09 Feb Pink and Gold Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Hello, hello! I’m back with another recipe! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought that these cute (and relatively easy to decorate) cookies were the perfect thing to share so that you can bake them at home! I originally created these for the first time when my bakery was open, back in 2015, as a way to use up spare edible gold paint. They were a quick way to decorate cookies to keep up with the demand and also, they’re simply pretty.

In my opinion, a pretty cookie needs to taste delicious, too – or else what’s the point? So I started with a cookie dough that’s loaded with chocolate goodness. I always use Dutch-processed cocoa powder (more on this delightful stuff another time) but you can definitely use regular cocoa powder as well.

These cookies will bake up to perfection, with almost no spreading in the oven! Be sure to chill the baking sheets with the cut cookies for at least 25 minutes though (this is such an important step in preventing spreading) as very cold dough tends to spread much less. Once they have cooled, decorate as much (or as little) as you like!

Happy baking!

Tessa xo

Pink and Gold Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Makes about 12-15 medium cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (55 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, cold
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For decorating:

• 1 recipe Royal Icing (click here for recipe)
• 2-3 drops gel food colouring (I used Americolor in Electric Pink)
• Gold dust or lustre dust mixed with a few drops of clear alcohol (like vodka or gin) or edible gold paint

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute (try not to over-mix). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat on medium speed just until combined.
3. With the mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture all at once and mix until just combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix again on low speed until the dry ingredients are blended in. Try not to over-mix the dough.
4. Divide the dough into two balls and place each one on a piece of parchment paper. Pat with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly, then place another piece of parchment paper on top. Place two ¼-inch rolling sticks on either side of the parchment paper and then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness. Repeat with the other ball of dough (more info on rolling dough over here). Slide the rolled doughs onto the back of a baking sheet and pop in the refrigerator until firm, about 25 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Remove one sheet of dough from the refrigerator, peel off the top piece of parchment paper and use a cookie cutter to cut out hearts. Repeat with the second sheet of dough. Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart, and pop into the freezer until firm, at least 25 minutes. Gather up the remaining dough and repeat.
7. Bake the cookies until the edges have set, about 15 to 18 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove the baking sheets from the oven, place them on a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool completely.
8. Make the royal icing and turn it into soft-peak consistency. Stir in the pink food colouring on low speed, until blended. Fit a pastry bag with a small, plain piping tip (I used a Wilton #2 tip), fill the bag half-way with some of the icing and cover the remaining icing with a damp paper towel or tea towel. Set aside.
9. Pipe a border around the perimeter of each cookie, making sure that there are no gaps in the icing.

10. Turn the remaining icing into flood consistency and pour it into a squeeze bottle. Flood each cookie with the icing, making sure not to apply too much, as excess icing can run over the piped borders. Allow the cookies to dry completely, about 12 – 24 hours, depending on your climate.

11. Once the cookies are completely dry, mix together the gold dust or lustre dust with a few drops of clear alcohol (I used vodka) or lemon extract to form a “paint”. Hold a clean, food-only paintbrush in one hand and dip it into the paint, then use your index finger of your free hand to flick the bristles over the cookies. The paint should fall onto the cookies, creating a splatter pattern.

12. Allow the cookies to dry completely before packaging. Cookies will keep in an airtight container or sealed cellophane bags for up to 2 weeks.