Chocolate Drop Cookies

A Family Favorite Cocoa Drop Cookie Recipe

Baking cookies with my mom is one of my sweetest childhood memories. I spent so many afternoons standing on a chair at the counter, learning how to mix dough, roll it out, cut out shapes and decorate trays for our family Christmas gatherings. We always had plates piled high with different holiday cookies, and everyone had a favorite.

This Cocoa Drop Cookie recipe comes from my grandmother. She passed away when I was young, so most of my early memories are of my grandfather making them at Christmastime. As a kid, I reached right past them for the colorful Teekuchen Cut-Out Cookies or Peppermint Bark. But as an adult, I've fallen in love with them. These soft chocolate drop cookies taste like little bites of chocolate cake. They're not too sweet, they're incredibly easy to make, and its nearly impossible to stop at one. One bite you'll understand why this family recipe has stood the test of time.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make a batch of soft, chocolately drop cookies. These notes help explain the role of each ingredient so your cookies bake up perfectly.

• Margarine: the original recipe uses margarine for its soft, tender crumb. Unsalted butter also works.
• Granulated sugar: sweetens the dough and helps the cookies spread just a bit.
• Eggs: bind the batter and keep the cookies light and cake-like.
• Buttermilk: gives these drop cookies their signature soft texture. Real buttermilk works best.
• Vanilla extract: adds warm depth that balances the cocoa.
• All-purpose four: the base structure of the cookies. Keep it simple here.
• Baking soda: helps the cookies rise and stay fluffy.
• Salt: enhances the chocolate flavor.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: We like Ghirardelli Dutch Process Cocoa. Dutch process gives deeper richer, chocolate flavor.
• Chopped pecans: Add a little texture and crunch. Walnuts make a good swap.

👉See recipe card below for full quantities and instructions.

How to Make Chocoloate Drop Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix the wet ingredients: Cream sugar, margarine, salt and eggs until smooth.
3. Add buttermilk and vanilla: Stir until the mixture is fully combined.
4. Sift dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
5. Combine the mixtures: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until the dough comes together.
6. Chill the dough: Refrigerate for about one hour.
7. Drop the cookies: Scoop rounded teaspoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake: Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops look dry and set
9. Cool. Let the cookies rest briefly on the pan, then move them to a rack to cool completely.

Storage

• Store baked chocolate drop cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Add a slice of bread to the container to keep them soft.
• Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
• To freeze unbaked dough, scoop portions onto a baking sheet, freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time.