No Chill Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
This no chill double chocolate chip cookies recipe bring together both cocoa powder and chocolate chips in fudgy chocolate cookies that are perfect for chocolate lovers everywhere. Made with cold butter, the dough does not need to be chilled. Top them off with a sprinkle of kosher or flaky sea salt to highlight their indulgent chocolate deliciousness and you may just find they are your new favorite chocolate treat.
Fudgy Chocolate Cookie Recipe
So many recipes for chocolate chocolate chip cookies use the word “chewy” to describe the texture, but not these cookies. If I had to describe these cookies in a word, it would be fudgy. While the outside makes you think they are going to be cakelike, the inside is closer to the center of a fudgy brownie.
Fresh out of the oven it’s almost (almost!) like having a single serve brownie. The bottoms are crisp like an edge piece, the tops are soft, and the centers are gooey fudgy deliciousness. Once they cool the tops firm up and the bottoms soften a little bit, but that fudgy center is still there.
I make them whenever I have an excuse to, but this no chill cookie recipe is one of my favorites during the holidays! And trust me, between my chocolate caramel thumbprint cookies, butter pecan cookies, and other cookies recipes, being one of my favorite Christmas cookies is very competitive business.
The Makings of a “No Chill” Cookie Dough
When I first tried making cookies with cold butter my baking instincts went a little crazy. Making cookies without first softening the butter went against all of my previous experience. But, I tried it anyway and I’m so glad I did.
We all know that chilling the cookie dough between mixing it and baking it is what helps the cookies to keep their shape and prevent spreading out. Specifically, the cold centers allow the outsides of the cookies to bake before the insides are warm enough to spread.
Using cold butter and working quickly, allows the end result to closely resemble what the dough would look like if you softened it, mixed it, then chilled it. So we aren’t just saving time by not warming our butter to room temperature, we are also saving time by not having to chill the cookies before we bake them. That is a time saving win-win.
One thing to note, it’s very difficult to make these or any cold butter cookies without some mechanical help, in the form of a stand mixer or hand mixer. I used a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Based on my experience with making rough puff pastry I would imagine that a food processor would work too, but I haven’t yet tried it.
If You Don’t Have a Stand Mixer on Hand:
If you don’t have any of these tools, you can make these cookies in a more traditional way. Let your butter come to room temp and mix your dough as instructed. Shape your cookies and add the chips, then chill them for 30 minutes so that they firm up before baking. It won’t save you the time, but it will get you yummy chocolate cookies.
What You’ll Need to Make Chocolate Cookies
Cold butter is key here — I’ll explain why in a bit. Brown sugar, whether dark or light, activates the baking soda with its acidic properties. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and structure. Eggs bind the dough and vanilla extract (real or imitation) enhances flavor. I prefer unbleached all-purpose flour, though regular works fine. Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives a milder, lower-acid chocolate flavor, balanced by baking soda for just the right lift. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips double the chocolate goodness. For a finishing touch (optional), sprinkle flaky sea salt or kosher salt on top.
How to Make Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies need very little advance planning because we make them with cold butter, so there is no need to set your butter out in advance or chill the cookies in the fridge before baking. Everything mixes in a single bowl, but I like to crack the eggs separately before adding them in, just in case I drop a shell or find a bad egg. Once mixed they go straight in the oven, making them a great option for when you are short on time.
- Prepare – Preheat the oven to 350º and line a cookie sheet with parchment (2 if you have them.) Grab all your tools and ingredients.
- Mix the wet ingredients – Cut your butter into chunks – the smaller they are the faster they mix. Add butter and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low until crumbly. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until liquid.
- Add the dry ingredients – Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the liquid mixture. I like to sprinkle the salt and baking soda over the top instead of dropping it all in one spot. Mix on low until combined into a thick, stiff chocolate cookie dough. It should resemble a chilled cookie dough texture.
- Make the cookies – Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop your cookies. You can drop them straight from the scoop or roll them into cookie dough balls. Place them on your prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. I can fit 12 onto a standard, half sized cookie sheet.
- Add chocolate chip cookies – Gently press 6 – 7 chocolate chips into the top of each cookie for extra chocolate flavor. (A great job for little hands and kids learning to count!) Sprinkle with salt, if using.
- Bake – Bake the cookies in your preheated oven, 8 minutes baking time for gooey fudgy centers or 10 minutes total time for fudgy cakey centers.
- Cool – Allow the cookies to cool about 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (This step preserves their crispy bottoms.)
Tips for Best Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here are a few important things to remember when making these cookies.
- Use the parchment – It will save you clean up time, keep your cookies from sticking, and it’s biodegradable.
- Don’t overmix the butter and sugars – Many cookie recipes call for creaming the butter, which adds air to the dough. We don’t want that. We are aiming for a fudgy cookie here and adding air to the mix will cause them to be more cakelike. It will also
- Leave space between your cookies – Space gives them room to expand slightly and it gives you room to slip a spatula under them while transferring them to the cooling rack.
Note on Baking: The recipe makes about 24 cookies. If you are only baking one sheet of cookies at a time, bake it in the center of the oven and place the remaining shaped cookies in the fridge to keep the dough cold while the first batch bakes. Let the fridge cookies sit out for about 2 minutes before placing them in the oven.
Alternatively, you can set your racks high and low in the oven and bake two sheets at once. If baking two sheets, be sure to rotate your cookies top to bottom and front to back halfway through the cooking time.
How to Store and Reheat
These cookies keep well in an airtight container on the counter for about 5 days before they start to go stale. I keep mine in clean, reusable take out containers.
If you won’t eat all of them in that amount of time, toss them in the freezer where they will keep for about 3 months. You can bring out just what you need and expect that they will thaw on the counter in about 30 minutes or toss them in an oven or airfryer to warm them back up.
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Double Chocolate Chip Cookies | No Chill Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1-2 tablespoons of Kosher or flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Set an oven rack to the center position, then preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet (2 if you have them) with parchment paper.
- Cut your cold butter into cubes & then place in a medium mixing bowl along with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Start on low speed and increase to medium speed until all of the butter & sugar have thoroughly been combined.
- Add in the eggs & vanilla extract to the bowl, mix on medium low until combined.
- Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, & salt. Mix on the lowest speed until combined. You will get a thick dough and it may look like you need more liquid, but don’t add any!
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto your cookie sheet leaving about 2” between each scoop.
- Press 6 – 7 chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie & sprinkle lightly with salt if using.
- Place one sheet of cookies in the fridge to hold while the first batch bakes. Place the other batch on the center rack of the hot oven.
- Bake 8 minutes for gooey fudgy cookies or 10 minutes for cakelike fudgy cookies. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Bake the second sheet of cookies the same as the first.
- Enjoy with a glass of milk or by themselves!
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Notes
- The chocolate chips can be mixed in during the last step instead of being added on top, if you choose.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is for general information purposes only. For the most accurate information, calculate using your select brands and exact measurements.