Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

Ingredients

 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar

16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup (21g) black cocoa*

1/4 cup (21g) Dutch-process cocoa*

2 1/4 cups (270g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

*Or use all Dutch-process cocoa.

Instructions

To make the dough, beat together the sugar, butter, baking powder, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt until fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Beat in the egg. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again.

Whisk together the cocoas and flour, then beat into the egg and butter mixture until well blended.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking with parchment.

Divide the dough in half. Sprinkle both sides of each piece with extra cocoa (instead of flour), to keep the dough from sticking.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll 1/8" to ¼“

Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until their edges are firm, and you start to smell chocolate.

Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before decorating.

Baker’s Note: Aside from giving baked goods an intense black color, black cocoa powder is less acidic than other cocoa powders, providing a more mellow cocoa flavor. I purchase black cocoa online at King Arthur Flour

BROWN SUGAR CUT-OUT COOKIES

NOTE: To give this recipe a Holiday flavor, add the zest of 1 orange zest (1 TBSP) and 3 tsp cinnamon. Adjust Holiday flavors to your taste.

Ingredients

 4 sticks of unsalted butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

Cream butter, margarine, brown sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low-medium speed for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. Over-mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause fluffy cookies and the dough will spread – and you won’t that in cutout cookies.

Add eggs and mix. Scrape down the bowl again and mix again.

Add vanilla to the mixing bowl and stir briefly.

Add the flour to the bowl and start the mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Mix on low until the dough clumps around the paddle. Do not overmix.

Divide the dough in half and roll each half out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you flatten the dough, it gets colder quicker. This will allow your dough to firm up a bit for rolling and getting sharp edges.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. (I roll out the cookies, place them on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for 10 minutes before baking.)

Dip the cookie cutter in flour and cut out your cookies into desired shapes. (I dip in flour before cutting each cookie. It helps keep their shape.) Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I chill cookies on the pan while the oven is preheating and each sheet before baking.

Every oven is different – I bake my cookies for 8-12 minutes then rotate the baking sheets. The edges should just begin to brown.

Once baked, let sit for 1 minute on the cookie sheet to firm up. Transfer to a cooling rack so they can cool completely.