Black Cocoa Cookies

Jump to Recipe

Can a cookie be sexy? 🤔 I’ll let you make that call, but if there is such a thing, these black cocoa cookies would easily top that list. Soft and chewy with an intense chocolate flavor, they're made with the same cocoa powder in Oreos. And if you’re leery of food coloring, set those worries aside. These dark chocolate cookies are all natural, thanks to beautiful black cocoa powder!

Overhead shot of black cocoa powder cookies, sitting against a white background and dusted in sanding sugar.

Jump to:

📋 Key Ingredients
Best Results: Baking in Grams
No-Chill Dough for these Black Cookies
📖 Prep and Baking Instructions
💡 Pro Tip for Perfectly Round Cookies
❓ Recipe FAQ and Troubleshooting
Storing these Black Cocoa Cookies
Recipe Variations
Tips for the Best Dark Cocoa Cookies
More Fall Recipes
Black Cocoa Cookies

The black color of these cookies makes them perfect for Halloween parties and events. But I would gladly eat these treats any time of year.

They join the running list of recipes on my site using black cocoa powder. From black frosting to a black velvet cupcake recipe and this black cocoa cake, I really cannot get enough of this dark color in baked goods!

And for the fellow Oreo-obsessed people out there (🙋🏻‍♀️), you'll appreciate these coffee Oreo cookies and Funfetti Oreo cookies.

📋 Key Ingredients

The recipe card contains all the steps and ingredients, but below are a few key items that bring flavor and color to this recipe.

Black cocoa powder - It's a deeply rich, almost charcoal-colored cocoa that’s responsible for the signature hue and flavor of an Oreo cookie. Unlike natural cocoa powder, which can have a slightly acidic and bitter taste, this dark cocoa powder is heavily alkalized, a process that neutralizes its acidity and results in a smoother, milder flavor. This makes it perfect for creating intensely dark and chocolatey desserts without the sharpness that can accompany regular cocoa powders.
Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste – You don’t need expensive vanilla extract for good flavor. So the extract from your local grocery store is perfectly fine for this recipe. I never taste much difference between pricier extracts and more basic ones.
Dark or light brown sugar – This recipe calls for a touch of brown sugar in addition to granulated or white sugar. While both sugars are in important here, the darker one adds more moisture to the dough, resulting in a deliciously soft and chewy inside.
Melted butter - Melting butter gives us a really nice and tender cookie texture.

Best Results: Baking in Grams

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.

While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

No-Chill Dough for these Black Cookies

Some cookie recipes call for resting your cookie dough before baking it for best results.

Here, though, you don’t need to chill or rest the dough ahead of baking these cookies.

You can learn more about the merits of resting your dough in this post from Bon Appétit. The bottom line is that if a recipe does ask you to rest your dough, do it.

📖 Prep and Baking Instructions

After melting your butter, let it cool for about 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F and dive into the steps here.

Bowl of wet ingredients for making cookies.

Step 1: Cream Butter, Sugars, and Vanilla. Using a paddle attachment and the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and hand mixer, cream melted unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and sugars together in your bowl for 3-4 minutes.

Step 2: Incorporate Dry Ingredients and Eggs. Stop the hand or electric mixer. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding kosher salt (half as much if using table salt), baking powder, and baking soda as well as half of your eggs, cocoa powder, and flour.

Step 3: Finish Mixing the Dough. Mix for about 45 seconds on medium speed before mixer to add the remaining egg and flour, beating again for 30 seconds. If you plan to use chocolate chips, now is the time to add those.

Ball of black cookie dough on a baking sheet.

Step 4: Shape the Dough. With an ice cream or cookie scoop and your hand, form each round ball of dough. It should be about ⅔ the size of a golf ball. Roll in sanding sugar or sprinkles at this point if you plan to use them.

Black cookie dough balls spread out on a small baking sheet.

Step 5: Arrange on Baking Sheet. Place each dough ball onto an ungreased aluminum cookie sheet (no pieces of parchment paper or silicone mats needed), with about 2 inches between them.

Baked black cocoa powder cookies sitting on a sheet of white parchment paper.

Step 6: Bake Cookies. Bake in preheated oven for 13-14 minutes, at which point the edges of the cookies will be done baking. Leave them on the baking sheet 10 or so minutes outside of the oven, or until they're firm enough to handle. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool, and then serve or store.

💡 Pro Tip for Perfectly Round Cookies

As soon as your black cocoa cookies exit the oven, you can also help shape and round them if you'd like.

Use a cookie cutter or even the open side of a glass that's slightly bigger than the cookies to gently slide them into a more circular shape.

❓ Recipe FAQ and Troubleshooting

How do you keep cookies from spreading?

Cookies can spread if the dough is too moist, without enough dry ingredients to hold it together. It can also spread due to an excessive amount of baking soda.

If you follow the steps in this recipe, though, you won’t have that issue.

In general, adding a bit of baking powder or flour to a cookie’s dough can help prevent them from spreading as much.

Should you refrigerate this cookie dough before baking it?

If a recipe calls for a chilled sugar cookie, meaning you need to refrigerate the dough before baking it, do it! That step is not part of this recipe, though.

Storing these Black Cocoa Cookies

Room temperature - These black cocoa cookies will stay fresh at room temperature (around 70°F) for about 3 days.

Refrigerating - Instead of refrigerating them between servings, I'd recommend freezing them. Bring them out in small quantities at a time if you plan to share them over the course of more than 3 days.

Freezing - They also freeze well for up to three months in an airtight container.

I add wax or parchment paper between the layers as I stack them.

To enjoy, let them come to room temperature before serving. You may also gently warm them for a few seconds on low speed in the microwave.

Recipe Variations

These can be perfect Halloween cookies for the fall, but there are so many ways to play around with them.

Orange, white, and black sprinkles on a black cocoa cookie for Halloween.

Once you've turned your dough into balls, you can roll them in:

Halloween sprinkles
Sanding sugar (look how pretty and sparkly this makes them - this sugar coating is my favorite way to dress them up!)

White sanding sugar coated on black cocoa powder cookies.

Alternatively, after you've mixed your flour into your large bowl and before you form your dough balls, add ¾ cup of chocolate chips to your bowl. This will give you an extra chocolate flavor.

Inside look at a black cocoa chocolate chip cookie that's been opened and split in half.

You could also turn these into cookie sandwiches. The chocolate cookies would pair well with almond frosting between them. You'd end up with 10-12 medium-sized cookie sandwiches.

Chocolate and raspberry are also companionable flavors (see my raspberry chocolate Bundt cake for proof). Raspberry cream cheese frosting could be a fun option, as would blueberry frosting.

Bottom line: There are lots of ways to use this versatile cookie! And plain is so good, too!

Want a similar cookie with a twist? Check out these pink sugar cookies or brown butter sugar cookies. They all have nice, chewy insides.

Tips for the Best Dark Cocoa Cookies

Plain black cookies on a white sheet of parchment paper with no sprinkles or sanding sugar added to them.

Below are some general tips to keep in mind when baking this cookie recipe and any recipe, really:

Periodically check the freshness of your leavening agents. Mix a pinch of baking powder with hot water to see if it reacts. For baking soda, you can mix a pinch of it with a few drops of something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice. If your leavening agents have no reaction (i.e. you see no fizzing or bubbling), it means they also won’t help your ingredients rise during the baking process.
Before diving into the recipe, clear your workspace and set out all your ingredients in front of you. This will make it less likely that you’ll forget to leave something important out of your mixing bowl!