Acorn Cookies
These acorn cookies are soft, chewy, and naturally colored with cocoa powder. Their two-tone acorn shape makes them a fun fall or Thanksgiving cookie without requiring any frosting or food coloring.
Acorn Cookies at a Glance
- Flavor: Vanilla and chocolate
- Texture: Soft and chewy
- Yield: About 48 small cookies
- Bake Time: 13–15 minutes per tray
- Chill Time: About 45 minutes total
- Storage: Up to 5 days at room temperature or 1 month in the freezer
How to Make These Acorn Cookies
Let’s walk through each step so the cookies hold their shape and bake up soft and chewy.
Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough
The first step is to make the cookie dough following the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed with a hand mixer or whisk attachment until smooth.
Next, add the granulated sugar and mix at a medium-high speed for a couple of minutes until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
Then, mix in the egg yolk and vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Mix on a medium speed until incorporated.
Next, add the flour, 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder (save the remaining Tbsp for later in the process), cornstarch, fine salt, and baking powder, and mix on a low speed until it is JUST incorporated.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is properly mixed together.
Step 2: Color and Chill the Dough
At this point, the dough should still be pretty sticky and should be a light brown color.
Scoop half of the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and flatten the dough out into a rectangle that’s about 1/3 inch thick (this makes it easier to scoop from later). Wrap the dough tightly and set aside.
Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder into the remaining dough on a low speed until combined, then flatten out the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly.
Step 3: Scoop and Shape the Cookie Dough
Chill both portions of dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes, in the freezer for 10 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C right before you start shaping the cookies, and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
It will take a bit of time to shape all the cookies, and that should give your oven enough time to fully preheat. Set aside.
Unwrap each portion of cookie dough so that it’s sitting on top of the plastic wrap. Use a teaspoon measure to scoop the light brown dough, then use your hands to roll the dough into the shape of an acorn (mine were just shy of 1 inch long). I rolled the dough into a ball, then pinched one side to give it a bit of a point.
Then use the same teaspoon measure to scoop the dark brown dough, and shape it to look like the top of an acorn. Place this against the top of the light brown dough, and gently press it down so that they stick together.
I like to add a little dimension to the top of the acorn with a small round cutter, but this is optional! You can use a small spoon or score it with a paring knife.
Then, use about 1/4 tsp of the dark brown dough to create a stem. Press it into the top of the acorn to make sure it will stick to the cookie once it’s baked.
Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets (they don’t spread much).
If the dough starts to get too soft or sticky to shape, pop it back in the fridge to let it firm up for a bit.
Step 4: Bake the Acorn-Shaped Cookies
Chill the cookies (pan and all) one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes to help them keep their shape as they bake.
Bake one sheet of cookies at a time. Bake for 13-15 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate the pan halfway through to help them bake more evenly.
Keep a close eye on the cookies and be sure to pull them out before the edges start to brown.
I like to poke one of the cookies to test for doneness. The outside should be slightly firm, like it has a soft crust. It’s ok if it’s still a little bit soft, but it should not be soft like dough, and you shouldn’t leave a big fingerprint.
When in doubt, err on the side of undercooking! The cookies will continue to firm up on the pan as they cool.
Let the baked cookies cool fully on the pan, then enjoy!
Substitutions & Swaps: Acorn Cookies
I love this recipe as written, but here are a few substitutions you can make if needed.
- Unsalted Butter – Salted butter can be used if needed. Just omit the fine salt in the cookie dough.
- Cream Cheese – Full-fat cream cheese that comes in a block works best.
- Granulated Sugar – I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar, as it will change the texture of the cookies.
- Egg Yolk – I haven’t tested this recipe with an egg substitute, so I can’t guarantee the same texture or shape with a replacement.
- All-Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with all-purpose flour. A 1:1 gluten-free flour blend can be used if needed, although the texture may vary slightly.
- Cocoa Powder – I like to use the Hershey’s brand of unsweetened baking cocoa powder, but any type will work. You can also use dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder if you prefer.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps keep these cookies soft. It can be omitted if needed, but the cookies may bake up slightly firmer.
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
You can store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or for up to a month in the freezer.
This cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container.
I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to shape and bake it.
If you double the recipe, you can use 1 whole egg in place of the egg yolk.
Troubleshooting
Why are my acorn cookies spreading or losing their shape?
The dough is probably too warm. Chill both portions before shaping, then chill the shaped cookies again before baking. If the dough softens while you’re working, return it to the fridge until it’s firm enough to handle.
Why is my cookie dough too sticky to shape?
This dough is naturally soft before chilling. Make sure it gets the full chill time before shaping, and work with one portion at a time so the rest can stay cold.
Tips for Making the Best Acorn Cookies
- Cream the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar thoroughly. This incorporates air into the dough and helps the cookies bake up soft and tender.
- Don’t skip the chill time. It helps the cookies hold their shape and bake up with a soft texture.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. They continue to firm up on the hot pan after they come out of the oven.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for acorn cookies, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.
Acorn Cookies
Ingredients
Acorn Cookies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
- 1/4 cup or 2 oz. full fat cream cheese, room temp 56g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1 large egg yolk 20g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 5g
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 260g
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder, DIVIDED (1 Tbsp to color the entire dough, then the remaining Tbsp is added later for the darker dough) 15g
- 2 tsp cornstarch 5g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Acorn Cookies
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter and 1/4 cup cream cheese on medium speed with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Next, add 1 cup granulated sugar and mix on a medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
- Add in 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Mix on a medium speed until incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Then, add 2 cups flour, 1 Tbsp cocoa powder (the remaining 1 Tbsp will be added later), 2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp fine salt, and 1/4 tsp baking powder to the butter mixture and mix at a low speed until it is JUST incorporated. The dough will be a pale brown color. If you want it to be a slightly warmer brown color, you can add in a few drops of yellow gel food coloring. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is properly mixed together.
- At this point, the dough should still be pretty sticky and should be a light brown color. Scoop half of the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and flatten the dough out into a rectangle that's about 1/3 inch thick (this makes it easier to scoop from later). Wrap the dough tightly and set aside.
- Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder into the remaining dough on a low speed until combined, then flatten out the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly.
- Chill both portions of dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes, in the freezer for 10 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C right before you start shaping the cookies, and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. It will take a bit of time to shape all the cookies, and that should give your oven enough time to fully preheat. Set aside.
- Unwrap each portion of cookie dough so that it's sitting on top of the plastic wrap. Use a tsp measure to scoop the light brown dough, then use your hands to roll the dough into the shape of an acorn (mine were just shy of 1 inch long). I rolled the dough into a ball, then pinched one side to give it a bit of a point.
- Then use the same teaspoon measure to scoop the dark brown dough, and shape it to look like the top of an acorn (see pictures above). Place this against the top of the light brown dough, and gently press it down so that they stick together. I like to add a little dimension to the top of the acorn with a small round cutter, but this is optional! You can use a small spoon or score it with a paring knife.
- Then, use about 1/4 teaspoon of the dark brown dough to create a stem. Press it into the top of the acorn to make sure it will stick to the cookie once it's baked.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets (they don't spread much). If the dough starts to get too soft or sticky to shape, pop it back in the fridge to let it firm up for a bit.
- Chill the cookies (pan and all) one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes to help them keep their shape as they bake.
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time. Bake for 13-15 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate the pan halfway through to help them bake more evenly. Keep a close eye on the cookies and be sure to pull them out before the edges start to brown. I like to poke one of the cookies to test for doneness. The outside should be slightly firm, like it has a soft crust. It's ok if it's still a little bit soft, but it should not be soft like dough, and you shouldn't leave a big fingerprint. When in doubt, err on the side of undercooking! The cookies will continue to firm up on the pan as they cool.
- Let the baked cookies cool fully on the pan, then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to 1 month in the freezer. The cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly and stored in an airtight container. Move it to the fridge the night before you plan to shape and bake the cookies. If you double the recipe, you can use 1 whole egg in place of the egg yolk.Tips for Making the Best Acorn Cookies
- Cream the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar thoroughly to help the cookies bake up soft and tender.
- Don’t skip the chill time. It helps the cookies hold their shape.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. They continue to firm up on the hot pan after they come out of the oven.
Nutrition
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Hi Chelsea. Just curious – do you think the cream cheese could be swapped for peanut butter? I know peanut butter is softer and has more fat so the other ingredients might need tweaking, but it’s worth a shot I guess! What do you think? Thanks!
That is an interesting question Rita!! I honestly have no clue because I’ve never tested peanut butter in that way in a recipe. However, I do know that using additional butter in place of the cream cheese works! My first concern would just be that it might make the dough stickier and harder to handle? But it might work! If you try it, let me know how it goes!
I bake a lot of time consuming cookies at Xmas; this seems like it will take a lot of time to form—not the base but the cap and stem. Did you make a video on attaching the cap & stem that I missed? Any suggestions? Love the holiday box!
Ellen
Hi Ellen,
These definitely are time consuming to make! There’s a video attached in the recipe card, but it doesn’t show that part super clearly! But all you really do is press the acorn top against the bottom of the acorn, then gently press the stem into place! They should stick together pretty easily, and once they’re baked they’ll be fully stuck together. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
Also, I’ve just started working on my Christmas cookie boxes for this year, so stay tuned for some more fun recipes! They’ll be up in the next couple weeks 🙂
@Chelsey White,
Gah! These take forever! But they look so cute…Hope they turn out once baked!
haha trust me, I get it!!!! I hope they baked up amazing Ellen!!!!!!
the dough was incredibly dry throughout the whole process which made the shaping difficult. but they tasted good directly out of the oven if not a little bland and were nice and soft (before becoming rock solid, i think my fault for leaving them in a couple minutes by accident)
Hi Avery,
So sorry to hear that!! My first thought hearing that the dough was dry is to ask how you measured your flour? If you scoop flour directly with a measuring cup, it compresses and packs the flour down. That means you’re accidentally adding way more than the recipe intends. A standard cup of flour should weigh about 120 grams, but packed flour can easily hit 150–180 grams. That’s a huge difference! Too much flour leads to dry, dense cookies and cakes that don’t spread or rise properly.
The most accurate way to measure flour is to fluff the flour with a spoon to loosen it, spoon it into the measuring cup without shaking or tapping, then level it off with a flat edge (like the back of a knife).
I usually just use a kitchen scale because it’s easier, and it’s such a game changer! It removes all the guesswork, gives you perfect results every time, and makes baking faster and cleaner. If you zero your bowl on the scale and just add ingredients by weight, you have way fewer dishes! But I totally get that not everyone wants to or feels comfortable baking with a scale!
Hope that helps for the future, happy baking!!
Loved this recipe! They are time consuming but so cute! I ended up adding some chai spice to the light brown dough instead of the cocoa powder. Didn’t get as dark but added a nice flavor. I think I made the cookies a little too big so they flattened out some, but I followed the directions and took them out before they overbaked. Definitely will make again!
Oh I love that, that sounds delicious Phoebe!!! So happy to hear they turned out great, thanks for sharing 🙂