The Best Chocolate Sugar Cookies Recipe
These chocolate sugar cookies are a delicious treat whether you choose to decorate them or eat them as is with a cup of coffee. Based on my classic butter cookie recipe they are soft, crisp and buttery. Also, they do not spread, making them ideal for shaped and decorated custom cookies. I use these for chocolate sugar cookies for decorating purposes all the time.
In a previous post, I shared my vanilla sugar cookie recipe with just a variation on the chocolate version. Some of you found that difficult. So, I’m just going to give you the recipe here. It’s almost the same recipe but with cocoa powder added to the recipe.
This is my go-to recipe for all decorated cookie orders. Not only do my kids love to eat them on their own, but they also do not spread making them ideal for shapes and cutouts.
As I said, the secret to making these chocolate sugar cookies is not just the recipe but the process of how I make them. Creaming the batter well will make it more airy and light. That is why though there is no leavening these cookies are not dense. If you skip the creaming you will end up with cookies that are dense and hard.
Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- Unsalted butter – I like to use unsalted butter in all my baking so I can control the amount of salt. And yet, if you must use salted butter just omit the salt in the recipe.
- All-purpose flour – I always use all-purpose flour with great success. You do not need any other flour.
- White granulated sugar – As a rule of thumb, whenever you need to cream sugar and butter – always use a fine grain sugar that will cream faster. If you have to use a coarse grain sugar – just pulse it in the food processor a couple of times and it will be fine. Cookies with butter and sugar that are not creamed will result in a very flaky cookie.
- Vanilla extract – I like using vanilla extract. And yet, it also has the tendency to color the dough. So, if you need a white or light color dough just add clear vanilla extract or rose essence.
Useful Tips and Tools for Baking Cookies
- I prefer to weigh my ingredients with a kitchen scale for the correct measurements. When appropriate, I also use my measuring cups and spoons. Read – how to measure ingredients correctly when baking.
- I’m not a slave to mixers. And yet, when you need some good creaming, I highly recommend you use the Kenwood or Kitchen Aid mixers.
- A good baking tray is always important. So, try using a light-colored baking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with parchment paper.
- If you aren’t going to fill or decorate cookies, a regular rolling pin will work just fine. I like to use my cookie rolling-pin that has the side spacers that will also help you with rolling. So all your cookies are leveled and bake evenly.
- Also, it is really important to cool cookies completely on all sides. So, after 10 mins take them off the baking tray to prevent them from cooking further. Place them on a cooling rack so air circulates on all sides. This prevents steam from going back into the cookie, thus, keeping them crispy not soggy.
- Most cookies usually bake between 10 to 12 minutes. Since cookies bake quickly they can also get over-baked. This is due to our tendency to get distracted at the last minute. Hence, my solution is a kitchen timer that is always set to 10 minutes. I turn it on as soon as I place the cookies in the oven. This has saved me many cookies since my kids always keep me busy.
Chocolate sugar cookies for decorating
If you see decorated cookies on this blog – almost all of them are these Vanilla Sugar Cookies or my Chocolate Sugar Cookies. They are the best..!! Sometimes I use an eggless version of these – and you can find my eggless vanilla or eggless chocolate sugar cookies along with all other cookies here. In fact, in fall I make a no-spread gingerbread sugar cookies which are also a variation on these sugar cookies.
Recipe – The Best Chocolate Sugar Cookies (Save/Pin)
I do have a video on how I make my Vanilla Sugar Cookies. The process is the same for these chocolate sugar cookies as well.
Plan and Prepare
- Make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt.
Make the Dough
- Place butter and sugar in your mixing bowl and mix on medium until light and fluffy.
Do not skip this step or the cookies will be very dense. - Add eggs one at a time slowly, mixing each well until incorporated.
- When both the eggs are added. Continue mixing on medium heat for about two more minutes.
- Next, add the vanilla.
- Followed by the flour. Do not over mix once the flour is incorporated.
- Bring the dough together and divide into two discs.
- Wrap in cling/plastic wrap for at least 1 to 2 hours.
Roll the Cookies
- Once the dough is chilled, roll dough on a lightly floured surface evenly.
- Cut out desired shaped cookies and place them on a cookie sheet one inch apart.
- I prefer to chill the cookies while the oven is preheating.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 356 F.
- Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies.
- When baked let cool on the tray for 7 to 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.
- You can eat these cookies as is or decorate them with royal icing or fondant.
Storage
- This cookie recipe can be halved or double without any issues.
- The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, or
- Frozen for up to three months. If frozen thaw in the fridge overnight before you roll out.
- The baked cookies will stay at room temperature for up t 4 weeks but best eaten within a few days.
Frequently asked questions & Troubleshooting
Sugar cookies for decorating need to be crisp, not soft. With a flat, not puffy top. You want sharply defined edges, not round edges. This recipe gives you just that, crips, flat and well-defined sugar cookies. These will make the most beautiful decorated sugar cookies.
Leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda make the cookie lighter but also puffy. The resulting cookies do not make the best canvas for chocolate sugar cookies for decorating purposes.
These cookies will cut and bake better when properly chilled. If you don’t have enough time I highly recommend using my recipe for no-chill sugar cookies instead.
I have tested and tried these cookies if you follow the recipe and bake them at the right temperature they will not spread. You can also try my other no spread sugar cookies recipe
The oil will keep the cookies soft and chewy while butter will make them crisp. A nice crisp cookie is what you need for sugar cookies when you want to decorate them. But, if you are in the mood for soft sugar cookies substitute half the butter with 1/4 cup oil. Read how butter affects cookies baking
I think it’s best to use my eggless sugar cookie recipe that’s been tried and tested rather than substituting the eggs. You can try my eggless vanilla sugar cookies as well as my eggless chocolate sugar cookies.
You can, but the texture and taste will be different. Brown sugar will keep the cookies soft, tender and chewy while white sugar will give them a crisp texture which is what you need in sugar cookie for decorating.
The cornstarch adds a tender, softer crumb with a melt in the mouthfeel. You can also use rice flour or all-purpose flour successfully
I have used Dutch-processed cocoa powder that works best for baking. I highly recommend using unsweetened cocoa powder but if you choose to use sweetened cocoa powder you will need to reduce sugar in the recipe accordingly.
Often the reason is too much flour. I highly recommend weighing your ingredients so you add the precise amount of flour needed in the recipe.
Having said that, all flour gets absorbed differently. A good guide would to that the cookie dough should be soft and needs to be refrigerated just as you can see in the video.
If the prepared dough is pliable and ready to roll without refrigeration means you have added too much flour. The cookies will still be delicious but a bit firm. Bake them for less time so they don’t become too hard after cooling.
Rolling and cutting sugar cookies evenly work best with a rolling that has spacers. I have explained the process and alternate method in detail with tips here in this post – 10 Tips – how to roll and cut sugar cookies
You want sugar cookies for decorating purposes to hold their shape without spreading but still be crisp and tender to bite into.
I find 180 C / 360 F though high works best. The sugar cookies do not spread but also bake just enough to keep them crisp and tender.
Yes, hot and humid conditions can be a challenge especially with butter-based cookies.
The best way to work around this is to roll the dough between two parchment papers.
Let the dough chill before you roll the dough and
Chill again after you roll the dough.
Cut the cookies out of chilled dough. This will give clean precise cuts and handling chilled cookies are easier to transfer from work surface to baking tray.
If you bake the cookies at a very high temperature or if you bake them for too long the edges will get brown quicker. 180C is a guide I like to use but every oven is different so adjust temperature accordingly.
If you have cookies baking quicker with most recipes then perhaps its time to check if your oven temperature needs calibration.
Overbaked cookies when cool tend to be dry and hard. Which is why you need to bake them until they are just about to start getting some color on the edges. The cookies continue to cook and set as they cool too.
More sugar cookie recipes?
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The Best Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe
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Ingredients
- 315 grams (2.52 cups) All-purpose flour
- 105 grams (1.28 cups) Cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Cornstarch (cornflour)
- 228 grams (1 cups) Unsalted butter room temperature
- 220 grams (1.1 cups) Granulated white sugar
- 2 (2 ) Eggs large
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) Salt
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) Vanilla extract
Instructions
Plan and Prepare
- Make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt.
Make the Dough
- Place butter and sugar in your mixing bowl and mix on medium until light and fluffy. Do not skip this step or the cookies will be very dense.
- Add eggs one at a time slowly, mixing each well until incorporated.
- When both the eggs are added. Continue mixing on medium heat for about two more minutes.
- Next, add the vanilla.
- Followed by the flour. Do not over mix once the flour is incorporated.
- Bring the dough together and divide into two discs.
- Wrap in cling/plastic wrap for at least 1 to 2 hours.
Roll the Cookies
- Once the dough is chilled; roll dough on a lightly floured surface evenly.
- Cut out desired shaped cookies and place them on a cookie sheet one inch apart.
- I prefer to chill the cookies while the oven is preheating.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 356 F.
- Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies.
- When baked let cool on the tray for 7 to 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.
- You can eat these cookies as is or decorate them with royal icing or fondant.
Storage
- This cookie recipe can be halved or double without any issues.
- The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days or
- Frozen for up to three months. If frozen thaw in the fridge overnight before you roll out.
- The baked cookies will stay at room temperature for up t 4 weeks but best eaten within a few days.
Recipe Video
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Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Maria giulia bellosi
Very good recipe!
I used unsweetened cocoa powder and added chocolate chips to make it even more chocolatey and they turned out amazing!
Soft bite and rich flavor! One of my favorite so far!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Maria. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies so much. Thank you for coming back to leave this feedback.
Heather Clark
Lovely recipe, but the written instructions do not state when to add the cornstarch. I’ve read them several times and I can’t finf the cornstarch information. When shoukd it be added? I zccidentally made the dough without the cornstarch. Many thanks.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Heather. Sorry about that. My apologies. The cornstarch is added to the flour mixture in the beginning.
Ah…. The cookies will still be delicious even without the cornstarch.
Merry Christmas
Lauren
HI, i love this recipe and often use it at christmas with some peppermint flavouring in the icing works like a charm. but i find the dough a little dry so i always add about a 1/3 C of milk to the mix just to get the flour to mix in better and it dosnt harm the dough at all.
thanks for the recipe
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Lauren. Happy you had success with this recipe and that you liked it very much too. Milk is a good idea when kneading cookies if the dough is too absorbent. Every flour is different and absorbs moisture different so yes, milk or water works great in such cases. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much.
Janet
are the cookies best frozen, before ofr after icing? I have to make 6 Dozen for March 5 but am away the week before. I wish to make them ahead of time
Veena Azmanov
Yes, Janet.
You can freeze them rolled on layers of parchment on a baking tray wrapped well. Bake them fresh a few hours before you decorate.
and you can also freeze them decorated the same way on parchment paper wrapped well. Just make sure the royal icing is completely dry.
You can freeze them once baked make sure to properly wrap them in parchment and cling wrap. Thanks
Tara
Hi! My family is gluten free and would really like to try these cookies. Do you have and tips on gluten free baking? Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Hey Tara, Sorry I have not tried these with gluten-free flour yet. I really want to though.
I don’t do much gluten-free baking so my experience is limited. Wish I had some advice. If you do try it please let me know the results. Thanks so much.
Tara
Hey Veena, I made theses cookies using my gluten free flour mix and they came out great! the only thing I changed was the flour! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Tara. So happy to hear that. I have been wanting to make these for a while now with gluten-free. Thanks so much for coming back to write this feedback.
Elsa
What cocoa powder do you use? I went to the store and saw some unsweetened one and wasnt sure which one to get
Veena Azmanov
I use regular dutch processed cocoa powder Elsa. Thanks
Mindy
Hi Veena,
I made cookies using your recipe. It turned out it tastes like cardboard..very hard cookie. I don’t know what I did wrong. I mixed sugar and egg really well until it got fluffy but when I mixed flour into sugary butter, the dough was a little dense. Do you think I mixed too much flour? Or over mixed it ? I will try again if you give me any suggestions. Thank you.
Veena Azmanov
Ah Mindy!! So sorry to hear this. I do this recipe all the time and they are not too dense. Could it be possible that you miscalculated the flour? Or perhaps the eggs were too small? Next time try adding less flour and make sure the eggs are large. I just checked the recipe and the butter to flour ratio is fine. Thanks
Lyn
Hi Mindy,
Did you measure the flour in cups or grams? Are you aware that measurements in USA differ from those in the UK and Australia; their cup measurement is smaller than ours, so it’s best to weigh everything out in grams. I generally steer away from American recipes unless they have measurements in grams as well as cups or spoons as some recipes can turn into disasters with the different measurements.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Lyn,
Yes, It is always best to use gram measure.
The difference is very minimal though still not negligible. US cup is 240 ml while UK and AUS is 250 ml. In a small batch of cookies, the 10 grams should not have made a difference to her unless she multiplied the recipe considerably.
I try my best to give as much exact measure as possible.
Thanks for helping troubleshoot.
Rachael Cordom
Hi Veeneza – I am so excited to try your chocolate and vanilla sugar cookies for Christmas this year. How thick do you roll out your cookies when making them for clients? Would 3/8 be too thick??? And how long would you bake a thicker cookie??? Thank you for sharing your talents!
Veena Azmanov
Hey Rachael. I usually roll my cookies about 1/4 inch thick. I find that just right especially for my customers because they do not go hard or too crisp quickly but have a nice soft bite to it. I still bake them about 10 minutes (depending on oven temperature I’d say keep an eye form 9 to 12 minutes)
Jenny
Hi Veena. I’m going to make some chocolate sugar cookies for Halloween and found your recipe. I just have one question… you say to sift the salt with flour and cocoa powder but then mention to cream it with the butter and sugar. I’m a little confused as to where I should add the salt. Thanks!
Veena Azmanov
Ah Jenny. Nah it’s just add the salt to the flour and that will be ok.. Thanks I’ve corrected. Technically you can do either of the two methods
Cherese
Hi Veena, just to confirm- is it 330g flour as opposed to the 3300g listed? Thanks!
Veena Azmanov
Ahhh!! Sorry.. thanks – yes it was suppose to be 330. I guess people understood cause no one ever complained or had issues. Thanks so much for letting me know..
Rachana Jain
Can it b done eggless
Veena Azmanov
Hey Rachana. I do have an eggless version of my cookies coming up soon. Thanks
pallavi
Hi veena
I really love your work! Trying out cookies for the first time. Please help me with a vegetarian version of the chocolate cookie.
Thank you soo much
Veena Azmanov
Hi Pallavi, I do have an eggless version of this recipe coming up soon. Need to test it once more before I post it.
Thanks