Chocolate Butter Cookies

These chocolate butter cookies are a simple favourite in our home. I make the dough with butter, cocoa, vanilla, and a few basic pantry ingredients, then the kids help me shape the cookies before they go into the oven.

Once baked, they are tender, lightly crumbly, and rich without being too sweet. They are lovely with tea, coffee, or a glass of milk.

Ingredients

• 125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 85 g powdered sugar

• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

• 1 packet vanilin or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 150 g plain flour

• 30 g cornstarch

• 25 g unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• Small pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare the butter mixture

Add the softened butter and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix until smooth, creamy, and slightly lighter in texture. You do not need to beat it for too long; the mixture should simply look soft and well combined.

Add the egg yolk and vanilin, then mix again until fully incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. If the cocoa powder is lumpy, sift the dry ingredients before adding them to the butter mixture.

Add the dry ingredients gradually and mix gently with a spatula or your hand until a soft cookie dough forms. The dough should be smooth, pliable, and easy to shape without sticking to your hands.

If the dough feels too soft, chill it in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes before shaping.

Shape the cookies

Preheat the oven to 170°C top and bottom heat, or 160°C fan.

Take small pieces of dough, about walnut-sized, and roll them into balls. This is a lovely step to do with kids, as the dough is soft and easy to handle.

Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving a little space between each one.

You can press the tops with your fingers, the back of a fork, or a cookie stamp if you want a patterned finish.

Bake the cookies

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. The cookies will still feel slightly soft when they come out of the oven, but they will firm up as they cool.

Let them rest on the tray for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. This helps them keep their shape and gives them a tender, buttery texture.

Cool and serve

Allow the cookies to cool completely before serving.

You can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.