Muscle Bears (Buff Bears) – Chocolate Cookies

Do you ever get tired of basic round cookies and want something more fun? Boy do I have the recipe for you! These are chocolate cookies but with a twist! The best part about this? No cookie cutter required! You can customize them to have various body shapes. 6 pack abs, chicken legs, a belly pouch … you can make it all!

This is the same dough recipe that I used to make the chocolate Soot sprite cookies. It’s a versatile dough that can be used to make various shapes and designs.

Ingredients:

113g unsalted butter, room temp
200g granulated sugar
1 egg
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
180g all purpose flour
40g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
for decorating: melted chocolate or royal icing

Equipment:

Digital food scale
Hand mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring spoons
Baking pan
Parchment paper or silicon mat
Wire rack
Piping bags (for holding melted chocolate for the bear’s face)

Instructions

Each cookie measures 12x7cm. This recipe yields approximately 15 muscle bears. The exact amount made will differ depending on the bear’s body type.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set it aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until it’s combined.
Add the dry ingredients from earlier and mix until it’s combined and a dough forms.
Shape the dough into bears. Sorry but there’s no easy way to do this. It doesn’t take too long but you’ll have to do one part part at a time. Essentially treat the cookie dough like it’s Play-Doh or modelling clay and have fun with it. Make the bears as muscular or as skinny as you’d like.
Refrigerate the completed muscle bears for at least 30 minutes. This will ensure the bears keep their shape while baking.
Bake the muscle bears cookies at 350F (177C) for 13-15 minutes.
Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Once the cookies are cooled, draw a face using either melted chocolate or royal icing.