A great basic butter cookie made even better, thanks to cocoa powder, cinnamon, and just a touch of chile. Easy to make too.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Decorations such as melted chocolate, colored sugar, jimmies, silver balls, and icing (optional)
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, chile powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
On a lightly floured surface (see note), shape the dough into a 3/4-inch thick round for cookie-cutter cookies or into a log for slice and bake cookies. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
Meanwhile, if making cookie-cutter cookies, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into various shapes. Gather up the scraps and roll out the dough again. Use cookie cutters to make another set of cookies. Discard the scraps. If making slice and bake cookies, cut the log of dough into 1/4-inch slices. Either way, if you like, decorate the cookies with colored sugar, jimmies, silver balls, etc. (Or make checkerboard cookies following the instructions here.)
Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 1/2-inch apart. Bake until just beginning to turn slightly darker at the edges, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly before decorating with melted chocolate or icing, if you like.
NOTE When you're working with a chocolate-y dough, instead of using flour to dust your surface, you can use cocoa powder (I did in for the cookies in the photo). It will avoid a powdery whiteness on your otherwise brown baked goods. But if you're making cookie-cutter cookies, note that the more you roll out the dough and re-dust the surface, the more your cookies will pick up cocoa powder and the darker brown they'll be.
