These mushroom sugar cookies are thick, soft sugar cookies with a chocolate outside and an adorable mushroom design in the center! They're slice and bake cookies that are surprisingly easy to make and so convenient! Cut off a slice and bake it when you want a fresh cookie - or prep a whole batch of cookie dough and keep it in the freezer until you're ready to bake some cookies. These are the ultimate cottagecore and holiday cookies - so cute and fun to make!
Try these peppermint slice and bake sugar cookies that are so festive and also have a gorgeous design in the middle.
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🍄 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Mushroom design: It might look difficult but this mushroom design is actually pretty easy to replicate!
- Slice and bake cookies: These mushroom sugar cookies are great to have on hand as you can bake the whole batch at once or just slice a few off at a time.
- Make ahead: This dough freezes very well which makes it the perfect make ahead cookie.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Butter: Use good quality unsalted butter for best results. Salted butter can make your cookies too salty and hard since it also has a higher moisture content.
- Cocoa powder: Dutch processed cocoa powder gives the outside a gorgeous rich chocolate flavor and color. It also helps the mushroom stem stand out really well!
- Red and green food coloring: Red gel food coloring is used for the mushroom top and green gel food coloring is used for the grass. I don't recommend using liquid food coloring. I haven't tried powdered food coloring so I'm not sure how it would work.
- All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
- Coarse decorative sugar: I rolled the log of cookie dough in coarse sugar for some texture and a beautiful sparkly edge. You can also use granulated sugar or try using sprinkles.
👩🍳 How to make mushroom sugar cookies
Mushroom sugar cookie dough step by step
Step 1: Beat together the butter and sugar just until combined in a large bowl. You don’t want to over mix them or it will add too much air.
Step 2: Add salt, vanilla, and egg and mix. It should look a little split - don’t overmix!
Step 3: Mix in sifted flour just until it becomes a dough.
Step 4: Form a thick log with the cookie dough. Cut off one third for the next step - set aside the rest.
Forming mushroom sugar cookies shape step by step
Step 1: Color one half of the dough red and roll into a short and thick log.
Step 2: Cut in half lengthwise and connect the two halves into one large piece. Pop it into the freezer to firm up.
Step 3: For the mushroom stem, shape the other half of dough into a log and pinch the top. Place into the freezer for 10-20 minutes until firm.
Step 4: While the mushroom parts chill, add the cocoa powder into the remaining larger portion of dough. Mix until combined and set aside.
Step 5: To create a mushroom shape, you will attach the red half log on top of the pointed white log. Carefully press in pieces of the chocolate dough into the mushroom, gradually covering it completely and rolling to form a log.
Step 6: Roll the log in coarse sugar and freeze for 20-30 minutes until completely firm.
Mushroom sugar cookie details and baking step by step
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). With a sharp knife, cut the log into ½ inch slices. Place cookies 1 to 2 inches apart onto non-stick or parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the tops stop being shiny.
Step 2: Once removed from the oven, immediately press white sprinkles into the mushroom tops. Be careful when you touch the cookies - they’re hot! Cool completely.
Step 3: Whisk together powdered sugar and cream - add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a thick, creamy piping consistency. Add green food coloring to get the grass color.
Step 4: Transfer the grass frosting to a bag with the tip cut off.
Pipe and enjoy!
✔️ Expert tips
- Use slightly softened butter and mix with sugar just until evenly combined! You don't want to over mix until light and fluffy as it will cause too much spreading in the oven and will ruin the design.
- Keep the logs of cookie dough chilled in the freezer: This will ensure you get a crisp design and make them much easier to work with.
- Smooth the colors together well to prevent holes in the design: When making the mushroom design in the middle, make sure the colors stick together well and don’t create any gaps between them.
- Don’t over bake the cookies: Bake cookies just until they lose their sheen on top for the ultimate soft and chewy texture. They’ll will still be soft and squishy in the middle if you remove them at around 9 or 10 minutes of baking (depending on your oven).
- Add sprinkles after baking: It's best to add the sprinkles after baking because some of the sprinkles melted in the oven when I tried baking them with the sprinkles.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freeze baked cookies in an airtight bag or container for up to 2 months.
Slice and bake cookies are the best cookies to make ahead! Prepare the log of cookie dough ahead of time and pop it in the freezer in an airtight bag or container for up to 2 months. Cut off slice(s) when you're ready to bake and enjoy.
This makes them the perfect make ahead cookies for Christmas cookie boxes and parties.
❔ Why slice and bake style cookies are the best for the holidays
These mushroom sugar cookies are super easy to put together and the best part is they freeze well. Whenever you're ready to bake you can remove the frozen log, slice and bake! It's a great hosting trick to keep a few logs on hand in the freezer during the holiday season so you can always have fresh cookies.
📖 Recipe FAQs
1:1 gluten free flour should work well, although I haven't tried it yet. If you try it, let us know in the comments how it goes!
Make sure that you chill the cookie dough shapes after they're formed. This helps the mushroom shape hold its shape really well so that you can get clean cuts. I also recommend chilling the cookie dough well before slicing. If you slice the cookies before the cookie dough is fully chilled, then the design will get smudged and smeared as you cut through it.
Cover the mushroom log with small pieces of cookie dough, making sure to use small pieces of chocolate dough and getting it into all of the crevices. The tighter you pack the cookie dough, the less chances that there will be gaps in your design.
This helps ensure that all of the logs and shapes hold their shape well while you form the mushroom and cover it in the chocolate dough. Helping you get the perfect crisp design.
🍪 More related recipes
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📖 Recipe
Mushroom Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- cooling rack
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup butter barely softened - not too soft!
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour 240g
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder dutch processed
- Red gel food coloring as needed
- White round pearl sprinkles
- ⅓ cup coarse sugar
Grass
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Green gel food coloring as needed
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- In a large bowl or standmixer, beat together the butter and sugar just until combined (not light and fluffy). Don’t overwhip it - you don’t want to add too much air.¾ cup butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Add salt, vanilla, and egg and mix. It should look a little split - don’t overmix!¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 large egg
- Sift flour and mix with a mixer or spatula just until it becomes a dough. Shape the cookie dough into a thick log. Cut off one third - set aside the rest.2 cups all purpose flour
- Work with the smaller section of dough: Cut in half. Color one half red and roll into a short and thick log. Cut in half lengthwise and connect the two halves into one large piece. Pop it into the freezer to firm up.Red gel food coloring
- Shape the other half of the smaller section into a log and pinch the top. This will be the mushroom bottom. Place into the freezer for 10-20 minutes until firm.
- While the mushroom parts chill, add the cocoa powder into the larger portion of dough. Mix until combined and set aside.2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Place the red half log on top of the pointed white log to create a mushroom shape. Take pieces of the chocolate dough and carefully press it into the mushroom, gradually covering it completely and rolling to form a log.
- Roll the log in coarse sugar and freeze for 20-30 minutes until completely firm.⅓ cup coarse sugar
- Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Cut the log into ½ inch slices with a sharp knife. Place onto non-stick or parchment lined cookie sheets - leaving 1 to 2 inches of space in between each cookie. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the tops stop being shiny.
- Remove from the oven and immediately press white sprinkles into the mushroom tops. Be careful when you touch the cookies - they’re hot! Cool completely.White round pearl sprinkles
Grass
- Whisk powdered sugar and cream together - add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a thick, creamy piping consistency. Add green food coloring to get a green grass color.½ cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, Green gel food coloring
- Transfer the grass frosting to a bag with the tip cut off. Pipe and enjoy!
Notes
- Use slightly softened butter and just mix until they’re evenly combined!
- Keep the logs of cookie dough chilled in the freezer
- Press and smooth the colors together so that they stick well and don’t create any gaps between them
- Don’t over bake the cookies
- Add sprinkles after baking
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