I love these easy chocolate cookies! They are really perfect for Christmas: so soft and colorful, and they taste wonderful! Am I talking in rhymes again? It happens when I get very excited about cookies! And these little treats are definitely worth your excitement! They keep very well in an air-tight for at least a week (that’s how long they lasted in my house): they don’t lose their shape, the sprinkles don’t come off, the texture remains amazing even after a week. I so recommend these cookies!
I used a similar method in making these chocolate cookies as I did with the vanilla sugar cookies earlier. In fact, on this photo below, I am stacking three chocolate cookies on top of the three vanilla sugar cookies. I highly recommend you make both types of cookies (chocolate and vanilla sugar) at the same time for an easy yet impressive presentation:
Since I was on a baking spree this week, I am going to tease you now and let you know that I also made some chocolate pecan cookies that were really yummy (recipe to follow soon) – you can see them stacked in between the sprinkled cookies:
Keep in mind that this type of cookie dough needs to be very cold right before baking so that the cookies retain their nice puffed up shape and don’t spread out or flatten out. For that reason, make sure to freeze the cookie dough (already shaped as cookie balls) for at least 30 minutes immediately prior to baking – I talk in detail about it in the recipe instructions section below.
Make these beauties during this holiday season and enjoy!
Easy chocolate cookies with sprinkles – Christmas cookies
Preparation and baking time: 40 minutes
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
Ingredients:
- 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (let the butter from refrigerator sit on the counter for about an hour or so), not melted but softened
- 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 small eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- lots of sprinkles (a whole small container)
Makes about 40 cookies.
1) In a medium bowl, combine together flour, cocoa powder, and salt and mix.
2) In a separate bowl, using electric mixer, beat softened butter and granulated sugar on high speed until light in color and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla – continue beating for a couple more minutes. Turn off the electric mixer, add flour-cocoa-salt mixture and then continue beating on low speed until well-combined but without over mixing.
3) Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll these cookie balls generously in sprinkles. Immediately arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart and freeze until firm, for about 30 minutes.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. Do not over-bake. Remove from the oven, and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.