Me, finding an excuse to make my favourite chocolate butter cookies again and again… With a CUTIE HOLIDAY TWIST!
For the fall harvest version of these, I bought this silicone mold on Amazon fully planning to use it for hot chocolate bombs and then it was much smaller than I expected. I was using it as an ice cube tray for a while (festive ice is FUN), and then I decided to try making cookies in it. I am loving how they turned out! So then of course I had to get a Christmas version fired up too.
Lemme briefly share how this is done, and then I’ll add the recipe at the bottom. First, we need our mold. This can work for any shape tbh, but you’ll want to choose the same size mold OR just be aware of the fact that your baking times will be different. Here’s the one I used for the fall harvest cookies: Fall Harvest Silicone Mold; the one I used for the Christmas trees is from HomeSense!
Then, we mix up our cookie dough. This recipe is an altered version of a family Christmas cookie that I’ve been making with my mom for decades. It’s the same as my Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies and my Halloween Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies. It’s veryyyyy easy to pull together!
Instead of rolling into little balls and pressing with our thumbs though, we’re gonna roll into little balls and press into the mold. Don’t worry about getting into the little crevices – the chocolate will handle that when we finish them off! Just cover most of the area of the mold. Then we bake until the cookies are set – for the fall harvest mold, it took 14 minutes. For the Christmas trees, it was only 8 minutes, since they were much smaller.
Let the cookies cool completely in the mold before popping them out. You can leave them like this if you’d like! I think they look really neat just with the texture of the mold.
If you want to finish them off with chocolate, make sure to wash the mold well first. Then melt up some white chocolate, and dye it orange and red for the pumpkins and leaves. Dye it green for Christmas trees! Melt some milk or dark chocolate for the acorns. Then pipe or spoon the chocolate into the molds, and press the matching cookie on top of the chocolate (back into the mold the same way it came out). Put the mold aside for about an hour to let the chocolate set, then pop out your little cookie gems!!
I really like this mold because it’s deep, so you get solid hunks of cookie. The chocolate is smooth and sweet, and the cookie is rich and buttery… A lovely combination!
Here’s a short video showing the molding process for the fall cookies:
And here’s the video for the Christmas trees:
And lastly, here is the recipe (just note that the bake time is 14 minutes, not 8 if you are using the large molds). Happy baking!
Holiday Chocolate Butter Cookie Gems
Ingredients
- ¾ cup softened butter 180g
- ½ cup sugar 100g
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour 190g
- ¼ cup cocoa powder 25g (do half black cocoa, half regular cocoa if possible)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 g white chocolate candy melts preferably Merkens brand
- food colouring
- sprinkles
Instructions
- For the Cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolk and almond extract to the butter-sugar mixture and continue beating until the mixture is smooth.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix until the dough is fully combined. At first, it may appear dry, but it will come together as you mix.
- Roll the dough into balls that are about the same size as the hollows in your mold of choice. Then press the cookie dough into each cavity. You can fill it up to the top, as these cookies don't spread or rise.
- You can just create little balls with any leftover dough you have!
- Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. *Please note that the bake time can vary depending on the size of the molds you have selected! For the Fall Harvest Mold, bake for 14 minutes. Otherwise, bake until the cookies are no longer shiny on top, and they appear to be set.
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool while you prepare the topping.
- Microwave the white chocolate candy melts in 30 second increments, stirring often, until they have melted.
- For the pumpkin and acorn cookies: Separate the chocolate into two bowls. Add a few drops of orange food colouring to one bowl, stirring until it reaches your desired pumpkin colour. Add a few drops of brown food colouring to one bowl, stirring until it reaches your desired acorn colour.
- For the Christmas tree cookies: Remove a small amount of white chocolate and set it aside (this is for the drizzle). Add a few drops of green food colouring to the remaining melted chocolate, stirring until it reaches your desired pumpkin colour. Set aside.
- Once the cookies have cooled, spoon a small teaspoon of melted chocolate into each cavity of the mold. Then press each cookie back into the mold.
- Allow the cookies to set at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge for about 20 minutes before popping them out of the mold.
- For the Christmas tree cookies: Swizzle the white chocolate over the trees and top with sprinkles.
