Meatless Monday Challenge

Chewy Molten Chocolate Fudge Cookies

on June 26, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These chocolate fudge cookies are like molten lava cake in cookie form! A chewy chocolate cookie with a chocolate fudge sauce core.
Molten chocolate fudge cookie broken open to reveal gooey center on a blue background.

If you’re a true chocolate lover, add these Molten Chocolate Fudge Cookies to your must-make list! Think: chewy chocolate cookies with a chocolate fudge sauce core, almost like a molten lava cake but in cookie form.

You’ll whip up a simple chocolatey cookie dough and stuff it with a frozen ball of chocolate fudge sauce and bake it to perfection.

Molten chocolate fudge cookies stacked on top of one another.

Chocolate Fudge Cookies Ingredients


Here’s everything you need for the molten chocolate fudge center:

  • Unsalted butter.
  • Milk.
  • Dark chocolate chips. Semi-sweet works too, but I highly recommend dark!
All ingredients for chocolate fudge cookie center including milk, butter, and chocolate chips.

Here’s what you need for the chewy chocolate cookies:

  • Unsalted butter. Make sure your butter is softened.
  • Granulated sugar.
  • Egg.
  • Vanilla extract.
  • All-purpose flour.
  • Dark cocoa powder. Any unsweetened cocoa powder works, but dark cocoa gives you a richer color and flavor.
  • Baking soda.
  • Salt.
All ingredients needed for chewy chocolate fudge cookies including flour, baking soda, egg, sugar, vanilla extract, unsalted butter, and cocoa powder.

Chocolate Cookies with Fudge Center Tips and Tricks


How to Make a Simple Chocolate Fudge Sauce

This fudge sauce is as simple as it gets with just 3 ingredients and is done in the microwave. Add the chocolate chips, milk, and butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then whisk to combine.

Typically, 30 seconds is enough, but if you find you need a little more heat, you can give it an additional 10 seconds in the microwave.

Melted chocolate fudge sauce made from chocolate chips, butter, and milk, whisked together after 30 seconds in the microwave.
Microwave the chocolate chips, butter, and milk and whisk to combine.

How to Freeze Fudge Sauce to the Center of a Cookie

Line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat. Use a heaping tablespoon of the fudge sauce, make 8 little dollops of chocolate to the tray.

Once you have 8, go back and add more fudge sauce to each, until it’s all used up and your left with 8 roughly even-sized fudge coins.

Then, freeze them for an hour.

Adding chocolate fudge sauce to a baking sheet in little circles to freeze.
Add 8 little dollops of chocolate fudge sauce to a lined baking tray.
Frozen chocolate fudge sauce coins to add to center of chocolate cookies.
Freeze for an hour to make chocolate coins.

How to Make Chocolate Cookie Dough

When your chocolate fudge sauce coins are almost fully frozen, start working on your cookie dough. This is a super simple cookie recipe that comes together in just one bowl. For best results, there is a particular order to which you need to add the ingredients.

Start by creaming the butter and sugar together. Be patient at this stage, to fully combine and aerate the butter and sugar, you’ll need to use your hand mixer on high for up to 5 full minutes.

Then, add the egg and vanilla extract and mix again until just combined. Finally, add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt). Mix one final time to integrate.

If need be, use a spatula to scrape any leftover ingredients off the sides of the bowls, ensuring everything is mixed together.

Unsalted butter and granulated sugar creamed together until well-combined.
Cream the butter and sugar together first.
Egg and vanilla extract mixed into creamed butter and sugar to make base for chocolate cookie dough.
Add the egg and vanilla extract.
Simple chocolate cookie dough ready to be shaped.
Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

How to Form Your Hot Fudge Chocolate Cookies

Once your cookie dough is ready, it’s time to form your cookies! Use a large cookie scoop or 2 heaping tablespoons of dough to form 8 cookie dough balls. You should have some leftover dough.

Now that your chocolate fudge sauce coins are frozen, you can use your hands to mold them into balls. It’s a little bit of a messy process, but essentially you just want to squeeze the frozen coin in the palm of your hand so it folds up and goes from flat to a sphere.

Then, just push the frozen fudge ball into the center of the cookie. Use a little bit of the leftover dough to cover the fudge so it’s completely encased by cookie dough.

Chocolate cookie dough shaped and lined up on a large cookie sheet.
Form your cookies and place them on prepped sheets.
Frozen chocolate fudge sauce shaped into a ball to add to center of cookie dough.
Shape your frozen fudge sauce coins into balls.
Frozen chocolate fudge sauce balls pressed into the center of chocolate cookie dough lined up on a baking sheet.
Press the fudge sauce balls into the cookies.
Chocolate fudge cookies ready for the oven.
Cover the fudge with a little extra cookie dough.

Bake and Cool Your Molten Chocolate Cookies

Once your dough is formed, add them straight to the top rack of the oven preheated to 375°F. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are firm, and you see some cracking in the cookies.

Let the cookies cool for at least 15 minutes. They will set so you can pick them up and eat them. If you want to enjoy them immediately, you will likely need a fork or spoon!

Chocolate fudge cookies fresh out of the oven still on the baking tray.
Bake at 375°F on the top rack for 8-10 minutes and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.

How to Properly Store and Reheat Leftover Chocolate Cookies

These cookies will last at room temperature covered for about 2 weeks, or a month in the refrigerator.

Quick tip: Storing your cookies with a piece of bread will keep them softer and chewier. Moisture from the bread stops the cookies from drying out and keeps their texture. This is the perfect use for the end piece!

As the cookies completely cool, the fudge sauce starts to solidify. You can eat them like this, they are still absolutely delicious, but if you want that molten center, you have to reheat them.

You can do so in the microwave for 8-10 seconds or in the oven at 300°F for about 5 minutes.

You can also freeze these cookies for up to a year, but I recommend freezing the unbaked dough instead, and making them fresh!

Overhead image of chocolate fudge cookies with middle one pulled apart to reveal molten chocolate center.

How to Freeze Cookie Dough for Later

If you know you only want a few cookies, I recommend freezing the extra dough, so you can make these fresh whenever you want!

Shape your cookies with your fudge center and place them in the freezer for up to 1 year (or the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks).

I like to store them in a reusable storage bag with a little label.

Then, you can bake them right out of the fridge or freezer. From the freezer, bake for 10-12 minutes, from the fridge, keep it at 8-10 minutes.

Green tip: Of the billions of tons of food wasted annually, 50% of food waste happens at home. Reduce your contribution to food waste by properly storing baked goods!

Want to sharpen your kitchen skills?

Download My Free eBook

If you’re loving these Molten Chocolate Fudge Cookies and want more chocolatey treats, check out these Condensed Milk Brownies and Edible Brownie Batter.

Molten chocolate fudge cookie broken open to reveal gooey center on a blue background.

Chewy Molten Chocolate Fudge Cookies

No ratings yet
Marley Goldin
PIN Print RATE
These chocolate fudge cookies are like molten lava cake in cookie form! A chewy chocolate cookie with a chocolate fudge sauce core.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Fudge Freezing Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 8 cookies

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

Molten Chocolate Fudge

  • cup dark chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Chocolate Fudge Cookies

  • ½ cup unsalted butter (½ cup butter = 1 stick)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup dark cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

Fudge Sauce Center

  • To a microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate chips, butter, and milk. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and whisk to combine. If you need a little more heat, you can microwave for an additional 10 seconds to bring everything together.
  • Line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat. Spoon 8 roughly equal sized dollops of fudge sauce onto the mat and place in the freezer for 1 hour, so you're left with 8 chocolate coins.

Chocolate Fudge Cookies

  • Preheat your oven to 375°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat. 
  • When your chocolate coins are almost frozen, it's time to start on your cookie dough! To a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and sugar. Use a hand mixer on high to cream together until light and smooth (about 3-5 minutes).
  • Add the egg and vanilla extract and use your hand mixer on low to combine.
  • Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix one last time. Use a spatula to scrape any flour off the sides of the bowl and integrate it into your dough.
  • Use a large cookie scoop or 2 heaping tablespoons of dough to form 8 cookies, adding them to the prepped baking sheets. Leave at least an inch of space in between each cookie for minor spreading. You should have some leftover cookie dough.
  • Now that your chocolate coins are frozen, use your hands to squish them and shape them into a sphere. Push each chocolate fudge sphere into the center of the cookie, then take a little extra cookie dough and cover it, so the fudge is completely encased by cookie dough.
  • Bake on the top rack for 8-10 minutes until edges are firm. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Pro Tips

  • As the cookies completely cool, the fudge sauce starts to solidify. You can eat them like this, they are still absolutely delicious, but if you want that molten center, you have to reheat them in the microwave for 8-10 seconds or in the oven at 300°F for about 5 minutes. 
  • You can freeze excess cookie dough before baking it to give you fresh baked cookies every time when the craving hits! Just bake them as normal straight out of the freezer.
  • Chocolate lover? Me too! You’ll love the collection of my best chocolate recipes!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Keyword Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies, Fudge
Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment and let me know what you think! And if you really enjoyed it, help power this website and buy me a coffee!

GET OUR FRESHEST RECIPES STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

You'll Also Love

Comment on & Rate this Recipe

I very much hope you enjoyed this recipe!

If you did, please give it a star rating, which will help other people just like you find and enjoy the recipe too 😊

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on the recipe, be sure to let me know in the comments as well. I read each and every one and would love to hear from you!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating