Chocolate Frosted Cookies

Description

These chocolate frosted cookies are soft, chewy, and fudge-like. It’s a simple drop cookie recipe, no rolling pin required, and the creamy chocolate frosting is a scaled down version of fan-favorite chocolate buttercream. Chilling the cookie dough for 2 hours is imperative.

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, avocado oil, or olive oil
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1/2 cup (45g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Frosting

• 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
• 6 Tablespoons (30g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or milk, slightly warm (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup (43g) sprinkles (such as these or these)

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Instructions

1. Make the cookies: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour into the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed until combined. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
4. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. (If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.) Scoop dough, 1 heaping Tablespoon (about 28–30g) of dough each, and roll into balls, and arrange 2–3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
5. Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 10, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
6. Cool cookies for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream/milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Taste. Beat in another pinch of salt if desired.
8. Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies with a knife or an offset spatula. Top evenly with sprinkles.
9. Cover and store frosted cookies at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Frosting “soft-sets” on the cookies after a few hours, meaning it will slightly dry on top.

Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough. Baked plain or frosted cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Small Icing Spatula
3. Natural Cocoa Powder: Do you know the difference between natural cocoa powder and dutch-process cocoa powder? Use natural cocoa powder in the cookie dough. Because there is no leavening in the buttercream, you can use either natural or dutch cocoa in the frosting.
4. Milk In The Frosting: You can use either whole milk or heavy cream in the frosting (or even nondairy milk or half-and-half), but regardless of what you choose, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave or on the stove. Adding slightly warm liquid to this chocolate frosting helps the cocoa powder absorb more liquid and creates a smoother, more satiny finish.
5. Larger Batch: The recipe is easy to double in 1 mixing bowl without overwhelming your mixer. Simply double all of the cookie dough ingredients. Dough chill time remains the same. For the frosting, doubling it would be too much, so I recommend using the scaled up chocolate buttercream recipe (tastes just the same!).
6. Can I Make a Vanilla Version? Yes. Try my sprinkle cookies supreme, or my soft cakey sugar cookies.
7. Can I Make These with Vanilla Frosting? Yes. For a generous amount of frosting, use my vanilla buttercream recipe. For a slightly scaled down version that will be enough for the batch of chocolate cookies, use the same vanilla bean buttercream from my shamrock cookies.
8. Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.