These deep, dark Black Cocoa Cookies are the perfect Halloween cookie, or for when you want to explore your emo nature in cookie form. Dramatic in color but with the soft and chewy texture of the best chocolate chip cookies.
I have a type when it comes to the chocolate chip cookies I love. I’ll eat a crispy chocolate chip cookie (looking at you, Tate’s) now and then, but give me a slightly gooey cookie with pops of melted chocolate every time.
I’ve developed recipes for chocolate chip cookies using both a classic vanilla or brown butter base and a chocolate base, but black cocoa powder was a new challenge for me. It doesn’t behave quite like regular cocoa powder, and also doesn’t have the same flavor. In fact, my recipe tasters described the taste of these cookies as “ice cream-like”. Which I think is pretty accurate for these yummy cookies!
It took several rounds of testing to determine just the right amount of black cocoa powder, and how to best incorporate it into the cookie dough batter. But I’ve got a method that works, and I’ll share it with you below.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love These Black Cocoa Cookies
- Smooth, rich flavor that is a more like Oreo cookie flavor than deep chocolate flavor
- Such a fun color—great for Halloween parties or anywhere you want a stunning dark cookie
- Soft butter and a good chill time gives these great texture with fudgy centers
- So easy. No mixer required!
- Good shelf life, as these cookies stay soft for a few days after baking
🥗 Ingredients
- Black Cocoa Powder: The star of the show! It’s Dutch-processed and ultra-dark, and you can order black cocoa powder online. A little goes a long way—three tablespoons are all you need for this color and flavor.
- Butter: I prefer unsalted butter for this recipe, but feel free to sub in salted butter instead.
- Chocolate Chips: Use what you like! I love bittersweet with this recipe, but semi sweet or milk chocolate chips would also work. White chocolate chips make a nice contrast to the dark color of these cookies.
- Sugar: A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar gives great flavor and texture. You can use just one or the other if you prefer. And substitute dark brown sugar for light brown sugar if you’d like.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is best for this recipe.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Heat 12 tablespoons butter in a large mixing bowl in the microwave for 60 seconds at 50% power until butter is very soft but not melted.
Whisk in ¾ cup granulated sugar (167g) and ½ cup packed brown sugar (104g).
Whisk in 2 eggs, then 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla.
Whisk in 3 tablespoons black cocoa powder (33g).
In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (312g), 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a sturdy wooden spoon.
Stir in 1 ½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips (250g).
Chill batter for at least 30 minutes.
While batter is chilling, preheat oven to 350°F.
Use a slightly overfilled 1 ½-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out cookie dough, then roll into balls with your hands. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies look firm and no longer glossy on top.
Remove baking sheet from oven. Let cookies sit for 2 minutes, then remove and let cool on a wire rack.
Storage Tips
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze cookies in a ziplock freezer bag for up to 3 months.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Black Cocoa Powder Cookies
Black cocoa powder is ultra-Dutch processed, meaning that its acidity has been reduced using an alkaline solution. It is deep black in color, and is a great alternative to food coloring if you want to make cookies or cakes that are black rather than brown. Because it is ultra-Dutch processed, you’ll need to add baking powder to a recipe and not just baking soda for the leavening.
Counterintuitively, black cocoa powder actually does not taste as chocolatey as regular cocoa powder. Instead, it has a milder flavor that tastes similar to Oreo cookies. Many people choose to combine black cocoa powder with regular cocoa powder if they want a more intense chocolate flavor.
Finally, black cocoa powder has less fat content than traditional cocoa powder, so you need to may need to add more liquid or fat into your recipe if you are replacing regular cocoa powder with black.
Most likely the dough wasn’t chilled long enough. Add an extra 15–20 minutes next time or place the scooped dough balls in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. And, if you didn’t weigh your ingredients, try that next time. This recipe needs to have the right ratio of flour and cocoa powder to liquids, and sometimes measuring cups can be really off.
Yes! Store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. If it is too hard to scoop out, just take it out and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes. You can also scoop the balls and place them on a wax paper or parchment paper-lined pan to freeze. Once they are frozen, transfer to a ziplock freezer bag. You can bake directly from frozen, but add 1-2 minutes baking time.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
You may assume that the cocoa powder should be combined with the dry ingredients, but it will incorporate much better into the batter if you whisk it into the liquid ingredients before combining with the dry ingredients.
As with all baking recipes but particularly with this one, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients for best results. Measuring cups, and how tight you pack them, really vary in how much flour or sugar is in them. These cookies have a tendency to spread if you play fast and loose with your measurements.
Don’t skip the chill time. Cookie dough made with black cocoa powder is soft, and the chill time ensures you don’t get flat cookies.
It’s difficult to tell when cookies made with black cocoa powder are done since you can’t look for golden edges. Baking 1 or 2 in a test batch in your oven to make sure you know exactly how long to leave them in may be a good idea.
Want a more chocolatey flavor? Sub out one tablespoon of the black cocoa powder and replace it with regular Dutch-process cocoa powder. You’ll still get very dark cookies with a little more of a chocolate vibe.
These are the perfect Halloween cookies, but they make a stunning addition to your holiday season cookie baking as well. Especially if you have some emo teenagers in your house, as I do!
Other Delicious Cookie Recipes
If you love cookies as much as I do, you might want to check out some of my other favorite cookie recipes.
If you try this Black Cocoa Cookies recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Black Cocoa Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter 12 tablespoons
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons black cocoa powder
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Heat butter in a large bowl in the microwave for 60 seconds at 50% power until butter is very soft but not melted.
- Whisk in granulated and brown sugars.
- Whisk in eggs, then vanilla.
- Whisk in black cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a sturdy wooden spoon.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Chill batter for at least 30 minutes.
- While batter is chilling, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Use a slightly overfilled 1 ½-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out cookie dough, then roll into balls with your hands. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies look firm and no longer glossy on top.
- Remove baking sheet from oven.
- Let cookies sit for 2 minutes, then remove and let cool on a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this black cocoa powder cookies recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
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