Chocolate Spice Cookies with Royal Icing

These Chocolate Spice cookies, from Wendy of Five Little Ducklings, are ta die for good! Seriously, if you haven’t finished your holiday baking, add these to your list. Everyone will BEG you for the recipe! Her daughter is the one that made my day with the yummy treat.

But first, a picture…

You’ll savor every bite and be seriously sad when they are gone.

Here’s the recipe for the Chocolate Spice Cookies with Royal Icing.

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Chocolate Spice Cookies

Author Wendy Jacobs

Ingredients

Chocolate Spice Cookies

• ​1 cup butter softened
• ​1 cup granulated sugar
• ​1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• ​2 eggs
• ​1 tbs vanilla
• ​3 cups all-purpose flour
• ​1/2 cup cocoa powder
• ​1 tsp baking powder
• ​1 tsp baking soda
• ​1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ​1/4 tsp ground ginger
• ​1/2 tsp salt

Royal Icing

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbs meringue powder found in the cake decorating department of your craft store
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ½ cup + 1 tbs water

Instructions

Chocolate Spice Cookies

1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
2. Sift in cocoa powder and 2 cups of the flour. (Special tip: Always sift ingredients like flour and powdered sugar. If you do your dough will come out smooth and free of lumps.)
3. Mix in baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until smooth.
4. Switch to a large spoon and mix in remaining 1 cup of flour.
5. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
6. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4″ thick.
7. Cut out with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. (Special tip: Place your cookie sheet with cut out cookies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking them. This will ensure your cookies retain their shape while baking.)
8. Bake for 8-9 minutes at 325 degrees.
9. Cool on wire rack.
10. You can enjoy your cookies just like this or you can step it up a notch and add icing.

Royal Icing

1. Whip all of the ingredients with an electric mixer for about 7 minutes, or until your icing forms firm peaks.
2. To decorate cookies, I find the plastic candy making bottles work great.
3. Start by outlining your cookies.
4. Let your icing harden fully before filling them in.
5. The icing will start out glossy and become dull when it is dry.
6. Now you will need to thin down your icing. Adding ½ tbs of water and mixing, continue until your icing is somewhat runny, but not watery. You should be able to run a knife through it and that line disappear in about 10 seconds.
7. Now fill in your cookie.
8. If you have any holes use a toothpick to spread the icing.
9. Once your icing is fully dry you can add your decorative lines.
10. My best advice for working with royal icing is play around with the consistency. Royal icing can take a little work to learn but once you get the hang of it it can be so much fun. My five year old has even learned how to make some pretty amazing cookies.

Wendy mentioned in the recipe that there is a trick to the Royal Icing. Here’s what her step by step looks like.

Are they ever beautiful AND delicious!

Wendy is seriously talented.  She also sews, and I can’t wait to share the robes she made my kids for Christmas!

Find all your cookie making supplies on Amazon!

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