Crispy Cut Out Chocolate Cookies - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Time seems to fly faster when I get older. Do you feel the same?

Like I always do for all Christmas, I love to bake for my friends and colleagues. Are you doing the same?

It feels like yesterday when I baked these crispy chocolate cookies for the last 2021 Christmas. In a glance, the 2022 Christmas is arriving soon again.

I clearly remember... Many of my colleagues who had these cookies said that they are delicious. These crispy cookies taste buttery and rich with cocoa flavours, yet melt in the mouth easily after munching due to its light well-risen texture. Hence, I know that this cut out cookie recipe including a few essential pointers is definitely worth-sharing.

Crispy Cut out Chocolate Cookies

Buttery and Rich with Cocoa Flavours. YUMMY!!!

Why this recipe?

The original recipe came from Food Network at here but I replaced the addition of dark brown sugar with caster sugar and so the cookies turned out to be 100% crispy with light well-risen texture.

Don't fret when you see that this recipe contains 350g caster sugar. It is actually an essential amount needed to make these cocoa-rich cookies sweet enough yet not too sweet. Plus, this recipe can yield up to 80 cookies, meaning that each cookies will contain 4-5g sugar which not too unhealthy if you are treating yourself with just 2-3 cookies. So please do not reduce this amount of added sugar as it will affect the lovely light well-risen crispy texture as well.

Are these cookies easy to handle and bake?

Yes and no! LOL!!! I will tell you why...

Like most cut-out cookies that are easy to handle, this recipe contains approximately the same butter:flour proportion and also one egg to stabilise the structure of cookies but it still need to be chilled before rolling and worked very quickly while rolling. I baked my cookies immediately after rolling and cutting without additional chilling and it's ok.

Besides, these cookies will rise and expand slightly while baking so that it will create a light and delicious crispy texture. Thus, I would strongly suggest not to use complicated cookie cutters to cut these cookies. Small or medium simple-shaped cookie cutters that are about 4-6 cm will work the best.

I can use this recipe to bake Christmas trees and stars ^-^

... but not complicated cookies with prints and wordings!
Here's a big no-no for my fat Rilakkuma and misshapened "Please go die" cookies. LOL!!!

The cookies are a little plain and so I decorated them with icing and sprinkles

Told ya. This recipe can yield many cookies!

Still not too sure if these cookies are easy to handle and bake? It's perfectly ok if you chill your dough for about 1 hr before rolling and no complicated cutters are used. Here's a video showing how I baked these cookies.

Music: Bensound

Trust me. These crispy chocolate cookies are delicious and it is worth baking... but if you think that this recipe is still too challenging for you, I have an easy eggless cut-out butter cookies recipe to share maybe at next year, 2023 but the texture of both cookies can be quite different. So stay tune if you are interested.

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This is my last blog post for the year 2022. Yay!!! My family and I are going back to Singapore for our Christmas break and will be back to Melbourne in January 2023. Then, I will be sharing Chinese New Year baking recipes after our break.

So, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you soon in January 2023.

Here's the recipe.

Makes about 80 cookies depending on the shapes and sizes of the cookies - I made 36 Christmas trees and 44 stars.

250g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
350g (1 3/4 cups) caster sugar
1 large egg, about 50g without the shell, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
260g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose or plain flour
75g (3/4 cup) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

extra all-purpose or plain flour for dusting and rolling

royal icing, recipe at HERE and Christmas sprinkles to decorate

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line baking trays with baking papers.

Add butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Use a wooden spoon or an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter mixture until combined and fluffy.

Add vanilla and egg bit by bit and beat well after each addition.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture and mix until combined. Do not over-mix. Divide dough into two portions and wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hr.

Roll out dough until 0.5 cm or 1/4 inch thick. Working very quickly, cut the dough into shapes using a cookie cutter and arrange the cookies with about 2 cm / 1 inch apart on the prepared trays.

Re-roll the scraps and cut out more cookies. If the dough is too soft, chill it for about 15-30 mins before rolling and cutting. Bake for 12-15 mins or until the edges are set. Please note that the baking time may vary depending on the sizes and shapes of your cookies. For instance, I have baked my stars for 13 mins and trees for 14 mins. Allow cookies to cool slightly on the trays for about 10 mins. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Decorate the cookies with icing and sprinkles or enjoy as plain cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week at room temperature.

Happy Baking

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