Chocolate Italian Cookies
These soft chocolate sugar cookies are delicious! The warm chocolate aroma wafting through the air will draw everyone to the kitchen.
I make cookies all year long, not just holidays. So don’t feel like you have to wait for some special reason to make cookies that would be perfect for celebrating. Celebrate the little moments.
I still send out Valentine’s. I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of it. A fun idea is to place a dollop of frosting or icing onto a cardstock paper and place the cookie on top. The perfect Valentine! Show your love this Calentines day with a desicious cookie!
Frosting and icing options
If you’ll be wrapping them individually be sure to use a crusting buttercream or they’ll stick to the plastic. If you’re placing them on a platter a faux swiss meringue buttercream or this chocolate soft silky buttercream will be great. Icing is another option, glaze icing or royal icing are great options.
To frost the cookies like hearts, use a tight star tip and pipe a slight curve on the top of each side of the heart bringing it down to the point at the bottom. (straight lines don’t look as good, trust me!)
To avoid the cookie dough from becoming dry, don’t add flour to your work surface, roll the cookie dough with parchment paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap. Dip the cookie cutters into flour so they release from the cookie dough easily.
Don’t overcrowd the baking sheets with cookies, it will prevent the cookies from baking evenly. These cookies hold their shape. I roll the cookie dough to 3/8″ which is nice and thick. If you roll them out thinner adjust the baking time so they don’t overbake.
When checking the cookies for doneness, gently pick up a cookie with a spatula the bottom should be firm, hold its shape, and not bend. You can always test 1-2 cookies before baking them all to test the timing. Allow the test cookie to cool and taste it.
The smaller the cookies the shorter the baking time needed. Mini cookies 1-2″ bake in 9-10 minutes, 2 1/2-3inch cookies bakg in in 10-12 minutes.
Don’t overbake the cookies, allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Allow cookies to be completely cooled before adding any icing or frosting.
The possibilities are endless. Choose a whole tray of cookies in one design or mix them up with different shapes and sizes.
Chocolate Italian Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups butter, melted and cooled I use salted butter, if you use unsalted butter add a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled I use Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Be sure to melt the butter and chocoalte chips and allow them to cool.
- In a small bowl whisk eggs, then stir in melted butter, and vanilla, until thick and blended.
- In the bowl of a mixer add the flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking powder and mix until fully combined.
- Pour in the egg/butter mixture and mix on low to combine, then medium to medium-high speed until the dough fully blends, the dough will be smooth and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Roll the cookie dough into a ball. Cut in half and roll out, to avoid dry cookies I don't usually use flour. I roll the cookie dough between, parchment paper plastic wrap, waxed paper, or on a chopping block with 1 layer on top. Then roll the cookie dough to 3/8" thick (if you want thinner cookies roll thinner and adjust the baking time as they'll bake quicker.)
- Cut with desired shape cookie cutter and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on cookie size. The cookies will be firm and set, but will not be crisp. These cookies do not spread, but be sure to allow plenty of space in between each cookie so they bake properly, and overcrowded baking sheet is the reason a lot of cookies will not bake properly.
- Remove each baking sheet from the oven when the cookies are finished baking and allow all the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets. Avoid moving them so they don't break or get messed up.
- Apply icing or frosting onto completely cooled cookies or serve plain. They are great with or without frosting/icing.