Double Chocolate Brownie Roll Out Cookies

I saw these cookies in Deb’s blog and knew I just had to make them. Since then, I’ve seen them pop up in many blogs all with rave reviews. And with St Patty’s day coming up, I knew I wanted to make sugar cookies.

A few years ago I did this and I had to go to 5 different stores to find a shamrock cookie cutter! While there I also grabbed a pot of gold cookie cutter. That year I made black frosting that turned everyone’s mouths black. I decided that this year it would be a perfect opportunity to make the pot of gold cookies again but using this chocolate roll out cookie recipe instead of black frosting.

The cookies came out of the oven and they weren’t too dark. I also had some leftover ganache from a recent baking adventure that I wanted to use up. I decided to dip the cookies in ganache to use up my leftover ganache and also to make the cookies darker without having to use black frosting or sprinkles. I love how they turned out. And adding the ganache enhanced the chocolate flavor of the cookie.

I made the dough and rolled out the cookies about two weeks before St Patty’s day. Then I froze the unbaked cookie shapes and baked them closer to the holiday. When it was time to bake, I put the frozen cookie directly only the cookie sheet and added an extra minute to the baking time. This worked out well for me.

I also made some regular sugar cookies using my shamrock cookie cutter. I used my Aunt’s recipe that I grew up eating. I did a comparison post back during the holidays. You can find the recipe there. I also froze these cookies and baked them a couple days before the big holiday. I used royal icing for the first time, and followed the directions on Katie’s blog. Definitely check out her blog if you’ve never worked with royal icing.

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies – from Smitten Kitchen – I got 3 dozen cookies3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup lightly salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so don’t overly fret if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate ganache1/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until steaming, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth.

When cookies have cooled completely, use a spoon to spread ganache over cookies. Allow ganache to set before adding any other frosting/decorations.