cold milk is not only delicious but essential especially when they are served hot from the oven.

These chocolate chip cookies, they bake up even better after the dough has had time to rest in the fridge. The extra long chill gives the dough a chance to hydrate fully and firm up, which yields more uniformly baked cookies, with the perfect amount of crunch around the edges and chewy in the center.

Thin chocolate discs or wafers, which are widely available, are used here. They melt into lovely chocolate layers as the cookies bake. But if you can’t find them, chocolate chips make a fine substitute; there’s no need to adjust the baking time.

Ingredients;

  • 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
  • 1/3 cup All-Purpose Baking Cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for depth of flavor
  • 2 cups chips, nuts, and/or dried fruit, optional but good

Instructions;

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line with parchment.
  2. Beat together the butter, sugars, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla until well blended.
  3. Add the egg, beating until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again until smooth. If you’re going to add chips, nuts, or dried fruit, beat in the 2 tablespoons milk; if you’re going to bake plain cookies without add-ins, omit the milk.
  4. Add the flour and espresso powder, mixing to combine.
  5. Stir in the chips, nuts, etc., if you’re using them.
  6. Drop the cookies by about 4 measuring teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2″ apart. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
  7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’ve lost their shiny appearance and look like they’re set.
  8. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pans; or transfer to a rack to cool.