Two-Tone Festive Sugar Cookies Recipe

In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment or working in a big bowl with an electrical hand mixer, beat collectively the butter and sugar on medium pace till gentle and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Beat within the egg and vanilla till properly mixed, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the perimeters and backside of the bowl as wanted.

Add the flour combination and blend on low pace to type a stiff dough, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as wanted.

Switch half of the dough (about 1 1/2 cups or 420g) to a sheet of parchment. Place a second sheet of parchment on prime and press to flatten the dough barely. Roll the dough 1/4″ thick, making a couple of 10″ spherical.

Add the cocoa to the remaining dough within the bowl and blend on low pace till properly mixed, 30 to 60 seconds, scraping the bowl as wanted.

Switch the chocolate dough to a separate sheet of parchment. Place one other sheet of parchment on prime and press to flatten the dough barely. Roll the dough to 1/4″ thick, to make a couple of 10″ spherical.

Switch the doughs, nonetheless sandwiched between parchment to a baking sheet and refrigerate for a minimum of half-hour and so long as in a single day.

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack within the middle.

Take away the chilled dough from the fridge. Peel off the highest sheets of parchment and use them to line 2 baking sheets.

Use a 2 1/2″ spherical cutter to chop out rounds from every sheet of dough. Use a 1 3/4″ mini cookie cutter to chop out shapes from the middle of the rounds. Insert the cut-out shapes from the vanilla rounds into the damaging house within the chocolate rounds, and vice versa.

Use a small offset spatula to switch the cookies to the ready baking sheets, spacing evenly aside, as much as 12 cookies per tray. If desired, sprinkle the cookies with glowing sugar.

Bake the sugar cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or till the perimeters of the vanilla cookies are simply barely starting to brown. Cookie dough that was refrigerated in a single day would possibly require a pair further minutes to bake.

Take away the sugar cookies from the oven and funky on the baking sheet for five minutes earlier than transferring to a rack to chill fully.

Whereas the primary tray of sugar cookies is baking, collect and reroll the scraps of vanilla dough and chocolate dough. Refrigerate for a couple of minutes, as wanted, to make the dough simpler to work with, then repeat the method for chopping out and inlaying the cookies. Repeat till all of the dough is used; bake as directed.

Retailer the sugar cookies in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 4 days; freeze for longer storage.