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Chocolate Fudge Icing for Stackable Cookies

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This fudge icing is perfect for dipping or spreading over cookies for a chocolaty delicious finish that is stackable. Your cookie trays just got an upgrade!

Donut shaped sugar cookies topped with hardened chocolate icing and colorful sprinkles.

If you want a delicious fudgy frosting on your cookies, but still want them to stack and store nicely, you are in the right place! This icing comes together quickly, has big chocolate flavor, and it sets solid.

It is the perfect topping for so many cookies and treats. Leftovers are also great drizzled over ice cream for a hot fudge sauce!

We were trying to figure out something fun we could pass out at Little Dude’s birthday parade this year. We love making fun treats for our friends and family.

This year it seems extra important to have a sweet spot in your day. Plus we wanted to thank everyone who made the effort to make his day special despite the trying times.

We have a tradition of getting him a donut for breakfast on his birthday. We meet my dad at the donut shop and get the day kicked off right.

So it seemed like a fun idea to pay homage to that tradition and make donut shaped cookies. The perfect topping for donuts, be they real or the cookie variety, is chocolate icing and fun sprinkles.

Luckily I knew just how to do that.  We had donut and donut hole cookies at our Easter open house in 2016.

It’s been a while since I shared them. Plus Little Dude and I made a video of making and using the icing this time.

donut shaped sugar cookies with setting fudge icing and sprinkles on top

So I thought I’d share the icing recipe again. In case you’re curious, here’s what I said about it in 2016:

There are a few things our family and friends have come to expect at one of our gatherings:

  1. Come hungry and leave full
  2. Cookies!

If it is a holiday or a fun party that included an advanced invitation, there will likely be fun sugar cookies.  People love them!  So for our Easter brunch, I knew I had to make something fun.

I made fun colorful royal icing topped cookies last year so I wanted to do something different this year.

Then it hit me.  Donuts!  They would be so quick and easy to make and would be the perfect brunch cookie!

stack of chocolate iced donut shaped sugar cookies on platter

The thing is donuts need to have a rich chocolate frosting and plenty of sprinkles.  I mean, that is how they are best.

But there aren’t a whole lot of great chocolaty cookie frosting recipes out there that allow you to stack the cookies and I tend to use up all of my serving space as it is.

I didn’t want to go the route of just dying royal frosting to look like chocolate frosting.  That would be a cruel tease!

I certainly didn’t have room for dozens of donuts to be single stacked everywhere. Then genius struck!

The fudge that we dip our crescent cookies in at Christmas hardens enough to be stackable and is full of great fudge flavor.  It would be perfect.

double boiler with fudge icing next to baking sheet filled with freshly dipped donut shaped cookies

A few minutes over the double boiler and the cookies were everything I expected.   The frosting worked perfect and it made the cookies so delicious.  I think donut cookies might be the new favorite!

Tips and tricks

For the biggest chocolate flavor use semisweet or dark chocolate chips. But feel free to experiment with your favorite type of chips.

For Little Dude’s birthday cookies we used his favorite, milk chocolate chips. The color was lighter and the flavor more mild, but he was a super happy camper.

close up of bite missing out of a fudge dipped pecan crescent cookie with buttery cookie inside showing.

If you want your frosting super smooth, sift the powdered sugar into the pan. Sometimes small lumps of powdered sugar form otherwise.

For the crescent cookies we usually submerge the cookies entirely and then place them on wax paper to set. For chocolate covered cherry cookies I tend to just spread a bit of icing on the center of the cookies.

For these donuts I have spread the frosting over the top, but the fastest way is to just dunk the face of the cookie. You can ice an entire batch of sugar cookies in no time!

Donut shaped sugar cookies topped with hardened chocolate icing and colorful sprinkles.

Chocolate Fudge Icing for Stackable Cookies

Carlee
This fudgy frosting is perfect for dipping or spreading over cookies for a chocolaty delicious finish that is stackable. Your cookie trays just got an upgrade!
4.53 from 21 ratings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 36 Servings
Calories 69 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 Tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • 3 cups sifted powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a double boiler melt chocolate chips, butter and milk stirring frequently until the mixture is melted.
    1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3 Tablespoon butter, ½ cup whole milk
  • Whisk in the powdered sugar until completely incorporated and smooth.
    3 cups sifted powdered sugar
  • While keeping the frosting warm, spread over cookies. Add sprinkles if desired and place on wax paper in a single layer until completely set. Then stack and store in airtight containers.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 69kcalCarbohydrates: 12gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 10mgSugar: 12g
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Recipe Rating




Missy

Sunday 7th of January 2024

The way you include the ingredients and measures in the instructions is Wonderful! No more having to scroll up and down! I wish all recipes were written like this.

Carlee

Monday 8th of January 2024

I am glad it is helpful!

Natty B

Wednesday 6th of December 2023

Those look delicious! Any reason this recipe wouldn't work with white chocolate chips (so it can be dyed different colors)? I'm not really a fan of icing, but naked sugar cookies are a bit boring and adding chocolate makes almost everything better!

Natty B

Wednesday 20th of December 2023

@Carlee It worked great!! I modified the recipe slightly (melted the white chocolate chips/butter in the microwave on half power, added a splash of vanilla in with the milk, and then added a few drops of food coloring to thirds of it to get white, green, and red), but the icing turned out so delicious and pretty on our sugar cookies. Only minor issue was keeping it warm enough to spread while we were icing the cookies (easily solved by a few seconds in the microwave). Once set, the cookies stacked no problem, as advertised. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! Happy holidays!

Carlee

Thursday 7th of December 2023

It seems like that should work and sounds delicious. I can't wait to hear how it goes.

Sue

Sunday 30th of July 2023

Can you freeze them after frosted? Or can you freeze the frosting? Thanks!

Carlee

Sunday 30th of July 2023

You can freeze the cookies after they are frosted. The only thing to watch for would be condensation which can form if the cold cookies are brought back to room temperature in a humid environment. If you defrost them in the refrigerator overnight, that should help reduce the risk.

Jane

Saturday 17th of December 2022

Worked perfectly.

Carlee

Sunday 18th of December 2022

I am so glad to hear that!

Annie

Thursday 13th of October 2022

Can this be colored with food coloring? I wanted to get a black color.

Carlee

Thursday 13th of October 2022

I don't see why not, that should work great!