Copycat Van Stapele Cookies (Amsterdam Cookies) – Dive into the most delicious and decadent triple chocolate cookies, inspired by the world-famous Van Stapele cookies from Amsterdam.
Van Stapele Cookies (Amsterdam Cookies)
Do a simple Google search of “Amsterdam Cookies” and you’ll be flooded with mouth-watering pictures of dark chocolate cookies filled with milk chocolate chips and a white chocolate center.
Before this week, I had never heard of these cookies, but thanks to my friend Lisa, my life is forever changed. Lisa and her family spent Christmas in Europe, and during a visit to Amsterdam tried the uber popular Van Stapele cookies. Lucky for me, Lisa so generously saved me a couple.
Under strict instructions from Lisa and the cookie packaging, I reheated the cookies and enjoyed them warm. “Enjoyed” actually doesn’t feel like the appropriate term. Indulged is definitely more fitting!
The cookies were decadent, rich, and completely divine.
I knew immediately I needed to come up with a copycat version because I couldn’t live life without ever having one of these cookies again.
My goal for these cookies was to achieve a similar look, but more importantly, a similar flavor. That meant – the cookies needed to be somewhat flat and made with a rich, bittersweet chocolate, along with a bit of milk chocolate and a white chocolate center that would ooze out when you break into it.
How to Make Copycat Van Stapele Triple Chocolate Cookies
To make these cookies, it’s important to start with the right ingredients. The chocolate you use will make a difference in how this cookie tastes. Using good quality chocolate truly makes all the difference.
Does the type of cocoa powder matter?
Yes, but I also don’t want you to not make these because you don’t have the cocoa powder I use. If you can wait a couple days to make these, order some of the Extra Brute Cocoa Powder on Amazon or pick it up at Gygi.
Here’s why good quality dark chocolate cocoa powder makes a difference in flavor and texture:
First off, a good quality cocoa powder will have a noticeably richer and more bittersweet flavor. We want that bittersweet flavor in these cookies to balance the ultra sweet milk and white chocolate.
Additionally the Extra Brute Cacao Barry Dark Cocoa I love, is higher in fat that grocery store brands. Fat helps to create and retain moisture in our baked goods. We want that! I also love Valrhona.
Types of white chocolate to use
For the white chocolate center, I recommend using Lindt white chocolate bars, which are easy to find at your local grocery store, or Valrhona white chocolate callets, which you can order on Amazon. Both will have a delicious flavor and are the perfect size (about 1 ounce for each piece).
Ingredients for the Amsterdam Cookies
As mentioned above, the most important element of these cookies is the chocolate. Using a good quality dark chocolate for the cocoa powder will make these cookies stand out above any other chocolate cookie you’ve ever had. You also want to get a good quality white chocolate for the centers.
Additionally, grab all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs and chocolate chips.
With the right chocolate in-hand, you’re ready to start baking! Here’s a brief rundown of the steps you’ll see below in the recipe:
The cookies will bake for about 10 minutes. Allow them to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes and then serve while they’re still warm.
Copycat Van Stapele Cookies (Amsterdam Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (88.5 g) good quality dark cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup (160 g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (180 g) milk chocolate chips
- 2.6 ounces white chocolate, I used Lindt white chocolate bars and broke them into rectangular pieces (.1 ounce for each cookie)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter and the cocoa powder over medium heat. Stir until the butter is melted and the cocoa powder is incorporated. It should look shiny and smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter mixture with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed until the texture is smooth, about two minutes.
- Stir in the eggs and the vanilla extract until combined.
- With the mixer on low, stir in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the milk chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the dough for an hour to allow the consistency to firm up a bit. This will make it easier to work with when you add the white chocolate.
- Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop out 52 balls of dough and place on a piece of parchment paper. Two of those balls of dough will create ONE cookie.
- Slightly flatten one ball of dough, place the white chocolate piece in the center and then top with another ball of cookie dough. Use your fingers to connect and seal the sides of the cookie. You should have enough for 26 cookies total.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheet with plenty of room between each. These cookies will spread quite a bit. I did 8 cookies on my cookie sheet: three on the sides and two in the center row.
- Bake for about 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then enjoy WARM!
Ooooooh, Courtney!!! Wow!!! So dark, gooey, and decadent! I will definitely be making these again.
One note: the recipe calls for 26oz of white chocolate—1oz of chocolate per cookie. I think this might be a mistake, we only used one square per cookie (about 17g). We didn’t even use the full 4.4oz bar of white chocolate.
Ugh! Yes, it’s 2.6 ounces total and .1 ounce in each cookie.
These turned out delicious! Similar to Megan, I could only get 1/4 ounce of white chocolate in each cookie (2 of the rectangles from the 4.4oz Lindt bar). Everyone loved them, so I will be making them again soon. Yum!!
Yes, it’s .1 ounce white chocolate in each cookie. Sorry about that. Recipe is updated. 2.6 ounces total and .1 ounce of chocolate in each cookie.
This is great! I’ve seen this same recipe but using 100gr more of flour for the exact same amount of cookies.
Which one do you think is closer to the original?
These are the best cookies, so similar to the origin, easy and fun to make and sweet but not to much, even though that the hour in the fridge is a bit time consuming. I have already made them twice and got a lot of compliments every time.
I visited this cookie shop in Amsterdam and came home determined to make them myself. I was delighted when I instantly found your recipe – I’ve made these cookies at least 4 times now and they are amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Wasn’t it so yummy!
Looking forward to trying these, should I use light or dark brown sugar? Thanks
I used light.
Hi, can the dough be frozen or refrigerated and used at a later date?
Frozen yes!