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German Chocolate Cookies

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated June 26, 2024

German Chocolate Cookies
Aubrie Pick for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(2,858)
Comments
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While a big slice of German chocolate cake may appeal to many, baking one from scratch may not. That’s where these cookies come in. They satisfy the craving for deep, dark pools of warm chocolate, sweet pecans and fragrant coconut with only a fraction of the work. To toast the coconut, spread it out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven when the edges and some of the coconut in the center are deep golden brown. It’s fine if some of the coconut is still pale.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 dozen
  • 1cup/128 grams all-purpose flour
  • ½cup/47 grams natural cocoa powder
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • ½cup/101 grams granulated sugar
  • ½cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
  • 1large egg
  • 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1½cups/128 grams lightly toasted, sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1cup/170 grams chopped bittersweet chocolate
  • 1cup/119 grams chopped pecans
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

190 calories; 12 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 86 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.

  2. Step 2

    Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture. Add coconut, chocolate and pecans and mix to just combine.

  3. Step 3

    Portion the dough in 2 tablespoon scoops and roll them into balls. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until dry on top but still soft in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately tap the sheets against a work surface to deflate them slightly. Let the cookies sit on the sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,858 user ratings
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Comments

ACF

Delicious - all the decadence of German chocolate cake in cookie form. I don’t care for the cloying quality of sweetened shredded coconut so I used unsweetened coconut instead and then used a 50/50 mix of chopped bittersweet and semisweet chocolate to make up for some of the lost sweetness. The first batch of cookies did not flatten as much as I would have liked so I flattened the dough before baking the next batch and they came out perfectly. This is going to become a staple in my house!

Lisa

Very easy and very good. Should never again make them with just two of us in the house.

josee

I just finished baking this exactly as instructed except I toasted the pecans as well as the coconut. This might make it to my top 3 favorite cookie recipes along with the ricotta cookies and Mexican wedding cookies. Heaven in every bite. The flavors and the texture are perfect.

rachel

Batch one: “oh hey, we’re fine.” Batch two: “welcome to the Mojave.” Still, it’s the only cookie my husband has ever willingly eaten, and I love everything about it except the weird crumbly dryness, so I refused to give up. I swapped in Dutch-process cocoa (natural just makes things dry and sharper), stopped sabotaging myself with the wrong leavening when I didn’t notice previously I’d used Dutch instead of natural, and dealt with the toasted coconut stealing moisture. From the comments, I picked my favorite mods: brown butter (because, yes, gild the lily) plus 1 TB, 2 TB of espresso, used semi-sweet chocolate, and sweetened untoasted coconut for the additional moisture. End result? A brownie in cookie drag, and I’m not mad about it. ½ cup (47 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 9 tablespoons (128 g) unsalted butter 2 tablespoons milk/coffee/espresso

Catalina

Used pistachios instead for a saltier flavor! Absolutely loved it.

Karen Davis

I have made this recipe twice now, and although we like the flavor a lot, it seems that the mix-ins (coconut, pecans, chocolate) are not proportionate to the cookie dough. So, I increased the dough ingredients by 1/2 (except for the egg, of course, which I just doubled), kept the mix-in amounts the same, and the result was a much better, softer, more balanced cookie that isn't so crumbly and doesn't dry out as quickly when stored for a few days. I also toasted the pecans first.

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