The Very Best Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients For This Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Cardamom is interesting because you can’t exactly place it, but you can tell when it’s not there. It’s just slightly warmer, a tinge of something special, a little Christmasy speckle on your palate. It is certainly not required to make these cookies delicious, they are unbelievable with or without, but it really is worth a try. And let’s be serious here, you’re going to wind up making batch after batch of these on repeat, so why not dust one batch with this wintery spice?

To make the rest of the magic happen, you’ll want to gather up:

• your cookie basics: butter, brown sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, salt
• vanilla
• cocoa powder
• extra sugar for rolling
• cardamom (optional)
• espresso powder (also optional, but let’s be fun)

A warm heart? A festive spirit? A readiness to chomp chocolate cookies for the rest of your holiday days? Also on the list.

How To Make Chocolate Cookies (Three Steps)

It’s hard to choose what to love most about these cookies, but the fact that they’re a real mix & bake, no-fuss kinda situation certainly makes the list!

1. Make the dough. Cream butter and sugar and then add the eggs and vanilla until just combined. Then, in goes the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder (if using, but remember, let’s be fun), baking soda, and salt. Stir and mix it all together.
2. Form into balls. About 1/4 cup per ball because you mean it (a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop works great here). Roll each in the extra sugar (or cardamom sugar if you’re feeling festive!).
3. Bake in batches. We recommend 6-8 at a time. Remove from oven and LET. THEM. REST. so you get the crispy edges and soft craggy middles. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Tips For Making These Cookies

• Splurge for good cocoa powder (if feasible) – Dutch process cocoa powder or dark cocoa powder especially makes really dark, rich, delicious cookies!
• Go for the cardamom sugar – the recipe says it’s optional, but the cardamom creates such a lovely, subtle warming, flavor that just really takes these up a notch.
• Freeze the baked cookies or dough – these are great ready-to-eat out of the freezer, or you can freeze before baking. I’d just make sure you roll the cookie dough balls prior to freezing.
• Let these cool completely before handling them – they are very delicate and can break easily. If you’re traveling with them to a holiday party, I’d line each layer in the container with parchment so they don’t stack directly on top of each other.

We’re feeling all the feelings these days. Admittedly, the Christmas music is already playing and we’re so ready for things to be glowy and merry and bright. We’re so ready to keep our stand mixers busy and our rolling pins dusted because there’s nothing quite like deep chocolatey cookie smells swirling through the air and your home being filled with the extra warmth from the oven. Merry, merry indeed. Happy cookie-making!