Soft Drop Chocolate Sugar Cookies: Tender, Chewy Baked Treats

Close up of Drop-Style Chocolate Sugar Cookies showing sparkling sugar and crackly cookie tops

I’m excited to share a recipe that will raise your cookie game: Drop-Style Chocolate Sugar Cookies. Rich with cocoa and built for chewiness, these cookies balance crisp edges with soft centers. This one-bowl recipe yields about 10 large cookies and is simple enough for weeknights or for impressing guests.

What are Drop-Style Cookies?

Drop-style cookies are made by scooping and dropping the dough onto a baking sheet. Unlike rolled or cut-out cookies, this method is quick, low-effort, and ideal when you want great texture without fuss.

Close up of Drop-Style Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients and Substitutions

Unsalted butter — softened for easy creaming.
Granulated sugar — provides sweetness and structure.
Egg: one large egg to bind and add moisture.
Vanilla extract — enhances flavor.
All-purpose flour — no specialty flour needed.
Unsweetened natural cocoa powder — use natural cocoa so it reacts correctly with baking soda; avoid Dutch-process here.
Baking soda — gives lift and helps create a tender, chewy crumb.
Salt — balances sweetness and rounds out the flavor.
Sparkling, demerara, or granulated sugar — for rolling the dough balls before baking, optional but gives a pretty finish.

Close up of Drop-Style Chocolate Sugar Cookies with a bite missing from one

How to Make Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Butter and sugar being creamed together. — Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Egg and vanilla being beaten into butter and sugar mixture. — Mix in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.

Dry ingredients being beaten into the wet to form chocolate sugar cookie dough — Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Chocolate sugar cookie dough balls — Portion the dough with a cookie scoop, roll each ball in sugar if desired, then bake until edges are set and centers look slightly soft.

Note: I develop recipes using grams because they’re more accurate. If you prefer cups, the recipe card below can convert to US Customary measurements.

Print Recipe

Drop-Style Chocolate Sugar Cookies

These Drop-Style Chocolate Sugar Cookies have crisp edges and soft, chewy centers. Recipe yields 10 cookies.

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Chill Time30 minutes

Total Time1 hour

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocolate, Cookies, Sugar Cookies

Servings: 10 cookies

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Mike Johnson

Ingredients

140 g unsalted butter softened
200 g granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175 g all-purpose flour
30 g unsweetened natural cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Garnish: sparkling, demerara, or granulated sugar

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix until fully combined, about 1 minute.
Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix on low just until combined — avoid overmixing.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the dough.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment. Using a 3-tablespoon scoop, portion dough onto the sheet.
Roll each ball in sugar if desired. Bake 12–14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and centers still look a bit soft. Cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

Make-Ahead: Dough can be portioned into balls and stored airtight in the refrigerator up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 months. Bake frozen dough balls an extra minute or two — no thawing needed.

Nutrition

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