This chocolate sugar cookie recipe is an all time favourite, and when I thought about making cookies for Valentine’s Day… I couldn’t help but make a batch of chocolate ones.
Chocolate sugar cookies are rich, not-too-sweet, and easy to make. Also, bonus–they hardly spread at all (the cocoa keeps them a lot more structured), which makes them perfect for decorating.
How to decorate chocolate sugar cookies
In this post, I’ve decided to keep the decorating tutorial very simple. This is so that you can learn how to make pretty cookies without spending 1/2 of your life doing it! I hope that will make this tutorial a little more accessible to more people.
If you are a little more ambitious, you can check out my other Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie tutorial for some more inspiration! It will take a little more effort, but if it sounds fun to go the fancy route, I promise: it will be worth it!
Making the best sugar cookies
The best sugar cookies, as someone who likes to decorate them, are the ones that keep their shape and structure well, but also still taste like the buttery, simple sweet goodness we all love.
If you want your cookies to come out great, here’s my #1 tip: don’t use any substitutions for ingredients. When the recipe calls for butter, use real butter. It will make a difference in the end!
Best baking tips for chocolate sugar cookies
There are a few tricks I have up my sleeve when it comes to baking great sugar cookies, and they are as follows:
- Follow the recipe
- Use parchment paper to line your pans
- Allow the dough to sit in the fridge as recommended in the recipe
- Freeze the cookies before you bake them
Why is parchment paper important?
Parchment is not necessary, but I find it so helpful for pretty much all baking. Since I often make large batches of things, it’s so helpful to be able to slip the entire contents of a pan off in one quick move onto a cooling rack, and then slip the next unbaked cookies on top of the pan and back into the oven. I also find it wonderful because you pretty much never have to worry about things breaking or sticking, and cleanup is always a breeze!
Is it necessary to chill the dough?
You can bake your cookies without chilling the dough (especially chocolate ones– they hold their shape better); however, I do recommend chilling the dough for two reasons.
- First, your cookies will develop better flavour with more rest time.
- Second, your dough will have better structure, and your cookies will hold their shape better in the end.
Why freeze sugar cookies before you bake them?
I like to do this, and here’s why:
- This method almost guarantees that your cookies will maintain that crisp shape that they have when they are cut, making decorating that much more beautiful.
- I find freezing the pre-cut cookies so helpful for working ahead. I’ve made a lot of cookies for large events over the years, and being able to fully prepare the baking weeks in advance, and then bake them fresh the day I want to decorate them, is a huge time (and stress!) saver!
Do different sized sugar cookies need more or less time in the oven?
Yes; larger cookies usually need more time, and smaller ones less. I do find that with sugar cookies, the range is not often substantial, however, so if you use a few different sizes, don’t worry too much about adjusting baking times if the sizes are not substantially different.
Ways to use chocolate sugar cookies
For Valentine’s Day especially, chocolate sugar cookies are a fantastic gift. You can even customize them with words or messages in icing, or make them all a little different to give people a “Box of chocolates, cookie edition” as a gift.
Where to buy heart shaped cookie cutters
Cookie cutters like these are pretty easy to come by, but I picked mine up here.
Used in this recipe:
- Ingredients (see recipe card)
- Mixing bowl OR a
Kitchenaid stand mixer - Measuring cups and spoons
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- Miniature sieve (for flour dusting)
- Heart Cookie Cutter Set
- Parchment paper
- Baking pans/cookie sheets
- Squeeze bottle
- Piping bags
- Scissors
Printable Recipe:
(Note: In addition to what is listed here, you will need about 1/2 cup of white melting chocolate or white chocolate chips for the white chocolate drizzled cookies.)
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
These are a delicious, easy, not-too-sweet cookie for any occasion! Depending on the size of cookies you are making, this recipe may make more or less than the "Servings" indicate on this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened (if using unsalted butter, add ¼ tsp. salt)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2-1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup melting chocolate
Instructions
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Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium-large mixing bowl. Beat in the vanilla and egg, and then mix/knead in the cocoa and flour until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. If you do it in the electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix, and it should look something like a stiff chocolate frosting.
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Cover the dough with plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight, till cold.
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Remove the dough from the fridge, knead to soften slightly, and roll out on a surface dusted with flour. Keep the dough from sticking by periodically lifting the dough off of your work surface to dust more flour underneath. Rotate the dough regularly to keep it from sticking too much. You will want it about ¼-inch thick by the time you are done.
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Tip: I usually roll the dough a couple of times in each direction, and then lift it or move it to dust with flour underneath. Repeat this until you reach the desired thickness.
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Dip the sharp edge of your cookie cutters into the flour, and press into the dough, close together (but be careful not to cut into other cookies!) so that you get the most number from the dough that you can.
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Lift the cookies onto parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheets. Collect the scraps of dough from between the cookies into a ball, re-roll, and cut, the same as before. Keep repeating this method until you have the dough used up.
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Tip: When you get down to the last little bit, I usually just roll the rest of the dough into little balls and flatten them with a fork or my fingers, and then bake them like that.
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Bake at 350 degrees F (or 170 degrees C) for 8-12 minutes or until just golden around the edges of some of the cookies. Cool on wire racks.
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In a small, heat proof bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each, until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag or squeeze bottle, and drizzle the cookies (over parchment paper) with chocolate. Allow to set until cold before storing.
Recipe Notes
The cookies will spread, but not a lot – you can put them pretty close together to bake.
Simple Chocolate Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial
1: Melt the chocolate
In a heat-safe plastic squeeze bottle , melt about 1/2 cup of dark melting chocolate in a microwave for about 15-30 seconds at a time, squeezing the bottle between each to allow the chocolate to mix and cool slightly. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a bowl for 20-30 second bursts, stirring between each, and then pour the melted chocolate into the squeeze bottle or a piping bag. (See step 3 for instructions on filling the piping bag.)
2: Pipe the chocolate “smear” pattern
Pipe each cookie with little dots of melted chocolate around the perimeter, about the size of a pea. Using clean fingertips or the back of a spoon, smear each dot down toward the centre of the cookie. For small cookies, pipe two larger dots at the top of the heart, and smear them down toward the base of the heart, meeting in the centre. Allow the chocolate to set.
3: Melt the white chocolate
In a small bowl, melt about 1/2 cup of white chocolate melting wafers or white chocolate chips for 20-30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted. Pour the chocolate into a squeeze bottle or piping bag. If using a piping bag, make a “cuff” on the end, pour the chocolate into the bag, and then fold the cuff back up afterward. This will keep your bag neat and clean. (See the image below to see what this looks like.)
4. Drizzle the white chocolate
Using a pair of sharp scissors, snip the end off of the piping bag and immediately drizzle your cookies with white chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set before handling the cookies.
…And that’s it! Super simple and so delicious. Feel free to use your own creative genius to make them even more beautiful – and then tag me in a picture on Instagram so that I can see your beautiful work!
Other Valentine’s Day ideas:
- Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
- Cupcake Valentines
- Easy White Chocolate Truffles
- Easy Milk Chocolate Truffles
- Easy Dark Chocolate Truffles
- Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
That’s all for today, my friends! I’ll be back soon, but first I’ll leave you with this question: What’s your favourite thing to make (or eat!) for Valentine’s Day?
Bye for now,
Naomi
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