German Chocolate Cookies— An EASY recipe for soft, chewy, fudgy chocolate cookies that are topped with a rich and creamy pecan coconut frosting! If you love German chocolate cake but don’t want to deal with layering and frosting an entire cake, these cookies are PERFECT! Great for holiday cookie platters, Valentine's Day, or 'just because'! They're a Crumbl Cookies copycat and I promise that this homemade version is BETTER!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Additional Time2 hourshrs
Total Time2 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: Dessert
Servings: 24
Calories: 344kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
Cookies
¾cupunsalted buttersoftened (1 1/2 sticks)
¾cuplight brown sugarpacked
¼cupgranulated sugar
2large eggs
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
one 3.9-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix(not sugar-free and not ‘cook & serve’)
¼cupunsweetened natural cocoa powder
2cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonsaltor to taste
1cupsemi-sweet chocolate chips
German Chocolate Frosting
1cupevaporated milk
1cupgranulated sugar
3egg yolks from large eggsdiscard or use white for another purpose
½cupunsalted buttersoftened
1 ½cupssweetened shredded coconuttoasted if desired
1 ¼cupschopped pecanssalted or unsalted, based on preference
1teaspoonvanilla
Chocolate Ganache, optional
½cupsemi-sweet chocolate chips
1teaspoonheavy creamhalf-and-half may be substituted
Instructions
Cookies - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars, egg, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the pudding mix, cocoa powder, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
Using a medium cookie scoop, make the cookie dough balls using about 2-3 tablespoons of dough per cookie dough ball, which makes approximately 20 to 24 equal-sized mounds of dough. Roll between your palms to form smooth balls, and flatten slightly.
Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 3 days. Tip - Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
Baking - When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F.
Line two baking sheets with Silpat Baking Mats (or parchment paper; or spray the baking sheets with cooking spray) and place about 8 to 10 cookie dough balls per sheet, evenly spaced; do not crowd.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked and glossy in the center. Don’t overbake which is easy to do with dark cookies. Cookies firm up as they cool. Tips - Bake the cookies until they're done and the baking time could range from 8 to 13 minutes or so, depending on how big or small the dough balls are, your oven, your climate, your baking sheet material, etc. Watch your cookies and not the clock when determining doneness.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet while you make the German Chocolate Frosting.
German Chocolate Frosting - As a timesaving tip, feel free to use one or two tubs of store bought Chocolate Pecan Frosting. Frost the cooled cookies as desired.
However, if you're making the frosting from scratch, to a small saucepan add the evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, and heat over medium heat. Tip - Make sure not to confuse evaporated milk with sweetened condensed milk; select the former not the later. Regular milk should not be substituted.
Once it begins to boil, boil it a medium boil for approximately 10 minutes, or until the syrup coats the back of a spoon.
Add the coconut, pecans, vanilla, and stir to combine. Tips - If you're toasting the coconut, do so in a dry skillet for a minute or two, or as long as it's necessary for it to lightly toast before adding it here. Be careful though because coconut burns fast due to the high sugar content. I personally don't bother toasting it, but you can if desired.
Evenly spread the frosting, as desired, over each cookie. Tip - Make sure cookies are sufficiently cooled before you add the warm frosting so it doesn't just melt more and slide right off.
Chocolate Ganache, optional - To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and heat in 10 to 15-second bursts, or until chocolate can be stirred smooth. Tip - Don't try to do it too quickly or the chips won't melt and will simply burn.
Using a small spoon, evenly drizzle a bit of chocolate over the top of each cookie before serving.
StorageIn the Refrigerator: These cookies will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days, noting that they'll dry out over time. I'm fine keeping them at room temp, but choose whichever method is best for you. In the Freezer: These cookies will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can freeze the fully assembled cookies, or freeze the raw cookie dough, baked cookies, and / or frosting separately. if baking cookie dough from frozen, you don't need to thaw the dough balls first and can bake straight from frozen, just add a couple minutes to the baking time.