\n\tWhen I think of Valentine\u2019s Day flavors, I think of chocolate and raspberry. Therefore, these chocolate raspberry cookies are the perfect treat for your Valentine\u2019s Day.
\nUsing freeze dried raspberries is key to this raspberry buttercream recipe. Raspberry buttercream with freeze dried raspberries will create the perfect consistency needed for stable buttercream.
\nThe raspberry buttercream is also a crusting buttercream and an American buttercream. This means that the frosting is perfect for piping and decorating our chocolate cut out sugar cookies.
\nThe chocolate sugar cookie recipe includes a secret, not so common ingredient, to make them fudgy. Sometimes cut out chocolate sugar cookies only look chocolaty, there is no denying these tasting like chocolate.<\/p>\n
Follow along for the recipe for these chocolate raspberry cookies that will bring a smile to your Valentine.
\n*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my\u00a0full disclosure\u00a0for further information.*<\/p>\n
Delicious Chocolate Cut Out Cookie Recipe
\nFor these chocolate raspberry cookies, you will first need to make the chocolate cut out sugar cookies.
\nYou will need flour, white & brown sugar, butter, cocoa powder, an egg, vanilla extract, avocado oil (or your preferred oil), and my secret ingredient, chocolate fudge pudding.<\/p>\n
The chocolate fudge pudding has two great benefits:<\/p>\n
One, the cookies are jam packed with chocolate flavor. I\u2019ve heard people describe these cookies as brownie cookies and I\u2019m not complaining!
\nTwo, the pudding has gelatin in it which will help make these a no-chill, no-spread, sugar cookie.<\/p>\n
The first step is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. We want to make sure the oven is already to temperature so we don\u2019t need to chill the dough.
\nNext, measure out three cups of flour into a large sized mixing bowl. Remember to use the scoop and level method. That is, use a spoon to scoop some flour into a measuring cup. Once you are near the top of the cup, level out the cup. With this method, you don\u2019t need to sift the flour.<\/p>\n
Mix in the 1\/2 cup of cocoa powder and the 3.9 ounce package of Chocolate Fudge Instant Jello pudding mix.<\/p>\n
Once your dry ingredients are mixed together, go ahead and set that aside.
\nIn your electric mixer, combine 3\/4 cup of white granulated sugar, 1\/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, and 1 cup of cold salted butter. Mix those ingredients until well combined.
\nMix until the butter and sugars and creamed well together.
\nOnce it is creamed together, add in your egg, teaspoon of\u00a0vanilla extract, and one tablespoon of avocado oil. Mix until the egg is combined well.
\nUsing the spoon you used for the scoop and level method, slowly add in the dry ingredients. It\u2019s best to turn off the mixer in between each addition of dry ingredients so that the butter and egg don\u2019t overheat. Plus, it helps avoid a big powdery explosion in the kitchen.
\nOnce all of the flour is mixed in, assess the state of the dough.\u00a0It should be slightly crumbly but still combine together if you pick some up with your hand and squeeze it.\u00a0If it is too crumbly, add in more canola oil, a tablespoon at a time. I find that two tablespoons is perfect for me.
\nThe perfect texture for chocolate cut out cookies that won\u2019t spread.
\nPrepare a clean spot to roll out the dough and sprinkle some flour onto it. Some people like to use cocoa powder for this to keep the cookies nice and dark. For this recipe, I recommend using flour as the cocoa powder gives the cookies a bitter taste.
\nRoll out the dough to 1\/4 to 3\/8 of an inch thick.
\nWhen rolling out the dough, I like to grab just half of the dough at a time. I find that is the perfect size to roll out and fit cookies onto my\u00a0silicone\u00a0lined\u00a0baking sheet.
\nRolling out too much dough at once overworks the dough and thus, makes it warmer than we want. Overworking the dough also leads to creases in the baked dough, which isn\u2019t that pretty.
\nCut out the cookies and then place them onto the lined baking sheet.
\nBake the cookies for 9-10 minutes until the dough doesn\u2019t look wet in the center or the edges start to golden.\u00a0Be careful not to overcook these ones!\u00a0With the cookie being so dark, you cannot rely on the \u201cgolden edges\u201d for doneness.
\nI like to check on these cookies at the 9 minute mark by pulling them out of the oven and looking at the centers. If they are wet, place them back in for a minute. Sometimes, they will form a small bubble on the top which means they are done, but they don\u2019t always do that.
\nIt is better to slightly undercook the cookies than to overcook them, as they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.
\nAnother tip for success that I highly recommend doing with these cookies is to allow these cookies to cool completely on the sheet. Once cooled, set them in an airtight container and freeze them overnight.
\nWhen you are ready to decorate, pull the cookies out of the freezer 30-60 minutes prior to decorating. Don\u2019t attempt to grab the individual cookies until completely defrosted, otherwise they may break.
\nFreezing the cookies right after baking locks in the moisture, bringing out that brownie quality we all love and want!<\/p>\n
How to Make Raspberry Buttercream With Freeze Dried Raspberries<\/p>\n
Preparing the Freeze Dried Raspberries
\nYou can go about this raspberry buttercream with freeze dried raspberries a couple of ways:<\/p>\n
Use freeze dried whole or sliced raspberries, either store bought or homemade OR
\nUse powdered freeze dried raspberries<\/p>\n
Bestseller No. 2<\/p>\n
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Using already powdered freeze dried raspberries will save you a step, but the powdered form tends to be more difficult to find in stores.
\nIf you freeze dry your own raspberries or want to buy freeze dried raspberries, you will need to grind them up first.
\nTo grind the raspberries up into a powder, use a food processor. Simply process the raspberries until they are a fine powder. The finer, the better. If you don\u2019t mind larger bits of raspberry in your frosting, then it doesn\u2019t have to be super fine.<\/p>\n
Do keep in mind that if you are using whole raspberries, you won\u2019t be able to decorate cookies with a small tip size, such as a Wilton #5 or smaller.
\nFor this reason, I prefer to purchase already ground freeze dried raspberries. I was easily able to decorate some chocolate heart sugar cookies with raspberry buttercream using a tip #5. No clogging at all!<\/p>\n
You will use a third to a half of a cup of freeze dried raspberry powder in the buttercream.
\nMaking the Raspberry Buttercream Frosting<\/p>\n
Take two sticks of unsalted butter out of the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature. Two sticks of butter is equivalent to one cup, or 8 ounces.
\nAlternatively, you can use salted butter or even half salted and half unsalted butter. This will depend on how sweet you want your frosting. Skip the salt for more sweet and use salt for less sweet.
\nWhile you wait for the butter to come to room temperature, make the powdered\/ground up freeze dried raspberries if needed.
\nIf you have powdered freeze dried raspberries already, you can skip this step.
\nOnce the butter has come to room temperature, add it to a stand mixer and beat it with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
\nCream the butter until it is lighter in color and all of the lumps are gone.
\nTurn off the stand mixer and add in four cups of powdered confectioner\u2019s sugar. Four cups is a lot, yes. However, I promise the flavors will all balance out.
\nWe use four cups of powdered sugar in order for the frosting to form a slight crust. All that means is that the outer layer of frosting will dry to the touch. This helps keep fingers cleaned when picking up the cookies & cupcakes.
\nWith the four cups of powdered sugar, add in a third of a cup of powdered freeze dried raspberries, one tablespoon of of vanilla extract, and two tablespoons of milk.
\nCover the stand mixer with a clean towel or a paper towel and mix on low\/stir. Once the frosting is coming together, remove the towel and keep mixing.
\nIf the frosting is thicker than a creamy peanut butter consistency, add more milk. Keep in mind, the freeze dried raspberries will create a thicker buttercream since the raspberries are pulling for moisture, so you will add more milk than usual.
\nDo not turn the mixer higher than low. If needed, use a rubber spatula to stir the frosting. Overmixing buttercream can cause air bubbles. If you do overmix, here\u2019s a post on how to fix it. I promise it\u2019s not terribly hard to fix, but, as always, prevention is better.
\nNow for the best part \u2013 perform a taste test. Is the raspberry flavor strong enough for you? You can add up to a half cup (total) of the powdered raspberry powder. I find a third of a cup to be perfect for my taste buds, but we are all different!
\nNext, is the frosting too sweet for you? I am used to American buttercream recipes because I use it to decorate buttercream sugar cookies. However, some people find an American buttercream to be too sweet. If you want to cut the sweetness a bit, add in some salt.
\nStore this raspberry buttercream with freeze dried raspberries in an icing bag on the counter for a few hours while decorating.
\nYou can also store in an air tight container on the counter for several hours, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.<\/p>\n
\tChocolate Cut Out Sugar Cookies3 cups all purpose flour1 package Chocolate Fudge instant pudding mix 3.9 ounce package1\/2 cup cocoa powder1 cup cold salted butter3\/4 cup granulated sugar1\/4 cup dark brown sugar packed1 egg1 tsp vanilla extract1-3 tbsp avocado oil see instructionsRaspberry Buttercream1 cup unsalted butter room temperature, can use salted if you want to cut the sweetness4 cups powdered sugar\u2153-\u00bd cup freeze dried raspberries powdered1 tbsp. vanilla extract2-6 tbsp. whole milk
\n\tChocolate Cut Out Sugar CookiesPreheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.In a large mixing bowl, mix your flour, cocoa powder, and Chocolate Fudge pudding mix together. When measuring the flour, make sure to scoop up the flour with a spoon and add it to your measuring cup, one spoonful at a time. This helps obtain the correct amount of flour without needing to weigh it. Once you have a cup, level it out by running a knife across the top of the measuring cup. In your electric mixer, combine the white and brown sugars with the butter using the paddle attachment until they are creamed together.Add in your egg, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, and vanilla extract and mix to combine.Slowly add in the flour, cocoa powder, and pudding mixture to the wet ingredients and combine. The combined mixture will be crumbly but still form a ball if picked up and molded into a ball. If it is too crumbly, add in another tablespoon of oil.On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 1\/4 of an inch thick & cut out your cookies. A great tip is to flour your rolling pin and any cookie cutters you may be using. Transfer the cut out cookies to a baking sheet lined with a \u00a0silicone mat\u00a0or parchment paper.Bake for 9-10 minutes and let cool on the baking sheet. The dough will be done when the center of the dough doesn\u2019t look wet. It is better to undercook the cookies than to overcook them, as it will be difficult to watch for burns with these dark sugar cookies.Optional but highly suggested: Place the cooled cookies into an airtight container and freeze them overnight. Remove the container from the freezer 1 hour before decorating for soft brownie chocolate cut out cookies.Raspberry ButtercreamIn the stand mixer, cream the butter until it is lighter in color and fluffier. Add in the powdered sugar, a third of a cup of powdered freeze dried raspberries, the vanilla extract, and two tablespoons of milk. Use the rubber spatula to mix the ingredients together a bit before covering the stand mixer and mixing on low until creamy.If the raspberry buttercream is too stiff for what you need to frost, add more whole milk and mix on low.Place the buttercream into an icing bag with a Wilton round tip, such as the tip #5.Decorating the Valentine Chocolate Raspberry Cookies<\/p>\n
\tIf you’d like more raspberry flavor, add in up to a half cup (total, not in addition to the 1\/3 cup) to the buttercream.
\n\u00a0
\nIf you have leftover freeze dried raspberry powder, it tastes delicious stirred into some vanilla ice cream or even water.
\n\u00a0
\nThe raspberry buttercream with freeze dried raspberries will be thicker than usual, as the freeze dried raspberries are pulling liquid from the buttercream. Add more milk than you typically would for your preferred consistency.
\n\u00a0
\nIf the raspberry buttercream is too sweet for you, you can add in a bit of salt or simply use salted butter. Do keep the four cups of powdered sugar so that the buttercream will form a crust.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nPipe the buttercream immediately. The buttercream can be stored on the counter for several days at room temperature.
\n\u00a0
\nStore any leftover raspberry buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for a few months.<\/p>\n
Add the buttercream to a piping bag. I decided to make some chocolate cut out sugar cookie hearts, perfect for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
Save this Recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
\nUse the image below to pin this recipe for chocolate raspberry cookies to your baking board or Valentine\u2019s Day board on Pinterest. Alternatively, use any of the social share icons on the top of the page to share it to your favorite social media site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I think of Valentine\u2019s Day flavors, I think of chocolate and raspberry. Therefore, these chocolate raspberry cookies are the perfect treat for your Valentine\u2019s Day. Using freeze dried raspberries is key to this raspberry buttercream recipe. Raspberry buttercream with freeze dried raspberries will create the perfect consistency needed for stable buttercream. The raspberry buttercream […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cookies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}