I’m ringing in Day 7 of December with these festive, chocolatey, French-inspired cookies with a recipe adapted from Food and Wine. These dark chocolate cookies with a chocolatey cream cheese frosting are dressed up as mini yule logs.
Day 7: Baby Buche de Noel Cookies
Difficulty: Piece of Cake!
I don’t think there is any Christmas cake as festive as the yule log (which I have made and absolutely love), but these cookies are an easy alternative. You simply roll the cookie dough into log shapes, then frost them to resemble miniature logs.I like these cookies because they are super chocolatey but not very sweet. They use a combination of unsweetened cocoa powder and unsweetened dark chocolate. Just don’t skip the chocolate-cream cheese frosting. It’s essential to balancing out the deep chocolate flavor of the cookies.



- FOR THE COOKIES
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- FOR THE FROSTING
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream
- 1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
- PREPARE THE COOKIES
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt at low speed for about one minute. Then, increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, flour and cocoa and beat at low speed just until incorporated. (The mixture will resemble crumbs.)
- Add the cream and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into four equal parts (divide it in half, then divide each half in half). Gently roll each part into an 8-inch rope.
- Place the ropes on parchment-lined cookie sheet, and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the ropes into 2-inch logs and place them on a baking sheet about one-inch apart. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the tops crack lightly and the cookies are firm to the touch.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, being careful not to break them.
- PREPARE THE FROSTING
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, cream, and melted chocolate until combined. Spread the frosting on each of the cookies in lengthwise strips to resemble the bark of a tree. Return the cookies to the baking sheet and let stand at room temperature until the frosting firms (two hours). Alternatively, place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes until the frosting firms.
- Lastly, garnish the logs by sifting powdered sugar on them.
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