Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

Can’t believe there are only 12 more days until Christmas!  I’ve feel like I’ve been super relaxed this season, with kind of a what gets done, gets done kind of attitude.  Lots of Christmas music, lots of cookie baking, lots of snuggling up by the fire reading Christmas books.  Pretty much just cozy and lazy and perfect.  It might be the kind of year where all the wrapping gets done the night before, but that’s okay because I wrap well under pressure.

I wouldn’t really consider myself an expert cookie decorator, but I feel like this recipe kind of lets you fake it and look like you know what you are doing.  Instead of gingerbread or sugar cookie roll out dough, this is CHOCOLATE! Think sugar cookie that tastes like a brownie.  Kind of fun for a change!   This recipe is adapted from the fabulous Sweetopia.  Check out Marian’s recipe and post for more great tips on making the perfect cut-out cookies.

What’s so simple about these cookies is that they only need a little outline of white icing, or a pretty snowflake pattern and they look so sweet!  Here’s a little video to show you how easy it is.  Keep in mind, this video is sped up double time, so take your time when you are icing.

The key is to get the icing to the right consistency.  You want it to be almost like toothpaste.  If it’s too runny, it will spread out on the cookie, and if it’s too thick, it won’t pipe smoothly.  I used a Wilton Round Icing Tip #4, with just a freezer quart Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.

**One tip with the icing:  you can freeze it!  Just leave it in the bag with the tip on, and when you need it again, it only takes about 30 minutes to thaw at room temperature.   So if you have extra, or if you only want to pipe half of your cookies, you can freeze both the cookies and the icing and decorate as you need them.

The other option is to skip the icing and really make them a chocolate lover’s dream with a half dunk in chocolate ganache, which is just chocolate and heavy cream.  Add some Christmas sprinkles and you’re done!

I find this type of cookie baking and decorating so therapeutic when I have time to just sit and enjoy it.  It’s a little less therapeutic when there are kids involved and it looks like a sprinkle bomb exploded in your kitchen, but they love these so much!  So whether it’s just you and some Christmas music or the whole gang, enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen

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Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

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• Author: Julie
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: about 2 dozen 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Easy to roll and cut out, and they taste like brownies!

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Ingredients

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• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon coffee extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• sprinkles – optional

For the Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream – microwave 30 seconds

For the Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons water (or more as needed)

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Instructions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and extracts and mix. In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt together. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Do not over mix.
2. Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a disk. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
3. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut out your cookie shapes, and then carefully transfer them to a parchment or Silat lined baking sheet. I used a thin metal spatula to transfer. Re-roll the scraps of dough and repeat.
4. Chill the cut out cookies for about 10 minutes in the freezer while your oven is preheating. This will help them keep their shape better.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 11 minutes, or until the center of the cookie looks dry and set.
6. Allow them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing or dipping.

For the Chocolate Ganache

1. In a small microwave safe bowl, warm heavy cream for 20-30 seconds in the microwave. Pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 2-3 minutes, then stir until smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into the ganache, and then set the cookie on a pie of parchment paper to dry. Add sprinkles while it’s still wet.

For the Icing

1. In a small bowl, add 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Stir well, and add more water a little at a time as needed. The icing should be similar to toothpaste, and should drip off the spoon in a large blob, not a thin stream.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Cookie
• Calories: 231
• Sugar: 21g
• Sodium: 110mg
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated Fat: 6.8g
• Unsaturated Fat: 3.5g
• Trans Fat: 0.3g
• Carbohydrates: 32g
• Fiber: 1.2g
• Protein: 2.3g
• Cholesterol: 31mg

Disclaimer: the links in this post for the icing tip are Amazon affiliate links.