Chocolate Sugar Stars

These cookies are a delight in every way. They are easy to make, and have a rich chocolate flavor, along with a lovely texture. Paired with the vanilla bean glaze, they are likely to become a favorite of yours too. I can’t remember where I first found this recipe, but I’ve had it for quite awhile, so most likely a friend or relative passed it along to me. No step by step photos of the dough being made, but it is a very straighforward recipe.

1 cup soft butter
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Beat the butter until uniformly creamed. Beat in sugar, then the eggs, one at a time, until nicely fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then the cocoa powder, and finally the salt, baking powderr and flour, making sure that everything is completely incorporated. Divide the dough into two pieces and flatten each one into a flat disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill at least an hour. I think the final flavor and texture are both improved by being refrigerated overnight – the chocolate flavor gets more intense and the flour gets hydrated, but if you don’t have time to let them sit that long, it is not of utmost importance. If you leave them overnight, let the dough sit on the counter for 30 minutes or so, but if you chill just an hour, they will be ready to roll out.

Make sure your table or counter is well dusted with flour, and roll from the center, out to the edge, turning the dough after each roll with the pin. How thick to roll it is up to you – thin and the cookies will be more crisp, thick and they will be softer. I like about an eight of an inch, though obviously, I am a little on the casual side when it comes to my rolling technique, so some are thicker than others. Keep a little pile of flour off to the side and swish your cookie cutters through it so that they don’t stick to the dough. I used stars, because these cookies are called Chocolate Sugar Stars, but you can call your Chocolate Sugar Trees, or Chocolate Sugar Santas, or Chocolate Sugar Whatevercookiecuttersyouhave.This dough is easy to work with and you can re-roll it several times to use all the scraps, without noticing much of a change in the texture. Brush any excess flour off the cut-out cookies and arrange them on a parchment lined, or greased heavy baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack. Though the taste will remain wonderful for more than a week, the glaze does tend to lose its sheen after a couple days, so if you want these to look extra special for a party or gift, do the glaze early the day you want to serve them.

I used a fresh vanilla bean for the glaze, but you can use extract for the flavoring. If using a vanilla bean, you might want to strip out the insides and mix it with the powdered sugar a day or two ahead of time, to really intensify the flavor. Mix together, until smooth
2 cups confectionary sugar
pinch of salt
scraping from one medium vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3-4 tablespoons cream or half and half
It should be thin enough to coat the cookie tops without running down the sides too much – you can thin it with a few drops more of the cream, but be careful not to get it too thin. Dip each cookie in the glaze and shake lightly to remove excess, and leave in a single layer on a wire rack until the tops are comepletely dry. If you want to sprinkle on any decorations, do it right after glazing, because it will not stick later on.

These will stay fresh for a couple weeks in an airtight container. If you want to freeze them, I would wait to glaze until after thawing.You can make yourself a whole constellation!
Looking for more Christams baking recipes? Here you go!