For a frosted cookie, this recipe goes together quickly. It is a refrigerator cookie that you will probably not need to refrigerate if the butter is firm before mixing.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
For the filling:
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg white or 1/4 cup meringue powder
water
Directions
- With the paddle attachment of your mixer, cream together the butter, 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar, and salt until light. Add the vanilla.
- Whisk the pastry flour, cocoa, and baking powder together in another bowl.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined (you may wish to remove the dough to a clean counter and work the last of the flour in with your hands). The dough should have a clay-like consistency.
As you mix the dough, it will first be very crumbly. As the butter softens, the dough moistens and comes together into a firm dough that can be molded with your hands.
- Form the dough into a long round log 1 1/2 by 20-inches by rolling it on the counter with your hands. To make neat, uniform cookies, make the logs uniform and round. If the dough is too soft to form and cut, chill the dough in the refrigerator.
- Slice the dough while it is still cold and firm into 1/4 inch slices. Turn the log after every few cookies to keep the log round. If the cookies have a flat edge, mold them back to shape with the curl of your finger before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place slices on a lightly buttered baking sheet and bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until they are puffed and no longer glossy. Cool on a wire rack.
For uniform thickness, use a ruler. So that the pressure of the knife does not flatten the log, roll it a quarter turn after several cuts. A serrated knife works best for slicing cookies. Use your fingers to round any flat sides before placing them on the pan.
If you would like to emboss the cookies, use a coin, medallion, or die to press a pattern into the dough, as shown. Lightly dust the counter with flour and, occasionally, the die or coin to keep the cookie dough from sticking. The top picture shows finished, embossed cookies. Traces of flour will disappear while baking.
Dough logs can be kept in the refrigerator, well wrapped, for a couple weeks or frozen for several months. With refrigerator cookies, you can always bake only what you need.
Frost: Beat the butter in a small bowl until soft and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and egg white or meringue powder. (The egg white or meringue powder makes the frosting firmer.) Beat until smooth. Place a small amount of frosting on the back of a cookie. Press another cookie to the frosting, back to back, to form a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Allow the frosting to set before serving. Store where cool.
