The Ultimate Guide to Incredibly Soft & Chewy Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
There’s nothing quite like the comforting aroma of freshly baked cookies filling your home, especially during the festive season or any time you crave a truly special treat. While many families have their tried-and-true Christmas cookie traditions – perhaps Frosted Sugar Cookies or rich Reese’s Fudge (even if it’s not technically a cookie, it’s a must!) – there’s always room for a new star to emerge. We’re about to introduce you to a recipe that will not only meet your expectations but completely surpass them: incredibly soft double chocolate chip cookies that are so tender they literally melt in your mouth. This isn’t just a claim; it’s a promise, thanks to their unique base and a delightful medley of three distinct types of chocolate.
Prepare yourself, because these cookies are poised to become your new obsession and a staple for every gathering. We’ve baked them numerous times already, and their appeal shows no signs of waning. If you need a dessert to impress, this is your go-to. Their irresistible texture and profound chocolate flavor make them utterly unforgettable, securing their spot in our hearts (and stomachs) for months, if not years, to come. Get ready to experience cookie perfection!
What Makes These Double Chocolate Chip Cookies So Uniquely Soft?
Unlike traditional chocolate chip cookies that rely heavily on creamed butter as their primary fat, the secret to the unparalleled melt-in-your-mouth texture of these specific cookies lies in their foundation. The dough surprisingly uses only a mere two tablespoons of butter! The true base of these cookies is primarily melted semi-sweet chocolate. This innovative approach to the cookie dough creates a uniquely soft and tender crumb that genuinely dissolves on your tongue, delivering an intense chocolate experience with every bite.
By building the dough around melted chocolate, we achieve a richer, deeper chocolate flavor throughout the cookie itself, rather than just from the added chips. This method also contributes to their signature softness, as the melted chocolate integrates differently with the other ingredients compared to butter. The result is a cookie that feels more like a decadent brownie in texture – moist, dense, and utterly luxurious. If you’re a fan of profound chocolate flavor and an incredibly tender crumb, this recipe is designed for you. The semi-sweet chocolate base provides a balanced sweetness, but for those who prefer an even more intense cocoa punch, swapping in a high-quality dark chocolate for the base would be an exquisite variation, truly elevating the cookie to gourmet status.
Mastering the Art of Perfectly Soft and Chewy Cookies
For many, the epitome of a perfect cookie is one that is both wonderfully soft and delightfully chewy. Achieving this ideal texture is often a delicate balance, and we believe these cookies hit that sweet spot every single time. The primary secret to their consistent softness and chewiness lies in a technique known to seasoned bakers: strategic underbaking. While the thought of undercooked dough might sound unsettling, it’s about finding that precise moment when the cookies are just set enough without becoming dry or crumbly.
When you remove these chocolate beauties from the oven, they shouldn’t be raw, but their centers should still appear slightly soft and perhaps even a little underdone. The magic happens as they rest on the hot baking sheet. The residual heat from the tray continues to cook the cookies gently from the bottom up, allowing them to firm up perfectly while maintaining their luscious, soft interior. This crucial cooling period on the baking tray ensures that by the time they are ready to transfer, they have reached that coveted state of being perfectly soft and wonderfully chewy. Overbaking, even by a minute or two, can quickly transform a tender cookie into a dry one, so paying close attention to the baking time and appearance is key.
A Deep Dive into Triple Chocolate Deliciousness
What sets these cookies apart from just “double” chocolate is their generous inclusion of *three* distinct forms of chocolate, each contributing its unique flavor and texture profile to create a harmonious symphony of cocoa. They begin with the aforementioned semi-sweet chocolate, which forms the rich, melt-in-your-mouth base of the cookie. This provides a deep, classic chocolate flavor without being overly sweet, allowing the other chocolate elements to shine.
Next, we incorporate luscious milk chocolate, either in the form of chips or finely chopped candy bars. This addition introduces a creamier, sweeter note, providing a lovely contrast to the semi-sweet base and enhancing the overall richness. The choice between chips and chopped candy is yours – chopped candy often melts a little more unevenly, creating delightful pockets of gooey chocolate, while chips maintain their shape for distinct bursts of flavor. We’ve experimented with both and find them equally delicious!
Finally, for that playful crunch and vibrant visual appeal, we fold in colorful M&M’s. These candy-coated chocolates add not only another layer of milk chocolate flavor but also a pleasing textural contrast with their crisp shells. And for an extra touch of bakery-worthy presentation, a few extra M&M’s and semi-sweet chocolate chips are pressed into the tops of the warm cookies immediately after baking. This ensures every cookie looks as good as it tastes, promising a delightful treat before the first bite. This trio of chocolates ensures a complex, satisfying flavor and texture in every single cookie.
No Chill? No Problem! The Convenience of This Dough
One of the most appealing aspects of this cookie recipe, especially for busy bakers, is that it requires absolutely no chilling of the dough. Many cookie recipes call for chilling to prevent spreading and to deepen flavors, but with these triple chocolate chip cookies, you can go from mixing to baking almost immediately. This is a game-changer for those spontaneous baking sessions or when you need a delicious dessert in a hurry.
The reason this dough doesn’t need to be chilled directly relates to its unique composition. Since the base of the cookie is primarily melted chocolate, chilling the dough would actually cause the chocolate to re-harden, making it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to scoop. Instead, the recipe is designed for immediate use, maintaining its soft, pliable consistency at room temperature, which is perfect for forming perfectly round cookie balls. This streamlined process means less waiting and more immediate gratification, allowing you to enjoy warm, fresh cookies sooner. If you do plan to make the dough ahead of time for future baking, your best strategy is to scoop the dough into individual balls and then refrigerate or freeze them in that form. This clever trick ensures the dough is always ready to bake without the frustration of trying to scoop hardened dough.
We found this incredible recipe, with slight adaptations, from the talented bakers over at Baker By Nature. They consistently offer some of the most amazing and innovative cookie recipes. If you’re looking for other festive treats, their Brown Butter Gingerbread Men cookies would be a fantastic addition to your holiday cookie platter, and their Frosted Gingerbread Cookies promise to be just as soft and delicious!
Expert Tips for Baking Your Best Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Even with a straightforward recipe, a few expert tips can elevate your baking from good to absolutely phenomenal. To ensure your triple chocolate chip cookies turn out perfectly every time, consider these pointers:
- Preheating is Paramount: Always ensure your oven is fully preheated to 300°F (150°C) before placing your cookies inside. A consistently heated oven is crucial for even baking and achieving that ideal soft center with slightly crisp edges.
- Line Your Baking Sheets: Using parchment paper or a silicone baking mat is a non-negotiable step. It prevents sticking, promotes even baking, and makes cleanup incredibly easy. Plus, it helps the cookies retain their beautiful round shape.
- Scoop for Uniformity: For consistently sized cookies that bake evenly, use a cookie scoop. This ensures each cookie bakes at the same rate, preventing some from being overdone while others are underbaked.
- Don’t Overmix the Flour: Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix only until just combined. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can lead to tough, dense cookies instead of soft ones.
- Watch for the Edges: Remember the underbaking technique. Bake for 10-11 minutes, looking for edges that are set but centers that still look soft and slightly gooey. Trust the process of cooling on the hot tray!
- Strategic Topping: Don’t forget to press those extra M&M’s and chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven. This creates that picture-perfect, professional finish.
Serving, Storing, and Sharing Your Chocolate Masterpiece
These soft double chocolate chip cookies are versatile delights, perfect for any occasion. They are absolutely divine served warm, perhaps with a tall glass of cold milk or alongside a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for an indulgent dessert. For a more sophisticated treat, pair them with a rich coffee or a dessert wine. Their rich flavor also makes them a fantastic addition to any holiday cookie platter, standing out with their deep chocolate hue and colorful M&M accents. They make wonderful homemade gifts for friends, family, or teachers, showcasing your baking prowess with a personal touch.
Proper storage is key to maintaining their incredible softness and freshness. Once completely cooled, store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days. If you’ve baked a large batch or want to prepare ahead, these cookies freeze beautifully. Simply place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe airtight container or bag, separating layers with parchment paper, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy. For an extra treat, you can even warm them slightly in the microwave for that fresh-from-the-oven experience. If you’ve prepared dough balls in advance, simply bake them from frozen (you might need an extra minute or two of baking time).
Now that you have all the tips, tricks, and reasons to fall in love with these irresistible triple chocolate chip cookies, there’s only one thing left to do: get into the kitchen and start baking! You will absolutely not be disappointed with these deeply flavored, melt-in-your-mouth treats. Happy baking!
More Cookie Recipes To Try
- Bisquick Cookies
- Chick Fil A Cookies
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Bakery Style Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Nutella Cookies
Soft Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pin Recipe
Rate Recipe
Print Recipe
Equipment
-
Cookie Scoop
-
Full Sheet Pan
-
Silicon Baking Mat
Ingredients
- 1 cup Plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate M&M’s
- 1 cup milk chocolate, chopped or chips
Topping
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate M&M’s
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
-
In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
-
Using a double broiler, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips until smooth. Mix in cubes of butter.
-
Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add milk and mix until well blended.
-
Stir in flour until just combined, be careful to not overmix.
-
Fold in M&M’s and milk chocolate.
-
Scoop balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges are set.
-
Remove from the oven and let set on the tray for 10 minutes while you bake the next tray of cookies. Press into the top of each cookie 3-4 M&M’s and 3-4 chocolate chips.
-
Once cooled, remove from trays and let the chocolate on top set up before putting in an air tight container to store.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!