Easy Bakers Chocolate Cutouts 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.

EASY CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil and molasses until well blended. In another bowl, whisk cake mix, flour and ginger; gradually beat into egg mixture., Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Press raisins into cookies for eyes., Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate with frosting and candies as desired.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW CUTOUTS

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 soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour or until firm enough to shape., Preheat oven to 350°. Shape level tablespoons of dough into balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set, 6-8 minutes. Using a 1-1/4-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter, score the center of half of the cookies. Cool completely on pans on wire racks., Using the same heart-shaped cookie cutter, gently cut scored cookie tops and remove the center of each. Spread marshmallow creme over the bottom of the solid cookies; cover with remaining cookies., Freeze option: Freeze shaped balls of dough on baking sheets until firm. Transfer to airtight freezer containers; return to freezer. To use, bake cookies as directed.

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.

EASY BAKER'S CHOCOLATE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Place chocolate in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 min., stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
• Pour onto waxed paper-covered baking sheet; cover with second sheet of waxed paper. Use rolling pin to lightly press chocolate into 1/8-inch-thick layer.
• Refrigerate 5 min. or until chocolate is set. Peel off top layer of waxed paper. Cut chocolate into desired shapes with 2-inch cookie cutters. Store in refrigerator until ready to use as a dessert garnish.

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.

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.