I know, I know – I’m always suspicious when a recipe calls itself “the best” too – it’s hard to be the best! And what does that even mean?? For me, the best means the best tasting of course, but also a recipe that is simple and accessible. Because I know you can make something amazing when there’s hours and effort involved, but it’s hard to say the same for a 30 minute recipe. So that’s what these cookies are to me – the ultimate chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe, in the simplest format and the lowest amount of time.
These double chocolate cookies, in their simplicity, are just good.
So what makes these chocolate-chocolate chip cookies the best? Well first, we have a brown butter base – which is to die for. Next – we are using two whole bars of really high quality dark chocolate. Third, they have a crinkly top that will remind you of your favorite brownies (not to mention the fudgey center). And of course, I use a baking technique where we do a short amount of time at a high temperature, ensuring your cookies will be crisp on the edges and gooey in the center. Every. Dam*. Time.
Read on for more on how to make these the best chocolate chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever had.
Table of contents
- Let’s talk about chocolate chocolate chip cookies
- Kitchen tools I recommend to make the best chocolate chocolate chip cookies
- Ingredients for this chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe
- Now let’s get started on making the chocolate dough
- Now for the wet ingredients
- The quick trick for the dry ingredients for the best chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe
- The best way to bake these chocolate chocolate chip cookies
- Looking for similar cookie recipes?
- Watch the video here:
Let’s talk about chocolate chocolate chip cookies
I had to poll people when I asked, “do you call these double-chocolate chip cookies or chocolate chocolate chip cookies?” And that’s when I learned the real distinction of this recipe. A double-chocolate chip cookie is where there is just double the amount of chocolate chips, where a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe requires a true, and delicious, chocolatey dough.
But sometimes I feel like these recipes forget the dough aspect, and just throw some cocoa powder in the dry ingredients and call it a day. But not on this blog, dear readers. Here, we take the chocolate aspect very seriously.
This chocolate chocolate chip cookie uses a whole bar of dark chocolate in the dough. We choose to melt it with the brown butter, to make sure it is evenly distributed and easy to mix. And that is exactly what makes these the best chocolate chocolate chip cookies on the internet.
Kitchen tools I recommend to make the best chocolate chocolate chip cookies
As mush as I say you can make cookies with whatever tools you have in your kitchen (and trust me, you can!) there are a few things I recommend to make your life easier – especially with these chocolate chocolate chip cookies.
- A stand mixer or an electric mixer – this is important for any kind of cookie recipe. This is because a mixer helps you whip together butter and sugar, essentially “aerating” the butter and giving you a lighter, more tender cookie. If you are looking to get serious about baking, I highly recommend investing in an electric mixer! You can find my stand mixer and hand mixer recommendations linked here!
- Parchment paper – If you watch my TikToks (which you should, they are so fun!) you know I am a huge fan of parchment paper. It keeps your pans clean, it is the perfect way to create a non-stick surface, plus it is the best for cookie baking. A lot of times when you don’t have a nonstick pan, you need to spray or grease a cookie sheet to make sure nothing sticks, but even that greasing can mess with the cookies. To play it safe, I recommend stocking up on some parchment paper in the kitchen. You can even get it pre-cut to match the size of your baking sheet. Too easy!
- Cooling rack – A cooling rack is an essential piece of baking equipment if you ask me, and not just for this recipe! The reason is, when you take a hot pan out of the oven, the cookies on the pan continue to cook even when they are out of the oven’s heat. This is because of the residual heat from the pan. So when you move them to a cooling rack, you minimize this aspect of the baking process and have more control over how the cookie bakes. You can find my favorite cooling rack here.
- Kitchen scale – Ok, ok, I’m not going to rant about this any longer, but you know I love grams! For the best results in any cookie recipe, you gotta switch to measuring ingredients by weight (or at least try to!) I’ve listed out cups and grams in the recipe, but here’s a great (and affordable) kitchen scale if you think you are ready to invest.
Ingredients for this chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe
Ok, so now that we have the tools covered, here is everything you need for this recipe. Like I stated in the opening of the blog post, the point of this recipe is to give you the best flavor with the lowest effort, and that includes simple ingredients. Here is everything you need:
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter, 226 grams
- 1/2 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar, 80 grams
- 1 cup white sugar, 220 grams
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp espresso or strongly brewed coffee
- 2 cups & 2 tbsp flour, 300 grams
- 7 tbsp dutch processed cocoa, 42 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 1/2 tsp if using Morton’s
- 2 bars of 70% dark chocolate, 113 grams each
Now let’s get started on making the chocolate dough
The chocolate dough is so important to this chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s what gives it a deep fudgey flavor that you’d still have even without any chocolate chunks added. So first we start by browning butter and then adding it into the chocolate to melt.
What is the benefit of using brown butter?
Brown butter is an amazing ingredient, especially in baked goods like this banana bread. It adds a rich, deep, caramelized flavor that you can’t get with normal butter, and that’s because we are essentially “toasting” the milk solids in brown butter as we cook it.
What happens when we brown butter, is that the butter separates into water and milk solids. Butter is actually about 22% water and 78% milk solids (baking math, fun!) and the milk solids are what create the dark, rich tones of brown butter.
Now for the wet ingredients
I recommend creaming together the softened butter with the sugars first, before adding the egg and the browned butter chocolate mixture. This will give you a smooth base to start the aeration process of the wet ingredients, making them light and fluffy.
You’ll want to beat together all of the wet ingredients until they look fluffy like in the below photo.
The quick trick for the dry ingredients for the best chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe
Now for the dry ingredients – we are using dutch processed cocoa powder to add even more richness to the dough. This is what makes these cookies rich in chocolate flavor, on multiple levels.
A trick here is to sift your dry ingredients if you see any lumps and clumps. Dutch process cocoa powder has a tendency to clump up, and you don’t want to find any pockets of dry cocoa powder when you mix your dough, so sifting is the best way to mitigate that.
The best way to bake these chocolate chocolate chip cookies
I recommend a 400°F oven for this recipe because a hot oven does two things:
- It ensures that your cookies will be crisp on the edges but still gooey on the center, and
- It helps create a crinkly cookie top, which is my signature look and what I think is the prettiest way to make a cookie.
This is because the high temperature of the oven hits the outside of the cookie first, but doesn’t fully cook the inside before the cookie is done. This allows the residual heat from the cookie baking process to continue to cook the cookie out of the oven, giving it the perfect texture, even after they’ve been stored for a few days.
Looking for similar cookie recipes?
Here are others that people go NUTS for!
Watch the video here:
And that’s everything for the best chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
The Best Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 1 pan or skillet
- 1 Hand mixer or stand mixer
- 2 sheets of parchment paper
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter 226 grams
- 1/2 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar 80 grams
- 1 cup white sugar 220 grams
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp espresso or strongly brewed coffee
- 2 cups & 2 tbsp flour 300 grams
- 7 tbsp dutch processed cocoa 42 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt 1/2 tsp if using Morton’s
- 2 bars of 70% dark chocolate 113 grams each
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Begin by browning 8 tbsp of the butter. Using a small pan on low heat, slowly melt the butter until it starts to fizz. Stir occasionally, letting the milk solids separate from the butter and begin to brown on the bottom. When the butter is a golden brown, remove from the heat and continue to stir until it is a deep golden brown. Set aside.
- Add one of the 113 gram chocolate bars to a bowl or cup and pour over the browned butter. Stir until the chocolate is melted and a thick chocolate liquid has formed.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl, add the remaining butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Mix together until creamed, then add the egg, the vanilla, the coffee and the brown butter chocolate mixture. Beat until the mixture doubles in size and lightens in color, about 4-5 minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add these to the wet ingredients to form a dough.
- Chop up the remaining chocolate bar and mix it into the dough.
- Portion the cookies into 10 equal sized balls, about 3.5 ounces each. Bake for 10-11 minutes at 400°F.
- Remove from the oven and smack the cookies on the counter a few times to flatten them out. Use a large cup or bowl to swirl around these cookies to make them into perfectly concentric circles. Serve warm!
Molly J says
I’v been a huge fan of your content, I followed this recipe to a T and am so pleased to say it came out perfectly. No adjustments needed, only praise!
Justine says
This comment made my day! I’m so thrilled you liked them!
Alaina C. says
Just saw this video and rushed over here to make them! They are still in the oven but I snuck a taste of the cookie dough and they are sooo yummy!! I added some salted caramel chips in there too and it has officially made my day! Delish! Thank you!!
Justine says
Omg YAY this comment made my day – and I agree with you on the dough, it is SO good. The addition of salted caramel chips sounds amazing – I’ll have to add that to my rotation 🙂
Amanda says
Could you make these in a 13×9 pan for cookie bars? The recipe looks so, so yummy!
Justine says
I haven’t personally tested it but I don’t see why not! You’d have to increase the baking time of course, I’d suggest baking for at least 25 minutes at 375°F, but if you try it please report back <3
Sara Vogelius says
Just made some this evening and they were incredible! Really chocolaty and tasy. Would definitely make again
Justine says
I’m so thrilled you liked them! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment – it means more to me than you know!
Robyn says
Made these last night — swapping the dark choc chunks for chopped up Milky Bar — and they were unreal! We can’t get enough.
Al says
This is my third cookie recipe of yours that I’ve tried and they did not disappoint! My husband said they came out so perfectly round and delicious that no one will believe they were home made. Your directions are always so clear and lead to perfect cookie results! You are my go to cookie source.
Justine says
This comment made my day! I’m so thrilled you liked this recipe and all the other cookie ones too! Honored to be your go-to source <3
Camille says
I just made these and feel like crying! 😭 My search for THE best chocolate chip cookie recipe is over! THANKS! I followed your recipe exactly as is and they came out perfect. I don’t like overly sweet cookies…w this one I can really taste the chocolate. First time baking cookies at 400°…what a great trick! You are a genius. Their texture just as you described. Eating one as I type ☺️
Andrea says
I have followed you for so long and this was the first recipe I made! 10/10 love these cookies and so did everyone I made them for! 😊
Melanie says
I am about to jump all over this one but…I’m confused…what do you mean in the very last step about swirling around a bowl to make them perfectly centric? Thanks for all your amazing recipes btw!!!
Justine says
That’s just to make the cookies look nice! It won’t impact the flavor. It’s just a technique to make them perfectly rounded 🙂
katie says
The BEST chocolate chocolate chip cookies EVER! You never cease to create something accessible and delicious <3
Justine says
This comment made my DAY – thank you so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review, I really appreciate it <3
Francesca says
I love your content on tik tok and had to try these cookies and they are amazing! Made me feel like a real baking pro and they taste so good. Keep up the amazing work 🙂
Justine says
Omg I’m so glad they made you feel that way! I’m so happy you made them and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment <3