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Chocolate Drop Cookies
This variation on our Basic Drop Cookies, suggested by a reader, yields medium-soft cookies with great chocolate flavor. For just plain chocolate, bake without add-ins; but chocolate chips, nuts, and dried fruit (cranberries, diced apricots, cherries) are all deliciously complementary.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
- 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa; King Arthur All-Purpose Baking Cocoa is a good choice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons milk (optional, if you add chips/nuts/fruit)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for depth of flavor
- 2 cups chips, nuts, and/or dried fruit, optional but good
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment.
- Beat together the butter, sugars, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla until well blended.
- Add the egg, beating until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again until smooth. If you're going to add chips, nuts, or dried fruit, beat in the 2 tablespoons milk; if you're going to bake plain cookies without add-ins, omit the milk.
- Add the flour and espresso powder, mixing to combine.
- Stir in the chips, nuts, etc., if you're using them.
- Drop the cookies by the traditional "tablespoonful" (actually about 4 measuring teaspoons) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2" apart. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
- Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they've lost their shiny appearance and look like they're set. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pans; or transfer to a rack to cool.
- Yield: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 dozen cookies, depending on add-ins.
Tips from our bakers
- For smaller (2 1/2") cookies, drop the dough by the heaping teaspoonful onto the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes, until they appear set. Yield: about 4 dozen cookies.
