Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

Some witch hat cut out cookies with buttercream frosting.

5 from 2 votes

These Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies feature cocoa powder as a delicious addition to a traditional sugar cookie recipe. The resulting chocolatey taste is truly exquisite, and these cut-out cookies are a breeze to prepare!

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate cut-out cookies

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 11

Total Time 51

Servings cookies

Calories 252kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

For the cookies:

3/4 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
1 large egg - at room temp
1 large egg yolk - at room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (210 grams)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (61 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the icing:

1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups powdered sugar (260 grams)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (20 grams)
food coloring, sprinkles, etc.

Instructions

Cream the butter and sugar together. Use a large standing mixer with a paddle attachment. Combine butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then add the remaining wet ingredients - eggs and vanilla - and mix again.
3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams), 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add dry ingredients. To the bowl, add the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Mix again on low speed until well combined. Do not over-mix.
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (210 grams), 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (61 grams), 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Prep dough. Remove the dough from the bowl of the mixer, and form it into a ball. Then take a knife and slice it in half.
Roll out the dough. Place one-half of the dough in between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Repeat with the other half.
Chill. Refrigerate both halves of rolled-out chocolate sugar cookie dough (covered in plastic wrap) until you're ready to work with it. Chill time can range from one hour to a day.
Form shapes. Remove the rolled-out dough and let it rest for five minutes. Then use cookie cutters to press cookie dough into shapes. Place shapes on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Use the scraps to form additional shapes. Roll scraps into a ball and press it out again. You may want to add some cocoa powder to the parchment paper to make it less sticky, especially after the dough has warmed up some.
Bake cookies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chocolate cut out cookies for about 10 minutes, or until they hold their shape. Bake time may vary according to individual ovens and thickness of cookies.
Cool. Let the baked cookies sit on the pan for about 5-10 minutes before carefully transferring cookies to a wire rack to fully cool.
Decorate cookies. Decorate chocolate sugar cookies however you wish. We normally enjoy a simple buttercream icing but royal icing is super popular too (although it's not my favorite (flavor-wise).
To make the buttercream, add the butter to a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer (you can use a stand mixer instead) and whip the softened butter until creamy.
Then add the remaining ingredients - half and half, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder - and mix until very well combined.
You may need to use an additional splash of half and half if needed. The frosting should be creamy and easy to work with.
I used a spoon to frost these cookies, but you could also use a piping tool. Add sprinkles as desired!
1/2 cup unsalted butter, 2 Tablespoons half and half, 1 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar (260 grams), 1/4 cup cocoa powder (20 grams), food coloring, sprinkles, etc.

Notes

We generally recommend chilling cookie dough for at least one hour. Cut-Out cookies will need to rest for about 10 minutes after chilling before shapes are formed.

STORING AND FREEZING:

Store chocolatey cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

Freeze unfrosted cookies, stacked, in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.

Nutrition