Sustenance

Life Is What You Bake It: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

December 14, 2021 /

Holiday baking is a fun tradition for many people, a chance to create happy memories and eat delicious treats! In the past, my husband and I have made several different types of cookies per year (SO MUCH butter) to enjoy ourselves and to deliver to friends and family. In recent years, probably due to busy schedules and then covid concerns, we have cut the menu down to our favorites. Now we primarily share them with loved ones who visit our home during the holidays.

bake baking holiday baking cookies chocolate sugar cookies homemade

Cutout sugar cookies are definitely fun to decorate, but they never top the list of our favorite cookies to eat. My husband can’t (so he says ha) go without peanut butter blossoms and I’m partial to gingerbread for a few different reasons. We also both love snickerdoodles! However, CHOCOLATE sugar cookies are fun to decorate AND they taste great. These can be made regular or gluten free and they are easy to work with as long as you keep the dough fairly cold. Check below for the full recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cup flour (regular or GF with xanthan gum)
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder (I use dutch-processed for the smoothest chocolate flavor)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup softened unsalted butter
  • 1 egg, room temperature  
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees.
  2. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, & salt) together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth (approximately 2 minutes) with the paddle attachment. Scrape the sides if necessary.
  4. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter and sugar, and mix for approximately 1 minute.
  5. Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture 1/3 at a time, mixing until just incorporated.
  6. The dough will be soft and sticky once mixed. Divide the dough in two. Refrigerate briefly before rolling if necessary.
  7. Roll each dough ball to desired cookie thickness. I use a combination of flour and cocoa powder to keep my dough from sticking to the rolling pin, counter, etc. This helps keep the dough dark and adds extra chocolate flavor! Refrigerate each cookie sheet for approximately 1-2 hours. Chilling the dough will make it easier to cut and help to prevent spreading in the oven.
  8. Cut out your favorite cookie shapes. Bake for approximately 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on the warm pan for approximately 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
  9. Cool the cookies completely (it doesn’t take very long) and decorate with your favorite icing and sprinkles.
  10. ENJOY!
bake baking holiday baking cookies chocolate sugar cookies homemade

Have you made chocolate sugar cookies before?

Katie G.

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