When you start paying attention to blood sugar, you stop wasting your sweet tooth on just anything. If I'm going to have a cookie (a real, full-sugar cookie) it has to be worth it.
These double chocolate chip cookies pass the test. They’re fudgy, rich, soft, and remind me of a cross between a brownie and cookie.
And they have a secret ingredient: sour cream. It keeps them soft for days, so you can savor one at a time without rushing through the batch.
Why This Recipe Works
I found the perfect balance to create a cookie that is 50% brownie, 50% cookie, and 100% fudgy. Here is why this specific combination of ingredients yields the perfect soft-baked texture:
The "Secret" (Sour Cream): Most cookies rely solely on butter or shortening. By swapping a portion of the fat for sour cream, we introduce acidity. This acid does two things:
- It tenderizes the gluten strands, ensuring the cookie stays soft and cake-like rather than turning crispy.
- It reacts with the baking soda to create a distinct "lift," giving you that thick, bakery-style height without needing to chill the dough for hours.
All-Butter Flavor: The original version of this recipe from my childhood contained shortening which helps cookies hold their shape, but it lacks flavor. This recipe uses 100% real butter for that classic, rich taste and relies on the sour cream to help the cookie hold its structure. It’s the best of both worlds: the structure of shortening with the flavor of butter.
Stays Soft for Days: Because of the higher moisture content from the sour cream and brown sugar, these cookies don't dry out as they cool. They remain soft and chewy stored at room temperature.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Cocoa Powder: I recommend Dutch-Process Cocoa for a dark, fudgy flavor. You can sub in Natural Unsweetened Cocoa or standard unsweetened cocoa like Hershey's but it will result in a slightly lighter, fluffier cookie.
Sour Cream: The secret to keeping these soft for days. It adds moisture without thinning the dough. You can swap in Full-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt and it will yield the same results. Avoid regular milk or low-fat yogurt, which can cause spreading.
Butter: Use Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature (not melted!). If using Salted Butter, reduce the added salt in the recipe by ¼ teaspoon.
Chocolate Chips: A mix of Semi-Sweet Chips and Mini Chips ensures chocolate in every bite. Tip: Mini chips melt into the dough for "fudgy pockets," while standard chips provide texture. Certainly you can just go with one type of chips, though, or swap in white chocolate for a cookies and cream effect.
Sugars: We use more Brown Sugar than white. The molasses in brown sugar attracts moisture, creating a chewy rather than crispy texture.
How to Make Double Chocolate Cookies
- Step 1: Start by creaming the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). This incorporates air for lift. Then, mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream until smooth.
- Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed. Stop mixing when there are still a few streaks of flour visible. Pour in the chocolate chips and use a spatula to fold them in by hand.
Why by hand? This ensures you don't overmix the dough, which can over-develop the gluten and make your cookies tough instead of tender.
- Step 3: Use a medium cookie scoop (approx. 1.5 Tbsp) to portion dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches of space between them as they will spread slightly. The dough is rather sticky, but will still be able to be rolled. If it's too sticky, add an additional Tablespoon of flour at a time until it's workable.
- Step 4: Place the cookies into the oven at 350F on the middle rack and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be puffed up and no longer appear wet on top.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
These cookies are best enjoyed fresh, but thanks to the sour cream, they stay remarkably soft for days when stored correctly.
At Room Temperature
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If they start to dry out after a day or two, tuck a slice of white sandwich bread into the container with them. The cookies will absorb the moisture overnight and taste fresh again by morning.
Freezing the Dough
Unbaked dough freezes beautifully for up to 3 months, perfect for when you only want one or two fresh cookies at a time. Scoop the dough balls onto a baking sheet and flash freeze for about an hour until solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. When a craving hits, bake straight from frozen. Just add an extra minute or two to the baking time.
Freezing Baked Cookies
Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, then stack in a freezer-safe container or bag. Thaw on the counter for 30 minutes before eating, or warm in the microwave for 10 seconds for that fresh-from-the-oven taste.
Love a double chocolate situation? Check out my Sourdough Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Joanie's Balanced Bites
This is a full-sugar indulgence and if you're watching blood sugar, how you enjoy a treat matters as much as what you're eating.
Pair it with protein. Enjoy your cookie alongside a glass of milk, a handful of almonds, or after a meal that includes protein and healthy fats. This slows the glucose response and helps you avoid the spike-and-crash that leaves you reaching for a second (and third).
Savor one, not six. A cookie this rich and fudgy actually satisfies, so you don't need half the batch. The sour cream keeps them soft for days, so there's no pressure to eat them right away. I also have freezer tips!
Timing helps too. An after-dinner treat hits differently than a mid-afternoon cookie on an empty stomach. If blood sugar balance is your goal, enjoy dessert when your body already has a a fat, fiber and protein cushion.
Browse ➡️ Blood Sugar-Friendly Recipes
Fudgy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Double chocolate chip cookies are soft, fudgy and loaded with chocolate chips. A chocolate lover's dream! Part cookie, part brownie and totally indulgent.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170g) butter, softened
- 1 ¼ (266g) cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ (60g) cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (150g) chocolate chips plus extra for adding on top before baking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine the butter and light brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl and using a hand mixer) and cream together for 2 minutes until slightly lightened in color.
- Add the 2 eggs to the stand mixer and continue to beat until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets evenly mixed.
- Then add the sour cream and vanilla to the stand mixer and mix until all wet ingredients are fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients mixture into the stand mixer and turn on the mixer on the lowest power setting until the dry ingredients are just combined with the wet, then add in ⅓ more at a time until all of the dry ingredients are added to the wet. The dough will be slightly sticky but still should be able to be rolled in your hands. Add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time if it's too wet.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add in the chocolate chips to the dough and fold in by hand with a spatula until the chips are evenly distributed through the dough.
- Using a spoon or a a cookie scoop, scoop out a heaping 1.5 Tbs dough into balls and drop onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet with space for the cookies to spread. If you want a smoother look to your cookies, you can lightly roll them in your hands. Add extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie.
- Place the cookies into the oven at 350F on the middle rack and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be puffed up and no longer appear wet on top.
- Once the cookies are done baking, transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool for 20 minutes before enjoying. They will deflate a bit compared to when they came out of the oven for that signature bumpy cookie look.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 189
- Sugar: 16.3 g
- Sodium: 166.4 mg
- Fat: 8.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 23.9 mg
Simadra says
Im not sure if I did something wrong, but my cookies didn't flatten out and were pretty dry.. it was some-what.. cake like?
Joanie Simon says
I'm so sorry to hear that! The most frequent culprit of cookies that don't properly flatten and are too dry / cakey is too much flour or a flour that's more highly absorbent (some gluten free flours, for example, or bread flour or whole wheat). What method of measuring did you use for the flour? Did you use all purpose flour? I use Gold Medal All-Purpose flour for all of my cookie and cake recipes. As far as measuring, it's pretty wild how much variation there can be when measuring with cups versus weight. I'm able to achieve the highest accuracy measuring flour by weight. It was a literal game changer for me when I switched to it. I used to have such a hard time with so many baking recipes, but when I moved to measuring by weight, all those problems went away and my baking went next level. Let me know where you think the trouble was. Again, sorry it wasn't a success. Just made these last week for a party and used peppermint on top and they were such a hit.
Jessica Ford says
What can I use instead of sour cream ?
Joanie Simon says
Greek yogurt is a great 1 to 1 substitute!
Becky says
Delicious! The sour cream is a genius touch. I love the step by step instructions too.
Erin says
So good! One can never have enough chocolate and this delivers! 🍫