It was a well deserved victory by the London team who dominated the game throughout with a fine performance - especially in the midfield area where ex-Wanderer Claus Jensen proved industrious all afternoon.
Bolton looked a shadow of the team who defeated Charlton Athletic at the Reebok Stadium just a week earlier and could not find much rhythm in their play.
A left footed effort in the opening seconds of the game by Bolton captain Jay-Jay Okocha was as good as it got in the first half for the Lancashire side who found themselves immediately under the cosh. However the Trotters had a valid shout for a penalty when Dutch keeper Edwin Van Der Saar appeared to collide with striker Henrik Pedersen in the opening period.
Former Bordeaux midfielder Sylvain Legwinski smashed an effort against the post for the home side after two minutes and this was quickly followed by a fine free kick from Jensen which was well saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen in the Bolton goal.
Cole opened the scoring for Fulham on six minutes when he tucked home a deflected shot by lofty defender Zat Knight following a pin point corner from Jensen. It was the first goal for the former England striker Cole since his return to the club in the summer.
Okocha and Kevin Nolan then had half chances for Bolton whilst at the other end Jaaskelainen was quick to react to a header from the impressive Senegal international midfielder Papa Bouba Diop.
Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski was being employed in a wide left role by Fulham boss Chris Coleman and the ex-Everton man squandered a chance on 25 minutes by firing wide on his home debut.
A few minutes later Spaniard Ivan Campo fired wide for Bolton after a free kick by Okocha was tucked into his path and this summed up what was a very frustrating afternoon for the Wanderers players.
On 36 minutes the Cottagers wasted two gilt edge chances - firstly Dutch youngster Collins John managed to break away from the Bolton centre halves Bruno N'Gotty and Julio Cesar but the teenager saw his shot move across the face of the goal. Then goalscorer Cole hit the foot of the post having rounded Jaaskelainen in a chance that seemed easier to score than miss but in all fairness to the striker he had to get his angles right.
The second half saw a change of system for the Wanderers with Euro 2004 winner Stelios Giannakopoulos coming on for Henrik Pedersen to take his place on the right whilst Anthony Barness came on for Ivan Campo and this allowed Ricardo Gardner to move further upfield on the left hand side, however this was to make little difference as the Fulham midfield continued to dominate through Diop, Jensen and Sylvain Legwinski.
John had a half chance for the home team on the hour but was replaced soon-after by the former Arsenal player Luis Boa-Morte who has just returned from a spell at the Athens Olympics after representing his country Portugal.
American front man Brian McBride, who scored a double against the Trotters on the final game of the season, also entered the fray in place of Tomasz Radzinski and the giant goalgetter was proving to be a strong aerial threat for Fulham in his first few minutes in the action.
Cole missed yet another chance from close range on 71 minutes whilst German youngster Moritz Volz moved forward from right back to produce a stunning strike on the volley which was to have Jaaskelainen in the Wanderers goal at full stretch.
Bolton then made their final throw of the dice by introducing former Spanish captain Fernando Hierro in place of Ricardo Gardner for his first senior appearance in English football. Kevin Nolan moved into a wider role whilst ex-Real Madrid ace Hierro lined up alongside Gary Speed in the middle of the park.
With ten minutes remaining Jaaskelainen was once again first to react as Fulham substitute Boa-More forced the Finn into a fine save but this was all in vein as just sixty seconds later the Londoners hit their winner with a second of the afternoon for Cole.
A clever pass from Danish midfielder Jensen found it's way through to Cole who struck the ball past Jaaskelainen for the second and final goal to celebrate a memorable return to home territory for Fulham after a two year absence.