Chocolate And Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipes

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with silicone baking sheets or parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or by hand, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar at medium speed, about 3 to 5 minutes. (The mixture needn't be fluffy.) Scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula and mix in the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Combine well. Scrape down the sides and stir in the cocoa until well blended. Add the flour, and mix until the flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together into a ball. At this point, you can refrigerate the dough up to 2 days or freeze it up to 3 months, tightly wrapped in plastic. (The dough will seem soft, but that's O.K. If you are going to roll out the cookies and bake them immediately, mix in the other 1/2 cup of flour.)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes, rerolling dough scraps as necessary and arranging shapes 1/4 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Smaller shapes will cook more quickly. Because these are chocolate, it can be hard to determine when they are done. Err on the side of underbaking. You can tell the cookies are ready when the surface changes from wet- or glossy-looking to dry. Remove cookies to a rack and allow them to cool completely before decorating.

CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually add SPLENDA® Sugar Blend, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
• Melt chocolate in a 1-cup glass measuring cup at HIGH in a microwave oven for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring twice. Set aside.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to SPLENDA® Sugar Blend mixture, beating until blended. Do not over beat. Divide dough into half. Stir melted chocolate into half of mixture.
• Place dough on a lightly floured work surface.
• For Checker Board Cookies, shape chocolate dough into 2 rectangular logs approximately 1-inch in diameter. Repeat procedure with vanilla dough. Cut each log lengthwise into quarters. Reassemble logs, alternating chocolate and vanilla to form a checkerboard pattern. Proceed as directed below.
• For Pinwheel Cookies, roll chocolate dough into 2 (8- x 9- inch) rectangles. Roll vanilla dough into 2 (8- x 10-inch rectangles) Place the vanilla layer on bottom so that it extends 1 inch beyond the chocolate layer; roll as for a jellyroll. Proceed as directed below.
• For Striped Cookies, divide each flavor into 3 balls. Roll each ball into a 7 1/2- x 3-inch rectangle; cut each rectangle into 5 (1 1/2- x 3-inch strips). Stack 5 strips alternating chocolate and vanilla. Proceed as directed below.
• Wrap logs in plastic wrap and chill cookie dough for one hour or until slightly firm. (Dough can be frozen up to three months at this point).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Slice cookies 1/4-inch thick and place on prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA SWIRL COOKIES

Steps:

• To make the vanilla layer, whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks and vanilla until combined, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and divide it in half. Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch log about 2 inches thick. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• To make the chocolate layer, whisk the flour, cocoa powder and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let cool completely. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, cooled chocolate and vanilla until combined, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and divide it in half. Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch log about 2 inches thick. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• To make the cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll one vanilla dough log into a 12-inch square. Repeat with one chocolate dough log. Flip the chocolate dough on top of the vanilla dough so that the chocolate dough is layered on top of the vanilla dough. Gently roll over the top with a rolling pin to make the doughs stick to one another. Roll up the dough into one big log, pressing gently as you roll to adhere the dough. Carefully slice the log into 1/4-inch-thick cookies. Repeat with the remaining two dough logs. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Let cool and enjoy!

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Make cookies:.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
• In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, mix butter on medium-low speed until it is creamy and lightened in color. Add the sugar in a steady stream, and beat until thoroughly combined.
• Add the egg, espresso, and vanilla.
• Scrape down sides of bowl as needed, then mix in melted chocolate.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and blend in dry ingredients in two additions, mixing only to combine after each addition.
• Remove dough from bowl and divide into quarters.
• Form each quarter into a 4" disk and wrap in plastic, refrigerate for 30-40 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
• You should be able to leave an imprint when you press dough.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Have ready two ungreased cookie sheets. Working with one-fourth of dough at a time, roll on a lightly floured flat surface until 3/16" thick.
• Using a 2 1/2" round cookie cutter or a cookie cutter of your choice, cut cookies from the dough.
• Transfer cookies to a sheet of waxed paper and brush lightly with egg/water mixture. Sprinkle with pearl sugar or other garnishes.
• Carefully place on cookie sheets.
• Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 9-10 minutes.
• Transfer cookies to a wire rack while still warm, and cool completely.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• MAKE GANACHE:.
• Break chocolate into 1" pieces and place into bowl of a food processor.
• Process until chocolate is finely chopped. Empty chocolate into a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream and corn syrup on low heat until it comes to a gentle boil.
• Immediately pour hot cream over chopped chocolate.
• Let it stand for about 1 minute, then stir chocolate and cream together, slowly mixing until all chocolate is melted and mixture is fully emulsified.
• Blend in rum and vanilla.
• If surface is oily, stir in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of hot water.
• Glaze should thicken as it stands, but remain pourable.
• If ganache fails to thicken, chill it in refrigerator for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Watch carefully, as it must not be too cold. Spoon ganache over cookies, letting it trickle down the sides.