These dark chocolate cookies have an intense bittersweet chocolate flavor. Plus, they are easy to make because you don’t need a mixer. Just mix up the dough with a bowl and spoon and the cookies are ready to bake.
Do you love dark chocolate? DH and I are both big fans. The darker the better so I wanted to try making a chocolate cookie using bittersweet chocolate. After my success with my Easiest Nutella Cookies, I dug through my pantry to see what other variations I could make and I came up with this dark chocolate version I like to call midnight cookies.
By the way, I named them “midnight cookies” not because they are meant to be eaten at midnight. Though you could do that… I just thought of midnight because they are dark chocolate and I had these Ghiradelli dark chocolate bars called Midnight Reverie and midnight just kept popping up in my mind when I was eating these.
Easy Dark Chocolate Cookies
The key ingredient is dark chocolate spread. I bought mine at Cost Plus World Market, though I’ve also seen a similar spread at Costco and on Amazon. I thought it would taste something like Nutella, but it’s much less sugary because it’s made with dark chocolate. Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make the cookies:
- Dark chocolate spread
- Egg
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Espresso powder
There’s just a small amount of sugar in the cookies because I really wanted the bittersweet flavor of the chocolate to stand out so these cookies are not super sweet. If you prefer sweeter cookies and want to offset the bittersweet of the chocolate, you can add more sugar.
The espresso powder also amps up the chocolate flavor and you can’t taste it in the cookies.
Once you mix the cookie dough, just roll it into balls. The cookies don’t spread much while they bake, so I like to press lightly on the balls to flatten them before I pop them in the oven.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350°F or until the cookies are mostly set but still a bit soft in the middle. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature.
We really enjoyed these midnight cookies and I love how easy they are to make. If you want to browse more cookie recipes be sure to check out my whole cookie recipes collection.
More Cookie Recipes
4 Ingredient Midnight Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark chocolate spread (see note)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (see note)
- 1/2 cup packed plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder optional (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, sugar, egg, (espresso powder if using), and chocolate spread in a large bowl and mix together with a spoon until the dough comes together and no flour lumps remain.
- Make smooth dough balls, about 1 1/2 inch in diameter, rubbing between palms to smooth the surface of the balls. Place on cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Press down slightly on dough so the dough balls form thick round disks rather than perfectly round balls. Cookies will not spread much during baking so make sure to smooth edges and surface of dough.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. Cookies should be mostly set, but might be slightly still soft in the middle. Let cookies cool on rack until completely set. Enjoy while still slightly warm or after completely cooled.
Notes
- I bought my chocolate spread at Cost Plus World Market.
- If you prefer a sweeter cookie, you will need to add more brown sugar.
- Espresso powder enhances the chocolate flavor in these cookies. You can't taste it, but you can omit it if you prefer not to use it.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Wow, looks delicious! I don’t have that kind of spread, but in a pinch, do you think 1 cup of melted chocolate would work? It would probably lose the bittersweet intensity since I only have milk chocolate, but I’m willing to sacrifice in order to get me some chocolate cookies..
unfortunately, i dont think melted chocolate will work. the chocolate spread is has other ingredients added to it, and it’s a much thicker paste, which helps to bind the cookie together
I don’t think I can find the dark chocolate spread where I live (Eastern Europe), can you please suggest a substitution?
Thank you!
You can try other spreads that are similar. I’ve made a Nutella version. kirbiecravings.com/2013/01/easiest-nutella-cookies.html