Chocolate cupcake cookies are just plain fun—when you want a chocolatey cookie AND fluffy frosting. We love these show-stopping cookies and don’t forget the chocolate sprinkles! This post contains an affiliate link.
You might also like our yellow cupcake cookies, our Hostess cupcake COOKIES, or our copycat Subway chocolate chip cookies.
Watch our step by step video!
I know what you're thinking---cupcake cookies? Why not just make cupcakes? I'll tell you why. Cookies are better than cupcakes. There, I said it. I'll take a soft and chewy cookie any day of the week over a cupcake. These cookies are the best of both worlds. A soft, chewy chocolatey cookie with a swirl of fluffy chocolate buttercream and sprinkles. So good, so easy to make and so fancy!
The chocolate cookie dough base is the same one that I use for Texas sheet cake cookies, Frankenstein cookies, German chocolate cookies, and Hostess cupcake cookies. It's a delicious and versatile recipe.
Chocolate Cupcake Cookies Ingredients
CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH
- melted butter: I always use salted butter for my baking recipes
- unsweetened cocoa powder: I used a combination of regular baking cocoa and Hershey’s Special Dark.
- brown sugars: a mixture of brown and white sugar gives these cookies the perfect texture.
- vanilla extract: have you tried making your own vanilla extract? It adds amazing flavor to your baked goods.
- eggs: for richness and texture
- baking soda: for leavening
- salt: for flavor (use any kind you'd like)
- all-purpose flour
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- butter: softened (room temperature)
- baking cocoa: I used a combination of regular baking cocoa and Hershey's Special Dark baking cocoa.
- powdered sugar
- milk
- vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE Cupcake COOKIES
Combine melted butter and cocoa powder in a large bowl and mix. Add sugars and mix until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients.
Chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour.
Scoop cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cool, beat the butter for the frosting until fluffy then beat in the other ingredients. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
You can spread the frosting over the cookies with a butterknife or pipe with a frosting tip. I think piping the frosting is faster and love how easy it is to add rosettes with a 2D tip.
To pipe a rosette simply start in the middle of the cookie with a star then continue to pipe, going in a circle until the cookie is covered. For a better visual, watch my video!
Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles over the cookies and store them in an airtight container. The frosting will set up slightly as the cookies stand, enough to stack 2 cookies tall after a few hours.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST COOKIES
- Use room temperature ingredients. Butter can be slightly chilled, but should be soft when your thumb is pressed into it.
- Use an electric mixer. A stand mixer or electric hand mixer works great. You can make cookies by hand, but an electric mixer is best for creaming the butter and sugar together.
- Bake on light cookie sheets. All of my recipes are aimed at baking with light metal cookie sheets. That’s all I bake with. If you use dark sheets you’ll need to keep an eye on the cookies and adjust the baking times, if necessary.
Chocolate Cupcake Cookies Recipe
Chocolate Cupcake Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ¼ cups flour
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 ½ cups butter softened, 3 sticks
- 6-7 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup baking cocoa
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5-6 Tablespoons milk
- chocolate sprinkles
Instructions
Cookies
- Melt two sticks of butter (1 cup) in the microwave. Combine melted butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Stir until smooth.
- Mix brown sugar and white sugar with the butter/cocoa mixture.
- Add eggs and vanilla.
- Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour.
- Cover bowl with plastic and chill dough for 45 minutes- 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets using a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp. size).
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on a cookie sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Frosting
- Beat frosting ingredients on medium speed until mixed then turn the speed up to med-high or high and beat for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy.
- You can spread the frosting over the cookies with a butterknife or pipe with a frosting tip. I think piping the frosting is faster and love how easy it is to add rosettes with a 2D tip.To pipe a rosette simply start in the middle of the cookie with a star then continue to pipe, going in a circle until the cookie is covered. For a better visual, watch my video!Sprinkle cookies with chocolate sprinkles.
Brandy says
Hi everyone! Brandy here, I hope you enjoy this cookie recipe as much as we have. They are so rich, soft, and delicious. The frosting is easy to make, but so decadent, and the swirl is easy to do and makes them look so fancy!