Black Cut Out Cookies

Method

Black Cocoa Cookies

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl with a hand mixer).
113 grams salted butter room temperature, 200 grams granulated sugar
Use a flat beater to beat the butter with the sugar they’re super pale and fluffy.
Add in the egg, beating until it’s well combined.
1 large egg room temperature
Add in the yogurt and vanilla, mixing until they’re well combined. The batter may split here, that’s ok.
113 grams greek yogurt* or sour cream or butter, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Mix all dry ingredients together & then add them into wet mixture. Beating until fully combined.
300 grams all-purpose or cake flour spooned and leveled, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 60 grams black cocoa powder spooned and leveled
Split dough in half, place each half between two sheets of wax/parchment paper. Roll them both out evenly to about 1/4" in thickness.
Chill for at least 30 minutes (I use the freezer but you can refrigerate for longer), or until the dough feels firm and you’re able to cut out shapes.
Remove from wax paper & cut out shapes for cookies, work quickly so that the dough doesn’t soften before you’re done.
Place the cut out cookies on a lined cookie sheet and chill again while the oven preheats. Preheat oven to 350F.
Refold scraps of dough to make more (chill again after rolling it out - I only refold scraps once or the dough will get overworked and the cookies will be too tough).
Cookies should feel firm, not squishy, before going in to the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, just until the tops no longer look wet and the edges feel BARELY set. They will seem slightly underbaked at this time but they’ll be perfect once they’ve cooled.
*If you’re making the dinosaur cookies, use the mold to press and indent into the BAKED cookie for the bones while the cookie is still hot - like as soon as you take them out of the oven, and just press gently. I do this after baking because it’s so much easier than having the dough stick into all the little crevices of the mold before baking.
Let them cool on pan for a couple minutes, until you can move them to a wire rack without them falling apart. Cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing

Clean mixing bowl & all utensils with a little vinegar/lemon (don't skip this friends).
Using the whisk attachment, combine powdered sugar & meringue powder in the mixing bowl.
90 grams powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp meringue powder
With mixer on low speed, add in the vanilla and the water, a little at a time, just until it's your icing is fully wet & silky.
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, 60 mL water
Beat for 10 minutes on low speed, until the mixture holds a soft peak (if it’s too soft, add more sugar).
Use a piping bag with a tiny round tip to pipe all the borders on your cookies. It should be thin enough to pipe smoothly but thick enough not too run off the edge of your cookie.
After you’ve piped all your borders onto the cookies, add a little more water, 1 tsp at a time, until the consistency is soft & runny for ‘flooding’ your cookies.
*If you're making the dinosaur cookies, I used close to a flooding consistency to pipe the bones. You want it to flow into the tiny crevices so just use a tiny piping tip.
Use a small spoon or another piping bag to fill the centers of your cookies. You want the icing to be thin enough to spread throughout the cookie but not run past your border.
Dip them in sprinkles or sprinkle some one top if you want. Let them set for a few hours (preferably overnight) before stacking. Store in airtight container.

Ingredients

Method

Black Cocoa Cookies

Royal Icing

Notes

Nutrition