Cracked Chocolate Cookies

By The Cooking World, Editorial Staff

May 15, 2026

Cracked Chocolate Cookies: Fudgy, Rich, and Irresistible

Some cookies are good. These are something else entirely. The Cracked Chocolate Cookies are everything a chocolate cookie should be, intensely fudgy, deeply rich, with a signature cracked top and a centre that retains a satisfying squidgy bite even after cooling.

The secret is in the method: melted dark chocolate and butter are folded into a whipped sugar and egg base, creating a batter that bakes up into cookies with almost brownie-like intensity.

A touch of coffee powder deepens the chocolate flavor without making the cookies taste like coffee, just more like chocolate, which is exactly the point.

These are best enjoyed slightly warm, but if you can resist, they actually become more intense with time.

PREP TIME

15 minutes

COOK TIME

12-14 minutes

serves

16 cookies

Ingredients

255 g (1½ cups) chopped dark chocolate
80 g (⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon) unsalted butter, cubed
45 g (⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon) all-purpose flour
25 g (⅓ cup) Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon coffee powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
250 g (1¼ cups) granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Special Equipment

Instructions

Put the chocolate and butter into a medium heatproof bowl, then set it over a saucepan that's filled with a few inches of barely simmering water.
Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water below. Heat, stirring slowly, until melted. Remove and set aside until needed.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, coffee, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer that's fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed until pale, thick, and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Lower the speed, then stream in the chocolate mixture, whisking until no dark streaks remain. Tip in the dry ingredients and whisk until almost combined, then finish mixing with a large spatula and a few turns of the hand to ensure that it's even. The dough should be soft and thick, leaving a flowing trail. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour, to slightly firm.
Meanwhile, adjust racks to the top and bottom thirds of the oven, then preheat it to 180 ºC (350 °F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a medium (7-cm) 2¾-inch scoop, portion the dough into even-sized mounds onto the sheets, leaving a few inches of space apart for spreading. It will be sticky and hard to handle but hold its shape. I find that dipping the scoop into a glass of warm water, and cleaning it off often, is helpful for neater portioning.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through, until puffed, cracked, and the edges are set. The middle should retain a hefty squidge.
Leave to cool on the sheets for a few minutes, then lift off and onto a wire rack to cool further before serving. The cookies will soften slightly with time but become more intense—an oxymoron. They'll keep well, stored in an airtight container at room temperature, for about 3 days.

Cracked Chocolate Cookies