| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | about 24 |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | about 24 |
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- Sanding sugar, for decorating
Instructions
- Make the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter, egg yolk, vanilla, salt and cloves in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder until combined, then beat in the flour in two batches until combined.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust with flour. Gently knead until soft but not sticky. Reflour the surface, if necessary, and roll out the dough until slightly thicker than 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes using 3-inch cookie cutters. Gently gather and reroll the scraps. (If the dough is too soft to work with, refrigerate until firm.) Arrange the cutouts about 2 inches apart on 2 unlined baking sheets.
- Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are firm, about 20 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
- Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl until smooth. Gradually stir in up to 1 more tablespoon milk until the icing is thick but pourable. Spoon the icing into a small resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner. Pipe the icing on the cookies, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let set, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 24 servings |
| Calories | 157 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 12 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 28 mg |
| Sodium | 51 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 24 servings |
| Calories | 157 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 12 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 28 mg |
| Sodium | 51 mg |
Reviews
Awful. The rotating pans didn’t work. Timed precisely, for burnt, hard cookies. A lot of work for zero reward.
Very easy, roll out nicely. Good crunch but not hard. Cloves add a nice something special which hits you at the end.