Chocolate Sugar Cookies
User Reviews
5
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Description
The Chocolate Sugar Cookies recipe uses a mixture of butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla paired with cocoa powder and all-purpose flour to create a sweet, chocolate-flavored dough. Chilling the dough after combining allows it to firm up, making rolling and cutting easier while helping the cookies maintain their shape during baking. Rolling the dough to 1/8 inch produces crispier cookies, while 1/4 inch yields softer ones. Baking at 350°F ensures they cook evenly.
The frosting leverages powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract to produce a glossy, sweet chocolate icing that spreads smoothly over cooled cookies. Adding sprinkles brings visual appeal. The icing can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container or piping bag to prevent drying.
These cookies can be customized by varying thickness or using different cookie cutters. The recipe accounts for differing yields based on these choices, giving flexibility to the baker. Chilling the dough before rolling and decorating with frosting provide both pleasing texture and presentation.
For storage, the dough can be refrigerated up to 5 days, though it should be allowed to soften at room temperature before rolling to avoid cracking. Icing stored in a piping bag will stay fresh if sealed properly.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg large
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder Dutch-processed
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Frosting
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted (weigh and then sift)
- 1 Tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons milk plus more as needed, any kind
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkles optional, additional, for decorating
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
- Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and transfer half of the dough onto the wrap -- it will be pretty sticky!
- Cover with clear wrap and mold into a disk. Repeat with remaining cookie dough in a separate piece of cling wrap. Transfer cookie dough to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2-3 hours.
- Once dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Generously dust a clean surface with flour and place one unwrapped cookie dough disk onto the surface. Lightly flour the dough and roll out to ⅛" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or ¼" (for thicker, softer cookies). Continue to add flour as needed both on top of and beneath the dough so that it doesn't stick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet. If you don't intend to frost your cookies with the icing listed below, you can instead sprinkle them with sanding sugar at this point (before baking).
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 9-11 minutes (may need more time for larger or thicker cookies, or less for smaller or thinner ones).
- Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before moving and frosting.
Sugar Cookie Frosting (see note for classic sugar cookie frosting)
- Combine sugar, cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon of milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl and stir until combined. If your frosting seems too thick, add more milk, about a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is thick but pipeable. If you accidentally add too much milk, add powdered sugar until desired texture is reached.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag with a piping tip (I used Wilton 5), or place in a Ziploc bag and snip a small piece of the corner off (this technique is not as neat, but this will still work, just take care that the frosting isn’t so thick that it breaks open the seam of the bag when you are squeezing).
- Pipe frosting on cookies. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
- Allow frosting to harden before enjoying (this usually takes several hours)
- Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Chill dough for at least 2-3 hours to ease rolling and preserve cookie shape.
- Adjust baking time depending on cookie size and thickness; thinner cookies bake faster.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives a deeper chocolate flavor compared to natural cocoa.
- Store dough wrapped tightly for up to 5 days; allow to soften before rolling to prevent cracking.
- Prepare and store frosting in an airtight container or piping bag to prevent drying out.
- Use cookie cutters about 3" in size or adjust baking time accordingly for smaller cutters.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 33cookies (will vary depending on the size of cookie cutter you used, this is the yield for 3" cookie cutters)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 149 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1cookie (with icing) | |
| Calories | 149kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 25g | 8% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 5g | 8% |
| Saturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 16mg | 5% |
| Sodium | 48mg | 2% |
| Potassium | 42mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 15g | 30% |
| Vitamin A | 150IU | 3% |
| Calcium | 10mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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