Description
These Mushroom Sugar Cookies are thick and soft sugar cookies with a rich chocolate exterior and a charming mushroom design in the center. They are slice-and-bake cookies that are easy and convenient to make, perfect for cottagecore aesthetics or holiday baking. You can freeze the dough and bake fresh cookies whenever desired, making them a fun and delightful treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup butter (barely softened - not too soft)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 2 cups all purpose flour (240g)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
- Red gel food coloring (as needed)
Decorations
- White round pearl sprinkles
- 1/3 cup coarse sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Green gel food coloring (as needed)
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla extract, and the large egg, mixing well to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
- Add dry ingredients: Sift together the all-purpose flour and Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until a soft cookie dough forms.
- Divide and color dough: Separate a small portion of the dough for the mushroom design. Add red gel food coloring to some dough to create the mushroom caps and green gel food coloring to another portion for the stems and other decorative elements. Leave the rest of the dough chocolate-flavored.
- Shape the cookies: Roll the chocolate dough into a log and shape the colored dough into mushroom shapes to place in the center. Carefully assemble the dough log so that each slice will feature a mushroom design in the center when cut.
- Chill dough: Wrap the dough log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up for easier slicing. For longer storage, freeze the dough.
- Preheat oven and slice cookies: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and slice into about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick cookies.
- Bake cookies: Place the sliced cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are set but the centers remain soft.
- Prepare icing: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream to create a smooth icing. Adjust thickness as needed. Use green gel food coloring to tint the icing for decorating if desired.
- Decorate cookies: While cookies cool, pipe or spread the green icing onto the mushroom designs for stems and leaves, and press white round pearl sprinkles onto the mushroom caps for a whimsical appearance. Optionally sprinkle coarse sugar for texture.
- Cool and serve: Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before serving or storing.
Notes
- These are slice-and-bake cookies, making them easy to prepare in advance and freeze for convenient fresh baking later.
- If you don’t have Dutch-processed cocoa powder, natural cocoa powder can be used but may slightly change the flavor.
- Use gel food coloring rather than liquid to avoid changing dough consistency.
- Make sure the butter is barely softened, not too soft, to achieve the best dough texture.
- For a lighter look on mushroom caps, adjust the amount of red gel food coloring gradually.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container to keep them soft.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 186 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 97 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
