Easy Chocolate Meltaway Cookies with Cocoa Powder

With all the soft cookies, they’ll melt in your mouth just like traditional shortbread and sweetened condensed milk cookies. The best part? These chocolate meltaways are a whole lot easier to make than shortbread.

This is why you’ll love including these in your holiday season recipes along with these melting moments cookies and lemon drizzled cardamom cookies.

They use cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate or chocolate chips. Making this meltaway cookie recipe easier than most.

Along with my recipe for simple Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, you’re well on your way to creating your Christmas holiday cookie box!

To serve, enjoy these simple chocolate butter cookies with a homemade Gingerbread Latte or this mug of Peppermint Cinnamon Hot Cocoa.

📋 Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• All-purpose – is also known as plain flour in Australia. Make sure to measure your flour correctly for the best results. Try substituting with a baking gluten-free all-purpose flour blend ideally a 1:1 blend.

• Cocoa powder – use Dutch-process cocoa powder for rich and very chocolatey meltaways or regular unsweetened cocoa powder works just as well.

• Instant coffee powder – enhances the cocoa powder to make these chocolate butter cookies SHINE! It can be left out of the recipe if desired though they won’t be as rich.

• Unsalted butter – can be substituted with salted butter, which will cut through the intense chocolate flavor, if desired.

• Powdered sugar – is also known as icing sugar and confectioners sugar. Make sure to sift your sugar when the recipe calls for it. Organic powdered sugars tend to contain more lumps than regular powdered sugar.

Step two: Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl and beat on low speed until it breaks up and turns creamy about 15-20 seconds.

Step three: Sift over powdered sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides. 

Step four: Add the flour and cocoa mixture and beat on low-medium speed for 30 seconds until well combined and a crumbly dough develops. 

Step five: Turn off the beaters and use your hands to gather the crumbly dough together to form a ball of cookie dough, pressing it down slightly to form a thick disc. 

Step six: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. 30 minutes before your dough is ready to come out of the fridge, preheat your oven and line a baking sheet. 

Step seven: Scoop out one level tablespoon of dough, weighing 20g (0.7oz), and roll it into a smooth ball. 

Step eight: Place on the lined baking sheet and using the palm of your hand, slightly flatten it into a thick disc. Repeat the process with the remaining dough, leaving a 2-inch gap between each.

Step nine: Using a fork, press down the prongs into each cookie to create the indentation. 

Step ten: Bake for 12-15 minutes until they look set and come away easily from the parchment paper. Do not over-bake as they will turn dry. Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

💭 Tips For Recipe Success

• Measure your ingredients correctly, especially the flour. Too much flour = hard, cakey cookies.

• Your butter must be softened at room temperature before beating it.

• Beat just the butter, before adding the powdered sugar, for 15-20 seconds until it’s broken up and creamy. This makes sure chunks of butter don’t fly out of your bowl when you beat it with the sugar.

• Your cookie batter will become crumbly in the final steps as it forms the dough. I recommend turning off your beater and bringing it together into a ball of dough using your hands.

• If your dough is too hard/cold to roll into cookies, let it sit at room temperature for 5-10.

• For consistent meltaways, weigh each cookie or use a tablespoon measuring spoon.

⏲️ Storage Instructions

Store baked meltaway cookies in a sealed container, at room temperature, for 4-5 days. Alternatively, store in the refrigerator for 1 week. Bring to room temperature if desired before enjoying.

To Freeze Baked Cookies:

1. Allow them to cool completely. 
2. Place them on a baking sheet, not touching each other, and pop them into the freezer to freeze until solid. 
3. Transfer to a freezer-friendly sealed container, with layers of parchment paper between any layers. Alternatively, place them into freezer zip-lock bags.
4. Label them with the date and the recipe name. 
5. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

To Thaw Baked Cookies:

1. Remove them from their container/bag, place them onto a plate and sit at room temperature for several hours until defrosted. 
2. Alternatively, thaw them overnight by removing them from their container/bag, placing them onto a plate, and into the fridge overnight. Removing them from the container/bag avoids condensation when defrosting.
3. Warm them up if desired in the oven or microwave. 

To Freeze Cookie Dough:

1. Follow the recipe, chill the dough, and form the cookies with the fork indentation.
2. Place them onto the baking sheet, with a small gap between each cookie. 
3. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until solid. 
4. Place the solid cookies in freezer zip-lock bags or into a freezer-friendly sealed container, labeled with the date and recipe name. 
5. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

To Bake Frozen Cookie Dough:

1. Remove the cookies from the container/bag and onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving a 1-inch gap between each cookie. 
2. Sit them on the counter at room temperature while you pre-heat your oven according to the recipe instructions. 
3. Bake cookies per the recipe method, adding a further 1-2 minutes to the baking time, if needed, as the cookies were partially frozen. 

💬 Recipe FAQ’s