Chocolate Drop Cookies

This chocolate drop cookie recipe might seem straight from grandma’s recipe box, but we added a modern twist. Old-fashioned drop cookies are made of soft dough that’s simply dropped onto a baking sheet in balls. This version adds chocolate and chopped walnuts to the dough for flavor and texture. Once baked, you end up with soft, cake-like cookies that pack in the chocolate flavor. They’re easy to make and even easier to enjoy. Once you pile on the chocolate frosting, it’s nearly impossible to have just one.

Ingredients for Chocolate Drop Cookies

• Butter: When creamed with sugar for the dough, butter helps create a light and airy texture, resulting in a tender and moist cookie. Butter also provides richness and flavor. Butter in the frosting creates a creamy, spreadable consistency.
• Brown sugar: This type of sugar is sweet with a slight molasses flavor. It also contributes to the moistness and chewiness of the cookies due to its higher moisture content compared to granulated sugar.
• Egg: One egg is enough to provide the cookies with structure, moisture and richness. It helps bind the ingredients together and contributes to the overall texture.
• Milk: The liquid in the recipe adds moisture to the dough, creating a smoother and softer texture. It also helps to blend the flavors of the ingredients.
• Vanilla: This extract enhances the cookies’ overall flavor profile. It adds a warm, sweet note.
• Unsweetened chocolate: Melted chocolate provides a rich, deep chocolate flavor without adding extra sweetness. Melting and cooling the chocolate ensures it blends smoothly into the dough. Here are the Test Kitchen’s favorite baking chocolates.
• Flour: All-purpose flour provides structure. It balances the wet ingredients to create the perfect dough consistency and gives the cookies their shape.
• Baking soda: This leavening agent helps the cookies rise and become light and fluffy. It reacts with acidic ingredients to produce carbon dioxide gas, which expands the cookies.
• Salt: Salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients and balances the sweetness. It helps to bring out the chocolate and vanilla flavors more prominently.
• Walnuts: Chopped walnuts add crunch and a nutty flavor to the cookies. They provide a pleasant contrast in texture and an extra layer of taste.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Similar to powdered sugar, this fine sugar provides sweetness and a smooth, creamy texture to the frosting. It dissolves easily, making the frosting silky and spreadable.
• Baking cocoa: Adds a rich chocolate flavor to the frosting.
• Coffee: Hot brewed coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor in the frosting. The heat from the coffee helps to dissolve the cocoa and blend the ingredients smoothly.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the dough

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Beat in the chocolate until blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, then gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir in the walnuts.

Editor’s Tip: Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature for easier mixing and a smoother dough.

Step 2: Bake the cookies

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

Drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pans for a minute before removing them to wire racks to cool completely.

Editor’s Tip: Drop the cookies on your baking sheet using a tablespoon cookie scoop. This ensures that the cookies bake consistently.

Step 3: Frost the cookies

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

In a large bowl, beat the frosting ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Once the cookies are completely cooled, spread a generous amount of frosting on top of each cookie.

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

Chocolate Drop Cookie Variations

• Make it minty: Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the dough for a refreshing mint-chocolate flavor. Top with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes for a festive holiday touch.
• Peanut butter frosting: Swap the chocolate frosting for a creamy peanut butter frosting to create a delightful chocolate-peanut butter combination.

How to Store Chocolate Drop Cookies

Store the frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. For the best texture, let them come to room temperature before serving. Freeze unfrosted cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag for up to three months. Thaw and frost before serving.

Can you make chocolate drop cookies ahead of time?

You can prepare the dough ahead of time by storing it in the refrigerator for up to three days before baking. You can also bake the cookies and frost them up to two days in advance.

Chocolate Drop Cookie Tips

Chocolate Drop Cookies Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Can I use margarine instead of butter in this chocolate drop cookie recipe?

Butter has a richer flavor compared to margarine, which can impact the taste of your cookies. Margarine will work, but the cookies might not have the same depth of flavor as butter. Margarine also has a higher water content than butter, which can affect the texture of the cookies, but stick margarine (as opposed to the stuff in a tub) tends to have a more similar fat content to butter.

Can I add chocolate chips to chocolate drop cookie dough?

Adding chocolate chips to the chocolate drop cookie dough is an easy way to enhance the chocolate flavor and add texture. You can use semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate chips. Adding about 1 cup of chocolate chips to the dough is a good starting point. Gently fold them in when you stir in the walnuts.

How do I prevent the chocolate drop cookies from spreading too much?

To prevent excessive spreading, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking to help solidify the fat in the dough and slow down the spreading process during baking. Darker pans can also cause the cookies to spread more quickly due to increased heat absorption. Use light-colored, heavy-duty baking sheets. And always make sure the oven is heated to the right temperature. Baking at a lower temperature can cause cookies to spread more as the dough has additional time to melt before it sets.