Two weeks ago while perfecting my skinny vanilla mug cake recipe, I started craving the chocolate version that I posted last fall. While I enjoy a classic vanilla cupcake now and then, I’m a chocoholic at heart (that’s why I wrote a chocolate cookbook!) and need my fix on a multiple-times-a-day basis.
A tiny square of dark chocolate after breakfast, another little nibble as a mid-morning snack, a slightly bigger piece after lunch (or, even better, a small brownie or cookie!), one more morsel partway through the afternoon, and a chocolate-filled baked treat as dessert after dinner. Or at least a big chunk of my favorite dark chocolate bar.
I’m obsessed!
The day after I finished filming the vanilla mug cake video, I finally whipped up the chocolate recipe that had been on my mind for so long, but since I had waited so long to bake it, I decided to make a double serving as an extra decadent dessert. I slowly savored every bite of that warm chocolate cake as my bedtime treat… The less you let it cool, the more it tastes like a lava cake crossed with a fudgy brownie. Pure dark chocolaty bliss!
Shortly after falling asleep, I woke up feeling rather hot, which is basically unheard of for me! I have really poor circulation and constantly feel like a popsicle during the winter, even here in California while bundled up in multiple pairs of socks and scarves or buried underneath three layers of blankets in bed. But I figured it was stress or over-thinking recipe photo shoots for the blog, and I eventually nodded off again.
Because I enjoyed that double serving of my chocolate mug cake so much, I ended up making it again the following evening. (Did you see both of them on my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat?) It tasted just as decadent as the first, and I even ran my finger around the mug and licked it clean!
Yet I woke up feeling extremely hot in the middle of the night again, and after what felt like half an hour of lying there, I finally rolled over and pulled up the web on my iPhone. After a quick search, I quietly giggled…
It turns out that a double serving of my chocolate mug cake contained as much caffeine from the 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder as a regular cup of tea.
Whoops!
So the following day, I baked a batch of these Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cookies to get my dark chocolate fix instead! They taste just as rich and decadent as my mug cake, but they contain a lot less caffeine per serving… And those melty chips are positively irresistible!
This super easy recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour comes from a special variety of finely ground white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour is made from red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, closer to that of all-purpose flour, but it still retains the same health benefits of whole wheat flour.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour is a great substitute, if you prefer!
Next comes the cocoa powder. You just need the regular unsweetened kind! Because of the 2:1 ratio of flour to cocoa powder, these cookies already taste really dark, similar to 70% dark chocolate, without using Dutched or special dark cocoa powder.
However, it’s extremely important to measure the cocoa powder correctly! Too much cocoa powder will quickly dry out the dough and make the cookies crumbly. You can use the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale, but I highly recommend the latter. This is the inexpensive one that I own, and I use it for every recipe that I make for this blog because it ensures that your baked treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time. It’s my favorite kitchen gadget!
To keep these cookies clean eating friendly, you’ll sweeten them with coconut sugar instead of refined sugar. Coconut sugar does not actually taste like coconut! It has a very light caramel-like flavor, just like brown sugar, but it pours like granulated. You can find it on the baking aisle of most grocery stores near the other sugars, as well as online.
And now for my favorite part… The chocolate chips! You’ll use both dark chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips. These are my favorite dark chocolate chips because they’re the same size as typical semisweet chocolate chips, whereas many other brands make their dark chocolate chips much larger in size. These are my favorite mini chips because they melt really well—and their tiny size ensures that every bite contains a morsel of melty chocolate!
All we need now is a cold glass of milk!
| Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cookies | | Print |
- 1 ⅓ cups (160g) white whole wheat flour (measured like this)
- ⅔ cup (53g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (192g) coconut sugar
- 4 tbsp (56g) dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips.
- Using a spoon and spatula, drop the cookie dough into 24 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheets, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
Semisweet chocolate chips may be substituted for the dark chocolate chips.
{clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
My 10-year old daughter and I made these cookies today in preparation for Valentine’s Day. We followed your recipe exactly except for using whole spelt flour (same measurement) instead of whole wheat. I always measure my flours now the way you suggest by sprinkling from a spoon (or fork). We put the dough balls on the cookie and then flattened them with a spatula, then we made a small cut in on end and shaped them into hearts. They turned out beautifully and I was so pleased that the whole family loved them. We made another small silicone tray of mini heart shaped cookies with the batter which turned out a little chewier because I didn’t leave them in as long, and they were all delicious! I really didn’t expect that the cookies were going to rise, but they did and looked lovely. I was going to include a photo, but I guess it’s not possible here.
Anyway, it is wonderful to have this site to go to, so I can make yummy treats for my kids and not worry about all the copious amounts of processed sugar that seem so unavoidable everywhere else. Thank you so much Amy for all your efforts and dedication to provide people with sweets that are yummy and healthy. I’ve always been a sweet freak, but I just can’t consume processed white sugar anymore. Happy Valentine’s Day to you from Canada!!! 😍💓💗💖
Oh my goodness! I’m thrilled that you loved these cookies, Joanna!! It means so much that you and your daughter made them for Valentine’s Day – and that you’d want to send me a picture too. You just made my entire day!! ♡
You’re welcome to email me a picture, if you’d like! Or else you can share it with me on Facebook here or via Instagram. I’d absolutely love to see how your cookies turned out; they sound so cute and fun with your heart-shaped idea!
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!! Sending you lots of love! ♡
Hi Amy! I love your recipes so much, you’re my go-to website to find a healthy version of a sweet! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and ideas.
I was wondering, if I wanted to add hemp seeds (like Hemp Hearts), to these cookies, how much can I add without it affecting the cookie? Should I reduce some of the flour? Thank you!
You’re such a sweetheart, Angela! Your kind words about my recipes and website mean so much. You just made my entire week!! ♡
I haven’t tried baking with hemp seeds before, so I’m not personally sure and don’t want to lead you astray. If they behave like common nuts and seeds often used in baking recipes (ie almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and those sorts of things!), where they aren’t absorbent like chia seeds or noticeably alter the consistency of batters and doughs (aka they mainly add crunch!), then it may be possible to add in a couple tablespoons without changing any of the other ingredients or instructions — but since I don’t have experience with them, that’s just a guess!
If you do end up making these cookies, whether as written or experimenting with adding hemp seeds, I’d absolutely love to hear how they turn out and what you think of them! 🙂
Hi! I made these today and used a scale to measure everything, however the cookies had more of a cakey texture than cookies, they were still nice though! Also I would prefer them abit sweeter, do you know how I would add more sweetenes to the cookies and also avoid the cake texture?
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Jamie! I’m happy to help sort out those things. It should be easy to make them sweeter, as well as more fudgy and chewy — not cakey! I just have a few quick questions for you to make sure I give you the best possible advice. 🙂
Did you make any modifications or substitutions, including those listed in the Notes section? (Such as a different flour, sweetener, or chocolate chips!)
What brand of cocoa powder did you use?
Was it regular unsweetened — not Dutched or special dark?
Approximately how thick were your mounds of cookie dough prior to baking? (For example, ¼” thick, ⅜” thick, etc!)
How long did you bake your cookies? (This influences how fudgy or cakey they turn out, which is why I wanted to double check!)
I’ll have the best possible solution for you once I know your answers to all of these questions!
Hi Amy!
Thanks for your response!
I didn’t make any modifications to the ingredients
I used Cadbury cocoa powder ( not Dutch processed)
The cookies were 1/4 inch thick
I baked for 9 minutes
Thanks so much!!
It’s my pleasure, Jamie! I’m happy to help! Thanks for your answers to each of these questions. It’s so helpful!
If your cookies were ¼” thick, then try baking them for 1-2 minutes less. The longer these cookies are baked, the more cakey they become! For a nice chewy and slightly fudgy texture, the cookies should come out of the oven when their centers still look and feel a little underbaked. (I know it sounds a bit odd, but it works like a charm!) The residual heat from the metal baking sheet will continue to cook those centers all the way through while they rest for 10 minutes — without overbaking the cookies or giving them a cakey texture!
If the cookie dough tasted too “dark” or bitter to you, then an easy way to make the cookies taste sweeter is to adjust the ratio of flour and cocoa powder. You can use 1 ½ cups (180g) of flour and ½ cup (40g) of cocoa powder instead, and you shouldn’t have to make any modifications to the other ingredients or instructions! You could also reduce the cocoa powder even further, if you’d like (ie 1 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons [195g] of flour and 6 tablespoons [30g] of cocoa powder). The total volume of those two ingredients should add up to 2 cups!
Another easy thing to do would be to substitute more mini chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips for the dark chocolate chips. Both of those are generally sweeter than the dark chocolate ones!
One final option is to try adding an extra 1-3 tablespoons (12-36g) of coconut sugar. However, that’s going to change the consistency of the cookie dough. It’ll definitely be wetter and stickier, and it may spread more while baking as a result. (It could also make your cookies chewier, fudgier, and less cakey, which would be a great bonus!) I haven’t personally tried this option, unlike the previous one, so I’m not 100% sure about the results. This is just my best guess! I always enjoy hearing about what tweaks people try and how they turn out, so if you do end up experimenting on your own, I’d absolutely love to hear how it goes! 🙂
Does all of this make sense? I’m happy to clarify anything or answer any other questions!
Thanks so much Amy that’s very helpful!
I think I will try adding some more sugar and I’ll hopefully let you know my results when I try it out in the future.
Thanks again!
Have a great day 😊
You’re welcome, Jamie! I’m happy to help. I’m really excited to hear how your next batch of cookies turns out! 🙂 Happy baking!
I followed the recipe exactly, however they turned out cakes-Not fudge, chewy. Sorry but that’s not what I was hoping for
It means a lot that you tried our recipe, Melissa! I’m happy to help sort this out with you to help get that fudgy and chewy texture, not cakey! I just have a few quick questions for you to make sure I give you the best possible advice. 🙂
Did you make any modifications or substitutions, including those listed in the Notes section? (Such as a different flour, sweetener, or chocolate chips!)
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure everything — especially the flour and cocoa powder?
If you used the latter, did you scoop them directly into the containers? Or if you followed our recommended “fork” technique that we covered in the “measured like this” links, did you gently nudge the measuring cup back and forth while filling it, by any chance?
What brand of cocoa powder did you use?
Was it regular unsweetened — not Dutched or special dark?
Approximately how thick were your mounds of cookie dough prior to baking? (For example, ¼” thick, ⅜” thick, etc!)
How long did you bake your cookies? (This influences how fudgy or cakey they turn out, which is why I wanted to double check!)
I’ll have the best possible solution for you once I know your answers to all of these questions!