A thick chocolate cookie is exactly what I want when I craving something decadent. My fudgy chocolate cookies with dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and M&M’s has depth of flavor that’s reminiscent of a rich, deep, hot chocolate drink. It's also festive with the ghoulish-colored M&M’s which I like to add in for spooky season. And finally, this cookie is dense the way a luscious brownie is when it’s slightly underbaked. Gooey on the inside, but the exterior has a nice crunch.

These cookies are such a treat to eat. They are one of my go-to desserts I make for Halloween, I hope you enjoy! 

About the ingredients 

Butter: I use a full stick of soft butter which I cream until it’s fluffy. Don't melt the butter for this recipe, you want the creaminess of softened butter. I recommend using unsalted butter. 

Sugar: Two types of sugars go into this recipe, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. If you don’t have dark brown sugar you can also use light brown, but it might not be as moist. We use both types of sugar because it helps with the texture and flavor. White sugar is sweeter than brown sugar. That’s because the molasses in the brown sugar helps cut the sweetness and it also adds a bit of moisture. The combination of two sugars helps build the cookie’s structure and flavor. 

Egg: One egg at room temperature helps this cookie come together. You don’t need any more because would cause a caky texture, which we don’t want. 

Dutch cocoa powder: I love the color and flavor of Dutch cocoa powder and I recommend using it in this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is different from other types of cocoa powder because of the way it is prepared. The cocoa beans are washed in an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate, which is basically a white salt. By washing the beans in this this basic solution, it neutralizes the acidity in the cocoa beans and therefore, it doesn’t react to baking soda. Most importantly, the flavor is smoother and you get earthy notes from it. 

Dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and M&M’s: I like mixing three types of chocolates for this recipe. I think the bitterness of the dark chocolate, the creaminess from the white chocolate, and the crunch from the M&M’s.

What's the different types of cocoa powder?

There are 3 main types of cocoa powder: Natural cocoa powder, Dutch-processed, and black.

Natural cocoa is the least processed type of cocoa powder. It is made from cocoa beans that have been roasted and ground into a powder. Natural cocoa powder has a strong, bitter flavor, and is acidic. It is often used in baking recipes that call for a deep chocolate flavor, such as brownies and chocolate cakes.

Dutch-processed cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans that have been treated with an alkali solution to neutralize their acidity. This process, known as Dutching, gives Dutch-processed cocoa powder a milder, smoother flavor. It is also darker in color than natural cocoa powder. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is often used in baking recipes that call for a lighter chocolate flavor, such as chocolate chip cookies and chocolate mousse.

Black cocoa powder is a highly processed form of Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It is treated with an even stronger alkali solution, which gives it a very dark color and a mild, almost neutral flavor. Black cocoa powder is often used in baking recipes for its dark color and to give baked goods a rich, chocolate flavor.

Cocoa powder	Processing	Flavor	Color
Natural	Roasted, ground	Strong, bitter	Light brown
Dutch-processed	Treated with alkali solution to neutralize acidity	Mild, smooth	Dark brown
Black	Highly processed form of Dutch-processed cocoa powder	Mild, almost neutral	Very dark

Products or desserts that use different types of cocoa powder

You can achieve different flavors and colors for your chocolate desserts and drinks depending on the types of cocoa powder you use. 

An example of natural cocoa powder is Hershey's cocoa. It's made from 100% cacao and is unsweetened and non-alkalized. This type of cocoa is commonly used in American desserts. 

Desserts that use Dutch-processed cocoa are generally more mild in flavor because the acidity has been neutralized. This type of cocoa is commonly used in Europe. European brands like Droste and Valrhona are alkalized and use Dutch-processed cocoa. 

The most common example of dark cocoa is in Oreos. The deep, almost black color, comes from the dark cocoa powder. This is an ultra processed cocoa and has the most mild flavor.

Recipe: Fudgy chocolate cookies with chocolate chips and M&M’s 

Yields

16 cookies 

Cook times

• Active cooking: 20 minutes
• Inactive cook time: 3 hours to overnight (letting the dough rest) 
• Baking: 8 to 10 minutes 
• Cooling: 10 minutes
• Total cook time: 3 hours and 40 minutes

Ingredients 

• ½ cup of softened butter 
• ½ cup of granulated sugar 
• ½ cup of dark brown sugar 
• 1 egg at room temperature 
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla 
• 1 tablespoon of instant espresso 
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour 
• ⅔ of Dutch cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda 
• ⅛ teaspoon of salt 
• 1 tablespoon of milk 
• ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• ½ cup of M&M’s 
• ¼ cup of white chocolate chips (optional)

Cooking notes

• Bake 11 to 12 minutes 
• Oven temperature: 350 degrees Fahrenheit 

Instructions

1. Mix your dry ingredients, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, together in a separate bowl until well combined. 

2. In another bowl, cream your softened butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer. 

3. Once the butter is fluffy, add in your two types of sugar and blend. 

 

4. When the butter and sugars are well mixed, add in your room-temperature egg. Whisk everything together until it is nice and creamy. 

5. Scrape down the sides. Then, add in your milk, instant espresso powder, and vanilla. Mix everything together. 

6. Now, you need to combine your dry and wet ingredients, but you need to do this in batches. Pour a third of the dry ingredients through a fine strainer, sift, and then gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet batter. Once the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet batter, repeat this process in batches until the dry and wet ingredients are mixed together. 

7. The batter should be a sticky dough. If your dough is dry, add a touch more milk and mix. 

8. After the dough is formed, add in your semi-sweet chocolate chips, M&M’s, and if you want, your white chocolate morsels. Fold gently until combined. 

9. This dough needs to chill overnight in the refrigerator. This helps improve the texture and flavor of the cookie. Add some plastic wrap over your bowl, covering the dough, and stick it in the refrigerator to let chill.

10. The next day, pop your dough out of the refrigerator and leave it on the counter to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

11. Portion out your dough using a cookie scope or something that gives you  uniform shaped cookies. 

12. Shape your portioned out dough to form balls and place them on top of your parchment paper-lined cookie trays. I can usually fit 8 cookies pre tray, you want to make sure that you give these cookies space so they have room to spread. They won’t spread too much, but you don’t want your baking sheets to be crowded.

13. After you place your dough onto the baking sheet, press a few M&M’s on top of the cookies for garnish. This will give the cookies a professional look after they come out of the oven. 

14. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. I have a lot of success baking for 9 minutes. 

15. Once the cookies are baked, take them out of the oven and let them rest for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet. 

16. After they have cooled, you can dig in! The cookies are so delicious when they are fresh out of the oven, they are warm and gooey, like brownies. But they are also great when they are cooled fully. 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you made this, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Thank you so much.