Crazy in Love

Is there a new man in my life?  Let’s not get carried away now . . .

But I am crazy in love with these Chocolate Sugar Cookies!

These cookies really strike a perfect balance.  They are rich and chocolate-y without being overly sweet.  The sugary icing actually compliments them quite nicely, too!  After I saw a similar recipe over on Annie’s gorgeous website last week, I immediately bookmarked them.  Being that I’m not a “real baker,” they aren’t as pretty or fancy as Annie’s, but they sure are yummy!

So, here’s my not a real baker version of Chocolate Sugar Cookies!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

You need:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt

4 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 T. Smart Balance Light (because I only had 4 T. of butter & was too lazy to go to the store)

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar (not pictured because I am an idiot & almost put regular sugar in these!)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside.  It should be known that the smell of this is intoxicating.Then, combine the butter and sugar in a separate bowl.  Start off beating on a low speed until it starts to come together and then amp it up to medium-high until it gets light and fluffy and lovely, 2-3 minutes.  

Blend in the egg and vanilla.  You should use your cute measuring spoon if you have one. 😉

Before you add the dry ingredients, it should look all pretty and uniform, with everything full incorporated.

Now go back to that first bowl that’s giving off those delectable chocolate-y fumes and add the contents to your pretty, fluffy mixture.  Mix it up,  just until it’s fully incorporated.  For the record, this also smells insane.Put the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disc as you wrap it up.  Refrigerate until firm, about an hour or two.

This bowl must be licked.  Do NOT just wash it.  I will know. 

While your dough chills, clean up and photograph your Valentine decorations.  Or do something productive.  Your choice.

Bling Ring! It is clear that I do not have a future as a hand model.

Preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Line your cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.  I did not photograph the next part because it was a hot mess.  I was totally impatient and only refrigerated my dough for an hour, which made it totally sticky to work with.  I just used a lot more flour than I probably should have to keep it from sticking, but some of the flour did show up on my cookies (white flour on chocolate cookies does not disappear when they bake–DUH).

Anyway . . . in theory, you would use a lightly floured surface, but if your dough sticks, extra flour will not affect the flavor.  I promise, they are still delicious.

Enough about the flour, already.  Roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness.  Cut out hearts or whatever shape you like.  I like hearts.  See?

Bake 10 minutes, making sure they are set, but not overdone.  Let cool on the baking sheet about 5 minutes.

Awe, hi guys! So cute!

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Let your wine and vodka supervise.Just in case you are wondering, I got about 2 dozen cookies out of this recipe.  The number of cookies will vary depending on what size cookie cutter you use.

When the cookies are totally cool, you can decorate them with fancy royal icing which totally intimidates me.  OR!  You can make this easy icing, which isn’t really a recipe, and it will be 100% yummy.  I’m sure you know which one I chose. 😉

Not Really a Recipe for Icing

1/2 cup + 2 T. powdered sugar

1 T. milk

Mix it up.  Add more powdered sugar or milk until you get the consistency you like.  Dye with food coloring. Repeat for however many colors you would like.  I made white, pink, and red.

Not too thin, but not too thick

Now you are ready to decorate!  You can get fancy if you like, or just ice the cookies & put sprinkles on them.   If you want to make cute designs, put some of your icing in a zip top bag and cut off the tiniest corner so you can pipe it onto the cookies.  Use a toothpick for a marbled effect.  So, I am not a master at this type of decorating, but I still think they came out pretty darn cute!  And they taste fabulous, so mission accomplished.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Precious!  I love being all crafty.  Hope my co-workers like them!

A Q for you . . .

Do you like to do crafty things???  What’s your favorite crafty thing to do?