German Chocolate Cake Cookies – Soft, chewy chocolate cookies with a rich caramel, coconut, pecan frosting – these won’t last long on the cookie plate.
These German Chocolate Cake cookies are a delicious household staple. They make a perfect snack year-round, but are an especially great gift during the holidays! They’re a great addition to any dessert table, but won’t last long as they’re deliciously addictive!
Today I am featuring one of the best cookies you will ever eat, ever! A cookie that will become so addictive you will make them in large quantities and freeze them just to be able to have them for a week or two at a time.
Making one of the traditional cakes, German Chocolate cake into a cookie was one of the best recipes I have ever made. How can you really go wrong with caramel, pecans, and chocolate?
My favorite thing about this recipe is that everything is from scratch. This chocolate cookie is so chewy and moist making it the best platform for the frosting. Bake them today, as they are hands down amazing, delicious, unbelievable, out of this world and the best cookie ever, as quoted by my friends and family that tried them.
How do you make German Chocolate Cake Cookies?
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, blend the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and blend until combined.
Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, 12 cookies per sheet, and bake 8 to 10 minutes.
Cool on a baking rack.
To make the frosting, add evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla to a large pan and place on stovetop over medium heat.
Stir so that it becomes well combined.
Continue stirring until thickened, this takes approximately 11-12 minutes.
Once thickened remove from heat and add coconut and pecans. Beat until thick enough to spread.
Spread frosting over the tops of cooled cookies.
Optional: Drizzle with melted chocolate and candy coating.
Enjoy!
How do you store German Chocolate Cake Cookies?
Store in an airtight container at room temperature, the cookies will last about one week.
Freeze in an airtight freezer bag to extend the life of the cookies to one to two months.
To keep your cookies soft and chewy, you can also place a quarter slice of bread (per dozen) into the container.
The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread, keeping them soft longer.
White bread is best, as it won’t transfer its own flavors to the cookies.
If you are looking for an easy German Chocolate Cake inspried recipes, check these ones out.
- No-Bake German Chocolate Cheesecake this recipe is to die for. Honestly, you will love either of these recipes!
- German Chocolate Cake Donut Holes fun for a holiday or special breakfast.
- German Chocolate Carrot Cake – our Easter Sunday tradition.
- German Chocolate Cake Cheeseball – I love this for Christmas day!! Easy recipe and incredibly delicious.
What brings me the most joy when making this cookie, is my husband. He loves these; had I made these when we were dating I think we would have gotten married even earlier. He loves them so much it would have created an instant proposal. Instead, I had to wait {but only 9 months, lol}.
Want to make this for someone special add a heart with colored red or pink melting chocolate – I did that for Valentine’s Day.
Enjoy!!! XOXO San
Check out how easy these German Chocolate Cake Cookies are to make!
Don’t forget to pin this recipe for German Chocolate Cake Cookies to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
German Chocolate Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookies
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
Coconut Pecan Frosting
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Optional: ¼ cup chocolate candy coating melted for drizzle
Instructions
Chocolate Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl using a hand mixer, blend the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and blend until combined.
- Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, 12 cookies per sheet, and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.
Coconut Pecan Frosting
- Add evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla to a large pan and place on stovetop over medium heat.
- Stir so that it becomes well combined. Continue stirring until thickened, this takes approximately 11-12 minutes. I set my timer for 11 minutes and 30 seconds, this seems to work every time.
- Once thickened remove from heat and add coconut and pecans. Beat until thick enough to spread.
- Spread frosting over the tops of cooled cookies.
- Optional: Drizzle with melted candy coating and let set up. Top with a white chocolate heart. See note.
- Note: I melted some pink chocolate candy coating, put it into a Ziplock lunch baggie, snipped off a small corner. Then on some wax paper drew hearts with the chocolate. I let them harden, then gently placed them on top of the cookies. A great decoration for upcoming Valentine’s Day.
Notes
Nutrition
Save
Yum! These cookies look so heavenly! Can’t wait to try them. Pinning!
Thanks Sheena!
Hi… just wonder how much in grams for 2 stick butter ? Thanks
a ‘stick’ is 4 ounces which is equal to 113.39809 grams, so the recipe would take 2 sticks which equals 226.7 grams… approx. 227 grams. Good luck.
Hi Sandra, what is 2 sticks of butter? I’m use to grams
226 grams 🙂 there are 113 grams in one stick – San
Can these be frozen?
Carol – they freeze well. My sister does this all the time.
How much is that in cups
1/2 cup
Half a stick is 1/4 cup, so 2 sticks would be a cup.
A friend shared this recipe on Facebook and it’s all I could think about all day so I bought the ingredients and made them last night! OMG, these are the best cookie in the whole history and future of cookies. I loved them. I took them to work to avoid eating them all myself and I got raves at work. I posted my plate of cookies in Facebook and already got 2 requests to make them for people. Excellent recipe! Thank you!
Please please tell me where I can get the recipe….I saw it on FB also and have been searching in vain for it. I went to Pinterest and the closest I could get was a list of ingredients but no procedure. I’ve been working at this for two days. Hubbys b’day is October 2nd and this is his favorite cake. So this would be a great surprise.
Can u 0lease post the receipt for the cheesecake
I just made them for Christmas for my kids so yummy ..love it …
For the icing, just wondering if it’s icing sugar or caster sugar?
Hi Taylor! Caster sugar would be the closest to what we use in the frosting. It is ground finer than our granulated sugar but it won’t affect the consistency of the frosting so you can use the same amount.
I made that today they are to die for
I made these cookies tonight and they were flat as a pancake. Threw in the trash. I followed the instructions on the recipe as said.
These cookies are flat and chewy cookie, they are not a thick cookie. Hopefully you tasted them before throwing them away.
Well idk mine came out the opposite following the directions as is. Puffy and cake like instead of chewy
I love this recipe. I followed the directions and got them just as they should be. Perfect. I’ll use this every time. I’ll never throw them away.
My daughter made these a few weeks ago and her first batch was very flat and chewy also. I suggested (not having seen this site or the intended texture of the cookie) that she add more flour. Since then she has used 2 3/4 cups of flour and they make a delicious thicker, cake-like cookie. With the icing they are delicious.
These cookies are supposed to flat and chewy.
Nice job adjusting the flour to get exactly what you are looking for. I prefer them they way they are, flat and chewy, loaded with icing.
xo San
Oh my! Why wouldn’t you at least try them before throwing away?! To many ingredients and expense! What a waste! If you had tried them, and didn’t care for them, you could at least have given them to a neighbor or senior center! wow!
Didn’t you look at the photos at some point? They clearly show a very flat cookie with a mound of coconut pecan frosting on top. It’s too bad that you wasted all your ingredients AND effort. Maybe the next time you try a new recipe, you should read it over a few times and look at any photos that are available, to be sure that you have a good idea of what the finished product looks like.
I love German chocolate cake and this looks good, but I have a daughter that is allergic to tree nuts. Is there an alternative to the coconuts and pecans I can use?
wonder if you can make them with greman cake mix if you add a dab more water or milk
Interesting, I have never tried that. Let me know if you do. xo San
I use a chocolate cake mix for chocolate cookies all the time..I use white cake mix for white cookies all the time too! Soo much easier nd cheaper really..Then with the german chocolate frosting in can…way easier!
But I have to say that canned frosting is not as tasty. But easier…yes.
Do you have to modify the cake recipe for the cookies?
Am in the middle of making these divine looking cookies …… They are coming out looking as flat as a pancake … Maybe flatter. More like a ginger snap. Not soft and chewy. Batch made about 4 doz. Cookies are tasty, but not what I expected. Tried various baking times, but they always flattened out. Might try mixing another batch of dough, but as of now, can’t see the coconut frosting on these ….. Maybe a dip in white chocolate , so all is not lost , but …….. Any thoughts ?
I found that if you use jumbo eggs or a little too much butter, it will make your cookies flat. Also, I’ve put a little baking powder in them and they puff up a little more. Also you can use self rising flour which is a lighter flour and has the baking powder already mixed with it. Worth a try but in my opinion just because they are flat doesn’t meant that they are no good unless you burnt them.
Thanks Jeanne for your comment. These cookies are flat and chewy that is what makes them so good. And you are right a flat cookie is just fine that is unless you burnt it. San
I know I am late to the party. But, these cookies are outrageous. My family started to devour them before I could frost them! I bake a lot of cookies so it is a big deal that these are such a hit. I am also making your recipe for your grandpa’s favorite German chocolate cake for my mom’s birthday,.. Grateful for the recipes!
One more thing, I added chocolate chips to the cookies because, well, basically, I add them to everything. I think it is one of the reasons my family could not wait for the frosting!
Thank you! so happy you loved them. We do too! xo San
How much is a stick of butter?
1/2 cup 🙂
I made these yesterday and turned out pretty good. I think the “prep time” needs to be adjusted….part of the directions is to stir the frosting for 12 minutes!! Can’t do everything else in 3 minutes!!!
Thanks for catching that it was a typo – San
Oh goodness. My husband’s birthday is on Monday and he specifically asked for German Chocolate something. These might be it!!
Chelsea, you have got to do this. He won’t be disappointed. Can’t wait to hear how it goes 🙂 xoxo San
I am wondering if you can substitute the cocoa powder for the 1 oz German chocolate squares.
Hi Sandra! German Chocolate is one of my favorite cakes! These look insanely delicious and dangerous for me to be around! 🙂 Add the fact you said they’re the best cookies I will ever eat, I guess I will have to try them!!! 😉 Pinned 🙂
Jamie, Girl you will love these! I have no doubt, can’t wait for you to try them. xoxo San
Awesome photography and the cookie is absolutely scrumptious looking. Pinning. Linda
Thanks Linda! Hope you are able to try them soon! xoxo San
Wow, these look delicious! I love German Chocolate cake so I can only imagine how yummy this is! Pinning for later
Ciara,
I love German Chocolate Cake but these cookies win over the cake, can’t wait for you to try! xoxo San
Hi Sandra, If it’s chocolate, coconut and pecans than I’m definitely going to have to make these cookies. They sound delicious. Pinning and sharing.
Thanks Joanne! You will love them. xoxo San
My husband loves german chocolate cake so when he hears that I have a recipe for german chocolate cookies, he’s going to be so excited! Thanks for the post!!!!
These look all kinds of amazing! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I love german chocolate cake! and these look like all those great flavors in a cookie 🙂 Great recipe! I will be pinning this!
these look like they would be a favorite of mine yum love german chocolate.
G’day! Another great recipe and photo Sandra!
Thanks for sharing at the Foodie Friends Friday Healthy Choices Party!
Cheers! Joanne
My hubby’s favorite cookie! Thank you for bringing them last night. It was great catching up!
These look so yummy! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
As a kid, my request for birthday cake was always German chocolate. I can’t wait to try it in cookie form! Pinning and trying soon. Thanks! (p.s. love your name! – I’m also a mother of 5! )
Sandra – welcome! So happy to have you here, can’t wait to get to know your more. What is your boy to girl ratio? Mine is 3 boys / 2 girls. SO FUN! and exhausting! San
My son has egg allergies and I have a substitute for eggs, but not sure what would work for the egg yolks. Any suggestions?
Oh, sweet yum! Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Pop on over and grab a feature button. Here is the link to this week’s party. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2014/01/make-it-pretty-monday-week-84.html Hope to see your prettiness again at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Kathryn – thanks for featuring my German Chocolate Cake Cookie! I already linked up! Love your party and site! xoxo San
Can you freeze these?
Oh wow! These look so amazing! I can’t wait to try them out! I am so glad you shared this recipe at the Foodies and Crafties Soiree!
Hi the instructions say add chocl chips coconut and pecans but ingredients do not have them in it
Debi – thanks for catching that when I updated my recipe I forgot to edit it. It is correct now. Thanks for catching this! San
The directions say nothing about when or how to add the chocolate striping I’m seeing on the picture……I see something about white chocolate..which makes NO sense and a pink heart floating..where??This SOUNDED like a great recipe…I was anxious to TRY it..but how about REAL directions that match the pictures?
Barbara – there is a note at the bottom of the recipe about the chocolate and how to do that. If you need more details than listed email me at sandra@ adashofsanity.com
How do you store the German chocolate cookies? Do they need to be refrigerated?
They don’t need to be refrigerated but they do even freeze well. I love them cold.
Silly Question..Do you have to keep the icing refrigerated?
No you are good, but I am sure it would still taste just as yummy! But no refrigeration needed. xoxo San
ps: not a silly question!
These chocolate cookies with this delicious frosting sounds so yummy! What a great idea! Thank you so much for stopping by and linking up at Saturday dishes. I pinned it!
Blessings,
Diane Roark
http://www.recipesforourdailybread.com
My husband loves German Chocolate Cake! I might just have to try making these for him! Thanks for sharing at Saturday Dishes. Pinning.
I am definitely pinning this and trying them ASAP. I love German Chocolate Cake, so I’m super excited about these!
Linking up via Turn it Up Tuesday on Epic Mommy Adventures!
Just a tip to those who want to print out this recipe – use the print button at the top of the post that is located next to the “Save Recipe” button. If you use the one located right above the comments section, it is 9 pages long.
Alyssa – thanks for that. I had no idea, I will be checking into that. THANK YOU! San
I just made these tonight. O. M. G. These are amazingly delicious. And beautiful to look at. I, of course, did not have quite enough cocoa powder (a little more than 1/4 cup), and no evaporated milk. So I threw in an oz of melted bakers chocolate and used a combination of skim milk and cream and they turned out fine. Okay, better than fine…I don’t know how I’m going to avoid eating them all at once. Thanks so much!!
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Krista –
It makes 2 dozen. The cookies will come out flatter than you may expect, I just had someone email me about that. They are soft and chewy! Enjoy! xo San
I just made these for tmrw and they are AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Marilyn this made my day! Thank you for coming back to write this. So happy you loved it as much as us! xo San
Wow, I mean wow these cookies were a HUUGE hit at my sister’s wedding last night. I kept getting compliments on how wonderful the cookies tasted! My sister’s husband’s family are Italian and I needed to make a “family” cookie recipe that’s German from our family. I came across your recipe, thanks to Pinterest! And thanks to you for your recipe and I will be making these again!
Anecia – this made my night! Thank you for coming back and giving feed back! We love them too so happy your family loved your German recipe 😉 xo San
For the frosting…
It says “beat until thick enough …”. Does that mean with a mixer?
Yes Diane, I will revise that to be more clear. THANK YOU! xo San
Does the frosting set up well? I would love to make these to send to my dad for his birthday since he is a huge fan of German Chocolate cake, but I need to be able to ship them…. Which means they would have to be stacked on top of each other. Would it work with these cookies?
Jenelle – it sets up nicely. You could mail them for sure. Let them sit out for a bit to let the frosting harden but you could do this and you could even slide pieces of parchment paper in between. Where are you sending them?
My frosting is not getting thick? How long do you need to beat it?
Oh my! These look heavenly!!
These are the best cookies ever! I made them for a Father’s Day brunch and they disappeared! Everyone loved them! You cannot eat just one! Thanks for the recipe!
A YAY! I am to happy, thanks for taking the time to come and write this. xo San
My mom loved these German chocolate cookies were a hit. I used splenda brown sugar and added chopped brownie pieces to the recipe, so that it resembled the ice cream we ate as kids. The whole batch was gone in seconds!!! Definitely a keeper with my bunch. thanks for posting a great recipe
Oh dear God! These look so amazing! I must try them out!
I just made a comment about this recipe on this Pin over on Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/pin/164381455124216234 – Comment: Does this bother anyone else? – This image has a watermark right on it for the creator of this recipe – https://dashofsanity.com/2014/01/german-chocolate-cake-cookies – But yet this Hungry Recipe person steals it anyway and get 249 rePins… We all need to stick together and try our best to give credit where credit is due…
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It looks yummy… I look forward to trying this recipe… and I am Pinning it fro this page!
Hey thank you for letting me know! xo San
Hi Sandra I’m Marita, from Peru, your cookies looks delicious, I hope make it as soon as posible, but I have a question: how many grams of butter in a stick are? I’ll be waiting for your answer, thank you so much!
113 grams in one stick of butter. I hope this helps. xo San
Hi Sandra they look amazing but I need ingredients in grams not cups. look forward to reply so I can get baking these lol
I made these for my fiancé’s birthday party last night and they were a huge hit! We passed them around to others in the bar and some people took a couple home to have with a glass of milk. 😉 I doubled the cookie recipe and made 1 1/2 times the frosting and it was the perfect amount – made about 60 cookies. I used almond bark for the drizzle. This is going in our family recipe book for sure! 😉
Hi, just wondering if I did something wrong here.. After adding all the frosting ingredients together in my pan and stirring and applying heat, it seemed as if the egg whites didn’t quite mix. I wasn’t worried about it until they started turning white and then they definitely weren’t mixing well. I strained the pieces out and took away from heat, but it doesn’t seem to be thickening quite as much as I would expect it to. Do you think refrigerating would help ?
Haley – I am sending you an email right now. xo San
Please send to me an email too.
I really want this to learn…
Thank you!
Are the cookies a soft chewy or crunchy cookie?
Soft and chewy!!! Oh so good.
OMG!!! I just made these and they are amazing! They will literally melt in you mouth, thank you so much for posting these they will be my go to holiday treat 🙂
This made my day!!! Thank you for coming back to let me know. xo San
How many dozen does this make?
3 dozen
Thank you
these look sooooo amazing!! I was wondering if the gooey topping gets a “crust” to it or do the cookies stick together if they are stacked?
It does harden, but you will be able to stack them once they sit for a while. I would stack them with wax paper. You can also freeze them, they do amazing. Just defrost them by putting them in the fridge for a few hours. Oh, so good. San
I am wondering how they would hold up making them gluten free if you know anyone who has made them.
I have never made these GF. But if you do will you come back and let me know how it goes. I will try this next week.
I am hoping to have time next week to try these. Will post results about how they baked up
Did anyone ever go ahead and try making them gf? If so, how did they turn out, and which gf flour did they use?
Thanks!
I just made this with four bean flour, you can find the recipe on-line. They are amazing! I chose this flour mix as it is used cup for cup like regular wheat flour. I did add 1 tsp. of Xanthum Gum to hold the flours together. AMAZING recipe! I can’t wait to see my daughter’s face when she stops to pick some items up to return to college! YUM!! This may be the best cookie recipe that I have ever made and I have been cooking GF for my daughter for 20 years!
Can you make a chocolate sugar cookie?
I would like to know if I can sub some of the sugar for apple sause or would it be too thin? I am a diabetic and want to cut the sugar in half and not lose the flavor. Thanks
You can use stevia as a substitute for the sugar and the box or pkg will tell you exactly how much to use for the amount of sugar. There is also Ting that is half sugar and half stevia, have used both for cakes and cookies and they work well and are plenty sweet. I personally don’t like the other alternative sugars because they taste so chemical when cooked with and have so many side effects. Have used stevia for over 2 yrs and love it. Some brands are sweeter though and the cheaper store brands are just as good as the high priced name brands. I use 1 to 2 pkg in 30 oz of tea. Hope this helps, I am diabetic and a nurse.
we made these cookies and they are easy to make and very delicious- I have a family of german chocolate lovers and they are a hit! thank you for sharing this recipe we will make them again! happy holidays
do you have a pecan pie cookie?
I just wanted to say, I made these and OMG!!! They were absolutely fabulous! The directions were spot on and my family LOVED them!!! Thanks!
Hi! This recipe looks amazing! I’m going to a cookie exchange and need to make 4 dozen cookies. How many does this recipe make so I can scale it from there ? Thanks!!
I was wondering if these freeze well.
How long can these stay in an air tight container?
How long can these stay in an airtight container?
Up to 5 days, they freeze amazingly well.
I would like to make these for my husband’s birthday. We are going to be stuck in a hotel that day so I’ll have to make them ahead of time. At what point should I freeze them? Just the cookie base or will they freeze and thaw OK completely assembled? Thanks for this recipe; I can’t wait!
I am planning on freezing them. Should I freeze the icing and the cookie separate and put them together after defrosting or do they do well assembled before freezing?
I made the cookies exactly like the recipe says. However my cookies are rock hard. I made them using the spoon drop. I used a teaspoon. They weren’t overly filled and i’m not sure what i did wrong. Might have to throw them away and start again. Maybe cook them less. I cooked them for 10 min. Oh well just thought i would share.
I used a Tablespoon scoop and cooked for 8 minutes. They were perfect.
Thanks. I made some German Chocolate Cake a couple of weeks back and these is going on my baking list for next year.
Hi! these look just amazing!! I want to make these but I don’t understand what is two stick of butter? 2 x 1/4 cup?
thanks
Lea 🙂
I was wondering the same thing – how much butter is in two sticks?
Each “stick” of butter is 1/4 pound, or 8 tablespoons.
Therefore, 2 sticks means 1/2 pound, or 16 tablespoons.
These cookies live up to all the hype! My dad loves German chocolate cake. Made him a batch last night. These are seriously perfect cookies! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you! This made my day! San
So I tried making these cookies tonight for a mother’s day party I’m attending tomorrow, and I have to say I was a little disappointed. I followed these directions to a T, which is usually not my style, and the cookies were the challenging part. My cookies didn’t flatten when I baked them, instead they stayed hard, little ball things. Luckily I was able to smush them down about halfway through baking. This recipe is flawed..
Serve them with the icing warm – mmmm
Wow!!ans I thought that the German Chocolate cheesecake recipe I have was good! These cookies are amazing! Only downside is that I’m not sure how many will make it to the family reunion this weekend. ☺️ Thank you so much for sharing!!
These were phenomenal!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!!
looks amazing’ I love German Frosting.
Does the icing and German chocolate dry rough to put on a Christmas cookie tray?
No Kelly you should be just fine once it sets.
Help please, I cooked the icing the amount of time required. It had begun to thicken, then added the pecans and coconut. Set of stove and used mixer, but still too thin to use on cookies. How do I get it thicker or thick enough now?
Oh I figured it out lol I didn’t dbl the eggs. . Lol
I’m going to make these tomorrow. Can you come up with an Italuan Cream Cake Cookie recipe now? I would truly be in heaven
Hello Sandra,
These are the best cookies I have ever tried in my 31 years of marriage. Thank You for allowing me to try one of your prized possessions !!
Hey I really want to make these but my daughter is severely allergic to nuts. Any ideas on what I could use instead?
Trying the recipe tomorrow. Looks great. One question: Ingredients for the cookies asks for 2 sticks of butter. For the frosting it asks for 1/2 cup of butter. Used to be a stick was a cup. Now when you buy the butter the sticks are 1/2 cup. Does the cookie recipe require 2 cups butter or 2 sticks (1 cup)?
Thanks
Hi! I’m making these for a picnic tomorrow afternoon. Should I refrigerate them for tomorrow or will that harden the cookie? Is it better to leave them on the counter in an air tight container? So excited thank you!!!
My husband is currently deployed and I know he would LOVE these. Any suggestions on shipping these and being able to keep them tummy and not moldy or gross lol
I would like to make these for my husband’s birthday. We are going to be stuck in a hotel that day so I’ll have to make them ahead of time. At what point should I freeze them? Just the cookie base or will they freeze and thaw OK completely assembled? Thanks for this recipe; I can’t wait!
Hola muero por probar esta receta más q nada por mi hija q le encanta el chocolate, pero hay una cosa q no entendi de la receta la primera parte para preparar la galleta, aq te refieres con 2 paladas de mantequilla podrías aclararme ese detalle y yo lista para empezar a preparar.
Saludos y gracias por tus recetas
I was wondering what the measurement are for the two sticks of butter. By the way I love german chocolate cake so it will be neat to try the cookie form of the cake.
Looks like a good recipe but could you ease up on the video ads? They were screaming through my speakers so loud and I can’t find a way to turn off the ads so I had to mute my speakers! So annoying and makes me not want to look at the rest of your site! 🙁
Had to scroll down a country mile to reply, so I know these cookies are going to be great, just so you know, you have made one 6’2″tall biker very happy. Yes Guys bake too. Finally I’ll have something between my teeth (besides bugs) to smile about when Im out riding, the only bad thing is.. Ill have to stash a bunch for the brothers in my saddel bags.
Thanks Sandra.. your aces
Hunter C.
I’m going to make this this weekend for the first time…if they’re as good as they look, I’ll take them to my corporate Christmas Party in December! Fingers crossed.
Sorry, but these aren’t German Chocolate Cake Cookies – they are chocolate cookies with the frosting from a German Chocolate Cake. German chocolate cake gets its name from an ingredient it uses: German’s Sweet Chocolate. This chocolate was originated by the Baker’s Chocolate Company (now a subsidiary of Kraft Foods) in the mid 1850s and was named after it’s creator, Sam German. The story of the chocolate says that a misprint in a newspaper that included the recipe for the first German Chocolate Cake simply left out the “s” on the name, and this is why the chocolate is often known simply as “German.” The chocolate is similar to a semisweet chocolate, but has a higher sugar content to it. This means that recipes that use it tend to be a little bit sweeter than ones that don’t.
Is it possible to use canned German Chocolate frosting that is in a can?. I don’t have all the ingredients on
hand and the Pecans here cost around $8.00 for 4 oz. I wasn’t sure if it would be too runny. I have tried
it before and good substitute has coconut, nuts etc. I want to make these for the Senior Pot Luck Dinner.
Thank You, Bea
These do look amazing, BUT if the recipe only makes 24 cookies, that means each one has 2 tablespoons of sugar. Yikes! Just wondering if there are any other options which do NOT include artificial sweeteners?
Made the cookies this weekend, and my husband said they were amazing. He asked…we don’t have to share these right? Awesome Cookie!
Ty my dad bday is on the 1st i wanted to know if these will come out if i make them as cupcakes. ..
I made these a couple of months ago and brought some to work. I’ve had multiple requests from co-workers for more. Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad you enjoyed them, as well as all your co-workers. xo San
I love these! I made them and now anytime there is a family gathering they all beg me to bring them! So yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
Made these today for Thanksgiving dessert, and they were great! My cookies did not turn out flat at all, but I used my spatula to flatten them just a bit for the frosting. They were perfect coming out of the oven anyway. Definitely will be making again!
I just made these….SO GOOD!!! I am definitely keeping this recipe!!!
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I always use salted unless indicated. xo San
Yum, these are the perfect chocolate cookie!!!! They look so rich, a great dessert to share with coffee for guests!
I was curious about how the frosting sets up? I’d like yo make them for a cookie exchange but don’t want them smoothed when I box them up.
well, I cannot figure out what I could have done wrong…….they puffed up beautifully in the oven, and then flattened out completely, becoming hard as rocks! I very carefully followed the recipe and checked it again. With all the reviews from people who have not tried them yet, I am wondering if anyone else has this result….I do see that one person has. I was looking for a cookie just as these seemed to be. Oh, well….
How did they taste? Also, how old are you baking ingredients? These cookies are flat, they are not a thick or puffy cookie.
I made these tonight and these are absolutely the BEST COOKIE i have ever made. Thank you for this recipe!
I am so happy to hear that. Thank you.
How many cookies does this recipe yield? I need to make about 3 dozen — Thank you!
Has anyone subbed frozen coconut in place of sweetened shredded coconut?
I have never done this. Did you try it? San
Wanted to make these for awhile, tonight I finally got around to it. These are scrumptious, my husband said these are now on his yummy list. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I am definitely going to make these cookies! My daughter loves German Chocolate cake, donuts, and I’m sure she will love these too. I will need to ship them so I may make them into a sandwich style cookie so the topping doesn’t go all over the place. Thanks for the great recipe.
Enjoy Tracee.
I am excited to try these as I absolutely LOVE German Chocolate Cake. I am curious as to how well these will taste with chocolate as the base instead of German Chocolate. I am a stickler on this when it comes to my German Chocolate Cake. A chocolate cake with German Choc. Icing does not taste the same as German Chocolate being used. Either way I’m sure these are delicious cookies & I will update after I try.
I was so excited to try this recipe but when I did the cookies came out so thin that they broke when I tried taking them of the paper and the ones I did take off are so fragil to hold that they crumble. I don’t know what I did wrong . Help please.
Lizette – shoot me an email I would love to help – sandra@adashofsanity.com xo San
Made these very yummy cookies. Chilled the frosting to make it thicker. Turned out great. Love the chocolate cookie. Very moist and chewy. Thinking about just using the cookie recipe to make whoopie pies or sandwich cookies. Thank you for posting a delicious recipe.
Ken this made my day. I am so glad you enjoyed them! xo San
I baked your German chocolate cake cookies but I did little mistake, good mistake 😉 Instead of evaporated milk I used condensed milk I did not added extra sugar and I used unsweetened coconut flakes. I also use chocolate cake from the box to makes cookies and now I am doing again and I baked Ghirardelli chocolate cookies from the box.
Cookies are very delicious, thanks for the recipe 🙂
I am so glad you loved it. xo San
You were right, these are the best cookies we will ever eat- EVER!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
Sue I am thrilled you loved them just as much as we do. xo San
I can’t wait to make these! Do you store them in the fridge??
Katie – you can. They freeze well but they never last that long to do this. But I love eating them cold. xo San
I followed recipe exactly. After stirring the icing for probably 20 min it barely got thick. I thought at some point it would, but needless to say after wasting my money and entire evening I’m throwing cookies in the pail. Super disappointed with the directions or perhaps inaccurate measurements. 11 minutes 30 seconds versus 20 minutes+ = I wish I chose someone else’s recipe. Money not well spent & final product in the pail. 🙁 #sadness
Sorry this did not work out for you. As you can see from the comments many including myself have has success. I would encourage to try this again, if you have any questions or issues feel free to email me. San
The cookies are moist and delicious. My husband usually doesn’t eat frostings with coconut and nuts but he loved these cookies. I am making another batch to share with friends. Thanks for the great recipe!!!!!!!!
Do you think these cookies would freeze well?
They freeze so well. My sister does that all the time. xo San
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I had been looking for a good scratch recipe for these – I have been making mine with a German Chocolate cake mix and canned coconut peacan frosting, but would love to try from scratch! Mine are a box of cake mix with 1/4 cup oil and 2 eggs. Once mixed together, roll into about 40 balls (about an inch) and bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes. When they come out of the oven, flatten with spatula and let cool. Frost the bottom of a cookie and sandwich together with another. Makes 20 sandwich cookies that won’t stick to a ziplock bag in a lunchbox! They are soft and chewy.
I can’t do canned frosting, but I love the idea with the cake mix. I do that with other cookies. I can’t wait for you to try this. You will find that homemade frosting is so much better. xo San
I wonder if these could be adapted to be gluten free?? I think I MUST try!! Thanks for the inspiration!
How many grams is a stick of butter as in the UK we don’t measure butter by sticks.
Thank you
113 grams – hope this helps.
Do these freeze well? I ask as when I bake I do so in huge quantities.
Yes they freeze very well.
I made these cookies for my mom for Mother’s Day, and she said they were absolutely the best cookies she’d ever had! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you so much Kate!
I just want to correct your recipe. German chocolate cake calls for German”s baking chocolate in the baking aisle. The coconut frosting does not make this “German”. It’s actually a guy’s last name, like Hershey chocolate, not german from Germany. German’s baking chocolate is actually a lighter chocolate than most in the baking aisle
These cookies are the absolute best cookie anyone will ever eat or make. They are thin, chocolately and chewy. The frosting is to die for!! I made these for my family and everyone devoured them immediately! Everyone should try these, but be careful, you WILL fall in love.
Feels like a silly question but we’re headed up to Steamboat this weekend and I want to make these but are they messy to store? Or does the frosting harden enough to stack in a tupperware carefully? Thx!
Does the flour need to be sifted?
No it does not. Enjoy!
I have made these for years for Christmas–an easy shortcut is to use a german chocolate cake mix–turns out fine when time is an issue!! These are always a hit at my cookie exchanges!!
awesome recipe!
I just found your recipe about 6 months ago and have made a few times. They are amazing! I have to stop myself from eating them all. I finally took them to work and everyone loved them. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve made these and they are the best!! I did have to double the frosting to frost all of my cookies, This recipe made 4 dozen when using a cookie scoop. Thanks for sharing.. 🙂
OH EMM GEEE .. My coworkers went nuts for these cookies. I’ll be saving this recipe.
These look amazing. I love German Chocolate cake, so I’m sure we’d like these. That’s why I probably won’t make them since they look like they will sabotage our efforts to lose weight with all that butter and sugar. No Christmas baking for us this year. Maybe next year.
Hi! I know this post is a few years old, but I just made these for my father’s (a German chocolate cake lover) 60th birthday, and they turned out AMAZING!!
FANTASTIC recipe!!!!!
Thanks for making me look like a rock star baker 😉
This recipe turned out wonderful. Just made it for the German Chocolate Cake lovers in my life for Christmas. They turned out perfect and my family loved them!
Has anyone used a german chocalte box recipe instead of mixing this?
I followed your recipe, it was easy and the result was seriously delicious and loved by all. A nice finish to the German meal I served. Thanks for pinning! Cathy
Does the frosting on these harden?
It’s gets stiff enough that it doesn’t run and you can eventually stack them too.
These cookies have me swooning! I’m all over ANYTHING German chocolate!!!
P.S. Thanks for the link love 🙂
made these yesterday and my family says they are amazing. I only ate the cookie part because i do not like coconut. But the cookie it’s self was good as well! Did not change a thing about the recipe,
Can the dry cocoa be substituted with regular German chocolate??? I have some left over from the holidays.
These are the best cookies ever! I made them for a Father’s Day brunch and they disappeared! Everyone loved them! You cannot eat just one! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Sandra!
I just finished making the cookies and now I’m getting ready to frost them. I can’t wait! They look wonderful. Thanks for the recipe!
I like to make extra icing on these – it’s the best part!!
Can I use regular 2% milk in this recipe instead of evaporated milk?
Why does it need to be evaporated milk?
Please let me know by e-mailing me at the email address below.
No sorry you need to use evaporated milk but here is an idea: If you don’t have any, make your own: To produce 1 cup of evaporated milk, simmer 2 1/4 cups of regular milk down until it becomes 1 cup. In many recipes, evaporated milk may also be replaced with a combination of whole milk and half-and-half.
These look amazing!
Oh my, these cookies look delicious!
salted or unsalted butter?
I use salted always 😉 San
Unless the recipe calls for salted butter, I always use unsalted when baking. In fact, that’s what I did BEFORE reading down into the comments and finding your “salted” reply to someone else. I haven’t frosted them yet. Would the unsalted butter version of the cookie benefit from adding salt to the frosting, or should I just forget about it and go with what I have?
Also, the prep time and baking time are both wildly optimistic. I have no elves or staff to prepare and measure out all the ingredients. That alone took far longer than your prep time indicates. To make matters worse, I’m working in an under-supplied kitchen with a small hand mixer from the late 1970s and only two cookie sheets — one big and one small. There’s one oven, and it works best to only use the middle rack, which only fits one cookie sheet at a time. Another thing I could not do is get 12 cookies on at the same time. The cookies are too big for that. I did 9 on the big sheet and 6 on the smaller one.. Disclosure: I used 50% more ingredients to make 4.5 dozen cookies. Soooo, prep time was almost two hours and baking time was another two hours. As a mentioned, I haven’t made the frosting yet, so that will add what ~ another hour+ to make and apply to 54 cookies?? I’ve noticed this under-reporting of the time it takes the average person (without elves) to make a recipe is common online and in print. Maybe when testing a recipe, find a friend who isn’t anywhere near professional, and time that person trying to make it and also note what supplies they use before posting times. Of course, it’s always possible if the times were more accurate, most people would forget it and buy cookies from a bakery. Thanks.
I hope they turned out alright in the end! I would suggest just skipping the salt at that point; if you added a pinch of salt as the recipe suggests they should be okay. I updated the recipe to specify salted butter for anyone in the future.
I’m sorry it took so long for you, with the right tools it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours if you are doubling the recipe. If you make the frosting while the first batch of cookies bake it will save you a lot of time. The frosting will keep while the cookies cool, and you can start frosting them as the remaining batches bake. This is how most recipes prep times are counted as it’s the most efficient way when baking. Hopefully next time it won’t take quite as long!
These cookies look amazing! Definitely making them this weekend!
I hope you enjoy them, thanks!
How can you not want to eat these all up?! Yummy!!
They definitely get eaten up fast! Thank you!
Oh, my! I think I could eat these cookies for breakfast, lunch, & pretty much anytime really. They look so tasty! I’ll definitely be making these little delights!
Thank you, enjoy!
Oh wow these sound delish!!
Thanks!
What a yummy treat! Just looking at them is making me wish I had a couple right now!
Thanks, enjoy!
These cookies would be devoured around my house!
They definitely tend to disappear here! Enjoy!
Oh my this cookie sounds incredible! My favorite cake, in cookie form!
Thank you!
Looks really good, I’m going to have to make these some day soon.
I hope you like them, thanks!
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try these!
Thanks, enjoy!
This is perfection!Cookies are my fav!
Thanks!
These cookies are jus the best! German Chocolate Cake is a favorite around here!
Thank you so much!
German Chocolate anything is my favorite! I used to go to a bakery called Schmidt”s Pastry Cottage that had a cookie just like this, that I was completely addicted to… so when I saw this recipe and had some canned german chocolate frosting leftover from who knows when I thought, “I need to try these”! They were so easy, and my parents, husband and children are having trouble with self control on these! They are delicious! We also tried “Best Ever German Chocolate Cake” recipe and we haven’t eaten it yet, but I sampled that frosting and it is OUTSTANDING! I am so excited! Thank you “dashofinsanity”!
I’m so happy that you like them! They really are addicting!
My frosting is runny! Help?!?! Otherwise amazing!
Oh no! I would double check the measurements that you used for the frosting, I hope next time it comes out for you!
I love this food I will make it! So yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing this perspective!
This was very good and fairly easy! I usually mess up Indian food, but this was perfect.
These German Chocolate Cake cookies are would disappear in our house!
What a delicious recipe! Adding this to my baking line up for the holidays! Looks too good to pass up!
Thank you, enjoy!
These make an awesome teacher gift!
So soft and yummy! Definitely making these again
Thank you, I’m so glad you like them!
Delicious cookies Sandra. It was easy to make and everyone loved it. I love cooking bakery dishes. And I really enjoyed preparing these chocolate cake cookies. Keep sharing recipes like this.
i made them.. made them as sandwich cookies… oh my, these were amazing and everyone loved them.. you can only eat one.. similar to a whoopee pie, but better.. will be making these again. thank you for the recipe
I love this idea of the sandwich cookie!!!!
If caramel, coconut, pecan frosting is wrong, I DO NOT want to be right! This is one doozy of a cookie!
Thank you! Enjoy!
These Chocolate Cake cookies are mouth watering!
Thank you!
These are my all time favorite cookies!
I’m happy to hear that!
This was everything that I needed to cure my sweet tooth! Easily, a new family favorite treat in our home! Yum!
So glad to hear that your family enjoyed these!
Oh my, these German chocolate cake cookies are amazing!! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thank you! Enjoy!
My family loves these!
So glad to hear that, Cathy!
Hi Sandra, what is 2 sticks of butter? I’m use to grams
Hi! 2 sticks of butter is equal to 227 grams. It’s also equivalent to 1 cup or 1/2 a pound if that helps!
Extremely useful post and additionally actually insightful many thanks for the post
Thank you!
That chocolate drizzle is NOT an option in our house, haha! So delicious and they go quickly.
So glad to hear that!
Oh my goodness I’m so excited to make these for the holiday! These are going to be gone in a matter of seconds! So excited!
I hope you enjoy them!
These German Chocolate Cake cookies are sound delicious right about now!
Thank you!
Yum! These cookies look so heavenly! Can’t wait to try them. Pinning!
I hope you enjoy them!
These are always a hit at my house! An all-time favorite!
So glad to hear that!
What a great tasting treat this was! Easily, a new favorite dessert and a great cure for my sweet tooth!
Thank you!!
Yum! All the flavors that I love! A must try!
Enjoy!
These are my favorite! I could make them everyweek!
I’m glad you enjoy them!
Absolutely stunning! Thank you on a detailed recipe!
Thank you!
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Thank you.
A very useful article,I need to bookmark it!
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Truly appreciate the way you made this wonderful cake cookies. Everything is so nicely described that really helped. One of the best and our favorite cookies recipes is here. Looking for more such delicious recipes in future too.
Thank you for sharing amazing recipe with us. I’m definitely try it at my home. I’m adding this recipe to my lock-down phase, this delicious recipe help me to enjoy my birthday and birthday cake in Lock-down.
I love german chocolate cake. These cookies were outstanding.
These are one of my favorite treats!!!
You just made my favorite dessert into a cookie! I cannot wait to bake these up!
I have been on the hunt for a new cookie to try! This is going to be baking up today!
Love this twist on the cake!
These were a must make and they turned out so delicious! So addicting and very yummy! My husband especially loves these. Definitely going on our remake list!
German cake flavor is my favorite! I am so glad I will have it in a cookie!
WoW, forget the cake, make the cookies…Thanks for sharing…