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Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies

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Soft chocolate sugar cookies are the perfect base for royal icing and a great way to celebrate national chocolate cupcake day!

Soft chocolate sugar cookies are the perfect base for royal icing and a great way to celebrate national chocolate cupcake day!

There are two things I realized about my birthday this year. 1) This is my last year in my 20s and 2) October 18th is national chocolate cupcake day! I mean that first one is pretty exciting. I’m actually looking forward to turning 30. They say that your 30s are supposed to be better than your 20s. And I wouldn’t mind the Universe coming through on that one! But that second one is almost as amazing as finding out I’m birthday buddies with Zac Efron. Same day, same month, same year…we’re practically soul mates 😉

Usually I make myself some big cake for my birthday and I briefly considered options like this Snickers cake from Goodie Godmother, or this spider web cake from Liv for Cake {because me and Halloween are real tight}, or this French vanilla chai cake from Whit Bit’s Kitchen. Come on. It has cinnamon buttercream. Yes, please! The cake opportunities….caketunities if you will…were endless. But I was ready to pay homage to this wonderful, wonderful day. National chocolate cupcake day.

Soft chocolate sugar cookies are the perfect base for royal icing and a great way to celebrate national chocolate cupcake day!

I have chocolate cupcakes on the blog already in a couple different posts and a brand new cupcake cookie cuter after having to hand cut some cupcake cookies for a friend’s birthday earlier this year. {Hand cutting cookies from templates is the devil.} So I decided to bring the chocolate cupcake idea into a cookie and whipped up some soft chocolate sugar cookies. They were perfect!

This particular cookie recipe isn’t overly sweet which makes it the perfect vessel for all the royal icing you can fit on there without hurting yourself. I find myself favoring the soft cookies to the crunchy sugar cookies these days. And what I love about these is that they don’t spread and they don’t require any chilling between mixing and rolling. Less down time = less time before eating! So excuse me while I go enjoy one of these cookies and sing a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to Me. 😉

Soft chocolate sugar cookies are the perfect base for royal icing and a great way to celebrate national chocolate cupcake day!

Meaghan

Soft chocolate sugar cookies are the perfect base for royal icing and a great way to celebrate national chocolate cupcake day!

Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Yield: 1 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 1 1/2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder

For the Royal Icing:

  • 1/4 cup + 1 Tbs water
  • 2 1/4 Tbs meringue powder
  • 1/2 Tbs vanilla
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar
  • Gel food coloring

Instructions

  1. Beat butter until soft and fluffy then beat in powdered sugar, scraping down the bowl.
  2. Sift in flour and cocoa powder and mix until completely combined.
  3. Roll dough out onto a lined baking sheet to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a cookie cutter. Continue with scraps until all scraps are used.
  4. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes.
  5. While cookies are cooling add water and meringue powder into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until foamy.
  6. Add powdered sugar all at once* and mix on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
  7. Add vanilla and mix for another 30-60 seconds.
  8. Separate royal icing and color with your desired gel coloring.
  9. For the liner and frosting portion of the cookies thin icing to 15-20 second flood consistency using 1/2 tsp of water at a time.**
  10. For the cherries and sprinkles use stiff royal icing without thinning.

Notes

* Cover the mixer with a towel to keep your kitchen clean.
** Add water in small increments to keep the icing from separating. You've reached the right consistency when a dollop of icing disappears in 15-20 seconds.

Soft chocolate sugar cookies are the perfect base for royal icing and a great way to celebrate national chocolate cupcake day!

Jennifer Meyering

Tuesday 18th of October 2016

Happy birthday, gorgeous!!! I'm so happy the universe set our paths to cross and am so thankful to call you friend! I hope your last year in your twenties is an amazing one! <3

Meaghan

Wednesday 19th of October 2016

I am SO grateful for your friendship!

~Meaghan