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My chocolate drop cookies are moist, rich and topped with a 2 ingredient frosting that tastes like fudge. If you like chocolate you will love these!

a chocolate drop cookie with chocolate chips topped with fudge frosting and a pecan.

Cookies are my favorite dessert to bake. I've previously shared recipes like strawberry shortcake cookies, butterbeer cookies, and birthday cake cookies. These chocolate drop cookies are my new favorite. I seriously can't believe how they good they are!

Why Our Recipe Is the Best: A Sprinkle of Food Science

It Uses Butter AND Oil: Butter adds rich flavor and oil keeps the cookies super soft for days. Unlike butter, oil is 100% fat and liquid at room temperature giving you a melt in your mouth cookie.
It Uses Sour Cream: Sour cream is high in fat and is also acidic. This ensures the cookie is soft and tender.
Sweetened Condensed Milk + Chocolate Chips=Magic: This tastes like fudge but is foolproof and doesn't requite a candy thermometer!

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

ingredients including butter, brown sugar, oil, heavy cream, sour cream, espresso powder, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.

Flour: Be sure to measure your flour correctly by spooning it into your measuring cup and leveling with a knife. Scooping directly from the bag or canister will give you too much leading to dry cookies.
Butter: Be sure the butter is softened. You should be able to easily make an indent by pressing it lightly with your finger. I like to leave mine on the counter for about an hour. To speed this up you can cut it into smaller pieces.
Oil: Use a neutral flavored oil like vegetable or canola.
Sour Cream: Use full fat sour cream. Light and fat free versions have too much water which will not produce the correct texture.
Cocoa Powder: Be sure to use natural not Dutch process here. Natural cocoa is acidic and reacts with the baking soda to help the cookies rise. Guittard with 22% fat is incredibly flavorful and worth the splurge. Hershey's is our second choice.
Heavy Cream: You can also use half and half.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: Be sure to grab sweetened condensed NOT evaporated. Sweetened condensed milk is thick and sweeet while evaporated is thin and has no added sugar.
Eggs: Bring eggs to room temp. by leaving them on the counter for 30 minutes or so. This will help them mix in smoothly. Forgot? Dunk in a glass of warm (not hot) water for a few minutes.
Espresso Powder: This won't make the cookies taste like coffee. It just brings out the chocolate flavor. I like DeLallo.
Chocolate Chips: I like Ghiradelli. Guittard is also fantastic.

2 image collage showing raw cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and chocolate chips in a double boiler.

Troubleshooting and Tips: Steal My Culinary School Secrets

Cookies Spread: This indicated the dough wasn't chilled long enough. I suggest at least an hour, but overnight is even better. Chilling the fat helps it hold its shape as it bakes.
Cookie Are Tough: This is usually a result of overmixing. Mix until the flour just disappears. Overmixing develops too much gluten which makes them tough.
Cookies Fall Apart: Be sure to let them cool on the hot pan for a few minutes to firm up. If you move them while they're still piping hot they will fall apart.
Cookie Are Dry or Hard: They are probably overbaked. Bake until they're just set. It's okay if the center looks a tad underdone. They'll continue to cook and firm up on the hot pan. Tough the cookie gentry. If the dough is dry enough that it doesn't stick to your finger pull them!
Tip: Use a cookie scoop. I used a 2 teaspoon (size #100 scoop). This helps them look pretty but also bake at the same rate.

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Copycat Gideon's Cookies

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