The ULTIMATE Triple Chocolate Cookies

The ULTIMATE triple chocolate cookies. Deep rich and chewy chocolate cookies cram-packed full of oodles of white, milk, and dark chocolate chips. Pure, unadulterated, indulgent chocolate heaven.

The cookie obsession continues

I love a good cookie! Whether stuffed or chunky, I’m not sure a lot in life can quite beat a decent cookie. However, given my love of all things chocolate (check out the links to my incredible fudge cake or my to-die-for chocolate doughnuts if you doubt me!), I was amazed to discover I hadn’t shared a chocolate cookie recipe with you.

So, today I’m correcting this gross oversight of mine. If you want a whole-hearted, take-your-breath-away, leave-you-entirely-speechless intensely chocolatey cookie recipe, you have just found it! My ultimate triple chocolate cookies!

In fact, I might even suggest it’s a quadruple chocolate cookie recipe. These cookies contain cocoa powder in the cookie itself, and then they are stuffed to the brim with white, milk, and dark chocolate chips. That’s four by my count, right?!

What is the difference between cookies and biscuits?

Cookies are generally made from a dough that is much softer than biscuit dough, in that you can’t roll or stamp it out. When baked, cookies tend to be softer and chunkier than biscuits, often with a bit of chewiness too which means you can almost “bend” your cookies. Biscuits on the other hand will bake much firmer and will have a more delicate texture to them meaning they can snap or be broken and not bend. Biscuits tend to be used more often when a filling is required, or if decorating with icing art, but cookies can be “stuffed” resulting in the filling being baked within the cookie itself.

Having said all this, I am well aware the word “biscuits” are used in parts of the world to also mean a tender baked dough not dissimilar to what we in the UK call “scones”. They are both made in a very similar way, but served differently.

Ah the joys of the English language!

What ingredients do I need to make these triple chocolate cookies?

• Unsalted butter: I like to use unsalted butter so I can control how much salt is in the bake. For best results, use butter at room temperature
• Brown sugar: for sweetness, but also chewiness, in your cookies.
• Caster sugar: for sweetness, and a little crisp, in your cookies.
• Vanilla: for delicious flavour!
• Flour: I use plain (all purpose) flour in my cookies. Other flours will result in different textures, so it’s really important to stick with plain flour.
• Cocoa powder: because chocolate cookies!
• Cornflour/cornstarch: gives your cookies that beautiful softness in texture we all love!
• Baking powder/bicarbonate of soda: the leavening agents in this bake, to give your cookies enough lightness so they bake into chewy delights!
• Salt: enhances the flavours in your bake. You won’t taste it, I promise!
• Chocolate chips: this recipe uses dark, milk and white chocolate chips. It isn’t the ULTIMATE chocolate cookie for nothing!
• Egg: helps with the binding and structure of the cookies.

What equipment do I need to make cookies?

• Baking tray*: to chill and then bake your cookies on. I would recommend at least couple of baking trays so you can have one for chilling your cookie dough and one for baking.
• Digital kitchen scales*: I always recommend using digital kitchen scales to weigh your ingredients out over using a volume based measuring system, as cups. Weighing out your ingredients is much more accurate than measuring by volume, and will ensure better results in your cookies, so I’d take the plunge if you haven’t already. 
• Measuring spoons*: for measuring smaller quantities such as tablespoons (tbsp) and teaspoons (tsp), a set of dedicated measuring spoons is a must! These are far more accurate than your everyday eating spoons, and are really easy to get hold of too.
• Mixing bowl*: to mix all your ingredients together to make your cookies
• Stand mixer*/Handheld electric mixer*: investing in a good electric mixer, whether stand mixer or hand held electric mixer, is a brilliant help with all your baking, and will make baking cookies a total breeze!
• Sieve*: to remove lumps from your dry ingredients, ensuring everything gets mixed together evenly.
• Spatula*: to help with mixing ingredients and scraping your mixing bowl down
• Cooling rack*: place your baking tray when it comes out of the oven, allowing your cookies to continue baking and firm up before you enjoy them.

How to make my homemade triple chocolate cookies

Cookies are one of my favourite bakes, mainly because they actually come together so quickly and easily! The hardest part is the waiting: for them to chill before baking, and then for them to set after baking. Once you get the hang of my method, cookie making will be effortless!

Step 1: Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set it aside.

Step 2: In the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugars until smooth and slightly paler in colour. Add in the vanilla and mix through. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, cornflour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt into the mixing bowl. Beat it all together until your mixture is evenly combined and resembles coarse wet chocolatey sand. Add in all three different chocolate chips, reserving a few of each to stud your cookies later, then stir through. Finally, tip in your beaten egg and mix it all together until just combined and starting to form large clumps of cookie dough.

Step 3: Divide your mixture into 8-9 equal parts, or if you prefer to weigh it, each part should weigh around 100-105g. Gently squeeze each part of your mixture together into cookie balls, then place them on your prepared baking tray. Using the additional chocolate chips you set aside earlier, stud your cookie balls randomly all over. Place your baking tray in the freezer for at least 30 minutes for your dough to firm up.

Step 4: About 10 minutes before you’re ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 200C/400F and line a couple of fresh baking trays. Place your cold cookie balls on the lined baking sheets, allowing enough room for them to spread (I get four cookies to a tray). Bake your cookies in your hot oven for 10-12 minutes until the cookies have slightly puffed up, have little cracks on top all the way to the middle and are lightly crisp at the edges. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and place them on a cooling rack, leaving the cookies on the tray to cool for at least 30 minutes. Once completely cool, remove from the baking tray and enjoy!

Cookies FAQ

There are several factors that can affect your cookies and how they turn out. Whilst I will try to answer as many questions as I can, I’m bound to miss some, so please ask away in the comments below!

Why should I use cornflour (cornstarch) in my cookies?

Cornflour, or cornstarch, gives your cookies a soft and tender consistency that just flour alone doesn’t achieve. It also helps keep your cookies thick when baked. You can swap it out for the same amount of flour if you wish, but you’ll love the result of it in your cookies so I wouldn’t!

How do I make chewy chocolate cookies?

I have found I prefer a mix of white and brown sugar in my cookies. The white sugar adds to the crispy outside of the cookies. However, it’s the brown sugar that is key for a wonderfully chewy cookie. The reason for this is molasses in brown sugar. Molasses helps retain more moisture in the cookies, making them thicker, softer and deliciously chewier!

Can I use oil instead of butter in my cookies?

Oil and butter are unfortunately not interchangeable particularly in my cookie recipes. This is because oil has a lower melting temperature to butter. The result is they will spread more when baking, even after chilling, so you won’t get the same final results.

What if my cookie dough is too soft?

If your cookie dough feels too soft, chill your dough for 10-15 minutes longer before separating into balls. Please keep in mind if you didn’t use block butter in your cookies, they will remain soft and not firm up. I always use block butter, not oil or the kind that’s spreadable from a tub, in my cookies. Using butter should result in your cookies really firming up in the fridge/freezer no problem, and holding their shape when baked.

How do I know if my cookies are done?

You know your triple chocolate cookies are done if the edges are slightly darker and the little cracks on top have found their way to the middle of the cookie. Remove them from the oven, but keep them on the baking tray! They will continue to bake in the residual heat from within the cookie and the baking tray. Leaving them on the tray to cool and firm up is super important for beautiful chewy cookies.

Why did my cookies come out flat?

In my recipes, I chill my cookie dough before I bake my cookies. This allows the butter in the dough to firm up, which helps the cookie hold its chunky shape when baked instead of spreading. A good guide is this: the warmer your cookie dough is when you put it in the oven, the thinner and flatter your cookies will be once baked.

Why are my cookies cakey?

There are several reasons why your cookies might have turned out cakey. The most likely is that there was too much leavening agent or egg in your cookie mixture. Egg can act as a leavening agent and give your cookies more rise than desired, making them cakey.

Why are my cookies crumbly?

Again, there are many reasons your cookies turned out crumbly, but two highly likely culprits. It could be that they were baked too long, and so have dried out. Or alternatively, it might be that too much flour was used when making the cookie dough, hence leading to drier cookies.

How long will these cookies keep? And how should I store them?

These cookies never last long when I make them! Having said that, they are at their best if devoured within 4-5 days from baking, and kept in an airtight container.

Can I freeze these triple chocolate cookies?

Yes! You can freeze them both unbaked and baked. Keep reading for how to freeze both unbaked and baked cookies.

For unbaked cookies, freeze the cookie dough in individual cookie balls for a couple of hours until really firm. Once frozen, transfer them into a lidded container suitable for the freezer. These dough balls will keep for two months in your freezer. 

For baked cookies, make sure they’re fully cool, then wrap individually tightly in cling film and place in a lidded container before freezing.

How do I thaw my cookies?

If you froze your cookies as unbaked cookie dough, simply remove your frozen cookies and place them on a lined baking tray. Remember to leave about 2 inches between each cookie for them to spread as they bake. Pop them in your preheated oven straight from frozen, and bake, adding a couple of minutes extra to your baking time.

If you baked your cookies before freezing, you can just defrost them fully at room temperature and enjoy! However, if you want to get the crunchy edges and soft middle, you might need to reheat them. Simply pop them on a cookie sheet (no need to spread out too much, you’re just heating them up again) and reheat in your oven at 180C/350F for about 3-5 minutes, then leave on a cooling rack for a few minutes before enjoying.

Additional tips for making this triple chocolate chip cookies recipe

• Make sure you’ve prepared your tools and ingredients before you start mixing. Line your baking tray and get your ingredients out ready to use. And don’t forget to make space in your freezer too! It’s easy to miss something once you start mixing!
• Take time to read through the recipe so you are familiar with what steps come next. Don’t skip details, ingredients and instructions given as it could affect the results of your final bake.
• Adding your egg in the final step is the most important: don’t beat it too much! You want to mix it in so it’s combined but not beaten to add any additional air into the mixture nor to make the cookie tough. The chewy density of these cookies comes from your ingredients being just combined, that’s it!
• If you would rather have plain cookies rather than chocolate flavoured ones, just replace the cocoa powder with the same amount of plain (all purpose) flour. Simples!

Troubleshooting

If you have any other questions about this cookie recipe, please use the comments below to ask away and I’ll do my best to help! And if you made and enjoyed this, I’d love to hear from you too!

And don’t forget: if you make this recipe for triple chocolate cookies, please do consider leaving a rating and review below. I would really love to know how you enjoy making them and it really helps others looking for a recipe too! You could even post a picture on Instagram and tag me when you share it with the world, I’d love to see!

More chocolate recipes for you to enjoy

Don’t forget too to check out these other unmissable chocolate recipes on my blog:

The ultimate chocolate fudge cake: my ULTIMATE chocolate fudge cake! Serve either at room temperature, soft and melt-in-your-mouth, or warm and melty with ice cream. This is one of the most popular recipes on my blog, and for good reason!

Chocolate fudge doughnuts: these doughnuts are a chocaholic’s dream! Moist chocolate doughnuts, fudgy chocolate glaze and more chocolate to decorate. Yum!

Chocolate orange loaf cake: a moist, light and fluffy cake, with a deep chocolate flavour and is topped with a generous tangy marmalade glaze for extra orange joy. If you’re a fan of chocolate orange, this is not one to miss!

Chocolate orange cookies: this delicious chocolate orange cookies recipe delivers a chewy, gooey and absolutely heavenly cookie! Perfect crisp edges and a soft middle make these a cookie lover’s delight!

How will you enjoy them?

So now we’ve covered how to make these chewy and soft triple chocolate cookies, I want to know how you plan to enjoy them! Do you prefer your cookies still warm from the oven? Cooled down and more set and chewy? With a glass of milk or coffee? Should your milk be warm or cold? Are you a cookie dunker?

Make these cookies. Eat them and rejoice. Then come back and leave me a rating and comment below to tell me how you enjoyed eating them and how long they lasted in YOUR home!

Thanks for reading and joining me today my friends. As always, happy chocolate baking! x

Recommended equipment I used *

Baking tray	Digital kitchen scales
Measuring spoons	Mixing bowl
Stand mixer/Electric handheld mixer	Sieve
Spatula	Cooling rack