The End-All for Chocolate Cookies Recipe (2024)

I can't stop thinking about how everyone should really try my chocolate cookies with coconut icing. So I've decided to post my chocolate cookie recipe. And peer pressure you all into trying it. Seriously, anyone who is anyone is doing it. In case you haven't noticed...I make A LOT of chocolate cookies. It's what I do. You can trust me on this when I say that this is the go-to recipe for chocolate cookies. So, you know, just try it.

FAQs

DO I **HAVE** TO USE THE SHORTENING? -- You don't have to add shortening if that grosses you out or you hate it on sheer principle or you can't find it where you live. It just makes the cookies a little softer. You can omit it entirely or substitute it with an additional 1/4 cup butter.

MY DOUGH IS TOO SOFT! WHAT SHOULD I DO? -- If your dough is too soft, try adding a little more flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. ALSO... If it's very hot where you live and your butter was room temperature instead of just slightly softened - you might actually need to cool everything down in the fridge for 10 minutes before rolling out the dough.

MY DOUGH IS TOO DRY! WHAT SHOULD I DO? -- The two most common reasons for this dough turning out dry is:

1) Not using large eggs. It's SURPRISING what a difference that makes.
2) Using too much flour. I'm not saying you used more than the recipe calls for - but since this recipe is written by volume and not weight, you might be adding more flour depending on elevation and humidity. Next time you make this recipe, try starting with 1 cup less flour and adding flour until it's just right. But you can still save this batch too!

Luckily, the solution to both of them is the same -- Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk together. Mix a little at a time into the dry dough until the dough comes together again.

SHOULD I USE SALTED OR UNSALTED BUTTER? -- If we're talking purely about science - it doesn't matter in this recipe. It's purely a personal preference. Use the butter you normally reach for. If you know you love things with just a little more salt - use salted butter. If you are someone who generally reduces salt in recipes - use unsalted butter.

HOW MANY COOKIES WILL THIS RECIPE MAKE? -- The yield for this recipe varies. It depends on how thick you roll your cookies. I can get about 3 dozen cookies when I roll them at 1/4 inch thick and use a 3 inch wide cookie cutter.

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE DONE? --Watch the surface of the cookie. As the dough begins to bake, the butter starts melting - creating a shiny or "wet" look on the surface of the cookie. As it continues to bake, the outside edge of the cookie will look dry and the wet spot in the middle shrinks. When that shiny "wet" spot in the middle disappears and the entire surface of the cookie is dry -- your cookies are done!

MY COOKIES TASTE DRY AFTER THEY ARE BAKED - WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM?-- It could be a few things.

1) You might be slightly over baking them. I know it's hard to tell because they are chocolate. I watch the surface of the cookies while they are baking and when the shiny spot in the center looks dry instead of shiny... I know they are done.
2) I've found that one of the common cocoa powders -- I can NOT for the life of me remember which one -- Hershey's or Nestle tends to make the cookie a little more on the dry side. I don't know why that happens. Maybe the fat content of the cocoa changes?
3) You might be using a little too much flour. If your butter was too warm to begin with, the dough will seem soft, and if you add more flour to make it not sticky...it will turn out dry. OR you might be adding too much flour for the amount of time that the dough sits. - This is why the recipe has two different amounts of flour. As the dough sits, the flour continues to absorb more moisture...making the dough more dry.

THE RECIPE SAYS NON-SPREADING...BUT MY COOKIES ARE STILL SPREADING A LITTLE BIT -- WHAT DID I DO WRONG? -- The most common reason for this is that your butter is too warm. Most cookie recipes call for room temperature butter. This recipe uses cool butter. It should be "dentable" -- you should be able to make a dent in the side of the butter...but not much more than that. Check out this post for more tips to stop cookies from spreading.

HOW LONG ARE THESE COOKIES GOOD FOR? -- It depends on how they are stored, but generally you can expect these cookies to taste fresh for about 7-10 days at room temperature.