These cookies were inspired by Wegmans Chocolate Indulgence Cookies. The gluten-free cookies are soft on the inside and slightly flaky on the outside. They have a deep chocolate and espresso flavor, plus a tiny hint of oat and are really good. I think what makes them special is the texture feels heavy and light at the same time. It's hard to explain, but these copycat cookies are easy, so give them a try! This is a relatively small batch recipe so there's not much to lose.
Wegmans Chocolate Indulgence
Before making my own Chocolate Indulgence Cookies clone, I bought a pack from Wegmans so I could go over the ingredient list. It includes cocoa butter, cacao and ground oats. At first I thought maybe they were using actual cocoa butter, cacao powder and oat powder, but now I'm thinking they are just listing the individual ingredients that make up unsweetened chocolate (cocoa butter, cacao, etc.).
Cocoa Butter Version
But just for experiment's sake, I bought some Navitas cocoa butter and came up with a version based on the ingredient list. If you want to try that version, the amounts are in the notes. But since cocoa butter and cacao are both a little pricey, I made a version that calls for dark chocolate and unsweetened chocolate, so there's no need to purchase cocoa butter.
Substituting Cocoa Powder for Unsweetened Chocolate
If you want to make a batch of copycats but don't have any unsweetened chocolate, you can use 1 tablespoon (12 grams) melted shortening (I used Nutiva) and 3 tablespoons (15-18 grams) good quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Just melt the shortening with the butter and chocolate, then stir the cocoa powder into the melted chocolate mixture.
Oat Flour Tip
To make your cookies more like the original Chocolate Indulgence cookies, be sure to use very finely ground oats. If your oats are coarse, the cookies will still taste great, but the texture will not be as smooth and you'll be able to see tiny bits of oats.
Recipe
Chocolate Indulgence Cookies Copycat
Ingredients
- 84 grams dark chocolate, chopped (Trader Joe's, Dove, any brand)
- 28 grams unsweetened chocolate, chopped (Trader Joe's unsweetened cacao chips)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42 grams)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ tablespoon instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar (75 grams)
- ⅓ cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips can use more or less chips to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the dark chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and butter together by heating on high and stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
- With an electric mixer, beat the egg, espresso and vanilla in mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat for about two minutes or until mixture thickens slightly and becomes a little paler. Stir in the cooled melted chocolate mixture.
- Mix together the oat flour, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth. Stir into the chocolate mixture.
- At this point the mixture should be cool. If it is still at all warm, wait before folding in the chocolate chips. Also, mixture will thicken slightly as it stands and cools, so if you feel it's too thin to scoop cover it and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 more minutes.
- Using a large cookie scoop or a little less than a ¼ cup measure, scoop out 6 mounds of dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Anna says
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks so much for trying it! I was making these cookies over and over for a while for the family and am glad the recipe works for you too. I haven't tried doubling it yet, but I think if you just doubled everything by weight it would work.
Tiffany says
Love this recipe, thank you! Also can this recipe be doubled?
Anna says
I've never tried substituting almond flour for oat flour, unfortunately. Almond flour has a lot more fat and might cause the cookies to be greasy.
Susan says
Can I su/statute almond flour for oat flour
Anna says
Hi Carolyn! I hope you like them. For the best results, use Ghirardelli bittersweet chips. IF you are going to substitute semisweet, try to find Guittard or Ghirardelli brand. The Hershey's and especially the Nestle chips would be okay since you are not melting the chips, but the Ghirardelli ones work especially well because they are a tiny bit larger and a little less sweet tasting. I also have a Wegman's Chocolate Chip Copycat. For that recipe, you'd want to use semisweet chips (preferably Wegmans brand) or something like Guittard or Ghirardelli semisweet. By the way, if you shop at Costco I hightly recommend the Kirkland brand semisweet chips.
Carolyn says
I can't wait to try these! I love the Wegmans version.
Does bittersweet chocolate chip mean semi-sweet chocolate chips? The original kind?
Sue says
These sound wonderful and since they’re made at home I’ll bet they’re even better than Wegman’s!