Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse

Rudolph Chocolate Shortbread Makes 3 dozen cookies This recipe is a chocolate variation of our regular shortbread. We pipe a red chocolate nose on Rudolph and sprinkly it with red sanding sugarsee how it glows! Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 2 cookie sheets. On a piece of wax paper, sift together: 3 1/2 (3.5) cups all-purpose flour 1/2 (.5) cup cocoa powder 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 (.25) teaspoon salt Place the ingredients in a large bowl of an electric mixer. Add: 17 ounces (4 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 (.5) inch cubes Mix on low speed until the dough comes together. On a lightly floured board: Roll out the dough 1/4 (.25) inch thick. Use a Rudolph cookie cutter, or a cookie cutter of your choice, to cut out the dough. Place Rudolphs 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Prick each cookie once with a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not attempt to move the cookies before they have completely cooled or the legs might break off. Melt: 1/4 (.25) cup white wafer chocolate or 2 ounces white chocolate Add to the melted chocolate and stir until well combined: 6 drops red candy color (add more or less as desired) Pour the melted chocolate into a pastry cone. Cut a small tip off the end of the cone. Pipe a red nose on each Rudolph. Before the chocolate dries, sprinkle the noses with: Red sanding sugarHansen, Kaye is the author of 'Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse', published 2005 under ISBN 9781400080588 and ISBN 1400080584.