To commemorate this milestone birthday, I decided to bake a little something that was a nod to his German chocolate cake - German chocolate COOKIES! Instead of decorating them with royal icing, I used this imprinting technique that you may remember from these star birthday cookies. I just love the look of them, and they're so fun to make.
For the cookies, I made a chocolate dough. Not a deep, dark chocolate dough like these, but a milder chocolate. The thing about German chocolate cake is that it doesn't (to me) scream CHOCOLATE. It's more subtle.
What makes these a nod to Geman chocolate are the pecans and coconut mixed in. Both are chopped small so that the tops and sides of the cookies aren't too craggy. Important if you're decorating. Or even imprinting. The pecans are toasted; the coconut is the sweetened variety.
If you're doing imprinting, bake the cookies, then press in the smaller cookie cutters as soon as they come out of the oven. Here's the mini cutter set...it has letter and numbers and is perfect for imprinting!
Here's some great news - these got better over time! I sent the bulk of these to my uncle but packed a few in our treat bag as we headed out on a road trip. You know...for research purposes. We loved them on day one, but we loved them more on day two and so on.
Want some real decadence? Crumble one over ice cream. ♥
Here's the recipe...you can find ALL of my cut-out cookie recipes HERE.
German Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies
{makes about 15 four-inch cookies}
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into chunks
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup finely chopped sweetened coconut
Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.{makes about 15 four-inch cookies}
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into chunks
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup finely chopped sweetened coconut
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. On low speed, add the flour/cocoa mixture in three additions. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the pecans and coconut and mix on low until incorporated.
If there are bits of dry flour in the bottom of the bowl, knead the dough together by hand. Dust rolling surface and rolling pin with a mixture of flour and cocoa. Roll the dough to a thickness of 3/8". Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter that has been dipped in flour.
Chill the cut shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on cookie cutter size. Let cool on the rack for a minute or two then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
