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The best Chocolate Sugar Cookies that are easy to make and delicious plain or with frosting! These are easy drop sugar cookies with a rich chocolate flavor and soft and chewy texture. These are my favorite chocolate cookies since I love chocolate!
These are chocolate sugar cookies with a soft and chewy texture – they’re drop sugar cookies, which means we’re keeping it simple: no rolling pin needed or cutting out the dough, no chill time – just drop it onto the cookie sheet and bake.
I love them coated in sugar for an extra lightly crunchy coating or you can skip the sugar and make double chocolate sugar cookies and top them with my chocolate frosting. These are super rich and chocolatey with or without the frosting – they’re the perfect easy cookie recipe!
Ingredients Needed
- Softened unsalted butter: If you’re in a rush, learn how to soften butter quickly.
- Large egg and an egg yolk: The egg gives structure and the extra yolk adds chewiness to the cookies.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: This recipe was tested with regular cocoa powder, not Dutch process. You can use any brand you like, but I prefer Hershey or Ghirardelli.
- Cream of tartar: Helps them be nice and soft when combined with baking soda. Learn about cream of tartar and why we use it.
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to measure it correctly.
How to Make Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Mix until combined, and then mix in the cocoa powder. Add the flour and mix until the dough is smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl during mixing.
- Scoop two tablespoons of dough to form each cookie dough ball. You can roll them in granulated sugar in a small bowl and then place them on the baking sheet. If you plan to frost them, you can skip the sugar.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven on silicone baking mats or a parchment-lined baking sheet until the tops of the cookies are no longer glossy.
- While the cookies are baking, make the chocolate frosting if you’ll be frosting them. First whisk together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar, then mix in the butter and milk.
Expert Tips
- Unfrosted cookies: Allow the cookies to cool completely and then store them in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for two to three days, or you can freeze them for up to three months.
- Frosted sugar cookies: Allow the frosting to set fully, and then place the cookies in an airtight container with wax paper separating them. They will keep for a few days at room temperature, or you can freeze them for up to three months.
- You know when chocolate sugar cookies are done when they’re no longer glossy on top and look slightly puffed.
FAQs
You can add unsweetened cocoa powder to sugar cookies, but the amount will depend on the recipe. My tried and true chocolate sugar cookie recipe has the perfect amount to make soft and chewy cookies rich with chocolate flavor.
The ratio of ingredients place a big part but also the baking temperature and time. For the best soft and chewy cookies, don’t overbake the cookies, which will cause them to dry out.
I use one whole egg and an extra egg yolk for my drop chocolate sugar cookies. That extra egg yolk adds more moisture giving the cookies a great texture.
Chocolate Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup (27g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups (217g) all-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar for rolling (optional; see note)
Frosting:
- 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cups (141g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar for about a minute, or until fluffy, using a hand or a stand mixer.
- Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt and mix until combined, then mix in cocoa.
- Add flour and mix until smooth.
- Scoop 2 tablespoon size balls of cookie dough and place on cookie sheet 2-inches apart. If desired, roll them in granulated sugar beforehand.
- Bake 9-14 minutes, or until no longer glossy. If you’ve rolled them in sugar, those will be slightly cracked. Do not over bake. Cool before frosting.
- Make frosting: beat butter with cocoa and powdered sugar until crumbly. Add salt, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk; mix until smooth, adding more milk as needed for spreadable consistency.
- Frosting cookies as desired. Top with sprinkles if you want.
Recipe Notes
- These cookies spread more on parchment than they do on silicone, so for puffier cookies bake on a silpat baking mat.
- I roll the cookies in sugar prior to baking if I’m not frosting them. It makes them prettier.
- If you’re frosting them, you don’t need to roll them in sugar.
Frosting recipe is enough to frost entire batch of cookies.
Recipe Nutrition
Easy Chocolate Sugar Cookies without brown sugar – this is a classic drop sugar cookie recipe turned chocolate – make them plain or with easy chocolate frosting!
These are so good!! The cookies are nice and soft and very chocolaty. The frosting is simple and quick to make and perfect for these cookies. Next time I make them I will double the recipe. So very hard to just eat one. Thank you!!!
These cookies were so good and easy to make. They were like little brownie cookies. However, I am not a fan of frosting so I didn’t use any, and I didn’t miss it at all.
These cookies are just as described: easy, quick, superbly delicious. I was tired of making oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip so these were a nice change. In the summertime these are easy to transport in a picnic basket or golf bag…if they make it that far. I made the recipe exactly as written, used silicone mats and rolled in sugar. I didn’t frost them because I needed them to be portable but I will definitely frost them next time, particularly in light of the comments from other bakers. I baked them for 10 minutes and they were perfect. I got 24 cookies. Next time I will have to double the recipe!
Amazing! The softest chocolate sugar cookie. Simple and quick!
Made these today for the August Challenge. They came together fairly quickly and baked nice and soft, just like a sugar cookie should. The grandkids didn’t want to wait for frosting but they don’t really need it. Yummy nice and very chocolate.
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