Chocolate Brushstroke Cookies
These simple chocolate wafers are big on chocolate flavor, especially if you use a high quality, dark, Dutch-processed cocoa, or even better, a combination of Dutch-processed and black cocoa to give them a chic, black look, which really sets off whatever color icing you use, and they’ll taste great too! I was inspired by the fuchsia color of dragonfruit powder while I was browsing for new ingredients on nuts.com, but you can use any natural or not natural color you like to tint the glaze. An ordinary pastry brush with somewhat stiff bristles will work best for brushing on the glaze — start with a bit more at the edge of the cookies and then swipe the brush across to apply a thin layer you can see through.
Makes 2 dozen 3-inch cookies (with re-rolls)
2 cups/256 g all-purpose flour
½ cup/47 g Dutch process cocoa, or a combination of Dutch process and black cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup/227 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
¾ cup/151 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 recipe Yogurt Cookie Glaze
Dragonfruit Powder, for sprinkling
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well-combined, scraping the bowl a few times as needed.
Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. Scrape the bowl and fold a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disc, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour, or as long as three days. The dough can also be frozen for several months.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out until 1/4-inch thick Use floured cutters to cut out cookies, and transfer to a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet (reroll scraps as needed, chilling as needed before rolling and cutting again). Place in freezer until very firm, about 10 minutes. Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and on the bottoms.
Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets and transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
Use a stiff-bristled pastry brush to swipe some color across each cookie. Set on a rack to dry. When they are almost dry but still tacky, use a small sieve to tap some dragonfruit powder on the edge of the cookie if desired. Let dry completely before layering or packing.
Yogurt Cookie Glaze
This glaze, which is easy and quick to make, dries to a softer texture than royal icing, but is still great for decorating cookies. It takes color well or can be used as is. The yogurt adds a tart note to tone down the sweetness, but you can use milk instead- just add it slowly at first since it’s thinner. Always add water slowly until you reach the consistency you’re after, testing on a cookie as you go. If it’s too thin, add more sugar. Using a fork to mix it helps to smooth out any lumps. I was taken by the color of dragonfruit powder, but you can use any other natural food coloring, or regular food coloring.
Makes a generous cup
2 cups/250g grams confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dragonfruit powder, or food coloring of your choice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash of vanilla
1 tablespoon warm water, or more as needed
Combine sugar, Greek yogurt, dragonfruit powder, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon warm water in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork to combine well, adding more water slowly as needed to achieve the desired consistency. For brushstrokes, you want it to still hold its shape, but be fluid enough to paint with.
Let sit, tightly covered until ready to use, stirring occasionally. The glaze will keep for at least a week at room temperature in a small airtight container like a glass jar.