These gourmet chocolate lava cookies have an irresistible molten chocolate center. They are rich and decadent, yet surprisingly straightforward to make. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Lava Cookies
- Rich, decadent, and impressive…yet so easy to make! Simply make the dough, stuff it with the ganache, and bake.
- Chocolate lava cake flavor without any fancy ramekins or baking tins needed!
- Soft and chewy texture that lasts for days. Using brown sugar and an extra egg yolk really helps with this.
- Perfect for Valentine’s Day! They are truly a chocoholic’s dream cookie ❤️
Some days, you just need a good chocolate cookie, and for that I have plenty of options: double chocolate chip cookies, brownie cookies, and even flourless chocolate cookies will all do the trick.
Then there are days when you need a chocolate cookie that’s so rich, so indulgent it should come with a warning…and that’s when these chocolate lava cookies do their best work.
Made with a rich, dark cocoa-infused cookie dough enveloping molten chocolate ganache, these cookies are not for the fainthearted. No, only true chocoholics should dare to try (and devour) them. Consider yourself warned!
Fortunately, making these cookies is not near as much of an undertaking as resisting the urge to devour the whole batch (coming from a self-proclaimed chocoholic). We’ll use a similar method to my Nutella stuffed cookies, which means even beginner bakers can tackle this one. Let’s get to it!
What You Need
Here are some of the key ingredients we’ll be using in these chocolate lava cookies.
- Cake flour. I prefer to use cake flour as it creates a soft, cake-like texture. Normally I don’t like cakey cookies, but since these are supposed to be reminiscent of chocolate lava cakes, it just makes sense here!
- Corn starch. This helps the cookies hold their shape and prevents them from spreading all over the baking sheet.
- Cocoa powder. I like using dark cocoa powder in this recipe, but regular dutch process cocoa will work just fine too! If you’d like to learn about all the different types of cocoa powder, check out my post on natural vs. dutch process cocoa powder.
- Egg + egg yolk. Using an extra yolk (but not the white!) will encourage a stiffer dough so the cookies can hold in their molten lava center.
- Dark chocolate. I recommend couverture chocolate or a chopped baking bar. I don’t typically like to use chocolate chips to make chocolate ganache, but you could use them in a pinch.
SAM’S TIP: These cookies are very fragile when hot! They must cool completely before you pick them up, or they’ll just fall apart. They do taste good (amazing) served warm, but if they’re too warm the bottom could fall out.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Lava Cookies
Make the Filling
- Heat the cream until steaming, then pour over your chocolate. Cover and let sit, then whisk until smooth.
- Place the ganache in the fridge to solidify, then scoop and place on a parchment lined baking sheet in the freezer.
Cookie Dough
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, then stir until everything is smooth.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients. Do not add the dry ingredients all at once or you will have a very difficult time getting the dough to come together; I do this in 3-4 parts.
- Cover your cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.
Assembly
- Scoop and roll your cookie dough into balls, then make an indent in the center with your thumb.
- Add a frozen ganache dollop inside your indentation, then form/roll the dough over the ganache so it is completely covered on all sides. Repeat with the remaining dough and ganache.
- Place on parchment lined baking sheets, making sure to leave plenty of space between the cookies. Bake, and if you want, while they’re still warm from the oven, press down on the tops with a measuring cup. This will give your cookies that lava cake appearance, though you don’t really have to do this.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet, then dust with powdered sugar.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t add the powdered sugar while the cookies are still warm, or it will just melt right into the cookies. Wait til just before serving!
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve honestly never had one before and this recipe wasn’t designed to be a Crumbl copycat. However, just from looking them up I’d say they’re pretty similar, only my version is a bit thicker and has more of a molten lava filling than their version has. I would love to hear what you think of my version if you’ve tried theirs!
While I haven’t ever frozen them myself, I think they would freeze just fine. You could also prepare the dough and freeze it before baking, just follow my instructions on how to freeze cookie dough.
If you try to enjoy these chocolate lava cookies hot out of the oven, you’ll have quite the mess on your hands. They are VERY fragile while warm and really need time to cool on the baking sheet before handling. It’s also important that you use enough cookie dough that the ganache doesn’t sink through to the bottom, when filling the cookies with the “lava” make sure it’s well surrounded by dough on all sides!
If you want the full chocolate lava cake experience, serve your chocolate lava cookies with some vanilla ice cream!
Enjoy!
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Chocolate lava cookies
Ingredients
For the ganache
- 6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate bar finely chopped
- ⅔ cup (157 ml) heavy cream
For the cookie dough
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ⅓ cups (375 g) cake flour (see note)
- ½ cup (50 g) dark cocoa powder (see note)
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ table salt
- Powdered sugar for topping
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
For the ganache
- Place chocolate in a medium-sized heat-proof bowl. Set aside.6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate bar
- In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium-low heat until steaming. Remove from heat and pour evenly over chocolate. Cover bowl with foil and let sit for 5 minutes.⅔ cup (157 ml) heavy cream
- After 5 minutes, whisk chocolate and cream mixture until smooth. Let sit until solidified (you can speed this up by placing the bowl in the refrigerator). Meanwhile, begin preparing cookie dough.
For the cookie dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, dark cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 ⅓ cups (375 g) cake flour, ½ cup (50 g) dark cocoa powder, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ table salt
- Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until completely combined. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Form ganache into balls
- Once ganache has solidified, scoop into Tablespoon sized portions and drop onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer.
Assembly
- When cookie dough is nearly done chilling, preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Scoop ¼ cup of cookie dough and roll gently between your palms to create a smooth ball. Using your thumbs, press a crater just into the center of the dough (don’t press too deep, or the filling will spill out the bottom of the cookies after baking). Retrieve one dollop of ganache from the freezer, press into the crater, fold dough over ganache so there is no ganache showing. Roll gently between your palms to create a smooth ball, make sure all of the ganache is covered. Repeat with remaining dough and ganache.
- Place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing cookies at least 2” apart. Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) oven and bake for 13 minutes.
- (Optional) Within one minute of coming out of the oven, take a large flat bottomed measuring cup and gently flatten the tops of the cookies for a lava cake appearance. Do not press too hard or the ganache will leak!
- Let cookies cool on the cookie tray, then sift powdered sugar over the tops before serving. Enjoy!Powdered sugar
Notes
Cake flour
I prefer cake flour, as it gives the cookies a cakier texture that’s reminiscent of lava cakes. If you need to use all purpose flour, use 3 cups or 375g.Cocoa powder
May substitute Dutch process cocoa powderPowdered sugar
The powdered sugar will melt if added while the cookies are too warm, and it may also melt in the refrigerator. It’s fine to add the powdered sugar just before serving.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days or refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 6 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Stacy
I’ve made these twice and they are delicious! I do have one issue/question. My cookie dough is always really dry when I go to start rolling it. I’ve double checked all the measurements and am pretty confident I made the dough correctly. Is this something you have run into or have any ideas of how to improve it? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Stacy! I have not run into this issue. I just want to double check that you didn’t make any substitutions? Are you weighing your flour? If not you may accidentally be adding a touch too much flour. I hope this helps. 🙂
Pam
Made these yesterday. They turned out spectacular! My husband can’t wait to share them with his golf buddies today.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they turned out so well for you Pam! Thanks for using our recipe 🥰
Carol
These cookies are outstanding and your video makes it so easy! I actually froze a few, defrosted and warmed for a few seconds in the microwave…excellent! Do you think there is any problem doubling the recipe?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Carol! I don’t foresee any issues when doubling this recipe. 🙂
Emma
Made three batches of these for my coworkers and everyone loved it!! I’ve made countless of recipes and I have to say these are easily the best cookies I’ve ever made. Everyone was asking for seconds! The recipe is fairly easy to make, but I’d suggest a few things. First is I probably would not double or triple the recipe unless you have the tools available. The cookie dough is super thick and not easy to work with in big quantities, since it requires a good stand mixer or hand kneading. Secondly, I would also recommend putting the ganache in the fridge first before attempting to spoon them on a tray. This is far easier than trying to shape slightly thick goop into a ball. I also followed the weight as opposed to the volume measurements, which I would recommend for consistent texture and flavour.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Emma! 🙂
Christy
I had the same problem with the ganache dollops as the others. I ended up popping mine in the freezer for a few minutes and it was good from there :). However, I’m not sure if I did something wrong but when I scooped the cookie dough, I used a standard ice cream scoop, minus a bit of dough. I baked them for the 13 minutes but after cooling a few minutes, I of course went to sample one and noticed the inside of the cookie was somewhat doughy still. Is that normal for this cookie or should I have baked them a little longer? Maybe I used too much dough? Maybe let them cool a little more?
Sam
Hi Christy! They’ll be gooey inside until cooled completely, which usually takes at least an hour. It doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong! This actually helps them stay super soft and chewy for days. I hope that helps 🙂
Wendy
Very yummy! Not sure if I did something wrong. I had a tough time rolling the dough around the ganache. It was really messy. You made it look so easy.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Wendy! Was the ganache completely solidified when you tried to use it. 🙂
Wendy
The ganache was solid, at least I thought it was. I guess I’ll just have to keep practicing 🙂
Sam
I would try popping the ganache in the freezer for a bit. 🙂
Christy
Your little guys said “I’m too busy savoring the flavor to reply” 😂 So cute!
Sam
😂😂
TMC
OMG! For me, these were a lot of work BUT, they are SO DANG GOOD, I can’t even describe!! I think I need to tweak my ganache globs, and I actually had to make “hats” with some of the cookie dough to fully cover the globs once inside the cookie. I’ve made notes for myself because I WILL be making these again!
They are OUTSTANDING!! Oh and I used regular cocoa powder (not dark or Dutch) they are still FAB!!!
Sam
Yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed so much, thank you for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out! I hope you’ll be back to try more!