Cookie Sticks
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Crunchy chocolate chip cookie sticks, sprinkled with turbinado sugar and dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. This is a fun new way to eat cookies and would make a great addition to your Christmas cookie tray! Recipe includes a step-by-step video!
A New Way to Enjoy Cookies
I’m a big fan of finding alternative ways to eat chocolate chip cookies. I’ve shared them in cookie bar form, as cookie dough fudge, as chocolate chip cookie brittle, in its uncooked form (as edible cookie dough) and I’ve even shared the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world.
Today I’m sharing yet another version. These cookie sticks are a fun and different way to enjoy cookies. They’re slightly crunchy, perfectly sweet, and so easy to decorate for the holidays (or customize for a party!).
They remind me a bit of chocolate dipped pretzel sticks, only sweeter. Let’s get to it.
What You Need To Make Cookie Sticks
The ingredients for today’s recipe are basic ones that you probably already have on hand. Let’s touch on a few of these briefly:
- Butter. Make sure you use butter that is softened, but not so soft that it’s melt-y or oily. It should still be slightly chilled. I use unsalted butter, but see my post on salted vs unsalted butter if you would like to substitute salted.
- Egg yolk. We omit the white because that would encourage the cookie stick to rise and spread (which we don’t want). Instead we just use the yolk to bind the dough together and keep the cookies stable but tender. You can save the egg white to make meringues!
- Corn starch. This helps the cookies to hold their shape without becoming too dry or brittle (also a key ingredient in my brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
- Flour. I recommend all-purpose (plain) flour only.
- Mini chocolate chips. I prefer these to the regular sized-chocolate chips because the regular-sized ones are much larger and feel bulky in the sticks.
- Chocolate and sprinkles! Not pictured (because they’re optional). While these cookie sticks are delicious enjoyed on their own, I highly recommend dipping them in dark chocolate and covering with sprinkles before enjoying. It adds a new dimension of flavor and it’s great for customizing for the holidays, making them a unique option for your Christmas cookie tray!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Some Notes on the Cookie Dough
When you’re preparing the dough, you might notice that as you add the flour it becomes fairly stiff and quite dry. This is absolutely by design. It keeps the cookies round and stick-shaped (they will flatten slightly on the bottoms) and keeps them from spreading.
Make sure to add your flour gradually (3-4 parts) and stir until it’s been almost completely absorbed after each addition. Adding the flour all at once will make it difficult for the liquid ingredients to properly absorb all of the dry ingredients and can create a difficult dough that requires much more effort to work together.
I do call for some brief chilling of the cookie sticks once you’ve rolled them into their shapes. This helps keep them from spreading any in the oven. The butter has been through a lot between the creaming and the warmth of your hands when rolling, so we want to give it a chance to cool and re-solidify before baking.
Tip: Have fun with decorating! I like to dip my cookie sticks in dark chocolate and sprinkles, but play around with white chocolate, crushed candy canes, festively-colored sprinkles, toffee bits, and more!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week and a half.
You can substitute your favorite chocolate chips! If the chocolate is too thick, thin it with up to a teaspoon of shortening. Keep in mind that this type of chocolate will take a bit longer to cool completely and become firm.
This usually happens for one of the following reasons:
1) The butter was too soft when you made your cookie dough or it was made too warm/soft from over-beating. Chilling your cookie dough longer may help in this instance.
2) The flour was accidentally under-measured (see my post on how to measure flour properly). Also, make sure you use all-purpose flour and do not use self-rising flour.
3) The cookie dough wasn’t chilled long enough or was placed on a warm baking sheet.
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Cookie Sticks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cups (150 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 ⅔ cups (335 g) flour
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- ½ cup (85 g) mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup (100 g) turbinado or coarse sugar, optional
- 8 oz (226 g) melting chocolate, I use Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting wafers, you could instead use melted chocolate chips it will just take longer for the chocolate to become firm
- ⅓ cup Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
- Combine butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and beat with a stand mixer or an electric mixer until light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¾ cups (150 g) sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- Stir in egg yolk and scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula to ensure ingredients are well-incorporated.1 large egg yolk
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and cornstarch.2 ⅔ cups (335 g) flour, 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add flour mixture in 3-5 parts, stirring until almost completely combined before adding more. You will need to occasionally scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl several times for this, as the mixture is fairly dry and crumbs tend to settle at the bottom of the bowl. Stir until all ingredients are combined and dough is beginning to cling together.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips.½ cup (85 g) mini chocolate chips
- Pour your coarse sugar into a shallow dish (I used a plate for ease of rolling) and set nearby.½ cup (100 g) turbinado or coarse sugar, optional
- Scoop a level tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it into a tight, smooth ball.
- Lightly flour your hands and, using your palms (not your fingers or the sticks will be lumpy), gently roll the dough out until it is about 6" long.
- Briefly roll your cookie "stick" in the coarse sugar on the plate, and transfer to a wax paper lined plate or baking sheet. Make sure the stick is as straight as possible.
- Transfer to your freezer and freeze for at least 15 minutes (to help keep the cookies from spreading). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375F (190C).
- Once oven is preheated and dough has chilled, remove cookie sticks from the fridge and carefully place on an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing at least 1-2" apart. Bake on 375 (190C) for 14 minutes or until edges are beginning to turn golden brown (do not place any subsequent batches of dough on hot pans or they will melt and spread).
- Allow cookies to cool completely before dipping in chocolate.
Chocolate & Sprinkles
- If desired, once cookies are cooled dip in melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.8 oz (226 g) melting chocolate, ⅓ cup Sprinkles
- Allow chocolate to cool and harden before serving.
Notes
Storing
These cookies will keep for up to a week and a half in an airtight container. They may also be frozen for up to several months, but due to their shape make sure to freeze in a sturdy container (and not a ziploc bag where they might easily be broken).Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Recipe originally published February 12 2016, updated with improved photos, a video, and new text.
Can this be made without the egg yolk? Maybe a substitution? My granddaughter is allergic.
Hi Donna! You need the egg yolk to help bind everything together. That being said, I have not tried a substitute. If you do, I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Have you made these with 1:1 gluten free flour?
I have not, but if you try it, I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
I was making these for a party. I read the recipe, watched the video and was on my way to cookie sticks. The dough was dry and crumbly…. Wouldn’t even stick together to try and roll into a stick. So I added another egg yolk, and another and another till I was at 8. Then the dough would kinda stick together. Got my sticks rolled and frozen and stuck them in the oven for 14 minutes. They burned, stuck to the pan and my fire alarm went off. What a waste of ingredients. I have no idea what y’all did differently to make this work. I will now go buy pretzel sticks to dip in the chocolate and call it good. Thanks for the recipe😂
Hi Beckie! How frustrating! It sounds like the flour was accidentally over-measured, make sure to stir, spoon into a measuring cup, and then level off, never pack in the flour. Unfortunately they burned because of all the additional egg yolks (definitely way too many, oh no!), the dough would have been too wet and melted all over the oven 🙁 If it is helpful, I do include a video in the post showing exactly how I make them in my own kitchen, so that might be worth taking a peek at so you can see the texture and how the dough should look!
Can you use the ready made cookie dough to make the cookie sticks
I don’t think that would work, unfortunately.
I made these over FaceTime with my tween and teen granddaughters who live in a different city. It was so much fun to make them together. Your instructions are perfect and the cookies came out absolutely fabulous. They are delicious and beautiful, a great treat. Thank you!
That is so awesome Joyce! I am so glad everyone enjoyed them and had a great time! 🙂
I like most to of your recipes but am bothered and distracted in your videos by your hair hanging down almost touching the bowls.
Glad you are enjoying the recipes, Annette!
Haven’t tried the recipe just yet, but am saving it! Would it be possible to use an open tip and pipe the dough onto the pan?
Hi Sam! The dough would probably be a bit tough to squeeze through a piping tip 😞
I saw this post the same day I was looking for a recipe for a baked treat for a friend. I wanted something like a choc chip cookie, but not “just a choc chip cookie”! So this was perfect! They were easy to make, yummy to eat and looked so cute in my little treat box. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m going to add them to my Christmas cookie trays this year!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Jen! 🙂
Oh my gosh!!! All of your recipes are just so easy and turn out sooo yummy!! This one is especially easy and tastes soooooo darn good!! I’m dipping them in different colored white chocolates and the using a toothpick to swirl for a tye dye look! Thank you so much!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Darcy! The colored chocolate sounds cool! 🙂
Can the sugar cookie recipe be made made into these sticks?
Hi Brenda! I don’t think the tops will stay quite as round, but let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
AaaaaaaaaMAZING! I made 150 of these for a cookie exchange. Dipped some in dark and some in white chocolate. Left some plain (rolled in sugar only). Packaged them in fry containers. They looked and tasted awesome!
Thank you so much for commenting, J! I am so glad that the cookie sticks were such a hit at your cookie exchange. 🙂
I made the dough exactly as directed, and they were so hard after cooking that you couldn’t. items into them. I’ve never baked cookies without baking powder or soda. I was so disappointed in my experience
These cookie sticks look super yummy, Sam! Love all the chocolate coating and sprinkles. Such a cute recipe idea!
These are adorable, and they totally do look like cookie fries! If I was given these at a restaurant, I would be super excited…if these were sticking out of a decadent milkshake I would be way too excited, lol. I love the twist on chocolate covered pretzels…cookies are better!
Sam
they look like such fun, our street does Christmas cookie exchange and red , green and white sprinkles would be great, but I am wondering if this could get costly
How many sticks does the recipe make??
I think these would be perfect for a cookie exchange!
Sam
How many sticks does the recipe make??
Hi Pat! I negligently failed to record that when I was making them (ugh! I made so many batches when I got it right I didn’t even think to count!) but I believe it was around 3 dozen.
These cookie sticks look perfect, Sam! Great for dunking in milk or tea!
Thank you, Marsha!!