These old fashioned Chocolate Drop Cookies are a chocolate lover’s dream cookie. They’re soft and cakey, with a rich, fudge-like frosting. A glass of milk on the side is a must!
“Delicious! These were the first cookies I learned to bake with my mother. One of my favorite recipes!” -Leslie
These old fashioned Chocolate Drop Cookies are the #1 must-have Christmas cookie in my family. I make them every year, sometimes twice, and they never disappoint. It turns out, quite a few of you have the same tradition!
The chocolate cookie is soft and cake-like, with a rich chocolate fudge frosting. Both of my grandmothers made this recipe, and my mom passed it along to me.
I hope you enjoy a taste of this family recipe! Here are a few more than we make every year:
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Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for the cookie part (this doesn’t include the frosting):
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make your own. Just pour 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice into a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the cup up to the ¾-cup line. You can use it in the cookies right away.
How to make chocolate drop cookies
This cookie dough makes a very “wet” dough, more similar to brownie batter than cookie dough. As a result, it needs a few hours to firm up in the refrigerator, so take that into account when making these cookies!
Start by creaming together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.
Then, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda).
Add half of the buttermilk to the butter mixture, then half the dry ingredients. Beat until combined. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and remaining dry ingredients. If you’re using nuts, stir them in. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours, or up to 48 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper (otherwise they will stick—trust me!). Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the cookies no longer look wet on top.
The Chocolate Fudge frosting
The frosting comes from the first edition Betty Crocker cookbook. It was published in 1950, and belonged to my great-grandmother. A re-print of this same same cookbook from the 1990s is still available on Amazon.
The chocolate frosting recipe is thick and fudge-like, which is perfect for these cookies! Scroll down to the recipe card for the frosting recipe, or you can see a step-by-step tutorial in this chocolate fudge frosting recipe post.
Chocolate Drop Cookies: Frequently Asked Questions
To make homemade buttermilk, pour 2 teaspoons of vinegar into the bottom of a liquid measuring cup. Fill the rest of the cup with milk up to the ¾ cup line. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, and then it’s ready to use. You will see the vinegar curdling the milk—that is a good thing! You can use any type of milk (skim, 1%, 2%, whole) and white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar.
Yes! Simple omit the unsweetened chocolate from the frosting recipe and continue on with the instructions. You may need a little less powdered sugar. If the mixture gets too stiff, add a splash more milk until it thins to a spreadable consistency. Some readers have mentioned that they put sprinkles on top of the vanilla frosting.
You can make the cookies several days in advance of serving them. Wait until the frosting is set before storing/stacking, and place plastic wrap or wax paper in between layers. You can also freeze them for up to two months.
More Old Fashioned Cookie recipes
Chocolate Drop Cookies are part of a collection of Christmas cookie recipes from both of my grandmothers. Here are more from that collection:
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Old Fashioned Gingersnaps
- Easy Sour Cream Cookies
- Old Fashioned Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Old Fashioned Spritz Cookies
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Old Fashioned Pineapple Cookies
- Toffee Squares
📖 Recipe
Grandma’s Chocolate Drop Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk (see substitution in notes below)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup cocoa
- 1¾ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
For the frosting:
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate
- ⅓ cup (5⅓ tablespoons) butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2–3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
- Turn off the mixer and add the egg and vanilla. Beat until combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- With the mixer on low, add half of the buttermilk. Once it is incorporated, add half of the flour mixture. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and flour mixture.
- Add the chopped pecans (if using) and mix until just combined. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 48 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Line two cookie sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets using a cookie scoop, leaving 2–3 inches of space between each cookie (the cookies will spread).
- Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the cookies no longer look wet on top. Let sit for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Remove the cookies and place on a cooling rack.
For the frosting:
- Place the unsweetened chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second increments until melted. Let cool until room temperature.
- Place the softened butter, melted chocolate, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk in a large bowl. Use a handheld mixer to mix until it reaches frosting-like consistency and the powdered sugar is incorporated. Add an additional tablespoon of milk if the mixture looks too stiff or doesn't spread easily.
Frosting the cookies:
- Use an offset spatula to spread approximately 2 tablespoons of frosting on each cookie. Serve with a tall glass of milk!
these are tradition in our family for decades we only make them at Christmas and we actually put a cup of raisins in the mix then I make a buttermilk frosting colored green and put a half of a maraschino cherry on top for your Christmas flavor …half the family likes the raisins half doesn’t so the non-raisin team gets red or green sugar on top of the butter frosting to differentiate… and I use the leftover buttermilk in the frosting
Love it! Those sound so festive. Thanks for sharing your family tradition!
Love all these recipes
Thank you for your kind words!
Delicious! These were the first cookies I learned to bake with my mother. One of my favorite recipes!
Oh I love hearing that! Thanks for commenting, Leslie!
I am going to try these but use peanut butter frosting the chocolate cookies
I love that idea!
Recipe does not instruct when to add the vanilla. But I am sure people will know.. I have this recipe in my mother’s handwriting, written so many years ago. I enjoyed making it today.
Thank you for catching that—I just fixed the recipe. I’m so glad that you enjoyed making it, and I love that you have it in your mother’s handwriting, too!
Kate – Your instructions to make homemade buttermilk have a typo that could confuse people. The recipe should mention a tablespoon of *vinegar* NOT a tablespoon of buttermilk!
Just fixed this! Thanks for your keen eye, Jeff!
These cookies are delicious and remind me of my mother. 🙂 We always iced them with white icing. They taste like chocolate cake. Love them!!!
Oh, Kit, I just love hearing that! I bet they are delicious with white icing. Thanks for sharing!
One of the best cookie recipes I’ve ever made!
That’s so good to hear—thank you, Sarah! They are a long-time favorite at our house. 🙂