Double Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cookies

If you love Oreos, then you will love these Double Chocolate Cookies & Cream Cookies that are so rich and chocolatey with a brownie-like texture and homemade white and dark chocolate bark studded with Oreo cookies! These deep, dark cookies are made with black cocoa powder to mimic the color and flavor of classic Oreos and they taste just like them except with a soft, chewy and fudgy texture. They are crisp on the outside and a little gooey in the middle with puddles of creamy white and dark chocolate, and Oreo cookie in every bite! If you love this recipe, then you might also want to try my Cookies & Cream Cookies and this Oreo Cookies & Cream Cake.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Fudgy chocolate cookies - you will love the soft fudgy texture that is almost brownie-like. These have deep roasted cocoa notes thanks to black cocoa powder, which is the same cocoa that makes Oreo cookies look so black.
• Rich vanilla flavor - these cookies have rich vanilla notes thanks to a good dose of pure vanilla extract and mainly white sugar instead of brown sugar to help the vanilla taste stand out. Fun fact though - if you want that nostalgic taste of cookies 'n cream, use artificial vanilla! It has more of a cotton candy flavor profile and really makes these taste like childhood.
• Thick chewy cookies - the texture of these cookies is slightly crisp around the edges and wonderfully chewy and even a bit gooey in the middle. They bake up nice and thick and as they cool they become more chewy.
• Cookies and cream chocolate bark - instead of chocolate chips, we're making a beautiful marbled chocolate bark by mixing white chocolate with crushed Oreos, then swirling this into dark chocolate. We chop this up into chunks and fold it into the cookie dough which yields beautiful creamy, melty chocolate puddles. It's almost like those Hershey's Cookies & Cream candy bars, except WAY better.
• Oreo cookie pieces - not only are there crushed Oreos running through the white chocolate, but there are also more Oreo cookie pieces that I press onto the baked cookies while still warm for a bakery-style appearance.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE COOKIES & CREAM COOKIES RECIPE

• Butter - there is no substitute for butter in these cookies in my opinion! It makes the foundation of the creamy dairy notes. I like to use unsalted sweet cream butter, but you can use salted butter. If you choose salted, then I recommend reducing the added salt by half.
• Granulated sugar - this recipe uses a combination of simple white granulated sugar and brown sugar. White sugar helps create the crunchy caramelized edges and also creates a cleaner flavor so that the vanilla really shines through instead of being overpowered by the molasses in brown sugar.
• Brown sugar - I use light brown sugar for this recipe which has half as much molasses as dark brown sugar.
• Egg - you'll need one whole egg for this cookie dough. It's the perfect amount of moisture to make these cookies chewy and not cakey.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is essential to the flavor of these Oreo Cookies and Cream Cookies! I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract, but even cheap artificial vanilla extract will actually make the most nostalgic taste!
• All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour makes the best chewy cookies in my opinion.
• Cocoa powder - you can make do with basic quality flour, sour cream, milk and oil but you should get your hands on some good quality cocoa powder! It's the main flavor and you want it to shine so use the best you can find. I love to use this Dutch Process cocoa powder for this recipe. Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder and not cocoa mix.
• Black cocoa powder - I don't use all black cocoa because I don't prefer the taste. Because black cocoa is highly alkalized with a high pH, it has a smoky, ashy, salty taste and I find it unpleasant in high levels. That's why I use a blend of light Dutch cocoa and black cocoa.
• Oreo cookies - you can use any cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, but Oreos are the obvious option. You just need to break them up into small pieces (quarters or fifths) and will also use some finer crumbs to fold into the cookie dough.
• White chocolate - pure white chocolate will melt beautifully and has the cleanest creamy flavor. It adds pockets of milky cream flavor in each bite.
• Dark chocolate - the chocolate bark is a combination of white chocolate and dark chocolate. You can use semisweet or bittersweet chocolate. I like bittersweet to contrast the sweetness of the white chocolate.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

• STEP 1). Make the cookies & cream bark. Melt the chocolate. Place chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with ½ inch of simmering water. Make sure the bowl is large enough that it just rests over the pot and the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir constantly until completely melted and smooth. See this post for how to temper chocolate if you'd like to go the mile, otherwise just melt it gently and do not over-heat it. Do the same with the white chocolate, being extra careful as white chocolate has a lower melting temperature and can burn easily.
• STEP 2). Make the bark and let it set. Pour the dark chocolate over a baking tray lined with parchment paper and spread it out so it is between ⅛ inch and ¼ inch thick. Drizzle the white chocolate randomly over top and then swirl it in a bit. Sprinkle chopped Oreos over the chocolate while it is still fluid and then allow it to set in a cool place for about 30 minutes until firm. Once firm and set, chop up the bark into chunks and set aside.
• STEP 3). Make cookie dough. Cream butter and sugar. Combine butter with both sugars and vanilla in a large bowl and mix for 2-3 minutes using an electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth, pale and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or cream by hand with a wide rubber spatula. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times during mixing.
• STEP 4). Mix in egg. Add egg and mix until well combined.
• STEP 5). Sift flour, Dutch cocoa, black cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
• STEP 6). Add dry ingredients and mix on low until it just begins to incorporate. When most of the flour is incorporated, it will look a bit dry and now you can add the milk. Continue folding the dough until the ingredients are evenly combined.
• STEP 7). Fold in chocolate bark. Add about ⅔ of the chopped chocolate Oreo bark and fold it in evenly. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours.
• STEP 8). Bake. Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and then roll into smooth balls. Place them onto prepared baking sheets spacing them 3 inches apart. Press a few more pieces of chocolate bark on top of each ball and bake for 9-11 minutes until puffed and the tops are cracked but they are still soft in the middle. Transfer to a rack and let cookies cool on trays for 3 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Use unsalted butter. In some chocolate chip cookie recipes I like to use salted butter for richness - it enhances the caramel notes of the brown sugar, but not today! For this recipe I want the sweet creamy buttery flavor and vanilla notes to shine, so we will have restraint with salt.
• Use very soft butter - The key to make delicious Cookies and Cream Cookies is to start with very soft butter - it should look creamy.
• Use regular large size eggs. Large eggs weigh 57g. Using an extra large egg will add up to 2 teaspoons more liquid to the cookie dough which can throw off the moisture balance and make the cookies spread too much.
• Use pure white chocolate which is made with pure cocoa butter for smooth creamy taste. I adore these white chocolate callets, and you can also chop up a white chocolate bar.

RECIPE FAQ

STORAGE AND FREEZING

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