Chocolate Shortbread Trees Recipes

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter, egg yolk, vanilla, salt and cloves in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder until combined, then beat in the flour in two batches until combined.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust with flour. Gently knead until soft but not sticky. Reflour the surface, if necessary, and roll out the dough until slightly thicker than 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes using 3-inch cookie cutters. Gently gather and reroll the scraps. (If the dough is too soft to work with, refrigerate until firm.) Arrange the cutouts about 2 inches apart on 2 unlined baking sheets.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are firm, about 20 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl until smooth. Gradually stir in up to 1 more tablespoon milk until the icing is thick but pourable. Spoon the icing into a small resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner. Pipe the icing on the cookies, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let set, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
• Cream the butter and sugar together. Sift in the flour and cornstarch and blend using a pastry cutter until the ingredients all come together. (If the mixture seems excessively dry, cut in 1 more tablespoon of butter--but only if you really need it.) Form the dough into a big ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Roll onto a lightly floured surface and cut into rounds with a 3- or 4-inch round or fluted cookie cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Do not allow the shortbread to brown; check your oven sooner if it runs hot. Let cool.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, or in a microwave. Once the shortbread cookies have cooled, spoon a little chocolate onto each cookie, spread it out and sprinkle over some sprinkles! Allow the chocolate to harden for an hour before eating, storing or packaging.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, then add vanilla & mix well.
• In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar & cocoa, then add to creamed mixture, beating about 3 minutes or until dough holds together.
• Pat the dough into a 9-inch by 4-inch rectangle, then cut into 2-inch by 1 1/2-inch strips.
• Place strips 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Prick each strip several times with a fork.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until set.
• Set sheets on wire rack(s) to cool for 5 minutes, then remove shortbreat to wire rack(s) to cool completely.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Combine the remaining ingredients; gradually beat into the butter. Chill for 1 hour. , Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 300° for 20 minutes or until set.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add flour, sugar, and cocoa; mix just until combined. (Chill dough in the refrigerator 10 minutes if it is too soft to handle.)
• Pat dough into an 8-inch round cake pan; press edges down with the tines of a floured fork. Bake until firm, 30 minutes. Immediately score into eight wedges; cool completely. Turn out of pan; break wedges apart. Decorate with icing.

Steps:

• Mix the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cocoa, followed by the chocolate chips - you'll probably need to mix it together with your hands at this stage. Halve the dough and roll each piece into a log about 5cm thick. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hr or for several days. Can be frozen for up to 1 month.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Slice logs into 1cm-thick rounds, transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 10-12 mins. Cool on the tray.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and cocoa; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/4-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with nonpareils., Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• SHORTBREAD CHRISTMAS TREE:.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
• In a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and flour until dough forms. Roll out dough onto parchment lined baking sheet and using powdered sugar to prevent sticking, cut out shapes. Set scraps aside to be used on the next sheet.
• Bake 12-16 minutes until edges just start to brown. Remove from oven and smooth by placing parchment paper over the top of freshly baked cookies and press down flat with a slightly smaller baking sheet. Allow to cool.
• PIPING AND FLOODING ICING:.
• In stand mixer blend egg white with 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar and red food coloring. Once mixed place half in a large piping bag with a large round tip (This is your flooding bag). Add a cup of confectioners' sugar to the remaining frosting in the stand mixer and beat until mixed. Scoop this mixture into another piping bag with a small tip. using this bag pipe along the edges of your cookies. Once done use the flooding bag to flood your cookies. Use a toothpick or needle to pop any air bubbles that form immediately after piping to ensure a smooth surface.
• Use leftover thicker frosting to pipe additional details and glue cookies together to form a tree.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sift flour and cocoa together. Add coarse salt and set aside.
• With an electric mixer beat butter on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until fluffy. Add sugar and cacao nibs and continue to beat until very light in color, about 2 minutes more. Add the flour and cocoa mixture and combine on low speed, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• On a sheet of wax paper, pat and form the dough into a log about 12 to 14 inches long and 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. If you want a square or rectangular cookie rather than round, flatten each side of the log as you roll it up in the wax paper. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Remove the wax paper from the dough and slice the log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lay cookies on lined baking sheets. Bake until firm, 17 to 20 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 weeks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, chile powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until well blended. Divide dough in half and pat out into 2 (7-inch) rounds (1/4 inch thick). Arrange rounds 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut each round into 8 wedges (do not separate wedges). Prick all over with a fork.
• Bake until dry to the touch, 16 to 18 minutes. Recut shortbread while hot, then cool on sheet (shortbread will crisp as it cools).