This submit might comprise affiliate gross sales hyperlinks. Please learn my disclosure coverage.
These Chocolate Minimize Out Cookies are straightforward to make, scrumptious they usually don’t unfold within the oven! They’re thick and tender and ideal for vacation adorning. Plus, you’ll love my methodology for mess-free rolling and slicing!

I completely love lower out cookies for the vacations! The last more by means of the season once you enhance them, which is ideal for gifting. They’re nice for just about any event, however there’s little question that Christmas is the highest spot on the checklist. I have already got two nice choices for vanilla cutout cookies – my unique cutout sugar cookies and my newer comfortable and chewy lower out cookies. However it was time for some chocolate to alter it up! I married the second of these two lower out cookies with my recipe for chocolate sugar cookies which might be drop-style and got here up with this wonderful recipe.
- Mushy & chewy. This recipe makes thick, tender cookies have that excellent comfortable and chewy texture. Precisely what I would like from any sugar cookie.
- Fast & straightforward. The dough takes only a few minutes to arrange they usually bake up in 8-12 minutes. I do advocate at the least an hour of chill time, to make the cookie dough simpler to roll and lower, or you possibly can even make the dough as much as 3 days upfront.
- Excellent for adorning. I’ve included a number of adorning concepts under and there are countless methods to brighten these cookies. To not point out adorning them is a enjoyable method to get children concerned within the kitchen!


Ingredient Notes
These comfortable chocolate cutout cookies are made with only a handful of pantry staples. Scroll right down to the recipe card under for the measurements.


- All-purpose flour – This recipe lists simply the correct amount of flour to not unfold, but in addition not find yourself dry. Make sure you measure it correctly to keep away from dense or dry cookies.
- Cocoa powder – For this recipe you need pure unsweetened cocoa powder. You should utilize Dutch-processed cocoa powder, however I believe the flavour is best in these with the common unsweetened.
- Cornstarch – These cookies use just a little cornstarch to assist preserve the cookies from over-spreading and shedding their form with out including an excessive amount of flour and drying out the cookies.
- Baking soda & baking powder – You’ll use only a bit of every to assist obtain a comfortable and chewy cookie texture, however not a lot that the cookies unfold.
- Egg – Make sure you use giant eggs, not medium or further giant.
These cookies undoubtedly maintain their form throughout baking. That mentioned, they do “puff up” a bit. Utilizing leavening can result in spreading, so I’ll generally depart them out in a cutout cookie. However additionally they contribute to the feel of the cookie, so I added a contact of leavening to those. The cookies do puff up just a little, however the chewiness you acquire is completely price it, for my part. That mentioned, you could possibly go both means, relying on what you need. For a cookie that actually doesn’t unfold, miss the leavening. For a cookie with a beautiful little chew to it, preserve it in.


Time to bake! These cookies do come collectively shortly, however keep in mind to permitting time for chilling the cookie dough. You will discover the printable directions within the recipe card under.
- Mix the dry substances. Whisk collectively the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream the butter. Beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, till they’re lighter in shade and creamier in texture. Combine within the egg and vanilla.




- Mix the substances. Add the dry substances to the butter combination. Combine simply till the dough is mixed – it’s going to appear dry at first however it’s going to come collectively to kind a pleasant bowl. I like to make use of a spatula and even my arms to combine the dough.
- Chill. Cowl and refrigerate the dough for at the least an hour.
- Minimize out the shapes. Carry the dough again to room temperature and divide it into two components. Roll every half to 1/4 inch thick then pop it within the freezer for about 5 minutes. Instantly lower into shapes. You’ll be able to pop them again into the freezer for a couple of minutes too.




- Bake. Bake for 8-12 minutes, till the cookies look achieved. In the event that they’ve unfold greater than desired, use a butter knife to softly press the edges in whereas they’re nonetheless heat. Repeat with the remaining dough and cookies.
- Cool and enhance. Let the cookies cool on the rack for 3-5 minutes then switch to a cooling rack. As soon as cool, enhance as desired.




What Sort of Icing To Use For Adorning
The ultimate step is to brighten your cookies! I’ve obtained a number of choices so that you can select from, relying in your ability degree and the way detailed you need to get. The beauty of icing these cookies is that it protects them from the air, in order that they keep recent for longer.
1. Buttercream frosting – That is the only possibility and is nice with children. Issues to remember:
- It varieties a crust because it sits and can harden within the fridge.
- Doesn’t keep agency up at room temperature like the straightforward sugar cookie icing or royal icing.
- Not ideally suited for stacking cookies or for transport.
- Straightforward to make and also you don’t have to make use of any particular gear.
- You can pipe it onto cookies, however you could possibly additionally go old-school and simply use butter knives.
2. Straightforward Sugar Cookie Icing – That is extra like a glaze that dries laborious. It’s a step up from buttercream, however continues to be nice for individuals with much less expertise. I exploit it with my children and use these cute piping bottles. Take note:
- This icing hardens on high of your cookies and you’ll pipe it.
- Not as fussy to work with as royal icing, however it’s tougher to pipe designs which might be actually intricate with it.
- Straightforward to make by hand with a whisk.
- Higher style than royal icing.
3. Royal Icing – Royal icing is mostly used for adorning skilled trying cookies.
- It’s straightforward to make, however you’ll need a mixer.
- You’ll have to have meringue powder readily available.
- It’s dries laborious, with the intention to stack your cookies, however not so laborious you could’t chew into it.
- Royal icing goes to be finest once you need probably the most management over piping your designs and need to do issues which might be just a little extra intricate.


- Correctly measure the substances. It is rather necessary to correctly measure the dry substances for this recipe, particularly the flour. Underneath measuring or over measuring will change the feel of the cookies.
- Use room temperature butter. You need the butter to cream up properly. Chilly butter shall be tougher to cream whereas too-soft butter received’t cream correctly.
- Chill the dough. Whilst you don’t HAVE to refrigerate the cookie dough, I extremely advocate it. It’s a lot simpler to work with. Plus, the cookies prove nicer and extra tender for those who do.
- Pop the dough within the freezer. Equally, I additionally advocate popping the dough within the freezer after you roll it out. It makes slicing them out and shifting them round a lot simpler and also you get cleaner cuts.
- Use parchment paper. It’s one among my favourite ideas for cutout cookies! Don’t make an enormous mess by flouring your counter tops, simply roll out your cookie dough between two items of parchment paper. It’s non-stick and straightforward to maneuver round for the freezing step.
- Don’t over bake them. No one needs a dry cookie! Take away them from the oven simply as they begin to look achieved. They proceed to bake a bit as they cool.




Correct Storage
- On the counter. You’ll be able to retailer these cutout chocolate cookies in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 2 weeks. They final finest and longest if they’re frosted.
- Freezer. You can too freeze these cookies, frosted or unfrosted. Place them in a freezer protected container with parchment paper separating the layers. Freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge earlier than utilizing. Understand that colours from icing and sprinkles may bleed when the cookies are thawed, as a result of condensation.
Watch How To Make Them
Print

Recipe
- Prep Time: 1 hour quarter-hour
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook dinner Time: 8 minutes
- Complete Time: 2 hours 23 minutes
- Yield: About 22 cookies
- Class: Dessert
- Technique: Oven
- Delicacies: American
Description
These Chocolate Minimize Out Cookies are straightforward to make, scrumptious they usually don’t unfold within the oven! They’re thick and tender and ideal for vacation adorning. Plus, you’ll love my methodology for mess-free rolling and slicing!
Elements
Cookies
- 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (85g) pure unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp (8g) cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (259g) granulated sugar
- 1 giant egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For Adorning
Directions
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl and put aside.
- Add the butter and sugar to a big mixer bowl and beat on medium velocity for 2-3 minutes, till nicely creamed. It is best to discover that it will get lighter in shade and creamier in texture.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and blend till nicely mixed.
- Add the dry substances and blend simply till the dough is nicely mixed. Dough shall be thick. It could appear just a little crumbly at first, however it’ll come collectively. Don’t over combine. You’ll be able to assist it end coming collectively by hand with a spatula, and even utilizing your arms. It could appear too dry, however it’ll come collectively to kind a pleasant ball.
- Refrigerate cookie dough for at the least an hour or as much as 3 days. You don’t must refrigerate the cookie dough, however the cookies prove just a little nicer and extra tender for those who do.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.
- Carry the cookie dough again to room temperature so it’s simpler to work with and divide the cookie dough into two equal components. Roll every half out to about 1/4 an inch thickness between two items of parchment paper.
- Switch the parchment-lined cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and place it within the freezer for about 5 minutes. Take away cookie dough from freezer, peel off the highest layer of parchment paper and instantly lower into shapes. Switch cookies to cookie sheet. You’ll be able to pop them again within the freezer for a couple of minutes, for those who’d like. The colder they’re, the much less they unfold.
- Bake instantly, whereas cookie dough continues to be very chilly, for 8-12 minutes or the cookies look achieved.
- Take away them from the oven. In the event that they unfold a contact greater than you need them to, use a butter knife or one thing just like gently press the edges in a contact. Should you do that whereas they’re nonetheless heat, it really works fantastically.
- Enable the cookies to chill for 3-5 minutes, then take away to a cooling rack to complete cooling.
- Proceed rolling the dough, slicing out cookies and baking them till you’ve used all of the cookie dough.
- Once you’re prepared to brighten the cookies, you should utilize common buttercream, a straightforward sugar cookie icing or royal icing.
Notes
- Variety of cookies: The variety of cookies you’ll get depends upon the scale of your cookie cutters and the way thick you roll them out. My cookie cutters are roughly 3 1/2 inches.
- Storage. You’ll be able to retailer these cutout chocolate cookies in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 2 weeks. They final finest and longest if they’re frosted.
- Freezing. You’ll be able to freeze these cookies frosted or unfrosted. Place them in a freezer protected container with parchment paper separating the layers. Freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge earlier than utilizing. Understand that colours from icing and sprinkles may bleed when the cookies are thawed, as a result of condensation.
Diet
- Serving Measurement: 1 cookie
- Energy: 171
- Sugar: 11.5 g
- Sodium: 86.9 mg
- Fats: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.2 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Ldl cholesterol: 30.6 mg