These all-purpose cutouts are dark and rich, they keep well, and the dough can be rolled again and again without any compromise in texture or flavor. We decorated ours with nonpareils before baking, but you could decorate them after baking with Royal Icing instead—see the recipe on page 241.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 3 to 4 dozen
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.
Step 2
Put butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight.
Step 3
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Chill in freezer 15 minutes.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, quickly cut out shapes from dough (if dough begins to soften, chill it in freezer 3 to 5 minutes). Reroll and cut scraps. Transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Brush flour from shapes. Sprinkle with nonpareils, if using. Chill in freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
Step 5
Bake cookies until crisp, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
