These crisp-chewy cookies are a chocolatey alternative to traditional roll-and-cut sugar cookies, and great for decorating. If you prefer slightly thinner, crisper cookies, roll the dough 1/8-inch thick, and bake the cookies for about 8 minutes.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 36 to 48 cookies |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 36 to 48 cookies |
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
- Royal Icing, recipe follows
- Your favorite sprinkles and nonpareils, for decorating
- Two 1-pound boxes confectioners’ sugar (about 7 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- Food coloring , such as gel coloring, if desired
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Put the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl and paddle as needed, about 4 minutes more. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth.
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the flour mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl and paddle as needed. Mix until incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half and shape into two flattened disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. Remove the dough from the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling, to soften.
- Position oven racks to the upper and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Now flour parchment for rolling: Dust a piece of parchment with flour, place a disk of dough on it, dust the disk with flour, then cover it with a second piece of parchment. Roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes with 11/2- to 2-inch cookie cutters. Gather up the scraps, re-roll and cut out. (Chill the scraps if the dough becomes too soft.) Roll and cut out the remaining disk of dough. Working in batches, arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies until the tops look dry and no indentation is left when pressed with your finger, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then use a metal spatula to transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
- Decorate with royal icing as desired. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Combine the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Mix on medium-low speed until pure white and stiff enough to form peaks.
- Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring if using and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Store at room temperature, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface for up to 2 days. Re-whip until smooth before using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 42 servings |
| Calories | 176 |
| Total Fat | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 29 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 13 mg |
| Sodium | 38 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 42 servings |
| Calories | 176 |
| Total Fat | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 29 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 13 mg |
| Sodium | 38 mg |
Reviews
I forgot to read the reviews before starting everything, so when I remembered I was at a point in the recipe where adding another half stick of butter was the easiest thing to do. The dough felt softer than the regular sugar cookies but still kept their shape with some refrigeration. They came out good! I even regretted not doing them all chocolate! (I had already done the regular sugar cookie recipe)
Didn’t read the reviews. I had the same issues–really dry and crumbly! I wanted to salvage it so I set the dough out to reach room temp, got a 1/2 stick of butter and an egg and beat them together. Then I put the crumbly dough back in the mixer. It was so much better! After the adjustments, this is a 4-star cookie.
I wish I had read the reviews before I tried these. The cookies taste very good but the dough is harder to work with than the regular sugar cut-out cookies I did yesterday. We also omitted the vanilla and added 3/4 tsp pure peppermint instead. Really yummy.
Recipe states Royal frosting recipe “will follow” but nothing is there!
I haven’t tried this yet, but I really want an alternative to the dreadful gingerbread cookies that I just can’t stand. And to note it could be the cocoa powder that is drying out the cookies and not the flour because cocoa powder sucks the moisture out of anything it’s in so you have to adjust the recipe due to the cocoa. If this helps anyone, look up some of Alton Brown’s recipes or episodes of Good Eats he talks a lot of food science and why the food does or reacts the way it does, it’s really helpful and he’s just awesome and fun.
The recipe is fantastic and delicious! It is a guaranteed hit at as a gift, or in a gathering! The trick is to put less flour! That is all, I typically put 2 cups in the recipe, maybe a hint less. Then I sprinkle very little on the dough when I roll them out on a surface to cut them into their shapes. I use a mini spatula to gently lift the dough cut outs, and place them on the tray for baking. If cookies loose shape a little when they come out of oven the cut outs may need to be refrigerated on the tray for a few minutes before baking them, or a little more flour in the recipe. With the dough, the key is the butter must harden again before baking for the cookies to maintain shape.
Really sorry I didn’t read the reviews before I made these…they were extremely dry and hard to roll out (took major patience). When I took them off the sheets they basically fell apart! I am definitely looking for a different recipe next time…tho’ the flavor of the broken bits is tasty….
great recipe. I read the other comments and adjusted the flour. since i doubled the recipe i used 4 cups instead of 4.5. worked out just fine.
Was excited to try this recipe, but was very disappointed with the results. The dough was very difficult to work with, it crumbled and did not roll out easily. The cookies were not chewy and were in fact very brittle and fragile. Decorating them was a chore.
Loved this recipe. Rich and chocolately and a breeze to roll out. Not sure why so many said the dough was dry and hard to roll out. I rerolled the dough 4 times with no problems. Will definitely make these again.