Simply Perfect Chocolate Sugar Cookies
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Simply the perfect chocolate sugar cookies! With a soft & tender center, crisp edges, and no spreading whatsoever as they bake.
How was your Thanksgiving?
Mine was great! I worked my heiny off, you guys. I mean, wow. Like, 3 straight days on my feet. One recipe after another, nonstop. I was a machine! Everything was made from scratch, right down to the French-fried onions on the green bean casserole. It was awesome, and there was TONS of food. I had a great time in the kitchen with my mom and brother-in-law, and it was great to see everyone, especially my brand-new baby niece!
We got home on Friday evening, just in time to have a day and a half with the other side of my family. So nice. And Sunday I was all over town looking for the Christmas tree, and then setting it up and decorating it. I'm so happy we are now officially in the Christmas season!
For a lot of reasons, but mostly because COOKIES.
Cookies are my favorite thing ever to bake, and I wish I posted more cookie recipes than I have been. I'm going to try to make that up to you guys over the next few weeks. Starting with these chocolate sugar cookies.
What do you call this kind of cookie? Is it a sugar cookie? A butter cookie? A roll out cookie? A cut out cookie? A decorated cookie? I wasn't quite sure what to call it but hopefully you get the idea.
Last year at this time I got waaaaaaay into these. I'm sure you can imagine that it was a perfect outlet for my complete compulsion/neurosis/obsession with pretty food. They are so much fun, I loved coming up with unique designs and perfecting my decorating skills. You can waste all sorts of time playing with icing and toothpicks and sugars and sprinkles. But today I'm keeping it simple and sharing my favorite recipe for the cookie part.
And this is more than just a recipe, friends. While in the throes of my cookie obsession, I did a lot of research and experimentation with different techniques, because I'm sure you can imagine, I wanted the most perfect result. So here's everything I learned. There's no one I'd rather share it with than you 😉
The flavor of the cookie is very chocolate-y. I am not one to shy away from bold chocolate flavor. If you've read my Simply Perfect Chocolate Cupcake post, or my Simply Perfect Brownie post, then you already know this about me. These chocolate sugar cookies have a deep, dark, chocolate flavor from all the cocoa (almost like an Oreo).
It's a little less sweet. I do enjoy eating this cookie plain, but I think it's even more important not to overdo the sugar when you're dealing with a cookie that's going to be iced and/or sprinkled with sugar. (If you need an icing recipe for them, I've got one right here.) It's all about balance, yo.
Also, the texture of these chocolate sugar cookies is tender, yet sturdy. They come out of the oven with a little softness in the center, and a little more crunch around the edges. After a few days, they tend to lose the soft quality, so if you prefer a crunchy cookie, you will like that. They make a great gift, because of how sturdy they are. You can pack them up and ship them, and rest assured that they will arrive in one piece.
The dough is great to work with. It holds together so nicely, so you don't have crumbly crumbs all over your kitchen floor. You don't need to sprinkle your work surface with flour (hallelujah!). Not only does this cut down on the cleanup, but it allows you to re-roll the scraps without them getting tough. And they bake up so beautifully, without spreading, AT ALL. This is the whole key, people. The edges are PERFECT.
You may notice that this recipe looks a little different from a lot of other cookie recipes out there. Without getting too long-winded, here's a quick rundown of why I do what I do:
- Cold butter: Chilling the dough helps prevent spreading. Using cold butter and working quickly eliminates the added step of chilling. Cutting it in small cubes helps it to incorporate more easily.
- Oil: Oil keeps the cookies moist/soft. If you prefer a crunchier cookie, you can replace the oil with an additional ¼ cup of unsalted butter.
- Mix on low speed for the minimum time required to incorporate the ingredients. Make sure the mixture is smooth (no lumps of butter), but don't cream until fluffy. Whipping in a lot of air will contribute to spreading.
- Leave out the leavening: there is no need for baking powder and/or baking soda. Leaveners make baked goods rise, puff, and spread. Omitting the leavening allows the edges to remain neat and clean, and the cookie lays flatter. The texture is still tender because of the ratio of fats to sugar and flour, but the cookie is sturdier.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch lends tenderness and a softer texture, and helps the cookies to hold their shape during baking.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Gives a deep, chocolate-y flavor. Use the best quality you can get your hands on. I prefer natural cocoa powder to an alkalized/Dutch process, such as Hershey's Special Dark. This brand will yield a darker color, but a less intense chocolate flavor.
- Flour quantity may vary. The longer the dough sits, the more it will dry out, so use more flour if you're rolling/cutting right away; less if you plan to keep the dough in the fridge for a while before baking. I usually roll and cut right away, so I put in a cup and a half to start, then add more by the tablespoon until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Rolling the dough between two layers of parchment is cleaner and prevents toughness. Bench flour is not necessary with this method, and scraps can be re-rolled and utilized.
- Baking at a higher temperature "sets" the edges, allowing the cookie to hold it's shape better.
And just a few words about bake times and yield:
- Baking times will vary based upon the size and thickness of your cookies. For this post, I rolled the dough to a thickness of ¼-inch (using rolling pin rings) and cut 2-inch diameter cookies. They baked for 9 minutes. Larger or thicker cookies may require a longer bake time. The cookies are done when the tops take on a dry appearance, and the edges are firm. The centers may still be slightly soft.
- Yield will vary based upon the size of your cookies. For this post, I rolled the dough to a thickness of ¼-inch (using rolling pin rings) and cut 2-inch diameter fluted circles, and the batch yielded 46 cookies.
If you want to read more about how to make the most perfect roll out, cut out, butter/sugar cookies for decorating, check out this post I wrote last year. Also there's a really great vanilla cookie recipe there.
I hope you enjoy making these chocolate sugar cookies with your loved ones! I was intimidated by roll out/cut out/butter/sugar/decorated cookies, for the longest time, until I figured out this method for making it all much more manageable.
PS- If you are looking to stock your recipe box with some really stellar basic recipes, you came to the right place! I've been baking for, ahem, 20-some odd years, cough-cough, so I've played with lots of recipes. Check out these other recipes from my "Simply Perfect" series:
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Simply Perfect Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) cold unsalted butter, (1 stick), cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon oil, (light/neutral flavor such as canola, grapeseed, or light olive oil)
- ⅔ cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour, (you may need as much as 2 cups)
Instructions
- Cream the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, just until the mixture is smooth. (Do not over beat, as this will incorporate air into the dough, which may lead to spreading.)
- Add the egg and mix just until incorporated.
- Mix in the cornstarch, cocoa powder and 1 ¼ cups of the flour.
- Continue adding flour until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. (You may not need all the flour.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll the dough to a thickness of ⅜-inch, between two sheets of parchment paper. (Rolling pin rings will help you to achieve an even thickness.)
- Cut shapes using a cookie cutter.
- Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies look dry on the surface, and feel firm around the edges and set in the middle.
- Cool completely, then decorate with royal icing.
These were fab! I added 1/2 t. of peppermint extract and made them into cut-outs... they were a hit! thanks!
Yay! So glad you like them Angela!
Hi, I'm looking for this type of texture for a cookie but I'd like to add a peppermint extract. Do you think your recipe would be suitable? and if so, when should I add in the peppermint extract?? Thanks
Hey Marion! I've done this many times with this recipe and it works great. Add the extract in at the very end 😉 Good luck and enjoy!
Thanks so much for the quick reply! How much extract do you put in? I want to be able to taste it but not to be too much...
I'd do probably like a half a teaspoon. If you're not afraid of raw cookie dough give it a taste; if it needs more bump it up to a full teaspoon. 😉
I was looking for a great chocolate sugar cookie, and these are perfect! They taste like an Oreo and they have a nice crispy/flaky texture. Love them - thanks!
Yay! I'm so happy you liked them Marianne! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know 😉
I made these tonight as favours for my daughters birthday party. They worked out perfectly, and tasted delicious! Thank you for an easy recipe that actually looks like the picture 🙂
Oh, yay! I'm so happy you liked it, Sophie. Happy birthday to your little girl, and thank you so much for the sweet comment!
Just baked these tonight and thought they were great! I appreciated all of the great tips and tricks for keeping the cookies from spreading and puffing, especially since my primary goal in baking these was to use my awesome new Firefly cookie cutters. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yay I'm so glad they worked out for you! Thanks so much for reading and for the great feedback. Enjoy!
Hi there - I seem to be having a hard time finding a good chocolate sugar cookie recipe. The last one I tried was so crumbly I gave up and ended up throwing out two lbs of butter.....what a waste!! anyway this one sounded interesting to I decided to try it.
I agree that the dough is nice to work with. forgiving, due to the oil and cornstarch. I was hopeful
BUT
I found that I have to agree with a previous poster that the taste was not great. I actually increased the sugar by 1/2 cup so we will see what that does.....also the cookies are not very stable... I was making grad caps and when moving the almost cool cookies to a cookie cooling rack the tassles would fall off. I lost several cookies and had to bake extra. I haven't iced them yet but we will see - I hope I don't lose all my tassles!
So.....I guess I am a .....maybe on this one.........
Ok, well thanks for your feedback! If you like your cookies on the sweeter side then by all means you should increase the sugar. I developed the recipe with royal icing decorations in mind so I cut back for the sake of balance. Sorry you lost some of your tassles. If I didn't say it in the post I should now- let them cool completely on the cookie sheet. They firm up quite a lot once they have completely cooled. Good luck with your project, thanks for reading, and for your feedback, Amber!
I ADORE this cookie! The very reason that I do not bake more of this is that my hips are starting to hug my jeans too much... 😉 I am loving your Simply Perfect line -- let's see, I made this cookie, Perfect Vanilla Cupcake and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Perfect Caramel Sauce... My son has been begging me to make an Apple Pie, so I guess that will be my next project 😉
That is so great to hear, Joy! Thanks so much for the awesome feedback. The Simply Perfect posts are truly a labor of love so it's so nice to know that you are getting good use out of them. <3 <3 <3
Hi. Do you think I could use coconut oil and cacao powder?
As a die-hard chocolate fan, I'm looking forward to trying this recipe! Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas!
I've never tried so I can't say for sure, but it sounds pretty reasonable. Might be worth experimenting! Good luck I hope it works well for you!
just made these for my sons first for this weekend. delicious and bakes perfectly!!
Oh yay! I'm so happy you like them! My sons love them too, especially frosted 😉 Thanks so much for the great feedback, Hilda! <3
Wow, love these cookies! I used them to make a cookie basket and it looks wonderful! Oh, loved how they were super easy to make and you gave info on to refrig or not. I will be making them again and put them on my go to recipe when I am short on time.Thanks!
Awesome! I'm so happy it worked out well for you! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. Have a great weekend, Pamela! 🙂
I needed to thank you for this great read!!
I definitely loved every bit of it. I have got you bookmarked
to check out new things you post…
So happy you enjoyed 😉
Hello, I just had to tell I had great success with your recipe. I used 'Fred' brand mustache cookie cutters for a fun party event and it worked brilliantly. Thank you for writing such an in depth post too.
So glad to hear it, Loz! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. I love that recipe so much, it's so great with royal icing! I'm so glad you agree and the mustache shapes must have been totally adorable!
These cookies look amazing. Any ideas on how to make them eggless?
Thanks, Shweta! No, I've never made them eggless before... I wonder if maybe banana would make a good substitute? Let me know if you try! 😀
This is the first time i baked sugar cookies and its perfect...i like your recipe because its not so sweet, just perfect for my taste and the texture. Love it!!!
I'm so pleased you think so, Anna! I too prefer them less sweet, especially since I often decorate them with royal icing, and that is so sugary. I'm sure you saw I got some negative comments on this one because of the decreased sugar. I'm glad to know that they worked so well for you though! Thanks for the positive feedback, and I hope you have a great weekend!
These are indeed perfect. I'd love one right now 🙂
Thanks Hungry Mum! They are so good with royal icing! I'm so glad you liked 🙂
I just found you yesterday..and made your cookies today..
And guess what?
You're right..
They are..simply perfect..for thepurposes I intended the cookie ..s to have:)
Thank you..
I'm so glad you thought so, Monique! Thanks so much for reading my blog and for trying one of my favorite recipes 🙂
I made these cookies and they were the worst things I have ever tasted. I followed the directions exactly and they were so dry and they actually tasted like chocolate flavored cardboard. They weren't even sweet. I tried icing it in hopes it would taste better and that didn't do anything. I was so disappointed. They are definitely not simply perfect chocolate sugar cookies.
I'm so sorry to have disappointed you, Mama. Truly. This recipe is a favorite for my family, my kids love them especially with my homemade oreo filling, or decorated with sugary royal icing, or even just plain with a glass of milk. I guess everyone has their own idea of a perfect cookie, and I'm sorry that these just weren't it for you.