Chocolate-Iced Amaretto Sugar Cookies

These Chocolate-Iced Amaretto Sugar Cookies are a delicious twist on the traditional sugar cookie.

These crispy buttery sugar cookies have a subtle almond flavor and are iced with smooth creamy semi-sweet chocolate and then sprinkled with chopped almonds.

Cookies are one of my favorite desserts, especially cookies with chocolate. Try one of my other cookie recipes like Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies, Nutella Brownie Cookies, Salted Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies, Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies, Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies, or these Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies.

What is Amaretto Liqueur?

Amaretto in Italian means "little bitter." It is a sweet Italian liqueur that originated in Saronno, Italy.

Originally the flavor was derived from bitter almonds. Modern commercial amarettos are flavored with apricot pits or peach pits.
- Wikipedia

Some amarettos are infused with other flavors, such as vanilla. They're often sweetened with dark or burnt sugar which gives the liqueur its dark amber color. My favorite brand is Disaronno.

You could also make your own amaretto.

Recipe Ingredients

All you need to make these crisp and chewy Amaretto Sugar Cookies are a few simple ingredients.

Amaretto Sugar Cookies

Bread Flour: I typically use bread flour rather than all-purpose flour in my cookie recipes. Bread flour helps to create a chewier cookie. For accuracy, the best way to measure the flour is by using a digital kitchen scale.

Tip: If you don't have a digital scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Try not to compress the flour into the measuring cup. Too much flour creates dense cookies.

Baking Soda and Cream of Tartar: The baking soda (a base) reacts with the cream of tartar (an acid) to help the cookies rise. I prefer to use baking soda in this recipe rather than baking powder because baking powder creates a fluffier cake-like texture.

Cream of tartar may be a more obscure ingredient but it is good to have on hand and is essential for making Snickerdoodle Cookies.

Salt: I add at least a pinch of salt to all of my recipes. Salt complements and intensifies the other flavors. For all of my recipes, I use Morton Kosher Salt which packs more densely than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you are using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt you will want to double the amount of salt you add.

Butter: Room temperature butter is easier to cream together with the sugar. I use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.

Egg Plus One Egg Yolk: Adding an extra egg yolk increases the amount of fat in the cookie making it chewier. Save your egg whites for another recipe like this Lemon Swiss Meringue.

Tip: Egg whites and egg yolks are easier to separate while they are still cold. Separate the eggs, save the whites for another recipe, and then allow the yolks to come to room temperature.

Chocolate Icing

Unsalted Butter: Adding a tablespoon of butter to chocolate while microwaving helps the chocolate to melt more smoothly and makes it the perfect consistency for spreading. When you add butter to chocolate you are adding additional fat which creates shinier glossier chocolate when it hardens.

Almonds: Almonds add a little crunch to these cookies and reinforce the almond flavor.

Step by Step Directions

Amaretto Sugar Cookies

Step 1: Whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set the flour mixture aside. (Image 1)

Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. (Image 2)

Step 3: Add the egg, egg yolk, and amaretto to the sugar mixture. Beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Image 3)

Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until combined. (Image 4)

Step 5: Wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. (Image 5)

Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

Tip: Use a light-colored cookie sheet. Dark cookie sheets absorb too much heat and can cause your cookies to overbake. Check out this post from Handle the Heat to see a comparison of cookies baked on different types of cookie sheets.

Step 7: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Roll the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each. The dough may be a bit crumbly but will become smoother as you roll it. (Image 6)

Tip: To quickly portion out the dough use a knife to cut the chilled dough into smaller pieces.

Step 8: Place the balls on a baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. The centers will look very soft. (Image 7)

Tip: For crispier cookies increase the bake time by 2-3 minutes.

Step 9: Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. (Image 8)

Tip: Want perfectly round cookies? Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven grab a round cookie or biscuit cutter and place it around one of the cookies. Move the cookie cutter in a circular motion to gently round the cookie before it sets completly. Check out my cookie shaping video on Instagram if you have questions.

Chocolate Icing

Step 1: Place chocolate chips and butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir. Continue heating in 15-second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. (Images 1 & 2)

Step 2: Use a knife or offset spatula to spread chocolate icing across half of the cookie. Place on wax paper (or parchment paper) to dry. Sprinkle chopped almonds over the chocolate. (Images 3 & 4)

Repeat the process until all cookies have been iced.

Make-Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions

Make-Ahead: You can mix up the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Chilling cookie dough keeps it from spreading too much as it bakes by hydrating the flour and solidifying the butter.

Chilling the dough is especially important when you bake cookies made with browned butter like these Sourdough Snickerdoodles.

Storing: Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three weeks.

Freezing Cookie Dough: Unbaked cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. I always have a batch of Panera Lemon Drop Cookie dough in my freezer for when a cookie craving strikes.

Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet and place in a zip-top bag. Label with the date and contents.

When you are ready to bake cookies, remove the cookie balls from the freezer, let them sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, and then bake. You may need to add a minute or two to the baking time.

Freezing Baked Cookies: Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, place them on a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight container or zip-top bag. Label with the date and contents.

Thaw frozen cookies overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter.

For the best aesthetics, I would not ice the cookies with chocolate before freezing. Freezing can sometimes cause chocolate to become cloudy.

Recipe FAQs

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📖 Recipe

Chocolate-Iced Amaretto Sugar Cookies

Author: Erica Schramek

These chocolate-iced amaretto sugar cookies are a delicious twist on the traditional sugar cookie.

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Cook Mode

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

ChillTime 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 37 minutes mins

Course Cookie Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 18

Calories 281 kcal

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Equipment

• ▢
  stand mixer
• ▢
  rubber spatula
• ▢
  cookie sheet

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Cookies

• ▢ 2 cups bread flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ¾ cup unsalted butter room-temperature
• ▢ ½ cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg room-temperature
• ▢ 1 egg yolk room-temperature
• ▢ 1 tablespoon amaretto

Icing

• ▢ 1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ ½ cup chopped almonds

Instructions

 

Cookies

• Whisk the 2 cups bread flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, and ½ teaspoon kosher salttogether in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the ¾ cup unsalted butter½ cup granulated white sugar, and ¼ cup brown sugartogether on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. 
• Add the 1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon amaretto. Beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until combined.
• Wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Roll the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each. The dough may be a bit crumbly but will become smoother as you roll it.
• Place the balls on a baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. The centers will look very soft.
• Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing

• Place 1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir. Continue heating in 15-second intervals until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
• Use a knife or offset spatula to spread chocolate icing across half of the cookie. Place on wax paper (or parchment paper) to dry.
• Sprinkle some of the ½ cup chopped almonds over the chocolate.
• Repeat the process until all cookies have been iced.

Notes

Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. This ensures the ingredients mix evenly and will give you the best final texture. To quickly bring the eggs to room temperature, place the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes.

Measuring Ingredients: Using a digital kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure your ingredients. If you don't have a kitchen scale you can measure the ingredients by volume but be careful when measuring the flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Try not to compress the flour into the measuring cup. Too much flour creates dense cookies.

Salt: For all of my recipes, I use Morton Kosher Salt which packs more densely than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you are using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt you will want to double the amount of salt you add.

Refrigerate the dough for 2-3 hours to allow the flour to fully hydrate. Refrigerating the dough also allows the butter to solidify and stops your cookies from spreading too far when baked.

Baking times for all recipes are only suggestions. The actual baking time will vary depending upon your oven. 

Chocolate Icing: You can melt either semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate.

After icing the cookies in chocolate, you can speed up the drying time by putting them in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

Storage: Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 281kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 103mgPotassium: 153mgFiber: 2gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 311IUCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg

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