Hey Besties! These are hands down, the spookiest cookies I’ve ever made! But they are also arguably the easiest cookies you can make too! If you’ve been here before, you know we specialize in easy to make cookies that don’t look easy! Cookie stamps are one of the easiest ways to create unique, eye-catching cookies that anyone can make. Seriously, no special skills are needed here. The key to stamping success is the recipe! And I love to share our cookie stamp recipes which have all been perfected for this purpose. And don’t worry, we definitely don’t compromise flavor! These chocolate stamped cookies are as yummy as they are spooky! Let’s dive in!
Cookie Stamps 101
If cookie stamping is new to you, let’s recap with a quick 101 on how to use cookie stamps! We use both metal and wooden stamps for our cookies but have different stamping techniques depending on the kind of stamp. Both are very straightforward but good for you to know, especially if you’re picking a new stamp!
When using a metal cookie stamp, your cookies will be slightly larger and thicker than when you use a wooden stamp. And this is due to the technique you use. For metal stamps, I walk through the entire process in THIS post. You’ll essentially be rolling your dough into oversized balls, coating with granulated sugar and then stamping down to create your design. But I cover everything in that post.
For today’s skull cookies, we’re using a wooden cookie stamp. These cookies end up being slightly smaller and thinner, but still soft and chewy. Note that regardless of which kind of stamp you use, you can always bake longer if you prefer a crispy cookie texture.
I personally love all cookie stamps, but if I had to choose a favorite style to work with, it would be the wooden ones. I find the technique slightly easier, faster and I love the more intricate designs. Now that you know the differences between stamps and the cookies they create, let’s get into these spooky cookies!
My Favorite Wooden Cookie Stamps
I’ve used a lot of cookie stamps, and THIS skull one is definitely one of my favorites during the fall! The shop that makes these is my favorite source for beautiful, intricate stamps. They are wonderful quality; have a huge collection of beautiful designs and I love supporting a family’s small business.
- 2.5 inch (6.5 cm) in diameter
If you prefer to purchase from Etsy, they have a store HERE with an expanded collection, including larger stamps too!
How To Make These Chocolate Stamped cOokies
I hope you’re hungry for a treat because these will be warm out of the oven soon! You’re going to start by preparing your dough by following the recipe below. It’s very simple and straightforward. Then you’ll roll out your dough to 1/4″ thick. I use my Joseph Joseph rolling pin that does the measuring for me – genius! Then, dip your stamp in flour, tap off any excess and stamp your dough. I re-flour my stamp after every 3 cookies. Here is what they will look like when stamped in the dough!
Then you can use a 2.5″ round cutter and cut the cookies out of the dough. Simply place on your parchment-lined cookie sheet. Here is what they look like before going in the oven!
And here they are fresh out of the oven! The house smells heavenly and all of a suddenly the family is popping into the kitchen to see what smells so good! Give the cookies a few minutes to cool before transferring to fully cool on a rack.
From here, they are ready to enjoy, package or gift! Easy, right?
Recipe for Chocolate Stamped Cookies
We’re using one of our most popular, tried-and-true recipes for these cookies, which you will find below! This recipe was originally released when we made THESE metal stamped cookies, which we added luster dust to for extra sparkle. Shimmer would definitely be fun for these skull cookies too just to accent the design even more!
This chocolate recipe is a dream to work with. It’s easy to prepare, no-chilling necessary, has zero spread and perfectly holds your cookie stamp designs! Based as instructed, they are soft, chewy and taste like a brownie!
Let’s talk about cocoa powder for a moment; I prefer to use Dutch processed baking cocoa. Dutch processed cocoa powder has a slightly higher pH and a much darker color. While sometimes you can use them interchangeably, there is a rule of thumb that I find helpful. When a recipe calls for baking soda, use natural cocoa powder. Conversely, when a recipe calls for baking powder, use Dutch processed cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa powder is not as readily available as regular cocoa powder. However, I always use the Ghirardelli brand Dutch processed cocoa powder and find it at Walmart.
And let’s talk about espresso powder for a moment too! You may not realize it, but espresso powder is a common ingredient in chocolate baked goods. It really helps enhance the chocolate to give a fuller, richer flavor. And I can promise you, you will not taste a hint of coffee! I can also assure you; this amount of espresso powder will not have your kids bouncing off the walls. I’m personally extremely sensitive to caffeine and would get very ill if I drank a cup of coffee or (gasp!) a can of Coca-Cola! Confession: I’ve ate more of these cookies than I care to admit in one sitting and had no caffeine effects. All that said, you can omit the espresso powder if you’d prefer; you just won’t have as deep of a rich chocolate flavor.
Without further ado, here is the recipe you’ve been waiting for! I hope you love these cookies as much as we do!
Chocolate Cookie Stamp Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) Salted Butter Chilled
- 1 cup (200g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg Chilled
- 1 Tbsp (15ml) Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup (46g) Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- 2 tsp (9.58g) Baking Powder
- 2.5 cups (340g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp (5g) Espresso Powder
Instructions
- I use butter straight out of the fridge, cubed for easy mixing.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- I use parchment paper sheets on my cookie sheets and reuse them for all my batches that day. Reynolds is my favorite brand to eliminate any spread.
- In your mixer bowl (or large bowl with hand-mixer) cream butter and sugar until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Beat in vanilla and egg
- In a separate bowl. combine the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and espresso powder. Add to wet mixture a small amount at a time.
- Mix until dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl
- Chilling the dough is not necessary! Although, you're welcome to chill your dough if you prefer. You'll achieve perfect designs regardless of whether you chill this dough or not.
If using a wooden cookie stamp:
- I usually divide the dough into 3 chunks and roll out each onto a floured surface, use my Joseph Joseph rolling pin to roll to 1/4" thick.
- Use wooden stamp to gently press down into the dough to create the design.
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut the dough and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.
- Cool cookies on cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to cooling rack.
If using a metal cookie stamp:
- Roll dough into balls slightly larger than golf ball size.
- Roll dough balls in granulated sugar. Dip stamp in sugar.
- Using cookie stamp, center over ball and push down hard. Dough will squeeze out around stamp. Slowly lift/remove stamp.
- If dough sticks to stamp, use a lip of the dough to carefully peel the cookie dough off the stamp and place on cookie sheet.
- Trim any excess dough around the stamped design, using a circle cookie cutter or pen blade for baking.
- Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes.
- Cool cookies on cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to cooling rack.
Notes
We are so excited to offer these chocolate stamped cookies to our customers this season! They are such a delicious and yummy treat that no one believes are homemade! I hope this post has inspired you to bake and stamp some cookies yourself! I’m confident that your family, friends and even customers will be back for more!
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