Chocolate Cookie Bears (or bunnies or pretzels or anything else!)
Today, I've got a kid-friendly chocolate cookie recipe for you, which I think originally comes from a Hershey's cookbook.
(Remember when we used to save UPC codes to send in for freebies??)
My mom used to make these with my siblings and me when we were kids, and I've done the same with mine, plus lots of nieces, nephews, and my friends' children.
The recipe is for a fairly basic chocolate cookie, but the dough is firm enough to roll into all sorts of different shapes.
Since this is fun for kids to do, we've made these several times when my children have had friends over (usually for their birthdays)....it makes for very cheap birthday entertainment!
And I have never met a kid who doesn't enjoy playing with chocolate cookie dough.
The dough is very easy to make. You cream the butter and sugar,
and beat in the eggs.
Then you mix the dry ingredients together,
and add them to the butter/egg/sugar mixture.
After the dough hangs out in the fridge for a couple of hours, it will be firm enough to shape.
You can make whatever shapes you want,
and it's helpful to use a toothpick to make noses and eyes and the like.
The cookies take about 6-8 minutes to bake (less if you've done some skinny shapes).
Things like letters or numbers tend to dry out quickly, so if you want them to be moist, either remove them early on in the baking, or put all the skinny shapes on a separate cookie sheet.
Chocolate Cookie Bears (or bunnies or pretzels or anything else!)
This recipe is like chocolate play-dough that you get to shape, bake, and eat! Kids love it.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered cocoa
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Notes
If you've made small or skinny shapes, watch them carefully so they don't burn!
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1 cookieAmount Per Serving Calories 139Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 29mgSodium 95mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 1gSugar 8gProtein 2g
As I am craving chocolate all the time these days, I think I will be making these now. My toddler can't really help or eat them, but it will be good practice for when he's older, right?
My grandma taught me how to bake and I have such fond memories of those times. I'm sure your kids will as well. Cute pictures!
Looks like my favorite kind of recipe- just the basics.
Ooo. This is definitely a recipe worth keeping. I have just gotta make these with my kiddos. Thanks for the recipe!
My boys would love this!! An excuse for them to eat chocolate and make it themselves, it couldn't get any better! I know they would really enjoy making the different animals & letters. I copied it down, thanks!
The little teddy bears look like Teddy Grahams!! How cool. I don't have kids so I guess I'll have to make them and take them to my mom's classroom. They can't have candy...but surely they can have cookies.
My girls are going to love this! I was just thinking we needed a fun project to do together this week. Thank you!
I think this is great! And you never fail at making me wish I had kidlets of my own 😉 Hehe.
Hmm, I may have to try this sometime. I don't have kids but maybe my ladyfriend would appreciate them.
Yum! I'm expecting my first baby in June, and while it'll be a little while before she can really cook with me, I'm already on the lookout for kid-friendly recipes. Thanks!
Cate: I'll echo Alton Brown that for a society like ours that is so obsessed with eating together that we don't put enough emphasis on cooking and baking together.
I know I cherish the times I bake with my mom even if we have arguments over methods of cooking.
Oh yeah! I forgot about these. The boys will love it!
I'm so glad Thomas wasn't looking over my shoulder as I read this, or else he would have insisted on making some immediately! These look really, really fun.
Frugal Dreamer- Not all children are as adorable as Kristen's! I'm only halfway joking...
I made these today in the peep shape. They are so easy, simple ingredients, and yummy! Plus I had a bunch of cocoa powder I needed to use up.
I made these today with my daughter. Well, actually we made the dough a few days ago, when we had some time, and then we shaped and baked them today. So fun! She said it was like play-doh you can eat! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us, Kristen.
So fun! Thanks so much for sharing. This will be a great activity for our kiddos.
Wow, look at how young your kids are in those photos!
I have a recipe called "Winter Fun Cookies" from somewhere, and it is very similar, but not chocolate. The winter fun cookies can be rolled into skinny logs to make holly leaves with berries, stars, angels, bells (with clapper) etc., and the dough can be dyed green and red. But chocolate, yum.
I know! They were so small and cute. 🙂 Good memories.