From Valentine hearts to Christmas trees, these cookies make any holiday special with their chocolate flourish.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting the cookies
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Cream the butter, sugar, and egg until soft and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and milk. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the dry mixture into the creamed ingredients to make a uniform dough. Knead several times in the bowl, then flatten the dough to 3/4 inch thick on a piece of waxed paper. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll the dough 1/3 inch thick on lightly floured waxed paper. Cut out with a cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. Dust them with confectioners’ sugar while still warm.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water. Whisk to smooth. Spoon melted chocolate into the corner of a plastic bag and twist to seal. Snip a tiny corner off the bag and pipe chocolate in a diagonal zigzag over each cookie.