We interrupt your regularly scheduled St. Patrick’s Day baking series for this important bulletin: I have made the best chocolate cookies on the planet and now you need to do the same! This was sort of an accident of fate, when I was dying for molten chocolate lava cake but had zero of the motivation needed to make them. Neither did I feel like slamming together a mug cake. I needed something… different. And from the chaos… these cookies emerged. Are you ready for the chocolate that’s coming your way?
The tricky thing about anything ‘lava’ is that you want to be careful with any underbaking of flour or eggs- which is what is so great about these cookies. You don’t have to underbake the center, or need to watch the timer and pull them out exactly at 9 minutes and 3 seconds or they’re ruined. Instead, you create the lava center with hot fudge from a jar- so there’s no worries about consuming any raw dough here. And for more fun, you can pick your favorite hot fudge, or even switch it up for a different flavor (peanut butter hot fudge, anyone?) if you’re feeling crazy. Just make sure it’s real hot fudge from a jar, bottled chocolate syrups won’t work here. With a couple more tips under your belt, you’ll be a professional lava cookie machine in five minutes flat.
Tip 1: Chill Out!
After you’ve made the dough in the recipe below, pop the entire bowl in your fridge for about 20 minutes. You’re going to be flattening the dough (about 2 Tbsp each) into circles in your palm, and chilled dough will be way less sticky and give you far fewer problems.
Tip 2: Baby Spoon!
Or any other small spoon, honestly. Once you’ve flattened the dough in your hand to about 1/2″ thick , use a small spoon to scoop about 1 tsp. of the hot fudge into the center of the cookie dough pancake. Close up the pancake and roll it between your hands until it’s nice and round.
Tip 3: Chill Out: The Sequel!
Roll your filled dough balls in granulated (or powdered, if that’s your jam) sugar and place on the baking sheet, keeping about 2″ between each cookie. Once your sheet is full, place it back in the fridge for about 20 more minutes. This will help keep your cookies from spreading too much during the baking process.
Tip 4: Patience is a Virtue!
Once your cookies have finished baking, you’re going to need a little restraint. These cookies are super fragile right out of the oven and need at least 10 minutes on the sheet to cool before you move them to a baking rack. And unless you want to eat them with a fork (I’m not judging!) you should give them another 10 minutes or so on that rack before you eat them. If you allow them to cool completely and then just pop in the microwave for 10 seconds, the center will still be warm ‘lava’- and that’s my favorite way to eat them!
Okay, enough tips. We can’t eat tips, we need cookies. Let’s get to the recipe!
Soft & Decadent Chocolate Lava Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs large
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2½ cups flour all purpose
- 8 oz hot fudge (jar variety)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter with the granulated and brown sugars.
- Add the eggs, baking soda, cocoa powder and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat until well combined.
- Add the flour to the bowl and mix until just combined- don't overmix! Refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes.
- Scoop the dough 2 Tbsp at a time and press into circles in your palm about ½" thick. Scoop 1 tsp of hot fudge from the jar and place it in the center of the dough circle. Close the dough around the fudge and roll in your hands until round. Roll the dough in granulated sugar and place 2" apart on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
- Place the baking sheet back in the fridge for about 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°.
- Bake for 9 minutes and remove cookies from oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for at least 10 minutes before removing to a baking rack to finish cooling.
How did they turn out for you? Are you in lava heaven yet? Make sure to let me know what you think and to ask me any questions you have in the comments below. Until next time, happy baking!
