Molten Chocolate Lava Cookies

These Molten Chocolate Lava Cookies are so decadent like your favorite restaurant dessert in cookie form with soft chewy chocolate cookie encasing a gooey molten fudge center. The soft chocolate center is such a surprise once you bite in and they are delicious served warm, at room temperature and even cold from the fridge when the filling sets up like fudge. It's not just a piece of chocolate in the middle - that would set up firm once cooled. We're actually putting fudge inside so you really get the effect of a molten chocolate cake in cookie form. If you love decadent chocolate cookies, check out my Bakery-Style Double Chocolate Cookies too!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Soft chocolate cookie - the cookie dough makes soft and just slightly fudgy cookies that are the perfect texture to hold up to the really fudgy filling.
• Molten chocolate fudge filling - these cookies are literally stuffed with fudge! I use my easy one pot hot fudge recipe as a base and reinforce it with cocoa for added structure. It bakes into the cookies slightly to set in place, while the middle oozes out like lava.
• Rich chocolate taste - there is no shortage of chocolate flavor here with plenty of cocoa powder and pure dark chocolate to make the filling.
• Soft for days - one of the best things about these cookies is that they stay soft for a long time and don't dry out.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE LAVA COOKIES

• Butter - for this recipe you can use unsalted or salted butter. They are especially delicious with salted butter which enhances the chocolate taste and element of richness. If you use unsalted butter, then you can increase the added salt to ½ teaspoon.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla enhances the chocolate flavor. I recommend this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Brown sugar - you can use light or dark brown sugar in this recipe. I use light brown sugar to add a bit of moisture but still let the chocolate flavor shine.
• Granulated sugar - I use a blend of brown sugar and white sugar for the right taste and texture.
• Eggs - one whole egg will give structure to these cookies. Large size eggs are 57g each with the shell.

• All purpose flour - AP flour is ideal for chewy cookies. I always use unbleached flour.
• Cocoa powder - 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. You can use natural or Dutch cocoa. I love to use this Dutch Process cocoa powder for this recipe for the darker color it gives to these cookies and it has a nice rich chocolate taste. Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder and not cocoa mix.
• Baking soda - just a bit of baking soda (only ¼ tsp) provides the perfect amount of spread and puff since these fudge filling will already promote a lot of spread.
• Hot Fudge Sauce - the filling is an enriched version of my one pot hot fudge sauce and it needs to set completely before making the cookies.
• Dark chocolate - it is very important to use bittersweet chocolate with minimum 70% cocoa solids for fudge filling. If you use sweeter chocolate, then the filling will be too soft and the cookies will spread too much.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

• STEP 1). Make the fudge filling. Prepare my Easy Hot Fudge Sauce as per the instructions on this page. Once finished, whisk in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and then pour it out into a jar to cool. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until completely set and firm.
• STEP 2). Make the cookie dough. Cream butter and sugar. Combine butter and both sugars in a large bowl and cream it together using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until pale and fluffy.
• STEP 3). Mix in egg and dry ingredients. Mix in egg and vanilla extract until well combined. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add flour mixture and fold it in until just incorporated.
• STEP 4).Chill the dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
• STEP 5). Make the fudge fillings. Scoop up teaspoons of chilled fudge sauce and place directly into a bowl with cocoa powder. Roll them around in cocoa to coat evenly then place on a parchment lined plate or tray and place in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm while the dough is chilling.
• STEP 6). Stuff the cookie dough. Scoop up cookie dough and roll dough into 14 balls. Place a dough ball in the palm of your hand and use your other palm to flatten it into a disk about 2 ½ inches in diameter. Place a fudge ball into the center and gently wrap the dough around the fudge ball to enclose it completely. Make sure there are no gaps so the filling doesn't ooze out during baking. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Place the balls back onto the tray and refrigerate again for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.
• STEP 7). Bake. Place the chilled dough balls onto your lined trays spacing them 3 inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes until set around the edges and the surface looks matte, but they are still slightly soft in the middle. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Measure the flour accurately using a kitchen scale to ensure you get the right texture. Too much flour will make them dry, while not enough flour means that they will spread too much.
• Let the dough chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours so that you get thick cookies that can withstand the molten fudge filling.
• Use a trigger-release cookie scoop to portion these cookies for even baking and roll the dough portions into smooth balls for a uniform shape.
• Chill the rolled dough balls too. Chilling the dough balls gives the filling another chance to firm up in the dough so that they don't spread excessively.
• Preheat the oven fully. It is important to have your oven preheated properly so you get that instant heat over the cookie dough to set them and prevent them from spreading out too flat. If your oven runs low, try baking them at 375 degrees F if you find they spread too much the first round.

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Video

Chocolate Lava Cookies

Christina Marsigliese

These molten chocolate cookies are such a dream! Imagine your favorite restaurant dessert in cookie form. There's deeply chocolatey cookie dough with an oozing molten chocolate fudge center. They are delicious warm, at room temperature an even cold from the fridge.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Chill Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings 14 cookies

Ingredients

  

Chocolate cookie dough:

• ½ cup (113g) salted butter, softened
• ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
• ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups (180g) all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup (28g) cocoa powder (I prefer this Dutch cocoa or this one)
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Fudge filling:

• 1 x recipe for Easy One Pot Hot Fudge Sauce
• 2 tablespoon (12g) cocoa powder

Instructions

 

• Make the fudge filling. Prepare my Easy Hot Fudge Sauce as per the instructions on this page. Once finished, whisk in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and then pour it out into a jar to cool. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until completely set and firm.
• Make the cookie dough. Combine butter and both sugars in a large bowl and cream it together using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract until well combined. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add flour mixture and fold it in until just incorporated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
• Scoop up teaspoons of chilled fudge sauce and place directly into a bowl with cocoa powder. Roll them around in cocoa to coat evenly then place on a parchment lined plate or tray and place in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm while the dough is chilling.
• Use a 1 ½-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and roll into 14 balls. Place a dough ball in the palm of your hand and use your other palm to flatten it into a disk about 2 ½ inches in diameter. Place a fudge ball into the center and gently wrap the dough around the fudge ball to enclose it completely. Make sure there are no gaps so the filling doesn't ooze out during baking. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Place the balls back onto the tray and refrigerate again for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.
• Preheat your oven to 375°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the chilled dough balls onto your lined trays spacing them 3 inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes until set around the edges and the surface looks matte, but they are still slightly soft in the middle. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet.