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Piped Chocolate Butter Cookies Recipe

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★★★★★

4.9 from 295 reviews

Delight in these Piped Chocolate Butter Cookies featuring a rich cocoa dough piped into elegant swirls and lightly crisp edges. Enhanced with espresso powder for depth of flavor, these cookies are perfect for dipping in melted semi-sweet chocolate and decorating with sprinkles or maraschino cherries. Chilling the dough before baking ensures they hold their beautiful shape and achieve the perfect texture.

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie Dough

  • 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
  • 1/3 cup (27g) natural or dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk, warm (plus up to 1/2 Tablespoon additional if needed)
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder

Decoration and Optional

  • 4 ounces (113g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (for dipping, optional)
  • Maraschino cherries (optional)
  • Sprinkles or coarse sugar (optional)

Instructions

  1. Prepare your workspace. Read through the entire recipe and notes before starting to ensure you understand all steps. Clear space in your refrigerator to chill the shaped cookies later.
  2. Line baking sheets. Line 2–3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats; if unlined, do not grease.
  3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high until very soft and creamy (about 2 minutes). Add granulated sugar and beat on medium-high until smooth and creamed (about 2 minutes).
  4. Add egg and vanilla. Beat in the egg and vanilla on high speed until combined (about 1 minute). Scrape the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are fully mixed.
  5. Incorporate dry ingredients. On low speed, add flour, cocoa powder, and salt to the butter mixture. Increase to high speed and beat until completely combined.
  6. Prepare espresso milk mixture. Warm milk to about 150°F (66°C), dissolve espresso powder into it, then add this to the dough. Beat on medium speed to create a creamy, pipe-able dough. Add up to an additional 1/2 Tablespoon milk if the dough is too thick, but keep it minimal to avoid excessive spreading.
  7. Pipe dough onto sheets. Fit a piping bag with a large tip, fill with a small amount of dough, and pipe 1–2 inch swirls or lines spaced 3 inches apart. If dough is too thick to pipe smoothly, return it to the bowl and add a small amount more milk. Optionally, top each swirl with a maraschino cherry or sprinkle with coarse sugar or sprinkles.
  8. Chill shaped cookies. Place the baking sheet with piped cookies in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes to firm up.
  9. Preheat oven. Set oven to 350°F (177°C) while cookies chill.
  10. Bake cookies. Bake chilled cookies for 12–15 minutes until edges seem set. Smaller cookies bake closer to 12 minutes. The cookies will spread but maintain shape due to chilling.
  11. Cool cookies. Remove from oven, let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  12. Optional: Melt chocolate. Melt chopped semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler or microwave in 20-second increments, stirring until smooth.
  13. Decorate cookies. Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and sprinkle toppings if desired. Let chocolate set at room temperature (about 1 hour) or refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  14. Store the cookies. Cookies with chocolate or cherries keep airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerated up to 1 week. Cookies without chocolate or cherries last up to 1 week at room temperature.

Notes

  • Chilling the shaped dough before baking prevents excessive spreading and helps cookies maintain their piped shape.
  • If dough becomes too stiff to pipe, add small amounts of warm milk gradually to reach a pipe-able consistency.
  • Use a large piping tip for the best swirl shape; manually piping thick dough can require some practice.
  • The espresso powder enhances the chocolate flavor but can be omitted if desired.
  • Cookies dipped in chocolate should be fully cooled before dipping to avoid melting the chocolate too much.

Keywords: chocolate cookies, piped cookies, butter cookies, cocoa cookies, espresso powder cookies, holiday cookies, piped swirl cookies

Find it online: https://platedandproud.com/piped-chocolate-butter-cookies-recipe/