Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Recipe Notes:
tsp. = teaspoon tbsp. = tablespoon

Ingredients & Measurements
¾ cup – 1 ½ sticks (174g) of unsalted butter
1 cup (225g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. (6g) vanilla extract
2 cups (310g) all purpose flour
¾ cup (96g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. (5g) baking powder
¾ tsp. (4g) salt
1 tbsp. (3g) espresso powder

Directions:
TIP* Measure out all of the ingredients before starting the recipe. This will make the process smoother and you will know for sure that you have all ingredients needed. 

First Step Make the Dough:
Make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature**
Start by creaming the butter in a bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Cream for 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and cream for another 3 minutes. While the butter and sugar are mixing, work on the dry ingredients. 

In a large bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda together. I prefer to use a mesh colander to sift but you can use a hand sifter if you have one available. 

Once the butter and sugar have creamed for 3 minutes, add the eggs, one at a time and mix briefly between each addition. Then add the espresso powder and vanilla and mix to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet with the mixer on low speed. If the mixer is on high you will create a cocoa powder and flour cloud and make a huge mess. 

Allow the dry ingredients to incorporate into the wet, do not over mix. Only mix till the dough comes together and everything combined 40 seconds or so. 

Pour dough out onto a cutting board or smooth surface and press into a smooth round disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. You can store in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months. If you freeze, be sure to store in a freezer bag. 

Step 2: Roll Out Dough and Cut Shapes and Bake
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, depending on how long it was in the refrigerator it might be hard to roll out. I like to cut the dough in half and knead it slightly with my hands to warm it up just so that its pliable. Lightly flour the surface and begin to roll dough out to ¾ of an inch thick. Be sure to check often and flour as needed to avoid the dough from sticking to the surface. 

Cut out shapes, then roll up the scraps into a ball and roll out to cut out more shapes. 

Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and chill the freezer for 5 minutes. 

Once chilled, place cookies in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes, bake time depends on size and thickness of cookies. You will see the cookies puff up slightly and that they are cooked all the way through. Be careful because they are chocolate you could easily burn them, be sure to keep an eye on the cookies. I start checking after 7 minutes. 

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.

While the cookies cool, make the royal icing. Click this link to access the recipe to my favorite royal icing. For this recipe I added vanilla bean paste instead of lemon juice. You could use fresh orange juice for the royal icing as orange and chocolate go very nicely together. 

Once the cookies are cool you can ice and decorate the cookies to your liking. Allow the iced cookies to dry for 6-8 hours and store in an airtight container for 4 days.

**Quick tip, if the butter is chilled from the refrigerator, cut it up into small chunks and cream in a mixing bowl. While the butter is creaming, use a warm washcloth to rub the outside of the bowl while the butter is creaming. Continue to do this until your butter is whipped nicely. If your eggs are cold, place them in a bowl filled with warm water for 3 minutes, this will bring then to room temp.