{Soft, Rolled Chocolate Sugar Cookies}

Yes, my last post was a sugar cookie as well. I can't even help it. I LOVE SUGAR COOKIES. I'm very picky about them though. They need to be FAT, soft, and slathered in buttercream. These are all very important elements to the, in my opinion, perfect sugar cookie.

While dealing with all the snow and the Polar Vortex Jr, we've been spending a lot of time at home. Yesterday, Bean was off school because of the temps. Apparently our Ohio buses are not equipped to deal with -35 windchills. So, we kept on with our Harry Potter movies (over the weekend we'd watched 1-5). After we finished Half Blood Prince, we wandered into the kitchen to make these. I'd mentioned wanting to make them to Bean a few days ago, and he just couldn't let it go. Since he was little, I've said that he "loves chocolate like a girl". And that, my friends, is putting it mildly.

So, cookie time it was.

Chocolate sugar cookies are an interesting beast. By interesting, I mean delicious, of course. They are not quite brownie, not quite sugar cookie. They are allllllll good though.

These work like regular sugar cookies. You roll them out and cut with cookie cutters. They look great on a tray with regular sugar cookies.

What to top them with? Chocolate buttercream, of course! What else? Honestly, they'd be great with regular buttercream too, but chocolate. I sprinkled mine with a little bit of sparkling sugar and some chocolate jimmies. Perfection.

I'm not sure that they will replace sugar cookies as my favorite (well, after Snickerdoodles), but they are daggone good.

Chocolatey good.

Enjoy.

Tina


Chocolate Sugar Cookies
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Cookies:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4  sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and put aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with mixer. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla. Pour the flour mixture in, a little at a time, until it is mixed thoroughly.Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours (or overnight).

While rolling, preheat oven to 400. Prepare baking sheet with silpat, parchment, or ungreased.

Roll the chilled dough out on a surface dusted with a small amount of cocoa powder. For these, I rolled the dough to about 1/4" so they would be soft and fat. Cut to desired shapes with cookie cutters. Brush off excess cocoa with a pastry brush before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before icing.


Chocolate Buttercream
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers


(you will only need 1/2 recipe for these cookies)

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
1/2 to 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder*
4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
 
Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy (3-4 mins). Slowly add in the powdered sugar and cocoa. Beat for about 3 minutes. Add in the milk starting with 2 tablespoons. Add vanilla. If too thick add the extra tablespoon of milk. Mix until distributed.

*start with 1/2 cup. If not chocolatey enough, add the extra 1/4 cup.