Like my common sugar cookies, these chocolate sugar cookies are mushy and thick with crisp edges and a pleasant easy high for adorning. Use cookie cutters to chop this chocolate dough into shapes, and after baking and cooling, you may adorn them with cookie adorning buttercream, royal icing, or this tremendous straightforward cookie icing.
I initially printed this recipe in 2016, and I’ve since up to date it with new photographs and extra success suggestions to make sure each batch seems to be the perfect chocolate sugar cookies you’ve ever had.
Bakers, I goal to carry you solely the easiest in relation to sugar cookies. (I solemnly swear on my cookie cutters.) They should maintain their shapes within the oven, have a pleasant flat floor for adorning, and, clearly, style wonderful! So, within the mid 2010’s, growing a chocolate model of this fashionable recipe was not a job I took frivolously.
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Gentle & thick facilities with frivolously crisp edges
- Wealthy chocolate taste (not dry or bland!)
- Holds form superbly for cookie cutters
- Easy floor for adorning (I used cookie buttercream and naturally-colored sprinkles)
- Make-ahead-friendly dough for simple planning
One reader, Abbey, commented: “These are one among my go-to recipes for cookie orders. Individuals love them! It’s like a brownie in cookie type. These are those that get requested most frequently. ★★★★★“
One other reader, Pam, commented: “These rolled out effectively, baked up completely, and have been SO scrumptious! My household and buddies went loopy for them, and I’ll be making them once more quickly. Who wouldn’t love a ‘brownie cookie?’ ★★★★★“
One other reader, Peggy, commented: “My youngsters have labeled these Brownie Cookies as a result of they style like the proper mixture of a cutout and a brownie. They have been really easy to make and really sturdy like your gingerbread cookie recipe. We used the simple glaze and simply did a fast drizzle excessive. This can be a welcome addition to my cutout cookie rotation. ★★★★★“
Key Components & Why They Matter
With solely 8 elements on this recipe, each one has an necessary job to do:
- All-Function Flour: Offers construction so the cookies maintain their cut-out shapes.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: The star of the present! You should utilize pure or Dutch-process for barely totally different taste profiles. See the part beneath on this.
- Baking Powder: Offers a slight elevate with out puffing an excessive amount of (necessary for flat tops!).
- Salt: For taste stability.
- Butter: Unparalleled for buttery sugar cookies. Be certain it’s correctly softened to room temperature. And should you’re a baking newbie, take a look at my tutorial on how you can cream butter and sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens and helps create these barely crisp edges.
- Egg: Binds all the pieces collectively and provides richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the chocolate taste with out overpowering it.
By the best way, you should utilize this precise dough when making Halloween cookies, my reader-favorite home made skinny mint cookies, and holiday-perfect peppermint bark cookies. In addition they look nice embellished as fireworks cookies or soccer cookies. This can be a very versatile chocolate sugar cookie dough!
And should you’re on the lookout for a drop-style chocolate cookie recipe, you’ll love these double chocolate chip cookies or these chocolate frosted cookies.
Success Ideas for the Greatest Chocolate Sugar Cookies
There are just a few methods to creating certain your chocolate sugar cookies maintain their cookie-cutter shapes within the oven (slightly than spreading into unrecognizable blobs):
- Roll out the dough BEFORE chilling. It’s way more efficient to sit back the cookie dough *after* rolling it out, simply as you do when making common sugar cookies or brown sugar cut-out cookies. Attempting to roll out exhausting, chilled sugar cookie dough is irritating and tough. So, when you’ve combined collectively your dough, divide it into 2 halves, and roll out every portion earlier than chilling the rolled-out dough within the fridge.
- One other trick: Roll out the cookie dough instantly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you may simply switch it to the fridge. Should you don’t have sufficient room for two baking sheets in your fridge, stack the items of rolled-out dough on high of one another, with parchment in between.
- Roll evenly: Goal for about 1/4-inch thickness so that they bake evenly and keep mushy.
- My last trick: As a substitute of dusting your fingers and work floor with flour such as you normally do when dealing with/working with dough, use cocoa powder—an ingredient you want for the dough anyway! Flour is tasteless, so would possibly as effectively use cocoa powder for further chocolate taste, proper?
Pure Cocoa Powder or Dutch-Course of?
Cocoa powder is the important thing ingredient in these chocolate sugar cookies. However which one must you use: pure cocoa powder or Dutch-process?
Should you’re unsure in regards to the distinction between them and have an interest, you may learn extra on my Dutch-process vs pure cocoa powder web page. Although Dutch-process is usually what you’ll use when paired with baking powder, for this cookie recipe (and really for these brownie cookies, too) it’s OK to use both Dutch-process or pure cocoa powder.
So select whichever cocoa powder you want greatest! I sometimes use this model of Dutch-process cocoa, or I additionally love Ghirardelli model.
3 Cookie Icing Choices
As soon as cooled, these cookies are your canvas! As a result of the cookies bake with a flat, easy high, adorning is way simpler and extra professional-looking.
I’ve 3 cookie icing recipes, so you may have a number of choices to select from, based mostly in your ability stage and adorning wants. Listed below are the fundamental variations:
1. Buttercream Frosting: I embellished the pictured chocolate sugar cookie hearts with cookie adorning buttercream, piped on with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Then I unfold it round to flatten it out and added these sprinkles. This can be a traditional vanilla buttercream frosting that soft-sets on cookies after just a few hours. In a nutshell:
- Solely 5 elements
- Creamy + candy
- Nice for newbies
- Can adorn with piping suggestions or just unfold on cookies
- Might be tinted any shade with gel meals coloring
2. Royal Icing: I’ve a separate put up for royal icing the place yow will discover many FAQs, make-ahead directions, and a video tutorial. This icing is good for intermediate or superior cookie decorators. In a nutshell:
- Sturdy icing for piping sharp element and nice designs
- Units on the cookie in simply 1–2 hours
- Dries agency however nonetheless mushy, not a tough cement-like texture
- Make with an electrical mixer
- Meringue powder eliminates the necessity for uncooked egg whites
- Might be flavored together with your favourite taste extract
- Might be tinted any shade with gel meals coloring
- Enhance with piping luggage (reusable or disposable) and suggestions
3. Easy Glaze Icing: An alternative choice is that this straightforward cookie icing, which I sometimes use on these Christmas sugar cookies. This glaze-style icing is nice for newbies and far simpler to make than royal icing since you don’t want an electrical mixer or the proper icing consistency for fulfillment. It isn’t as sturdy as royal icing, although, so that you received’t have the ability to pipe concise particulars. It additionally takes an excellent 24 hours to dry. In a nutshell:
- Simple to make with only a fork/whisk and bowl
- Simply 5 fundamental elements
- Can adorn with piping suggestions or a squeeze bottle (good for newbies and younger bakers)
- Can shade with gel meals coloring
- Units on the cookie in 24 hours
For extra adorning inspiration, right here is my full tutorial (video included) on how you can adorn sugar cookies.
And should you’re not into piping suggestions, you may simply dunk the tops of the chocolate sugar cookies into icing like when making mini animal cracker cookies. A enjoyable choice should you’re baking with youngsters!
Not a lot! This recipe is designed to carry its form, particularly when the dough is correctly chilled.
Sure! Chill it for as much as 3 days within the fridge.
Completely. Freeze for as much as 3 months, then thaw within the fridge earlier than rolling. See The best way to Freeze Cookie Dough for more information.
Advisable Instruments for Reduce-Out Cookies
Earlier than I depart you with the recipe, let me counsel some helpful chocolate sugar cookie instruments. These are the precise merchandise I exploit and belief in my very own kitchen:
For much more suggestions, here’s a detailed record of cookie adorning provides.
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Provides
Description
These are mushy, thick chocolate sugar cookies with frivolously crisp edges and wealthy cocoa taste. This straightforward cut-out cookie dough rolls out easily, holds its form, and bakes with a flat floor excellent for adorning with icing or buttercream. Chilling is crucial step, so don’t skip it. The variety of cookies this recipe yields will depend on the scale of the cookie cutter you utilize. Should you’d prefer to make dozens of cookies for a big crowd, double the recipe.
- Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt collectively in a medium bowl. Put aside.
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar collectively on excessive pace till utterly easy and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on excessive pace till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the edges and up the underside of the bowl and beat once more as wanted to mix.
- Add the dry elements to the moist elements and blend on low till mixed. Dough can be mushy. If the dough appears too mushy and sticky for rolling, add 1 extra Tablespoon of flour.
- Roll the dough: Divide the dough into 2 equal elements. Mud 2 giant items of parchment paper or 2 silicone baking mats with cocoa powder or flour. Place a dough half on every. With a rolling pin frivolously dusted with cocoa powder or flour, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use extra cocoa powder/flour if the dough appears too sticky. The rolled-out dough will be any form, so long as it’s evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Chill the dough: Evenly mud one of many rolled-out doughs with cocoa powder or flour. Place a chunk of parchment on high. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on high. Cowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for no less than 1-2 hours and as much as 2 days.
- Preheat oven & form cookies: As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Rigorously take away the highest dough piece from the fridge. Utilizing cookie cutters, reduce the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough, utilizing extra cocoa powder or flour to frivolously mud your work floor and rolling pin, and proceed slicing the dough till all is used. Work rapidly so the dough doesn’t turn out to be too heat or mushy. If it does, cease what you’re doing and place any unused dough again within the fridge for 10 minutes to stiffen up once more. Repeat slicing into shapes with 2nd half of dough. (Notice: It doesn’t appear to be numerous dough, however you get numerous cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Bake & cool: Prepare formed cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 11-12 minutes or till edges are set. In case your oven has sizzling spots, rotate the baking sheet midway via bake time. Permit cookies to chill on the baking sheet for five minutes after which switch to a wire rack to chill utterly earlier than adorning.
- Make icing or buttercream: Put together the royal icing, cookie glaze icing, or cookie adorning buttercream, and adorn the cooled cookies nonetheless you’d like. I embellished the pictured chocolate sugar cookie hearts with cookie adorning buttercream, piped on with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Then I unfold it round to flatten it out, and topped with these sprinkles. This can be a traditional vanilla buttercream frosting that soft-sets on cookies after just a few hours.
- Take pleasure in cookies instantly or wait till the frosting/icing units to serve them. As soon as the icing has set, these cookies are nice for gifting or for sending. Plain or embellished cookies keep mushy for about 5 days when coated tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cowl and refrigerate for as much as 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Directions: Plain or embellished sugar cookies freeze effectively as much as 3 months. Await the icing/buttercream to set utterly earlier than layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. You may as well freeze the cookie dough for as much as 3 months earlier than rolling it out. Put together the dough via step 3, divide in half, flatten each halves right into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap every in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks within the fridge, then carry to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill within the fridge for 1 hour earlier than slicing into shapes and baking.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin or this Adjustable Rolling Pin | Coronary heart-Formed Cookie Cutter | Cooling Rack | Naturally-Coloured Sprinkles
- Room Temperature: Room temperature butter is important. If the dough is just too sticky, your butter might have been too mushy. Room temperature butter is definitely cool to the contact. Room temperature egg is most popular so it’s rapidly and evenly combined into the cookie dough.
- Icing or Buttercream: Use royal icing, cookie glaze icing, or cookie buttercream (what I used). See put up above to learn in regards to the variations.
- Be sure you take a look at my high 5 cookie baking success suggestions AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.
