Description
You need just 9 basic ingredients and a large piping tip to make these melt-in-your-mouth chocolate butter cookies. There’s no leavening, so the texture is similar to shortbread cookies. Review recipe Notes before beginning, and I strongly recommend chilling the piped cookies for at least 20–30 minutes before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/3 cup (27g) natural or dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk, warm
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder*
Optional Toppings
- 4 ounces (113g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped*
- maraschino cherries
- sprinkles or coarse sugar
Instructions
- Read through the recipe and recipe Notes before beginning. Make room in your refrigerator for a baking sheet so the shaped cookies can chill for 20–30 minutes. Without chilling, the piped cookies will overspread. If you chill the dough prior to shaping, the dough will be too cold/stiff to pipe.
- Line 2–3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, or leave unlined. If unlined, do not grease the pan.
- In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until very soft and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar to the butter, and beat together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamed, another 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- On low speed, beat in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Turn up to high speed and beat until completely combined.
- Warm the milk to about 150°F (66°C)—about 20 seconds in the microwave—then mix in the espresso powder until it dissolves. Add the warm espresso-milk mixture to the dough, and beat on medium speed. You want a dough that’s creamy and pipe-able (but still thick), so you may need another 1/2 Tablespoon of milk. (Tip: The more milk you add, the more the cookies will spread, so chilling in step 7 is imperative. I recommend keeping the amount of milk small and using a large enough piping tip, like the ones I suggest in the post above.)
- Add your large piping tip to the piping bag. Spoon a little bit of dough into the piping bag and pipe a 1- to 2-inch swirl or line on the prepared baking sheet. The reason I suggest only a little bit of dough to start is because the dough may still be too thick to pipe. If it’s too thick, transfer that dough back to the mixing bowl and add another 1/2 Tablespoon of milk. If the dough is creamy enough to pipe, continue piping the dough in 1- to 2-inch swirls or lines, 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. If desired, place a maraschino cherry in the center of the swirl or sprinkle the dough with sprinkles and/or coarse sugar. (Tip: Since the dough is very thick and stiff, so the first few cookies you pipe will be the hardest. Don’t give up! It gets easier as you go along, as you handle the piping bag and the dough becomes more malleable.)
- Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill the shaped cookies for 20–30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake the chilled cookies for 12–15 minutes or until the edges seem set. The cookies will spread like all cookies do, but not completely lose their shape, especially if you refrigerated the shaped cookies. If the cookies are smaller, they will take closer to 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Optional Chocolate: You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Melt in 20-second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Dip the cookies in chocolate and top with sprinkles, if desired. Allow the chocolate to set completely at room temperature for about 1 hour or in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Once set, you can stack, store, transport, and gift the cookies.
- Cookies with chocolate or cherries stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Cookies without chocolate or cherries stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can chill the shaped cookies on the baking sheet in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before baking. If chilling for longer than 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Sometimes I pipe all the swirls close together on 1 baking sheet, then refrigerate. (Since my refrigerator can’t fit 2–3 baking sheets at once.) After chilling, the shaped dough is cold, so you can use a flat spatula to pick up the cold shaped dough and arrange on 2–3 baking sheets to bake. You can also freeze the un-baked shaped dough for up to 3 months. Bake the frozen shaped dough (no need to thaw) for an extra minute or two. Baked cookies, with or without chocolate/cherries/sprinkles, freeze well for up to 3 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Large Piping Tip (such as Ateco 849 (pictured), Wilton 8B, Ateco 826, or Ateco 827) | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional for melting chocolate)
- Espresso Powder: This deepens the chocolate flavor—the cookies don’t taste like coffee. I usually find espresso powder in the grocery store baking aisle, or you can order it online. If you can’t find it, you can use instant coffee powder instead. Make sure to dissolve it in the warm milk before adding to the dough.
- No Piping Tip & Using a Cookie Press: This recipe is similar to my spritz cookies where I use a cookie press. If you don’t have a large piping tip and/or you want to use a cookie press, you can use this dough to make chocolate spritz cookies. Skip the milk, and add the espresso powder when you add the flour. If you don’t have a cookie press or large piping tip, snip a 1/2 inch corner off the end of a plastic bag and pipe lines/flat swirls.
- Can I Roll Out This Dough & Use Cookie Cutters? No, this cookie dough is not ideal for rolling out; the cookies will not hold shape. Instead, try these chocolate sugar cookies.
- Optional Melted Chocolate: You can melt semi-sweet, dark, milk, or white chocolate to dip these cookies in. For the best results, use a pure “baking chocolate” bar, found in the baking aisle. I like Baker’s and Ghirardelli brands. Do not use chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the proper consistency. After you melt it, if the chocolate is too thick for dipping, stir in 1 teaspoon of vegetable/canola oil to help thin it out.
Keywords: chocolate butter cookies