Chocolate Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Soft, rich, chewy chocolate sugar cut out cookies that hold their shape, topped with sweet royal icing! Next time try my no chill sugar cookie cutouts.

Today I present you with Chocolate Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs. And not just chocolate sugar cookie cut-outs – DINOSAUR chocolate sugar cookie cut-outs. OH YEAH. I’m turning it up to eleven for this one.

I’ve spent a long time (longer than I care to admit) trying to make chocolate sugar cookies that were the right flavor, texture, and density. I’ve spent even longer than that trying to make them as cut-outs.

I have nothing against plain sugar cookie cut-outs, but you know me – just gotta make things difficult.

I played with different quantities of butter, egg, cocoa powder, and flour. I tried using melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder (p.s.: don’t do that). I swapped granulated sugar for dark brown sugar. I swapped butter for avocado – which, to be fair, tasted good but didn’t hold up in the shape I wanted.

Then things started to come together… I swapped unsweetened cocoa powder for Dutch processed. I swapped granulated and/or brown sugar for coconut sugar (aff link). Finally, success!

Look at those deep ridges. Check out that definition! That’s exactly what I was after. It wasn’t enough to just hold the shape around the edges – I wanted a cookie stamp to make an impression and for it to stick.

I kid you not, when I took these out of the oven I yelled out, “YES! THESE ARE SO GOOD!” My poor boyfriend was subjected to a lot of self-praise echoing out of the kitchen.

I wanted to call these “Préhistorique Biscuits” because… well… this Instagram post will explain. But there’s that whole aspect of SEO where your title should explain the content of your post, keywords, blah blah blah.

You and I can still call them préhistorique biscuits and it can be an inside joke.

That definition! I just can’t get over how well these turn out.

I can’t recommend these dinosaur cookie cutters from Fred & Friends enough. They’re so darn cute! My only complaint is that there aren’t more dinosaur shapes – I could totally use a pterodactyl, ankylosaurus, brontosaurus… well, you get the idea.

For half of them, as soon as I was done frosting them I added a sprinkle of brown sugar to give the illusion of dirt – you know, as if you were unearthing dinosaur skeletons from the ground and dusting them off before you ate them.

Wait… I don’t remember seeing that part in Jurassic Park. Which reminds me, I should go watch that immediately because I never get sick of it. NEVER.

I brought them into my office for a handful of people who have the same true love for dinosaurs that I do (and that love goes deep, my friends) and everyone loved them. Some people said that they reminded them of hot cocoa in cookie form, some said they were reminiscent of brownies.

No matter what they remind you of, I think they’ll be a hit to whomever is on the receiving end of your chocolate-y gift.

These would be wonderful as Christmas gifts just because of the cuteness factor! So, if you’re still looking for something to give your sweet aunt who doesn’t need anymore crocheted cat pot holders, or that weird cousin who you have no idea what to do with – make a batch of these, tie ’em up in a little bag with some dark brown sugar and cocoa in the bottom (to look like dirt) and voila!

Instant gift that they can’t help but love. Just be prepared for the inevitable reenactments of JP while they chase you around with these bad boys. Pretend you’re Jeff Goldblum and just say, “Must go faster – MUST GO FASTER!” and it’ll make for a fantastic YouTube video (that you’ll obviously send me a link to ASAP).

I may have gotten a little carried away… 

Look how intimidating the t-rex is, even as a cookie. Rawr!

After you’ve made this recipe, please leave a comment below with a rating – and if you came from Pinterest, add a photo to the Pin of what you make to the pin to share your experience!

Print