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}
Ahhhh yummmy!! I can’t wait to bake these this weekend!! 🙂
I hope you like them Marina! 🙂
These look so good! They look kind of like brownies with a fudgey center!
That’s exactly what they taste like Shannon! 🙂
Oh wow. I have been craving a fudgy cookie lately, and this looks like it’s just the right one. Won’t undo my day, but still hits the spot.
I hope you enjoy the cookies if you try them Annie! 🙂
I really enjoyed these cookies. I halved this recipe and substituted white flour for the whole wheat flour. I followed the instructions and measurements exactly, and I found that the texture was more cakey than fudgy. I took your advice of flattening the dough, so I ended up with cookies instead of cookie balls.
I’m happy you enjoyed the cookies Elaine, and thank you so much for sharing your photo on Instagram! 🙂
I’ve never cooked with coconut sugar before and maybe it’s not as sweet as I’m used to? These have a good texture but they do have some bitterness. They’re not bad for me but I made them to take to work and I don’t think I’ll take them as I don’t think people will like them.
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies Mia, and thanks for your comment on my Facebook page! The cookies are meant to taste similar to 72% dark chocolate. If they taste more bitter than that, then there was probably too much cocoa powder in the dough. How did you measure it? It should be measured like flour, with either the spoon and level method (I describe that here) or a kitchen scale. I’ve found that when I scoop the cocoa powder directly from the container, I end up with 1.5 times as much as when I measure using one of the two methods I just mentioned, and that would definitely cause the bitter taste.
Hi Amy thanks for your reply. I weighed everything. Although, having said that I did reduce the sugar. 192g was 1.25 cups when I used the spoon and level method (I had weighed it out and I thought, my goodness this is a lot of sugar so I measured it with a cup). I will try and reduce the cocoa next time.
If you reduced the sugar, that would’ve been the issue. Sugar doesn’t need to be measured with the spoon and level method (and measuring by weight is more accurate!), so if you include the full weight next time, that will solve the problem!
Hello Amy ! I’m back again and once again you knocked it out the park. These were delicious!! I fell in love with triple chocolate chip cookies when I would get a subway sandwich. The only thing is it was just too sugary. It made my teeth feel like they were going to decay on the spot. Your recipe was a breath of fresh air! Quick question though, how do you get you cookies to look so perfect? There has to be a secret 🙂 I’ll be back Amy!
You’re so kind — thank you for your glowing comment Vanessa! I’m touched and so glad you enjoyed the cookies! I used to get those same cookies with my subway sandwiches too… They’re so irresistible! 🙂 I have two secrets to picture-perfect cookies. The first is that I spend at least 20 minutes (if not closer to 30!) shaping them with my mini spatula and arranging the chocolate chips on top once I drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet. The second is that I always pick the best-looking cookie for the photo! I’ve shared some behind-the-scenes pictures on my second Instagram account (like this photo), and you can see that every cookie doesn’t look perfect. 😉 I hope that helps!
Thanks for the recipe! A little dry but will just use more fat next time. 🙂 I used organic sprouted spelt and 1/3rd cup gluten free flour. I didnt realize you need to press them down haha so they came out as cute little fat round cookies. I also used a teaspoon cinnamon and almost a teaspoon cayenne, turned out great! Not to spicy at all. Lovely for fall.
I’m glad you loved the flavor Grace! From what I’ve heard from readers, spelt flour is more absorbent than whole wheat flour, so that’s probably why your cookies turned out dry. If the cookie dough is dry, I’d recommend adding milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together. (Any milk will work!) And I love your addition of cayenne — I’m a huge fan of spicy chocolate!
Hey Amy! As I’m learning more about the science behind making and creating my own recipes I like to question recipes I see and figure out what each ingredient’s purpose is. What is the purpose of putting cornstarch in cookies? That is something I have not seen a lot of.
Good question Ashley! I’ve explained the purpose of cornstarch in some of my cookie recipes (like this one!), but I somehow forgot to include that info in this one. The cornstarch helps make the cookies turn out softer and chewier. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you try them!
Well I am a HUGE chocaholic so I feel I will try them out soon however, I went on a baking spree a few weeks ago and just found myself eating all the goodies too much and now my sweets cravings are out of control and I’m trying to cool it a bit on the baking. I need to just start bringing stuff into work haha. These look like a good candidate for something to share with coworkers!
I totally understand Ashley! There’s a reason I give away 95% of what I bake for my blog… I’d be eating sweets non-stop otherwise! And my coworkers always loved that I shared — they even offered to chip in for my groceries! 😉 Whenever you get around to these (and no rush!), I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Well, I measured the flour and cocoa powder as precisely as possible, but my cookies still came out really dry and crumbly – I could barely get the mix to come together. Not sure what went wrong.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Amy! When you measured, did you use a measuring cup or a kitchen scale? And if using measuring cups, did you scoop directly from the container? Also, did you make any substitutions? We’ll figure out what happened so your next batch turns out perfectly! 🙂
These are delicious Amy!!
I’m so glad you loved these cookies Keeley!! 🙂