Chocolate Cookie Cutouts

I've never made cutout cookies by myself before. For some reason, the whole idea seemed intimidating. I participated once in a Halloween cookie decorating party where I researched and passed along the sugar cookie recipe that we used (Alton Brown's) and brought my piping tips. I helped cut the cookies and decorate once they were done, but I didn't actually roll out the cookie dough or even made any of the cookie dough.

I was asked to make 4 dozen sugar cutout cookies in the shape of a brain for an open house work function. I figured it was time to get over this irrational fear.

So, to user test the process, I decided on the chocolate cookie cutouts. The recipe as it appears in Martha Stewart's Cookies only had nonpareils as decoration, which seemed simple enough to do.

These cookies turned out really well and are pretty amazing. Everyone really liked them, and they have a good flavor.

What You Need
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Cream the butter and confectioners' sugar.

3. Mix in egg and vanilla.

4. Gradually mix in flour mixture.



5. Wrap dough with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

6. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.

8. Cut out cookies with your preferred cookie cutter.

9. Transfer shapes to a baking sheet. I sprinkled with nonpareils, colored sugars, and jimmies at this point. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes.

10. Bake cookies until crisp, about 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.



Lessons learned:
Nonpareils don't stay on this cookie. I had to kinda press them in to make them stick. That's when I decided to try the colored sugars and jimmies. Jimmies worked great, and the colored sugars didn't show up since the cookie was so dark in color.