Whether you're making these fudgy cookies for Christmas sharing or your personal stash you'll love how easy they are.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- With only seven ingredients and less than ten minutes of baking time, chocolate butter cookies are deliciously simple!
- These are the perfect cookies to wow guests during the holiday season, share at cookie swaps, and pack in lunch boxes for a special treat.
- Here's the easiest but most important tip for really good cookies: chill the dough before baking to prevent 'em from getting flat.
Chocolate lovers, beware! These decadent chocolate butter cookies are like potato chips—so scrumptious, you can’t eat just one.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- If you want more of a milk chocolate flavor, use natural unsweetened cocoa powder. If you prefer dark chocolate (like me), stick with Hershey’s special dark cocoa—Dutch process is the best!
- Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the dry ingredients to really amp up the rich chocolate flavor!
- Feel free to toss in some nuts, crushed candy, or toffee pieces if you feel like switching things up a bit.
- Dust your buttery cookies with powdered sugar or dip them in melted chocolate for an extra finishing touch.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed. Then, add the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture
- Combine the butter and flour mixtures on low speed.
- Shape the chilled cookie dough into small balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Leftover cookies? That's what I call a good breakfast!
Just kidding... sort of.
Room temperature
Homemade chocolate butter cookies are best enjoyed the same day you bake 'em. However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Freeze
Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to one month. They make a good, quick treat to have on hand.
You can also freeze the dough for baking later.
Simply thaw the frozen cookies on the counter until they reach room temperature, and enjoy with a refreshing glass of milk.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: You can keep unbaked dough balls in the freezer for two to three months. Anytime you're in the mood for a rich chocolate treat, pop a few in the oven (frozen), add a few minutes to the bake time, and enjoy.
- Using room-temperature butter is crucial—you can’t cream cold butter!
- Feel free to use a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to cream the ingredients.
- Nope, it's not a mistake—this chocolate butter cookie recipe doesn’t require baking soda, baking powder, or any other leavening agent.
- Dark-colored cookies like these don’t turn golden brown. Bake the cookie dough longer than 9-10 minutes, and you’ll have hockey pucks!
- Leave the freshly baked cookies on the prepared baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.
- Butter cookies need time to set after they’re baked, so wait until the cookies have fully cooled on a wire rack before serving for the best results.
👩🍳 FAQs
It’s up to you! My favorite is Dutch process cocoa powder, also known as dark cocoa or black cocoa. It packs a real chocolatey punch. Just make sure the cocoa powder you buy and use is unsweetened.
Yep! I don't recommend skipping the chilling step. Refrigerating the dough solidifies the fats and prevents your cookies from flattening in the oven. This makes the texture absolutely perfect.
Nope! Butter cookies firm up as they cool. Straight out of the oven, they may still feel quite soft. Don't overbake them—trust the process.
📚 Related recipes
- With a sweet, nutty flavor and tasty crunchy bits, Butter Pecan Toffee Cookies are the snackable version of everyone's favorite ice cream!
- These Bakery Sugar Cookies are another tried-and-true, classic recipe. The drop-dough cookies come out soft, sweet, and chewy every time!
- Chewy inside but crisp on the edges, Peanut Molasses Crinkle Cookies take a nutty twist on an old-fashioned staple. They're great for sharing!
🍽️ Serve with...
Decorate your chocolate butter cookies with Whipped Wedding Cake Frosting for a delicate layer of almond flavor. Don't forget some sprinkles! It transforms a simple treat into fancy cookies for weddings, grad parties, and other special occasions.
Take your indulgence to the next level with a Creamy Brazilian Iced Coffee Cocktail. Somewhere between coffee ice cream and a Black Russian, this rummy cocktail pairs perfectly with chocolate cookies! It's like the adult version of a glass of cold 2%—milk mustache optional.
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A heavy-duty cookie sheet makes all the difference when you are baking cookies! It helps them bake evenly without scorched bottoms.
Creaming butter takes a long time. It can be done by hand but this stand mixer makes it easier.
Make sure your cookies are all the same size with a cookie scoop. They'll bake more evenly and be better over-all.
📞 The last word
I will just about always be happy to sit down and have a good cookie. If they are chocolate that's even better!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Butter Cookies
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa, Hershey's extra dark
- ¼ teaspoon salt
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Instructions
- Combine sugar and butter in bowl.
- Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl at medium speed until creamy.
- Scrape bowl often.
- Add egg and vanilla extract.
- Continue beating until well mixed.
- Combine flour, cocoa and salt in another bowl.
- Beat at low speed while adding flour mixture gradually to butter mixture until well mixed. Scape the bowl often.
- Divide dough into thirds.
- Wrap each third in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Next Day
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
- Place 1-inch apart onto ungreased, parchment covered baking sheet.
- Bake 7-9 minutes or until set.
- Cool completely.
Notes
-
- Using room-temperature butter is crucial—you can’t cream cold butter!
-
- Feel free to use a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to cream the ingredients.
-
- Nope, it's not a mistake—this chocolate butter cookie recipe doesn’t require baking soda, baking powder, or any other leavening agent.
-
- Dark-colored cookies like these don’t turn golden brown. Bake the cookie dough longer than 9-10 minutes, and you’ll have hockey pucks!
-
- Leave the freshly baked cookies on the prepared baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.
-
- Butter cookies need time to set after they’re baked, so wait until the cookies have fully cooled on a wire rack before serving for the best results.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Valerie
I’ve never even heard of chocolate butter cookies before, but this recipe really spoke to me! I wanted to try something new. I made these cookies yesterday and they are DELICIOUS! Like if a chocolate cookie and a brownie had a baby lol. They’re so soft and melt in your mouth. I increased the size of my cookies so my recipe made 24 instead of 36, and I baked them for an extra couple of minutes. (I’m a big cookie kind of gal.) They came out perfect! I rolled each shaped dough ball in raw turbinado sugar before baking, and I’m glad I did. I love the crunch! Next time I’ll use light brown sugar instead of white sugar in the cookies, but that’s just my personal preference. Overall this recipe was a smashing success! My husband loves these cookies and wants me to make them again. Thanks for sharing your recipe!