Okay. So this may seem long and disparaging but don't worry, these cookies are worth the hard work. Now, New Year's Eve may seem far away but at the pace these months have been flying by it'll be here in no time. This recipe from Epicurious makes a perfect dessert to share with friends in the new year.2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 pound fine-quality white chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
First you have to make the dough and to start you need to whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
Separately, you beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it looks like casper the friendly ghost. Once it is white and fluffy you beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix in flour mixture on low speed in 3 different batches until the dough hardens (not too hard!).
Divide the dough in half and roll out into a 6-inch square. Then place it in the fridge to cool for 2-3 hours.
To make the Ganache- bring the cream and corn syrup to a simmer in a small saucepan and stir in melted chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Cover the top of the saucepan with parchment paper and chill (stirring occasionally for 30 minutes).
Now it's time to get your cookin' on. Preheat the oven to 350°F on a rack in the middle of the oven. To prepare; butter two large baking sheets then roll out one piece of the dough between the sheets of parchment into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Freeze until hardened and repeat with second half of dough.
Take your cookie cutter and cut out as many circles as you can from the first square (remember to save your scraps!). Quickly place them on the buttered baking sheet making sure they are not too close together. Don't let them get soft either, we need this dough to remain firm!
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, then let cool on a rack for 5. If you have a lot of scraps only re-roll them once and cut out more circles. Then repeat!
Now for the fun part. Take out your ganache and beat with an electric mixer at high speed until it becomes fluffy. Put the ganache in a plastic bag and snip off a small corner hole. Put the ganache on one side of the cookie and top with the other, then chill the cookies for a bit, serve and eat!
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