These Chocolate Frosted Cookies have a rich chocolate chocolate chip cookie base and the most creamy, decadent chocolate frosting. We love decorating them with sprinkles depending on the season. These cookies are a chocolate lover’s dream and are perfect for the holidays, potlucks, or anytime chocolate cravings.

What we love about these Frosted Chocolate Cookies

I can’t describe how incredible the chocolate frosting is. It is lick it from a spoon delicious, and I’ll take the bowl by itself. It really is so, so good. Instead of using cocoa powder, it is flavored with melted semi-sweet chocolate, powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and the secret ingredient: light corn syrup. Why corn syrup, you might ask? Just a little corn syrup is magic with chocolate frosting. The corn syrup prevents the sugar from crystallizing and the frosting from becoming grainy. It helps create a smooth texture with the frosting and creates a slightly glossy sheen. The frosting stays looking good for a long time and freezes well.

We love our chocolate-chocolate chip cookie base. It is delicious by itself, but over the top indulgent with the chocolate frosting. The chocolate on chocolate can’t be beat and is guaranteed to satisfy any chocolate craving. We love these cookies for Halloween with Halloween sprinkles, at Christmas with Christmas sprinkles, for Valentine’s Day with pink sprinkles, and they are the base for our cute Pumpkin Patch Cookies as well.

Looking for other cookie recipes? Try our Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies, or our Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

What you need to make these Cookies with Chocolate Frosting

You will need the following ingredients:

All-purpose flour
Cocoa powder
Baking soda
Salt
Granulated sugar
Brown sugar
Butter
Eggs
Vanilla
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
Powdered sugar
Light corn syrup
Cream
Optional: sprinkles

Chocolate Frosted Cookies Substitutions

I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand, and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:

You could use store-bought chocolate frosting if you don’t want to make your own.
We love changing the colors of sprinkles up for the seasons.
You can omit the chocolate chips in the cookies if desired.
You could use half-and-half or milk in place of the cream in the frosting.
If you don’t want to use the light corn syrup (I used Karo brand), you could omit it but the taste and texture will be different.

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Step 2. Using an electric hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, at medium speed, beat together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly mixed.

Step 3. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix at low speed just until combined, being careful not to overmix. Scrape down the sides of the mixture to make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be stiff.

Step 4. Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), scoop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet and space the dough 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are just turning golden brown. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool for 2-5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 5. In a medium microwave-safe dish, melt the semi-sweet chocolate in 15-second intervals, stirring to help the chocolate melt with each 15-second interval.

Step 6. Using an electric hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, at medium speed, beat together the powdered sugar, butter, and salt until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer. Add the corn syrup, cream, and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly mixed. Add the melted chocolate and beat until thoroughly incorporated and the frosting is all the same color.

Tips

I recommend keeping parchment paper on hand; it is especially helpful when baking cookies. Lining your pan with parchment paper helps prevent cookies from spreading when baking, which in turn helps prevent your cookies from becoming too thin and crispy. The cookies won’t stick to your pan, and pans are much easier to clean up. Also, the parchment paper creates a thin layer between the cookies and the pan, which helps promote even browning and prevents hot spots on your pan that may cause cookies to burn.
I love using a cookie scoop when making cookies so that the cookies are a uniform size and shape. I use a medium cookie scoop for this recipe, which makes a scoop of about 2 tablespoons. I really like the one from Pampered Chef or this scoop from Amazon works great as well.
Also, I love my USA pan baking sheets, they cook so evenly, are high quality, and long-lasting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the cookie dough and frosting be made in advance?

a. The USDA says that cookie dough is safe in the fridge for 2-4 days. You can make the dough the day before, cover the dough in the fridge, and bake the cookies the next day. Before baking, keep the dough out at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or the dough will be hard to scoop and won’t spread much when baking.
b. You can also freeze cookie dough. Scoop them into 2 2-tablespoon portions and place them individually on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once frozen, they can be frozen in a sealed bag or container for up to 2 months. To thaw, set them on a cookie sheet ready to bake and let them sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes while the oven preheats. I recommend cooking them at a lower temperature, 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and then baking them for a little longer, 10-12 minutes, keeping an eye on them.
c. Ideally, I think it is best to frost the cookies right when you make the frosting for the ease of frosting the cookies and the best texture. You can, however, refrigerate or freeze the frosting in an air-tight container. I would bring it to room temperature and rewhip if necessary before frosting. If frozen, thaw it in the fridge first. The frosting would last a few days in the fridge and 2-3 months in the freezer. If freezing the frosting, cover it first with plastic wrap to remove any air before placing it in an airtight container.

How to store Chocolate Frosted Cookies?

a. Store frosted cookies in an air-tight container in a single layer in the fridge. I put parchment paper or waxed paper between layers of cookies if needed. They will last in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months.
b. Store unfrosted cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. Sometimes I make the cookies and store them, then frost them the next day. They can also be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months.

Chocolate Frosted Cookies

Recipe by Risa

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: DessertCuisine: American

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Serving Size

Total time

hour

minutes

Ingredients

Cookies:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (we like Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder with this recipe)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Frosting:
4 -ounce semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, chopped (I like Ghirardelli’s brand)
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
Pinch salt
2 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup (I use Karo brand)
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: sprinkles

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, at medium speed, beat together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly mixed.
Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix at low speed just until combined, being careful not to overmix. Scrape down the sides of the mixture to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be stiff.
Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), scoop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet and space the dough 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are just turning golden brown. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool for 2-5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
In a medium microwave-safe dish, melt the semi-sweet chocolate in 15-second intervals, stirring to help the chocolate melt with each 15-second interval.
Using an electric hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, at medium speed, beat together the powdered sugar, butter, and salt until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer. Add the corn syrup, cream, and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly mixed.
Add the melted chocolate and beat until thoroughly incorporated and the frosting is all the same color. Scrape down the sides of the mixer to make sure all the frosting is mixed in thoroughly.
Frost the cookies with the chocolate frosting and sprinkle with desired colored sprinkles. We have used seasonal sprinkles and pink or blue for baby showers. I like to use an offset spatula to frost the cookies. I place the frosting on the cookie, place the spatula on the frosting, and turn it in a circle to create a swirl in the frosting, continuing to turn as necessary and adding additional frosting if necessary for the desired swirled look

Notes

I recommend lining your cookie sheet with parchment paper for even browning, to prevent spreading and sticking, and to help with clean up. For more information, read the tip above.
To measure your flour, spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup and level off the top using a knife or straight-edged utensil for best results.
It takes 30 minutes to 1 hour for butter to come to room temperature. I recommend just placing the butter on the counter to soften before making the cookies instead of softening the butter in the microwave, where the butter can melt. Melted butter in this recipe can cause cookies to flatten more and turn out slightly more dense.
To make your cookies in the best circular shape, right when you pull them from the oven, put a glass cup or a 2.5 to 3-inch circle cookie cutter around a cookie and gently move the cookie cutter around in a circular shape to help nudge the edges to make a more perfect circle.