Description
These Softest Chocolate Sugar Cookies are rich, tender, and perfect for any occasion. Made with a blend of butter and cream cheese, these cookies achieve a soft, fluffy texture with a deep chocolate flavor, enhanced by cocoa powder and a hint of coconut extract. Finished with decorative black icing, they’re ideal for themed parties or everyday indulgence.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup salted butter (1 & 1/2 sticks, softened)
- 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
Decoration
- Black decorating icing
- #1, 2, 3, or 5 piping tip (depending on desired decoration thickness)
Instructions
- Beat Butter: In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the softened butter on medium speed until it is soft and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Cream Cheese: Add the softened cream cheese and continue to beat for 1 minute until well incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom as needed.
- Add Sugar: Incorporate the granulated sugar by beating for 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes fluffy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and coconut extract, scraping the bowl to combine evenly.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add salt, cocoa powder, and flour, beating just until barely combined. Avoid overmixing to prevent tough dough. The dough will be sticky.
- Chill Dough: Transfer dough onto plastic wrap or into sealed container and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight; or freeze for 1-2 hours to firm up.
- Preheat Oven: When dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Prepare Baking Sheets: Line 2-3 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Prepare Work Surface: Lightly spray counter or use silicone mats to roll out dough without flour to avoid white residue on baked cookies. Rolling between parchment sheets is an option.
- Divide Dough: Split dough in half if not done already. Keep unused portion chilled.
- Roll Dough: Flatten and roll dough to about 3/8 inch thickness, ensuring cookies will be thick and soft.
- Cut Cookies: Dust cookie cutters lightly with cocoa powder if needed, press firmly cutting shapes, clean cutter edges for crisp lines before transferring shapes to baking sheets, spacing cookies 1 inch apart.
- Chill Shaped Cookies: Refrigerate or freeze baking sheets with cut cookies for a few minutes to keep cookies cold before baking, which helps maintain shape.
- Reuse Dough: Gather scraps, knead minimally, reroll to 3/8 inch thickness, and repeat shaping and chilling steps. Keep dough cold throughout.
- Bake Cookies: Bake at 350°F for about 9 minutes for smaller cookies, 10-11 minutes for larger ones. Remove when tops lose their shine but just before becoming dull to avoid overbaking.
- Cool Cookies: Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before storing.
- Frost: Once cooled, frost cookies with buttercream icing, substituting vanilla for any extracts if desired.
- Decorate: Use black decorating icing with piping tips (#1 for thin webs, #5 for thicker webs) to create spider web designs or other decorations.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter and cream cheese for smooth mixing.
- Do not overmix dough after adding flour to keep cookies tender.
- Chilling dough is essential for firm, easy-to-roll dough and better texture.
- Rolling without flour prevents white patches on cookies; use nonstick mats or parchment paper instead.
- Keep shaped cookies chilled before baking to preserve shape and thickness.
- Watch baking time closely to avoid dry or crispy texture—cookies should be soft.
- Decorate after cookies are completely cooled to prevent melting of icing.
