Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies are a fun twist to making chocolate chip cookies with cookie cutters. Roll out the dough into shapes then eat them as is or decorate with vanilla buttercream & sprinkles.

One question I hate getting is “What is your favorite food?”

One – I’m not good at thinking on the spot and two – there is so much good food out there, how can you possibly answer with a favorite?!

However, if you’d ask me what my favorite cookie is, I’d immediate answer small batch chocolate chip cookies.

Funny because I’m usually attracted to fun flavors, not boring classics. I may not want a plain vanilla cupcake or basic chocolate ice cream, but don’t mess with my chocolate chip cookie.

Sometimes I get lazy and make my chocolate chip cookie bars baked in a loaf pan, chocolate chip snowball cookies, or even my chocolate chip cheese ball.

Other times I go all out and make these Chocolate Chip Cut Out Cookies.

It’s not often I use a cookie cutter. I actually have a good collection of cookie cutters, including several dinosaur ones, but I normally don’t have the patience or skill for decorated cookies.

However, I love chocolate chip so much I can make an exception.

And yes, you CAN cut out chocolate chip cookies with this easy recipe! The dough is different than your classic chocolate chip cookie because it’s designed to be rolled out rather than scooped.

There is no baking soda or baking powder so the cookies won’t rise. They’ll stay nice and flat for your shapes.

They are still susceptible to spreading, but I’m sharing a few tips on how to prevent cut out cookies from spreading.

How many cookies does this recipe make?

It’s hard to give an exact yield for cut out cookies due to the size of your cookie cutters, but I got about 12 large cookies.

Different sizes also means different baking times. Smaller cookies are done around 9 minutes while the larger cookies are done around 11 minutes.

Check your cookies at 9 minutes then remove any that are done baking while you finish the rest.

How do you roll out cookie dough without sticking?

Nothing is more frustrating than having your cookie dough stick to everything before you can bake them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to cry over this.

The key to keep the dough from sticking is making sure it doesn’t get warm. One trick is to roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap before you chill it.

First: it’s much easier to roll out room temperature dough than cold dough. If you’re rolling out cold dough, you have to wait for the dough to warm up. Warm dough = unhappy baker.

Second: Pre-rolling the dough means less time working with the dough.

The more time you spend on the dough, the more likely it’ll get warm and stick to everything. You’re working against the clock, so the faster you can cut out cookies, the better.

If your dough is ready to cut straight from the fridge, you’ll waste no time cutting out your cookies with ease.

How do you keep chocolate chip cut out cookies from spreading in the oven?

Ever cut out beautifully shaped cookies, only to have them turn into blobs after baking? That’s because they spread too much when baking, losing their distinctive shapes.

The key to keep your chocolate chip cookies from spreading is keeping the dough cold (notice the theme here?).

I highly recommend popping them into your freezer while your oven preheats, about 15-20 minutes.

By the time your oven is ready, they should be cold enough to prevent spreading.

How To Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

My cut out chocolate chip cookie recipe isn’t quite a small batch recipe as it makes 12 large cookies or a lot more smaller ones, but luckily you can freeze the dough.

There are two ways you can freeze the cookie dough:

1. Once you roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick, wrap it in plastic wrap then stick into a freezer bag. This method is useful for when you don’t have time to cut or don’t know what shape you want yet.
2. Cut out your shapes then freeze individually on a plastic wrap-lined tray for 1 hour or until firm. Once the shapes are firm, transfer them to a freezer bag and seal. This method is useful for when you want to grab and bake later without doing extra work.

When wrapped properly, cookie dough can be frozen for up to 9-12 months.

How To Decorate Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you can guess by the photos, I originally made these roll out chocolate chip cookies for 4th of July with a star cookie cutter and red, white, and blue sprinkles.

You can also make these to add to your best Christmas cookie tray.

Now don’t get me wrong – these chocolate chip cookies are delicious without frosting, so sometimes I stop there and eat them as is.

However, if you want to get creative you can frost them with buttercream frosting and decorate with sprinkles.

You can even take it one step further and pipe chocolate around the edges. Melt chocolate chips directly in a sandwich bag, push it all to one corner, then snip and pipe away.

While the chocolate is still hot, add sprinkles so they’ll stick. It’s best if you spread on buttercream before piping the chocolate.

More Cut Out Cookie Recipes

Looking for more cookie dough to roll out? Check out these other cut out cookie recipes:

• Small Batch Gingerbread Cookies
• Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

 

Source: Adapted from Nestle Toll House Best-Loved Cookies cookbook