Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and coarse sea salt until evenly combined.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the softened butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients while mixing on low speed until a thick chocolate cookie dough forms.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the milk chocolate chips using a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
- Use a cookie scoop or about ¼ cup of dough to portion the dough into 16 cookies and place them several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake one baking sheet at a time on the center rack for about 11–12 minutes until the edges are set but the centers remain soft.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Slightly underbaking the cookies ensures soft and fudgy centers once the cookies finish setting during cooling.
- Always use softened butter instead of melted butter to maintain proper cookie structure and prevent excessive spreading.
- Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off to avoid adding too much flour, which can cause dry cookies.
- Chilling the dough for 30 minutes can help produce thicker bakery-style cookies and enhance flavor development.
- High-quality cocoa powder will significantly improve the depth of chocolate flavor in these cookies.
- If you prefer a richer chocolate taste, substitute half of the milk chocolate chips with dark chocolate chips.
- Press a few additional chocolate chips on top of each dough ball before baking for a bakery-style appearance.
- Cookies will appear slightly underbaked in the center when removed from the oven, but they continue cooking while resting on the baking sheet.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain softness for several days.
- Cookie dough balls can be frozen and baked directly from frozen by adding an additional 1–2 minutes to the baking time.