Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

I sat down to write today’s post and it got ridiculously long very quickly!  So I decided to split it up and do these cookies separately because it’s a great, basic recipe to refer to.  So hold on to your hats because Wednesday you will see part two; and part two is fantastic!  These are basically chocolate sugar cookies.  I’ve actually adapted our favorite sugar cookies to be chocolate several times in the past, but ever since I saw these chocolate cookies on Bake @ 350 I’ve wanted to try them.  So I did.  And they were better!  These are perfect for cookie cutters because they hold their shape so well, and they taste super delish too, so here we go – chocolate cut-out cookies!

Place butter and sugar in your bowl.  I use regular, salted butter and omit the additional salt in this recipe.  (Ask me how much I love my glass KitchenAid bowl.  So so much.)

Cream it together until it’s nice and fluffy.  Properly creamed butter and sugar actually does make a difference in your cookies!  It should beat fast for a full 1-2 minutes at least.

Then in goes some vanilla

and an egg.

Just whisk some cocoa powder and flour together.  The original recipe also calls for 1 teaspoon of espresso powder.  I omitted that, but you can certainly add it if you have some.

Then add those dry ingredients into your wet, a few spoonfuls at a time until they are well mixed.

Yum.  That’s it!  Such a quick and easy dough.

When I do chocolate cookies, I use cocoa powder to dust my rolling surface.  It’s actually better to mix a few spoonfuls with some flour and use a combo of the two.  I am using straight cocoa here because basically I was too lazy to walk the 6 feet required to get to my flour jar.  For real.  I am in love with my Roul’Pat; I use it for rolling out just about everything!

Pat our your dough and give it a sprinkle of flour/cocoa powder on both sides

and roll it out to about 1/4 inch.  I usually roll my dough out first, and then slip that Roul’Pat in the fridge or freezer before I cut my cookies.  It’s a lot easier than chilling the unrolled dough and quicker too.

Once it’s firm, cut your shapes.  I bought these particular cookie cutters from William-Sonoma, but these are similar.

And they are a true test for a good cut out cookie recipe.  This one held it’s shape perfectly.

Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes.  Similar to our sugar cookies; you can under-bake and have super soft cookies, or bake longer for thinner, crisp cookies.  Frost with your favorite sugar cookie frosting, or dip them in Glace Icing or sprinkle with sugar before baking (or in my case, just leave them plain!)

Now stay tuned Monday for the cutest cookies I have ever made.  Really.  Ever.

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

• Author: Our Best Bites

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Description

These cookies are soft, yummy, and hold up perfectly with any cookie cutter!

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Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 & 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder (dutch-process or natural works)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) regular salted butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat if you have either of those.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light an fluffy (1-2 full minutes). Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
3. Whisk flour and cocoa powder together and then slowly add to the butter mixture by spoonfuls with mixer at low speed. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
4. Lightly dust rolling surface with coco powder or flour or a mixture of both. (I use cocoa powder). Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick. It helps to roll soft dough in between sheets of plastic wrap or parchment and then place them in the fridge for about 15 minutes (or the freezer for 5-10) until firm.
5. Cut out shapes and place on baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set. Sometimes it’s hard to tell with chocolate cookies when they are done, so just watch for the dough to not look “wet” anymore and the edges should be holding their shape nicely.
6. Let cookies cool for 2-3 minutes and then use a spatula to place them on a cooling rack.

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