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These chocolate sugar cookies are crisp on the edges but soft in the center and pack a chocolate punch which makes it perfect for any holiday.
Everyone has had sugar cookies, but have you had chocolate ones? It's so good on its own, you don't even need icing but if you want to make it look pretty I won't stop you!
For those that follow my blog, you know my mom runs a cookie business - Heartsong Cookies. One of her most popular cookies is her sugar cookie, which she makes a ton of during the holidays, Valentine's Day and pretty much any holiday. However when I reached out to her recently I asked if she had every made chocolate sugar cookies and to my surprise she hadn't.
I immediately told Lauren I wanted to tackle it and create something my mom could potentially use for her business. Now keep in mind, I much prefer cooking to baking. Baking can be such an exact science, where when you cook you can throw some stuff together and it will turn out great.
I'm not going to lie, when the dough went into the oven, I was super nervous on how it would turn out. I took my mom's regular sugar cookie recipe and changed a few things including adding a little more sugar and substituting cocoa powder in place of a percentage of the flour. Needless to say, when Lauren and I took a bit we both looked at each other and said these were amazing!
These chocolate sugar cookies are definitely chocolate forward, which I love. As I mentioned above as well, you really don't even need icing for these but it doesn't hurt to add them. So if you're looking for tasty but easy chocolate sugar cookies for the holidays, I would give these a try. I might be biased, but they really are the best sugar cookies. And who knows, they might be appearing at Heartsong Cookies soon!
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Recipe Ingredients
- Unsalted butter - the necessary fat for the cookies.
- Granulated sugar - where the sweetness comes from.
- Eggs - adds structure.
- All-purpose flour - the base of the dough.
- Cocoa powder - dark cocoa powder gives a richer flavor.
- Salt - enhances the flavor.
- Powdered sugar - sweetens the icing.
- Meringue powder - gives the icing structure.
- Vanilla extract - enhances the flavors of the icing and cookies.
How to Make Homemade Sugar Cookies
- Beat butter and sugar in mixing bowl for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract until just combined.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in the salt. On low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Add powdered sugar to rolling pin and parchment paper. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness and place in fridge for 1 hour.
- Once ready, use cookie cutter to cut desired shapes and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are firm on the edge. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the icing ingredients together on high speed for 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. Always start with 3 tbsp of water to be safe, but you'll probably need 4 for right consistency. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar and if too thick, add more water. Once desired consistency beat in vanilla extract.
- Decorate the sugar cookies with icing.
Can I Use a Different Icing?
Yes. I've actually also made a peppermint royal icing. It's the same ingredients but replacing the vanilla extract with peppermint extract. Just keep in mind, it is much stronger so only put in about 1/4 tsp peppermint extract.
How Do I Know the Cookies are 1/4 Inch Thick?
So I use a rolling pin that tells me the thickness that I'm rolling out. While you can use a ruler, if you bake at all, I wouldn't use anything else.
Can I Freeze the Cookies?
Plain or decorated pecan sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. You want to wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in an air-tight container.
When you are ready to eat, thaw the cookies in the fridge or at room temperature
You can also freeze the sugar cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling out. Just prepare the dough through step 2 and shape into two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. When you are ready to prepare, thaw at room temperature for 1 hour before rolling out and following the remaining steps.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Use dark cocoa powder to give a more intense chocolate flavor.
- Use parchment paper and add powdered sugar to rolling pin when rolling out cookie dough so it doesn't stick.
- Roll out chocolate sugar cookie dough first before placing in fridge for 1 hour so it is easier to get to 1/4" thickness.
- You know cookies are done when edges are firm, but middle is slightly soft.
Other Christmas Recipes
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Congo Squares
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms
- Pecan Sugar Cookies
If you’ve tried these chocolate sugar cookies or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened natural dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Royal Icing
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp meringue powder
- 3-4 tbsp room temperature water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl and whisk in salt. On low speed, slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Do not over mix but make sure all the flour is incorporated.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Add some powdered sugar to rolling pin and parchment paper. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment to 1/4″ thickness. Chill in fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and use a cookie cutter to cut in shapes. Transfer the cut cookie dough to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. You will know the cookies are done when the edges are firm but the middle is still a little soft. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on pan and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate the cookies however you'd like the with royal icing recipe below. The icing should be set in about 2 hours so you can stack them. The cookies should last about 5 days at room temperature.
Royal Icing
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the icing ingredients together on high speed for 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. Always start with 3 tbsp of water to be safe, but you'll probably need 4 for right consistency. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar and if too thick, add more water. Once desired consistency beat in vanilla extract.
Notes
- Use dark cocoa powder to give a more intense chocolate flavor.
- All refrigerated items should be at room temperature, which helps the dough mix easily and evenly.
- Use parchment paper and add powdered sugar to rolling pin when rolling out cookie dough so it doesn't stick.
- Roll out chocolate sugar cookie dough first before placing in fridge for 1 hour so it is easier to get to 1/4" thickness.
- You know cookies are done when edges are firm, but middle is slightly soft.
Oh man chocolate in sugar cookies sounds delicious!