Taste-wise, my favorite cookie is, and probably always will be, chocolate chip. I’d make all my decorated cookies chocolate chip if I could – the problem is that they spread too much during baking, so it’s difficult to make detailed themed-shapes.
These were perfect for a contest Pillsbury hosted last year though. The challenge was use a Pillsbury product and do something different with it. Of course I wanted to do decorated cookies, and the classic smiley face was perfect – happy and round!
It’s been over a year since I made these, (and no I didn’t win 😉 ), and in the meantime my students and I have been experimenting with chocolate chip cookie recipes made from scratch.
The recipe I’m about to share with you is the result. It’s d*e*l*i*c*i*o*u*s in my (biased lol) opinion and would work as a decorated cookie for any kind of round shape or just as the backdrop for any shape you’d like to pipe on it.
I’ll be experimenting with more choc. chip decorated cookies and will eventually post them on Sweetopia. If you’d like to try this recipe below, please let me know what you thought of it. (My students will be eager to hear as well!)
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
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Click here for the printable version.
Ingredients:
½ pound or 250 g unsalted butter
½ cup or 100 g white (granulated) sugar
1 cup or 200 g packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 ¼ cups or 320 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 ounces or 300 g semisweet chocolate chunks (or favorite chocolate of choice)
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Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix butter, white sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and eggs and mix well.
- Sift together flour and baking soda and add to mixing bowl; mix until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into uniform size balls and space them apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. {A 1 ½ inch ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon can help you create uniform cookie balls}.
- Bake for 15 minutes if you like your cookies chewy, longer if you like them crisp. (Approx. 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the cookie no longer looks ‘wet’).
- Remove from oven, let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Once cookies are cool, decorate with royal icing if desired!
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Smiley Face Chocolate Chip Cookies – Quick Visual How-To
For decorating your cookies, below is quick visual overview. If you’d like more detail, here’s an in-depth decorating tutorial, and a quick decorating overview here.
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Decorating Chocolate Chip Cookies
LOVE your cookies!
I’ve tried so many different recipes and consistencies for royal icing and nothing ever worked for me….it was too time consuming, too frustrating, or both! But then I happened upon your blog!
Your same consistency piping and flood icing and your ‘shakey’ method of smoothing everything out is SO easy for me! Baking and decorating cookies is fun for me again!
Thanks again for all the wonderful information and recipes!
Rachel I’m so glad to hear that! I’d love to see some pics of your cookies if you’d like to share them on my facebook page. =)
I have to agree choc chip are the best tasting for me too. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
My pleasure. Hope you like it!
I would love to try this recipe too! =) Can you share your secret on how to pipe that perfect circle on the smiley face cookie? I can never pipe a circle…it always turns out crooked.. 🙁
@ Anna ♥ Sugarized:
I’m not so sure that was a perfect circle 😉
One tip which helps a bit is:
As I’m piping I keep my eye on the edge of the cookie and how far my icing is from it. I find if I keep piping the same distance away from the edge it helps make a nicer looking circle. I’ll add that to my video ‘to do’ list.
Many of mine still turn out crooked though!
You’ve inspired me… My favorite is choc chip cookies. Your marbling video was great too.. helped me with my Christmas Cookies!
Steph
@ Stephanie Santana:
Thanks Steph. Glad I could help!
Marian, the cookie looks so delicious even without decoration on it, I could imagine how much more yummy it is with the icing.
I have a few recipes I want to try, I also jot this one down. Thanks for sharing it.
This is one of my favorite cookies you have made. One of my first Sweetopia moments! Love. You are Def one of my favorite cookiers
Aw, thanks! So sweet of you SweetSugarBelle!!!
The chocolate chip cookie recipe is almost identical to mine except I only use 2 cups of flour instead of 2 1/4. I’ve tried many through the years and this recipe makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever! And I have many guys overseas in my husbands unit that would agree. Thanks for the inspiration and how to for the smiley faces. Such a unique idea! I’m definitely going to try it and send some to the guys to cheer them up!
It is delicious!
Kudos to you and the men overseas!
Thank you so much for the chocolate chip recipe. I’m really interested to get into decorating a bit more, but I think the basic sugar cookie recipe is a bit of a letdown of the beautiful icing. This will be fabulous, thanks.
Definitley tastier than sugar cookies in my opinion too.
Have fun decorating Adele!
Have you seen SweetSugarBelle’s post on these. She didn’y feature you, but she did something similar. Here’s the link:
http://sweetsugarbelle.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-mood-for-chocolate-chip.html
Hope you enjoy!
Thanks Hannah – she’s a wonderful decorator!
My son asked me after the last batch of sugar cookies I baked if I could make chocolate chip sugar cookies… I guess so he can have chocolaty goodness and decorated cookies all at once.
What a delightfully delicious idea to decorate a chocolate chip cookie! The cookie looks delicious and it was great of you to post the recipe. I love your sweet little snowman and look forward to your tutorial on how to get him so cute with that darling little scarf!
OH — that sweet little snowman might be THE CUTEST snowman I have EVER SEEN! I LOVE HIM!!
@ Amanda Daybyday:
Kids know best sometimes don’t they?! 😉@ Paula:
Thanks Paula; enjoy the recipe!
@ Georganne:
I know, I thought he was adorable when I saw him too! I knew I wanted to make an icing version of him.
incredible !! i can barely make decent cookies, but these look incredible… coming back for more…
@ shafeena:
Thanks for dropping by; maybe you should try it!
@ marian:
Thanks for the tip, Marian! =)
Love your cookies Marian you are amazing! looking forward for new videos! Love
I’m with you….I LOOOOOOVE chocolate chip cookies. I’d pick them over a sugar cookie any day! I love that you cam up with one smooth enough to decorate! I’ll have to give that a try!
These are so sweet! I honestly never thought to decorate any cookies besides rolled cookies! Love the adorable smilies!!
Wow, this has got to be the sweetest cookies I’ve ever seen! 🙂
Decorated chocolate chip cookies? You’ve just opened up my eyes to a ton of possibilities! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh my gosh, these look delicious!! I love these especailly because the cookie base is a really yummy one, and it still looks adorable with icing!!
Jess : )
Thanks Jess. Can’t beat chocolate chip!
I love that you gave the tutorial for these cookies and a recipe, they are pure childhood happy memories for me and I can’t wait to give them a try in my own home. Thanks, I’m following you now and can’t wait to see more of your excellent ideas.
Thanks so much Sara!
I used to have a difficult time decorating my sugar cookies. But I tried your technique yesterday and had so much fun! I was so proud of myself. Thank you for generously sharing your techniques. One thing I just noticed, particularly with your snowman, it seems as if the other parts come out looking like they’re embossed. How do you do that?
Thanks again!
@ Pittipat:
Thanks!
If I’m understanding you correctly, I think you mean that the scarf, for example, looks raised?
I let the bottom layer dry and then piped another layer on top.
Hope I’m understanding correctly!
Yup, that’s what i meant. So that’s how it’s done! Thanks!
No problem!
Hello Marian,
Just tried your chocolate chip recipe but I think I might have messed up. The only flour I had was Five Roses all purpose flour; and I usually use that for baking bread or making pizza crust. What brand of flour do you use for making cookies?
Thanks,
Lieim
That’s fine Lieim; it should work with all purpose.
Hi Mirian! What size tip did you use to outline the cookie, and what size tip to do the happy face details? To get this look of the happy face, you just did wet on wet, yes? Also, I am guessing that the chocolate chips may make the top of the cookie “bumpy” and not flat – this doesn’t matter once you apply a coat of royal icing on top? They will still be smooth in appearance I’m guessing as shown in your photos? Thanks!!
Hi Jessica, #3 (outline) and #3 (happy face) and yes, wet on wet technique. These cookies spread and were fairly flat on the top, so the royal icing covered most bumps. If you have a really chunky cookie you’ll see the bumps more.
Happpppy decorating!
Thank you for anwering my question Marian! One more…did you use icing bottles or filled pastry bags to decorate? Thanks! : )
I like the pastry bags cuz I find them easier to fill. =)
I love your “smiley face” cookies! When you add the eyes and mouth, is the yellow icing already dried or do you add it to wet icing?
Thanks so much!
Hi Mary Ellen; I do this one ‘wet on wet’ icing. =)
hola MARIAN, te estaría muy agradecida si me dieras una receta de galletas para celiacos ya que el mes que entra es cumpleaños de mi hijito y no tolera el gluten,te deseo todo el éxito del mundo
Hello.
I am a follower of your blog. I love your work.
I wanted to know if you can tell me that cookie recipe you use for decorated cookies.
Thank you very much.
Thanks Sara! My sugar, gingerbread and chocolate chip cookie recipes are in the tutorial section of the blog.
Hola, que preciosa esta tu pagina, te felicito. Y esas galletitas me encantaron, me encantaria probarlas.
Me encanto mucho el estilo de tu pagina, te ambienta y te anima a probar uno de los dulces aquí mostrados. Bueno la presentación vale mil. Te Felicito y que realices muchas ventas…. Te deseo todo lo mejor 🙂
@ Denise:
I would love to spend a ‘sweet package’ to my brother-in-law but how do you make sure the cookies don’t go bad?
@ Anonima: Gracias!
@ Erin: Here’s a post on shipping cookies for you. =)
https://sweetopia.net/2009/12/how-to-ship-decorated-cookies-and-cookie-craft-giveaway/
Hey:)
I just love love choc chip cookies but for those who have tried this recipe, I was wondering how sweet is it
😀
These are so cute…really makes those plan old chocolate chip cookies come alive. I love the bright yellow color. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, @ Mike ‘Cookie Man’ D.!