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Chocolate Cottage Cheese Drop Cookies

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on November 13, 2011

Time

1 hour, plus 40 minutes cooling

Yield

Makes about 5 1/2 dozen

Chocolate Cottage Cheese Drop Cookies

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) all-purpose flour ½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar 1 cup small-curd, whole milk cottage cheese 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Before You Begin

We love Sarah Vaughan’s recipe for Chocolate Cottage Cheese Drop Cookies, but we prefer to use Dutch-processed cocoa instead of regular cocoa for richer chocolate flavor. In addition, we found that pureeing the cottage cheese provides a smoother textured cookie.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt in bowl. Process cottage cheese in food processor until smooth.
  2. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in processed cottage cheese, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  3. Drop level tablespoons of dough, spaced 1½-inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Bake until no imprint remains when touched, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway though baking. Let cool 20 minutes on sheet, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Line cooled sheets with fresh parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies will keep in airtight container for up 3 days.)
Chocolate Cottage Cheese Drop Cookies

Chocolate Cottage Cheese Drop Cookies

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Time

1 hour, plus 40 minutes cooling

Yield

Makes about 5 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
1 cup small-curd, whole milk cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
1 cup small-curd, whole milk cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
1 cup small-curd, whole milk cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why This Recipe Works

We found the one of the keys to a complexly-flavored drop cookies recipe was to use Dutch-processed cocoa instead of regular cocoa for richer chocolate flavor. In addition, we found that pureeing the cottage cheese provides a smoother textured cookie. These cookies are not only delicious, but are perfect for big gatherings because they yield such a large batch.

Before You Begin

We love Sarah Vaughan’s recipe for Chocolate Cottage Cheese Drop Cookies, but we prefer to use Dutch-processed cocoa instead of regular cocoa for richer chocolate flavor. In addition, we found that pureeing the cottage cheese provides a smoother textured cookie.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt in bowl. Process cottage cheese in food processor until smooth.
  2. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in processed cottage cheese, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  3. Drop level tablespoons of dough, spaced 1½-inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Bake until no imprint remains when touched, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway though baking. Let cool 20 minutes on sheet, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Line cooled sheets with fresh parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies will keep in airtight container for up 3 days.)

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