Chocolate Mint Cut Out Cookies Recipes

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.

CHOC MINT COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the peppermint extract and egg and beat until combined. Add the flour/cocoa mixture in 2 or 3 batches, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the chopped mints. Place the dough into a large ziptop bag and flatten slightly with your hand. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it rest in the bag at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes.
• For rolling: Mix the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl, then tip it out onto the counter. Remove the dough from the bag and put it on the flour/cocoa mixture. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/3 inch. Cut with fun-shaped cookie cutters and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. You'll need to consolidate and re-roll the dough as you go.
• Bake until set, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
• For the royal icing: Beat the powdered sugar, milk and egg white with a mixer in a large bowl until thick and glossy. Add more powdered sugar if the icing seems too thin (the size of the egg can affect consistency). Just play with it until it's right. The icing should be stiff enough to "stand still" when piped and not run.
• To decorate: Transfer the royal icing to a piping bag and swirl the icing onto the cookies to decorate them. Let set for 10 to 15 minutes.

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.

CHOCOLATE MINT CUT OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and extracts beating until fluffy. Stir in all the remaining dry ingredients on low speed until well mixed.
• Divide the dough in half; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Roll dough on a lightly floured board to 1/8th inch thickness. Cut into shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 6-8 minutes or until set. Cool.
• For frosting: combine the butter, sugar and extract. Gradually add just enough milk for spreading consistency.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer beat together the butter with the sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla. On a low speed beat in the flour mixture a little at a time. Gently mix in chocolate chips.
• On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop teaspoons of the batter about 2 inches apart. Bake until just cracked on top, about 8 to10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. Cool completely.
• For the glaze: In a small bowl mix together the sugar; mint extract and water until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium resealable plastic bag and snip off the corner. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Let cookies stand until set, about 10 minutes.

CRISPY CHOCOLATE-MINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and peppermint extract if using, and beat until just combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead several times with your hands to bring the dough together. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate to chill slightly, about 10 minutes (or refrigerate half the dough and freeze the other half for later use).
• Generously dust a work surface with flour. Place one half of the dough on top and dust with more flour. Roll out into a round slightly less than 1/4-inch thick and about 14 inches in diameter, adding a little more flour as necessary to prevent sticking. If the dough cracks, press it back together with your fingers and smooth with the rolling pin. Use a 2 1/2- to 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Transfer the cookies one of the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch between each cookie. Gather the scraps and refrigerate. Repeat with the second half of the dough.
• Bake, rotating the position of the baking sheets halfway through, until slightly puffed and a shade darker on the underside, about 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely (the cookies will crisp as they cool).
• Gather all of the dough scraps together and roll out in the same manner. Cut out cookies and bake. Discard any remaining scraps.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE AND MINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Place 1 oven rack in the center of the oven and 1 oven rack in the bottom third and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the bittersweet chocolate and butter. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
• In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, 2 tablespoons water and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Fold in the cooled chocolate. Stir in the chocolate mint pieces. Chill the dough 10 minutes to firm slightly. Using 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop 6 mounds of batter onto each prepared sheet, spacing evenly apart.
• Bake the cookies 9 minutes. Reverse the baking sheets (top to bottom) and continue baking until the cookies are slightly puffed and dry looking with some small cracks on top, 9 to 10 minutes longer. Cool the cookies completely on sheets (they may deflate slightly as they cool).