Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

My brother Jovan asked me to make some cookies for him the other night. We were supposed to get the box mix for brownies and crinkles but I didn't want to cheat on myself so I told him that I'll make from scratch. And last night, I pushed through. I didn't make brownies nor crinkles but decided on a recipe at Bakeat350 that I have been eyeing for like weeks already. The recipe was the one she used as last-minute valentine cookies that looked like scrabble pieces as they were squares. I used a heart cutter for my version and also did away with the icing decoration. I wanted to but didn't have the time. Just in perfect timing did my nieces come for a visit and took their share of the cookies.

These were the ones at Bakeat350.

The cookies were chocolate flavored but I used sweetened native cocoa[Tableya] powder instead of dutch-processed cocoa and cut one-fourth of the sugar needed. The cookies were great for me even without icing... They cracked though but it didn't really matter.

Here's a copy of the recipe.

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies
{modified from Cookie Craft}

2 & 1/2 c. all-purpose, unbleached flour
1/2 c. dutch-process cocoa (natural is OK, too)
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour,cocoa, espresso powder and salt; set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light an fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.

In 3 additions, add the flour mixture at low speed. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured and cocoa-ed surface. (I mixed the 2 of these, then spread on my rolling surface, on my rolling pin, and used it to dip my cookie cutters.)

Cut the cookies with a square cutter, then divide into smaller squares, if necessary, using a bench scraper.

Freeze cut cookies five minutes.

Bake 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

With white royal icing and a #4 (or so) plain tip, pipe the x's and o's.

With red icing and a #3 or #4 tip, pipe hearts on some of the cookies.

Let the icing dry (overnight is fine).

Mix equal parts meringue powder and water. Brush onto piped designs with a small paintbrush and sprinkle on sanding sugar. Shake off the excess.

Stray sanding sugar REALLY shows up on these cookies, so use a dry paintbrush to remove the excess.

different views of the cookies

[weren't as brown as the ones of Bakeat350... maybe because of the type of cocoa used.]

here are the girls, Rai and Zoie taking their share...

[Sad to say, Zoie didn't like it that much. We really can't please everyone, can we?]

I must say, I'm such a Bakeat350 fan.

Head over to her page and feast your eyes.