Chocolate Cookie Cutouts Recipes

CHOCOLATE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Chocolate: I use 60 percent cocoa mass pistols.A variety of percentage contents are on the market today. Usesomething that is 58 percent to 72 percent for a bittersweet.They have a great bittersweet sensation and it's relatively easyto find this percentage of cocoa mass in solid chocolate atgourmet grocery stores. They're also easier to cut-out andhandle. Milk chocolate (34 percent) will work but is alwayssofter and doesn't handle so easily. White chocolate will worktoo but faces the same handling problems as milk chocolate. Besure to chill these in refrigerator.
• All chocolate for these cut outs will have to be tempered by the user. Even if it has been tempered (which it will have been by the manufacturer for packaging), the act of melting the chocolate will require the user to re-temper it. Use a brand of chocolate that is high quality, tastes great, and fits your budget. Oil based food dye: Find these at specialty baking supply stores, or easier, on-line. Try www.chefrubber.com, or www.inidatree.com for oil and acrylic based dyes. Cookie cutters: Use metal cookie butters and quickly heat the cutters over a gas flame to easily cut through the chocolate. DO NOT dip in hot water, as chocolate and water do not mix, even if the chocolate is solid. Melted chocolate should never come in contact with water or else the chocolate will seize. Stencils Parchment paper X-acto or sharp paring knife Sheet pans Digital thermometer Double boiler Measure out the quantity of chocolate desired. Melt 2/3 of total chocolate over a double boiler over low heat and the water just steaming (this will be a slow process). Test the temperature with a digital thermometer (do not go over 110 degrees F). Remove bowl from the heat and, bit by bit, add the remaining 1/3 non-melted chocolate to reduce temperature to 89 to 91 degrees F. Spread chocolate out on parchment paper and smooth it out with an offset spatula. Lift the paper and gently tap it on the counter to even out the chocolate and get rid of any air bubbles. Place the paper with the chocolate on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until the chocolate is solid. Chill or leave on counter until hardened. I recommend leaving it on counter until it sets, then chill to make super hard for cutting with cookie cutter. Cut out shapes in the chocolate with cookie cutters, using shapes without close corners where the chocolate would get stuck easily. To make your own shapes, create a stencil using poster board and trace around it with a sharp knife. For bright colors use white chocolate and tint it with oil based food coloring. After you have cut out the shapes attach them to a frosted cake with a little melted chocolate.

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIE CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Put the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl and paddle as needed, about 4 minutes more. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth.
• Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the flour mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl and paddle as needed. Mix until incorporated.
• Divide the dough in half and shape into two flattened disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. Remove the dough from the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling, to soften.
• Position oven racks to the upper and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Now flour parchment for rolling: Dust a piece of parchment with flour, place a disk of dough on it, dust the disk with flour, then cover it with a second piece of parchment. Roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes with 11/2- to 2-inch cookie cutters. Gather up the scraps, re-roll and cut out. (Chill the scraps if the dough becomes too soft.) Roll and cut out the remaining disk of dough. Working in batches, arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies until the tops look dry and no indentation is left when pressed with your finger, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then use a metal spatula to transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
• Decorate with royal icing as desired. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Mix on medium-low speed until pure white and stiff enough to form peaks.
• Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring if using and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Store at room temperature, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface for up to 2 days. Re-whip until smooth before using.

CHOCOLATE CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, water, meringue powder and cream of tartar; beat on low speed just until blended. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, 1-2 minutes. Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp cloth. If necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture., Using pastry bags and small round tips, decorate cookies as desired. Let stand at room temperature until frosting is dry and firm., Freeze option: Freeze cookies, layered between waxed paper, in freezer containers. To use, thaw before serving.

JUMBO CHOCOLATE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Beat shortening and cocoa until blended. Beat in molasses, sugar and eggs. Beat in coffee. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and cloves; gradually beat into molasses mixture. Dough will be very soft. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a well floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until edges are set, 14-16 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired with confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and cinnamon. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
• Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or overnight). Dough can be frozen, wrapped tightly in plastic and placed in a resealable plastic bag, up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
• On a lightly floured work surface (or a piece of parchment paper), roll out one disk of dough to just under 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet; freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, quickly cut out shapes from dough (if dough begins to soften, chill in freezer 5 minutes), and transfer shapes to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart, as you work. Reroll scraps and cut out more shapes. Brush off excess flour. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
• Bake cookies until crisp, about 8 minutes, firmly tapping down sheets once and rotating them halfway through. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks before decorating as desired.

BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients to form a soft dough. Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Dough is sticky so be sure to add more flour to the rolling surface as needed. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.