Description
These adorable Black Cocoa Cat-Shaped Cookies are vegan, rich in chocolate flavor, and decorated with colorful vegan royal icing to create charming feline faces. Perfectly soft and slightly puffed, these cookies combine black cocoa and regular cocoa powder for an intense dark color and taste, making them a fun treat for both kids and adults.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (150g, $0.39)
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder ($0.12)
- 2 tbsp black cocoa powder ($0.24)
- ½ tsp baking soda ($0.01)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.01)
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup dairy-free unsalted butter, melted and cooled (1 stick butter/8 tbsp, $1.25)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g, $0.10)
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, packed (50g, $0.27)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.42)
- 2-4 tbsp dairy-free milk ($0.15)
Decoration
- Vegan royal icing or melted vegan milk/dark and white chocolate (white chocolate can be dyed pink or red with oil-based food coloring)
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, black cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, hand mixer, or whisk, mix the melted dairy-free butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add vanilla extract and mix again thoroughly.
- Form Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix until combined. If the dough appears crumbly, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of dairy-free milk slowly until the dough comes together to form a thick consistency.
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking.
- Shape Cookies: Scoop about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie using a small cookie scoop. Roll into a ball and place on the prepared trays. Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand or bottom of a cup to form the cat’s head shape. For the ears, take approximately ½ tsp of dough, shape into a small triangle, and attach it to the upper left or right side of the head. Repeat for the second ear. Place cookies 3-4 inches apart as they do not spread significantly when baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 10-13 minutes until the cookies are slightly puffy and soft in the center with set edges. They will not brown much due to the black cocoa. Avoid overbaking to keep cookies soft. They will continue to cook slightly after removal from the oven while cooling on the pan.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking trays for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate Faces: Using colored vegan royal icing (pink, yellow, and black), place each color in piping bags with small tips. Start with yellow icing to pipe dots that form outlines for the eyes on each cat and connect these into circles, working on all cookies before flooding the centers with yellow icing. When eyes are drying, use pink icing to add noses and inner ears. Finish by piping black icing whiskers on each side of the face and pupils inside the yellow eye circles, leaving a yellow border visible.
- Enjoy: Allow the icing to set fully before serving these delightful cat-shaped cookies.
Notes
- Use vegan royal icing for the best decorating result, or melted vegan chocolates dyed with oil-based food coloring as an alternative.
- Dough consistency is thick but should hold together well; add dairy-free milk sparingly to avoid making it too soft.
- Do not overbake to maintain a soft texture – cookies should be slightly puffy and soft in the center.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating to prevent icing from melting.
- Oil-based food coloring is necessary to dye white chocolate without seizing.