Dreamy Chocolate Cookies

I live in pretty much the only house lacking outdoor Christmas decor right now, so CAN'T BLOG NEW CONTENT MUST WORK ON LIGHTS.

Ahem.

These cookies are an old Christmas standby because they are extremely reliable and most excellent.

Dreamy Chocolate Cookies

(Makes approximately 36 cookies)

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2/3 cups baking cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl at low speed.

3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together.

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg/vanilla mixture and mix at low speed until well combined.

5. Drop the cookie dough by heaping teaspoon onto your cookie sheet. If you want smoother/prettier cookies, roll each spoonful of dough into a ball and then flatten with the palm of your hand.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

7. Allow the cookies to cool for 1-2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon butter, softened
Crushed candy canes

1. Mix the powdered sugar, milk, butter, and peppermint extract in a medium bowl with a hand mixer at low speed. Add more milk if you want it runnier or more powdered sugar if you want it thicker. It's your choice.

2. Spread a small bit of icing on top of the cookie. Pour crushed candy canes into the palm of one of your hands and then take the iced side of the cookie and smoosh it into the candy cane pieces.

3. For the plain Dreamy Chocolate Cookies, find a small cookie cutter with a wide edge (plastic ones often work best). Place the cookie cutter on top of the cookie and then dust with powdered sugar by using a flour sifter. Take the cookie cutter off and you should be left with the outline of the cookie cutter.