I am so in love with these darn chocolate lava cookies! What is it about a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie stuffed with decadent, rich, melted chocolate that makes it so irresistible?? Especially when topped with vanilla ice cream. These are one of Kev’s favorite homemade treats, and he usually asks me to make them at least once a week. They are so simple to whip up, and such a treat! Let’s make some right now :)
All you really need for these fabulous cookies is your favorite cookie dough and a bag of chocolate chips. My favorite cookie dough just happens to be Picky Palate’s, and it works perfectly for this recipe, but you could just as easily use a store-bought mix or even refrigerated cookie dough. Slice and bake cookie dough would be so simple here! But my heart will always belong to Picky Palate’s cookie dough. It absolutely can’t be beat in flavor and chewiness!
Since these cookies are absolutely gushing with delicious rich chocolate, my favorite chocolate chips for this recipe are the Hersey’s Milk Chocolate chips. I did a side by side taste test with these and a few of the other milk chocolate chips available in my grocery store, and these by far had the most prominent rich chocolate flavor. Next time you’re at the store, grab a couple of bags and have a chocolate chip taste testing of your own! They’re all good, so you definitely won’t have a problem using them up — you really can’t go wrong with milk chocolate :)
Now let’s make some chocolate lava cookies! Using half the cookie dough, grab a 1.5-2 tbsp scoop of dough (I used a Pampered Chef Medium Scoop for this) and flatten it out a bit.
Place the flattened cookie dough in the bottom of a well-greased standard sized muffin tin. Now depending on how much cookie dough you eat (in my case, I think it’s an abnormally high amount), you’ll have enough for 10 or 11 cookies. I start with 10, and add the 11th later if I have enough dough leftover.
Now for our gooey, rich milk chocolate filling. Place 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag, and seal shut.
Lay the Ziploc bag flat in the microwave, spreading out the chocolate chips in a single layer. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove bag and flip, microwaving for an additional 10-15 seconds until all the chips are softened.
Cut a small tip off the Ziploc bag and layer over the cookies. If you have any leftover chocolate, save it — I’ll show you what to do with it in a minute.
Heaven help me.
Scoop and flatten the remaining dough, and place on top of your lava cookies.
If you’ve got enough dough leftover, you can make one more cookie… or eat it as is! Your choice! :)
Bake these in a 350 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned. As soon as they come out of the oven, you may want to run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. Cool completely before removing from the tin, running a knife around the edge to help loosen.
Now here’s how I like my cookies. Cooled, soft, and so perfectly chewy. I could eat about a million and a half of these.
But here’s how Kevin likes his cookies.
Warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds, topped with vanilla ice cream, and drizzled with chocolate sauce. You can use any leftover melted chocolate here!
Mama mia.
Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips (I prefer Hersheys)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a standard size muffin tin with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag, and seal shut. Lay the Ziploc bag flat in the microwave, spreading out the chocolate chips in a single layer. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove bag and flip, microwaving for an additional 10-15 seconds until all the chips are softened. Set aside to cool.
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips (1 cup) and stir to combine.
3. Using half the cookie dough, scoop 1.5-2 tbsp of dough, flatten it out a bit, and place in the bottom of the muffin tin. Repeat for a total of 10 cookies. Cut a small tip in the corner of the Ziploc bag, and gently squeeze a layer of chocolate over the cookie. Scoop and flatten the remaining dough and place on top of the chocolate layer. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. Cool completely before removing from the muffin tin, running a knife around the edge to help loosen.
These are good as mini muffins, too! Try baking at 350 for 9 mins. Enjoy!
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165 Comments
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! We are all college students and this made our friday night!! :D :D :D
Just made these tonight. They are amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh. I’m in heaven, or maybe diabetic shock, either way I am making theses soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
I am always looking for way to dress up classic desserts! My sisters will be jealous if I can pull this one off!
My husband and I just made a batch of these tonight. This is probably the best desert I’ve EVER had. I can’t believe how easy they were. They turned out perfectly! Thank you so much for this recipe!
This was the last thing I needed to see tonight, with serious chocolate craving I’m having! Just realized I have everything to make it too!! :)
Great idea! Looking forward to trying this!
these look heavenly! x kat
Omygoodness I am obsessed with this recipe!! I just made these and they are amazing! I warmed mine up in the microwave and topped with ice-cream, just like your picture…. and o man… yum!! I’m so happy I found you on pinterest, you have the most delicious recipes on here!
Hi! These were so delicious!! I only had a small problem with the dough being very…crumbly (?) when I took them out of the oven. I followed the recipe exactly and don’t understand what I did wrong. Do you have any tips on what to do different next time?
Thanks! I love your blog!!
I just pulled these babies out of the oven! I’m so excited to eat them! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
These look unbelievable. So simple but I am sure they are to die for!
OMG stop!!! These look sinful!!! I can’t wait to make them!
Check out my blog!
http://whatsjustinecooking.blogspot.com/
100000% i’m gonna make some now. In fact my stomach is growling as I speak…..
gonna whip up some yummy munchies now :3
Very nice cookies, yum great pictures. i could eat the picture. cheers
Unbelievable, how do you take these great ideas for recipes? This looks very tasty.
Made these cookies last night. So easy and so good.
Added peanut butter into some of the fillings. Definitely going to do a whole batch that way!
Trying the peanut butter nutella icecream tonight.
I gained 5lbs looking at these but man I wanna try them! Thanks for the recipe.
Yummy…the elaborate explanation of the recipe with pictures is great..i ll surely make this mouth watering cookie.
I just made these for dessert at a Fri Night Fish Fry and sampled one of the ones that sort of crumbled….OMGoodness…..they are the BEST!! Thanks for sharing the recipe and great pics….. I know everyone will love them…..will definitely make these again, especially for a summer recipe around the pool!
Wow these cookies look delish!
The cookie recipe looks really good but i noticed there was no baking powder in the recipe do you not need it with all purpose flour. just checking before i make them thanks.
I know you like the taste of Hershey’s the best, but have you thought about trying to find fair-trade chocolate chips? https://www.molamola.ca/products/products/taza-chocolatecamino-baking-chocolate
Made these tonight, AMAZING!!!! Thanks so much for the receipe!
I am in love with this recipe. Whatever you got going on up in here and in your kitchen, I’m diggin’ it.
I never thought to take my standard cookie dough and turn it into something so sensational! Great technique – thanks.
It’s my first time visiting your blog, and I’m really enjoying it. Off to another page…
Stumbled upon this page. Cookies made in muffin pan, wow. Cookies with gooey chocolate center, wow. I really like this. I’m going to try this with my eggless chocolate chip cookie dough recipe!
eemmmmm…yumi
war damn eagle!!!!
omigawd are you TRYING to kill me?! i just came from the Londoner blog about slutty brownies and now this?! im gonna end up with these recipes having been my murderer. and i would have died with a smile…
Those look so good! I’ll HAVE to make some of these Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies!
How can you do this to me! I’ve put weight on just reading this but am rushing out to buy said ingredients so I can get baking! If possible I’ll make them at Messy Church but it depends on timing.
OMG,I must try your Lava cookies. Your pics makes you want to stick your finger
right into the screen. You make the recipe look so easy.
I can’t wait to give these a shot. My girlfriend loves it when I bake for her, so I think I’ll make them for her and hopefully make some brownie points!
This recepie might save my day.
They look soooo yummy, can’t wait to give this recipe a try. Not sure if my waistline will thank me though! :)
What a great idea!! I’m definitely going to make these with my nieces the next time I visit them.
I tried this recipe last night and it was SO good. I am diabetic, so I substitued Coconut Palm Sugar for the sugars and they turned out fantastic! I will absolutely put this recipe in my favorites. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
have you ever made them w/fudge (hersey’s fudge ice cream topping or something similar) instead of melted chocolate chips in the middle?
just made these for my roommates!! WE CAN’T STOP EATING THEM!!! THEY ARE INCREDIBLE
this looks very yummy ……..
These cookies are trying to snatch my heart away! I will prefer my home members to make these for me ASAP :P
I made one of these just right now and my kids went crazy over them. Now they are demanding for more. Thank you for this recipe, my kids now love me more.
I made these just now. My entire family has expressed their undying love for me. So, so delicious and incredibly easy to put together. Thank you!
Hello just wondering what if we fill the center with Nutella….will it work just as well?
This looks so good! I couldn’t help saying awwww…. as I browsed through the post. This is the kind of stuff that can make all hearts melt.
hi Amanda,
i just baked these cookies and they were so yummy but the chocolate did not come out as it was suppose to.
Wow that looks truly amazing! I wonder if I can get away with eating them for breakfast?
Just tired them today and they were awesome ! I want to eat them everyday!!! Yum! I used store bought cookies and Hershey’s chocolate chips.
MMM I can’t wait to entertain my wife and our lady friends with this,maybe I’ll get brownie points,lol
this is the best looking photo of any dessert on any blog anywhere!
Angela them and was not nearly as happy as I had hoped. I was hoping for more of a oozing lava cake by it wasn’t gooey enough for me, actually it wasn’t gooey at all. Not sure if I overcooked them but I followed the recipe perfectly. I won’t make them again, but if I did I’d use semi-sweet chips and more chocolate for the middles. On the other hand, as a cookie, they were very good.
Auto correct on my tablet… that was “I made them…”
It looks like they actually added more melted/gooey-fied chocolate after the baking process. I’ve purchased a couple of pre-made lava cakes before in the store, and they have an extra packet for the gooeyness that you add while you heat it up. Hope you would try these again sometime!
Just put these on my must try soon list.
Tried it, and simply LOVED it! I’m using the recipe for a tea party with friends…can’t wait!
OMG! These are divine. I absolutely CANNOT wait to try making them this weekend! And I’m stuck at home with a sore back so this is going to be perfect!