Easy Frosted Chocolate Drop Cookies

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Just like the ones your grandma used to make! Chocolate Drop Cookies are lightly sweet with a cake-like texture and are topped with powdered sugar frosting. Bake a batch in 30 minutes!

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Drop Cookies Recipe

Delicious Cookie. These cake-like cookies with white icing are big on chocolate flavor and satisfy any chocolate lover!

Simple Ingredients. Any well-stocked pantry should have everything you need – saving you an extra trip to the store!

Versatile Recipe. Baking a batch of cookies is easy enough to make for an afternoon snack or dessert, and they can also be packaged for cookie swaps and bake sales.

Key Ingredient Notes

• Vegetable shortening — Cookie doughs made with all butter tend to flatten in the oven. By substituting shortening as part of the fat, you’ll still get that buttery flavor plus plenty of lift!
• Unsweetened chocolate — Quality really makes a difference here. Look for unsweetened baking cocoa (not hot cocoa mix!) that is natural and not dutch-processed. More expensive doesn’t automatically mean better, but you may notice a difference in taste between store brands and gourmet ones.
• Baking soda — One of the biggest culprits for flat treats is expired leavening agents! Always keep your baking soda in an airtight bag or container and open a new box if you haven’t used it in a while.
• Milk — Use whatever you have on hand. While whole milk tends to create the best texture, the difference isn’t noticeable enough to make a difference.

Frosting Ingredients

• Butter
• Powdered sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla extract

How to Make Frosted Chocolate Cookies

Once you realize how easy it is to bake a batch of drop cookies, you’ll be keeping the cookie jar full of these treats all the time!

STEP 1 | Mix the dough

Cream butter and shortening together in a large bowl with an electric mixer (or use a stand mixer) until light and fluffy.

Then, pay close attention to the directions and order of ingredients! A large egg is added after the white sugar, and the vanilla is mixed in at the very end.

Also, alternating the flour mixture (dry ingredients) and milk ensures that the dough comes together properly.

Drop by tablespoons onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

STEP 2 | Bake

Watch for the edges to crisp and the tops to set. The cookies should still be a bit soft in the center, as they will continue baking as they cool on the pan.

STEP 3 | Frost cookies

Whip up the icing ingredients until you get a spreadable consistency. Spread the white icing onto the top of the cookie and add some colorful sprinkles if you’d like!

Tips from the Home Chef’s Kitchen

It’s best to start with room-temperature ingredients with any type of baked good. They incorporate more easily into the other ingredients, resulting in a better overall texture. Allow measured milk, eggs, and butter to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before getting started.

When I bake these, I use a small scoop to place the dough on my baking sheet. The process is quick and easy, the treats are uniform in size, and my hands stay clean!

If your oven has a single rack, place it in the center for best results. Otherwise, you may need to rotate the pans halfway so everything bakes evenly.

Variations and Substitutions

• Double Chocolate. Toss a handful of chocolate chips into the batter for a more intense chocolate flavor.
• For a wintertime twist on frosted chocolate cookies, try this peppermint version with rich brownie flavor.

Storage Tips

• Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container so they do not dry out. They are fine for a few days, but if not eaten before then, they should be transferred to the refrigerator.
• To freeze, place cookies on a baking sheet and freeze for an hour or two until firm. Then, transfer to a storage bag or airtight container and enjoy within 2 to 3 weeks. You can thaw them in the refrigerator or on the counter before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking for More Old-Fashioned Cookie Recipes?

Ginger molasses and pecan candy cookies are two more family favorites that we make each holiday season. For another fun treat to make with the kids, try these Pokemon Cupcakes!

Serving Suggestions

Decorate the tops with colored sprinkles to match any occasion. If you’re concerned with synthetic food dyes, India Tree is a wonderful company that derives its colors from edible plants.

If you’re craving extra chocolatey flavor, mix a little cocoa powder in with the frosting as well. A drop or two of corn syrup will mellow out any bitterness and give it a lovely shine too.

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Chocolate Drop Cookies

Author: Sheila Thigpen

Chocolate drop cookies are lightly sweet with a cake-like texture and are topped with powdered sugar frosting. Bake a batch in 30 minutes!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Cookies & Bars

Cuisine American

Servings 3 dozen

Calories 118 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Cookies

• ½ cup butter softened
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 7 tablespoons cocoa level
• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour sifted
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing

• ¼ cup melted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cream together butter and vegetable shortening until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and mix well. Stir in egg.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Add to creamed mixture alternately with the 1/2 cup milk and mix until all incorporated. Stir in vanilla.
• Drop by tablespoons onto a large ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks and cool completely before icing cookies.

Icing

• Mix together butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar adding milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
• Frost cookies and decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

From Better Homes and Garden NEW Cookbook (1950s).

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 82mgSugar: 10g

Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Keyword chocolate, cookies

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Beyond the recipe

My mother-in-law, Sue, told me that making these with her children was just plain fun. She would make four different colors of icing so each kid had a couple of options to decorate with. The memories they created must have had an impact because my husband still mentions “Mom’s Chocolate Drop Cookies” to this day!

The original recipe came from the Better Homes and Gardens NEW Cookbook circa 1950s, which Sue received as a wedding gift over 50 years ago.

About Sheila Thigpen

Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer

Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.