One of my favorite cookies in the world are those chocolate sandwich cookies stuffed with cream. They are so good, but not so good for you. Ever read the back of the box? Yikes! So, I’ve been on a mission to create my own chocolate sandwich cookie and that’s totally what I set out to do when creating this recipe. Along the way however, I realized that the chocolate cookies that I’ve created don’t need the creamy filling at all. In fact, these cookies are completely perfect on their own. So, that’s what you’ll find here…Simple Chocolate Cookies (no filling required). Crispy, slightly sweet and full of deep dark chocolate flavor. They are wonderful with milk, according to my son, and absolutely fantastic with coffee.
To make, start by creaming one cup (or two sticks) of softened butter together with one cup of granulated sugar until light and fluffy. You can use a standing or hand mixer for this. Next, add one egg and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl down, then stir in one teaspoon of vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, one teaspoon of granulated instant coffee (such as Nescafe) and one cup of cocoa powder. Last, mix in 2 cups of all-purpose flour until fully incorporated. Scoop the cookie dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, form into a flattened disc, wrap tightly and refrigerate the dough for one hour.
When an hour has passed, break off a chunk of dough (about ¼ of the dough) from the disk and leave the rest of the dough in the refrigerator. Place the dough you are working with between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible.
Place the cookies on a baking tray that’s been lined with parchment paper, pierce the cookies with a fork and bake the cookies for 15 minutes at 350 deg F, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the process of rolling, cutting and baking until all of the dough has been processed. You’ll end up with about 56 cookies in the end (depending on how much raw cookie dough you eat along the way, not that I am suggesting you do such a thing; it’s against the rules).
Tips: (1) While working with the dough, keep it as cold as possible so that it doesn’t turn sticky on you. If you need to flour your biscuit cutter, spatula, etc., use cocoa powder to do so. However, if the dough stays cold, you shouldn’t need the cocoa powder. (2) You do not necessarily have to pierce the cookies with a fork. I happen to like the look, but you can omit this step if you would prefer a smooth cookie. (3) These cookies would be great dipped in dark chocolate. I didn’t bother because I wanted a simple cookie but let me know if you end up going this route! (4) Life is short. Eat cookies for breakfast.
Simple Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp granulated instant coffee (such as Nescafe)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Cream together the softened butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add one egg and mix until fully incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then stir in the vanilla extract, kosher salt, instant coffee and cocoa powder. Last, mix in 2 cups of all-purpose flour until fully incorporated.
- Scoop the cookie dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, form into a flattened disc, wrap tightly and refrigerate the dough for one hour.
- When an hour has passed, break off a chunk of dough (about ¼ of the dough) from the disk and leave the rest of the dough in the refrigerator. Place the dough you are working with between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick.
- Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible. Place the unbaked cookies on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper, pierce the cookies with a fork and bake the cookies for 15 minutes at 350 deg F, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through baking.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat the process of rolling, cutting and baking until all of the dough has been processed. You’ll end up with about 56 cookies, give or take.
- Tips: (1) While working with the dough, keep it as cold as possible so that it doesn’t turn sticky on you. If you need to flour your biscuit cutter, spatula, etc., use cocoa powder to do so. However, if the dough stays cold, you shouldn’t need the cocoa powder. (2) You do not necessarily have to pierce the cookies with a fork. I happen to like the look, but you can omit this step if you would prefer a smooth cookie. (3) These cookies would be great dipped in dark chocolate. I didn’t bother because I wanted a simple cookie but let me know if you end up going this route! (4) Life is short. Eat cookies for breakfast.
