Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Instructions
- First things first, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). While it’s heating up, line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze.
- In a large mixing bowl, either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. This usually takes about 2-3 minutes. Don't rush this step; it’s key to the cookie’s texture.
- In a separate, smaller bowl, sift or whisk together your dry ingredients: the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, and optional baking powder. Sifting helps prevent lumps of cocoa powder in your final dough.
- Crack the room-temperature egg into the butter and sugar mixture, add the vanilla extract, and mix again until everything is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure it's all evenly combined.
- Now, add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on the lowest speed until the dough just starts to come together. It will look a bit crumbly at first, then form a sticky, soft dough. Be careful not to overmix here, or the cookies can become tough.
- Use a spatula or a pastry scraper to gather the dough into a ball. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and gently flatten it into a disk shape. This makes it easier to roll out later.
- Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 20-30 minutes. If you have more time, an hour is even better. This step is crucial for preventing the cookies from spreading too much.
- Once chilled, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thickness. For extra-sharp cuts, slide the whole thing (parchment and all) onto a baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for 10–15 minutes. This makes the dough firm and so much easier to cut.
- Peel off the top layer of parchment. Now for the fun part! Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. These make perfect Easy Heart Cookies for Valentine's Day. Carefully place the shapes on your prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space between them.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 8–10 minutes. The edges should look firm and set, but the centers will still be slightly soft. They'll firm up as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. They must be totally cool before you even think about decorating!
Notes
The number one tip is to chill the dough after mixing and again after rolling to prevent spreading. Roll the dough to a uniform thickness of about 1/8th of an inch for even baking. Use a quality, unsweetened natural cocoa powder to avoid bitterness. For variations, you can add a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to deepen the chocolate flavor or add extracts like peppermint. The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.