Spooky Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies
These spooky inside out chocolate chip cookies have an incredibly fudgy texture, gooey brownie centers, crispy edges, and melty white chocolate chips. Made with dark cocoa for a rich chocolate flavor and good quality white chocolate chips for a creamy add-in, these cookies are decadent and addicting.
These cookies are also great for Halloween – with the simple addition of candy eyes, these cookies turn spooky immediately.
For other spooky recipes, make sure to check out these Halloween Monster Brownies and Halloween Dirt Pudding.
For other chocolatey cookie recipes, try these Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dark Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies, and Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies.
Why you will love these inside out chocolate chip cookies
- Rich chocolate flavor. We’re taking the classic chocolate chip cookie and flipping it inside out, making the rich cocoa flavor the star. We use dark cocoa in these cookies for a strong chocolate flavor.
- Soft & chewy texture. These cookies have crisp edges but a puffy, soft & gooey brownie-like center, thanks to the cocoa, melted butter, and sugars.
- White chocolate. The white chocolate chips are a nice contrast to the deep cocoa flavor. It’s rich and creamy and makes every bite *mwah* chef’s kiss!
- Make ahead convenience. You can prepare the dough in advance and chill it for up to 24 hours. The cookie dough also freezes well, so you can have freshly baked cookies any time.
Key ingredients
- Butter: the melted butter adds moisture & richness to the cookies, contributing to their soft & chewy flavor.
- Sugar: Brown sugar brings moisture and a hint of caramel flavor, while granulated sugar sweetens the cookies and gives them crispy edges.
- Egg: the egg binds the ingredients together.
- Leavener: baking soda & baking powder are used to leaven the cookies, helping with the puffy centers and even spread.
- All purpose flour: flour provides structure and thickness to the cookies.
- Dark cocoa powder: the cocoa powder is the star, creating a deep & rich chocolate flavor that gives these cookies that inside-out feel.
- White chocolate chips: white chocolate chips add creaminess and a wonderful contrast to the cocoa.
- Candy eyes: if you are making these for Halloween, candy eyes are a fun way to scare-ify these cookies.
Steps
- Whisk the butter and sugars. Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the sugars are completely absorbed into the butter.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk well until combined.
- Add the leaveners. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Fold the all purpose flour and dark cocoa powder into the wet ingredients until a few streaks of flour remain.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Add in the white chocolate chips and fold until they are evenly incorporated throughout the batter and no streaks of flour remain.
- Chill the dough. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours but up to 24 hours.
- Bake. Once ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into 1/4 cup (about 75 grams) sized balls. Space them 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are set and the centers are puffed up.
FAQ
While it’s possible, using Dutch-processed cocoa is recommended as it provides a deeper chocolate flavor and color. If you opt for natural cocoa, your cookies might have a slightly different taste, texture, and appearance.
Absolutely! Portion the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to a zip-lock bag. Bake straight from the freezer, adding a minute or two to the baking time.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them for longer storage; just ensure they are well-wrapped.
This is likely from over-measuring the flour. These cookies need enough flour to support their structure, but not too much where they become tough and dry. If you are not using a kitchen scale, make sure you are measuring your flour properly by using the spoon & level method.
Baking tips
- Use a kitchen scale. I cannot stress this enough – a kitchen scale is the only way to ensure accurate results. They are cheap and will make cleaning up SO much easier.
- Chill the dough. Chilling the dough controls spread and it gives the ingredients the chance to emulsify, resulting in a much deeper, caramel-like flavor.
- Use an oven thermometer. Making sure your oven is calibrated correctly and is at the right temperature is incredibly important. If your oven runs hot, the cookies may spread too much too quickly.
- Use a cookie scoop. Cookie scoops are one of my favorite kitchen tools. It makes scooping the chilled cookie dough so much easier, and you don’t have to get the dough all over your hands.
- Cookie scoot. “Cookie scooting” is taking something circular (a cookie cutter, as an example) and gently scooting the cookies after they are removed from the oven. Frame the cookie with your cookie cutter and move in a circular motion – this makes the cookies the perfect circular shape. You can also use a mug, a glass storage container, etc.
Baking in grams
While I provide volume measurements for the recipes on my blog, I highly suggest baking these recipes using weight. It is the most standardized and accurate way to bake. I carefully recipe test all of my recipes using a kitchen scale, not by using cups, and therefore I cannot guarantee the success of my recipes when using volume measurements.
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Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 170 grams (¾ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 160 grams (¾ cup) brown sugar
- 160 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 219 grams (1 ¾ cups) all purpose flour
- 55 grams (2/3 cup) dark (dutch processed) cocoa powder
- 180 grams (1 cup) white chocolate chips
- candy eyes, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, melt your butter then set aside to cool for 5ish minutes. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk well – for about two minutes – until the butter is completely absorbed into the sugars.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk well until combined. Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour and dark cocoa powder and fold until almost incorporated and there are only a few streaks of flour remaining. Add the white chocolate chips and fold until evenly incorporated throughout the dough and the streaks of flour are gone.
- Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least two hours but up to 24 hours.
- Once ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into 1/4 cup sized balls (about 75 grams) and space them on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are set and the centers are puffed up, then remove from the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan before pressing the candy eyes into the tops of the cookies (if using).
- Transfer to a cooling rack to cool for an additional 15 minutes and enjoy slightly warm, or let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Tried this recipe? Make sure to rate and review and tag @sturbridgebakery on Instagram!
These cookies are so good! They’re rich, chocolatey and soft. Loved the Halloween variation idea of adding the candy eyes – so fun!
Thank you so much 🙂
Saw this recipe come up on insta and knew I had to try especially with Halloween so soon. Made a batch of many tiny cookies and my mom was blown away! She had an amazing idea of making little ice cream sandwiches with them. Literally the best chocolate cookie recipe. 10/10 will make every year!
Thank you so, so much April! Ice cream sandwiches sound delish! So happy you like them 🙂
Hi! What brand of white chocolate chips do you use for this recipe? Thanks!
Hi! I used Ghirardelli for these!