Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cookies

These chocolate cookies and cream cookies will take you back in time to childhood afternoons with a glass of milk and Oreos. Soft with rich chocolate flavor, these cookies are packed with nostalgia. On top of an amazingly chewy texture, they have chunks of white chocolate (or bits of the Hershey's cookies and cream bars - either works!) throughout the dough, alongside Oreo cookie pieces.

The deep color of these cookies comes from a secret ingredient that you need to know about: black cocoa powder.

From black frosting to a black velvet cupcake recipe and black cocoa cookies, I really cannot get enough.

If you're also an Oreo fan, you'll really love it. Black cocoa is a key ingredient that gives Oreos their signature chocolate flavor.

And we increase that flavor here by also adding chopped Oreos in this dough.

For more nostalgic flavors, try these recipes:

• Chocolate Sprinkle Cake - As the name suggests, it's a chocolate cake. With chocolate frosting. Covered in sprinkles. What could be better??
• 4-inch Mini Birthday Cake - A sweet and easy birthday cake, this mini dessert has sprinkles on the inside and out.
• Coffee Oreo cookies - The notes of espresso alongside Oreo are a match made in heaven.
• Funfetti Oreo cookies - Sprinkles and Oreos? Another classic combo, packed with all the nostalgia.
• Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies - If you're looking for a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe that's delicious and serves a crowd, here's your solution.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why You'll Love this Easy Recipe
• 📋 Key Ingredients for these Soft Cookies
• Best Results: Baking in Grams
• 📖 Prep and Baking Instructions
• 💡 Pro Tip for Perfectly Round Cookies
• ❓ Recipe FAQ and Troubleshooting
• Storing these Cookies 
• Tips for the Best Dark Cocoa Cookies 
• Cookie Recipes
• Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cookies

❤️ Why You'll Love this Easy Recipe

• No chill dough - Many cookie recipes don't work well unless you chill the cookie dough first. I never have the patience for that! I try to make all my cookie recipes no chill. That's true here, too. 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. 
• Easy to prepare in advance - Whether you're making these cookies during the holidays or another busy season of life, this recipe is one you can easily prepare and bake in advance. They also freeze well and maintain their freshness in an airtight container weeks (or even a month or two!) in advance.
• Fast and simple - From start to finish, you can have a freshly baked cookie in your mouth within an hour of starting this recipe. That's a win.

📋 Key Ingredients for these Soft Cookies

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

• 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. Meaning, the powder has less acidity and gives 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.
• White chocolate chunks - In my recipe, I used a mix of chopped white chocolate, alongside pieces of the Hershey's cookies and cream bars. Because they latter may be a bit more difficult to find, you can stick with white chips or pieces. The sweetness of creamy white chocolate plays well with the strong chocolate flavor, creating that nostalgic combo.
• Crushed Oreos - The taste of Oreo cookie crumbs brings flavor and more nostalgia. Plus, Oreo pieces taste amazing alongside the white chocolate and the black cocoa powder.
• 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.

📖 Prep and Baking Instructions

After melting your butter, let it cool for about 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

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 of the bowl. Then, add 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 dough for about 45 seconds on medium speed before adding the remaining egg, cocoa powder, and flour, beating again for 30 seconds. Now, add white chocolate chips and chunks of Oreo cookies, folding these mix-ins into your bowl with a spatula.

Step 4: Shape the Cookie Dough Balls. 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. Press additional Oreo cookie chunks and chopped white chocolate on top of the cookies.

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

Step 6: Bake Cookies. Bake in preheated oven for 11-12 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 cookies and cream 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

Storing these Cookies 

Room temperature - These chocolate 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.  

Tips for the Best Dark Cocoa Cookies 

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

1. 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. 
2. 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! 

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