Oh My Stars! Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I totally snagged this recipe from the Hershey website and can take no credit for it at all. Then again shortbread is shortbread and everyone knows (who cooks) that all you need is butter, sugar and flour. That's the beauty of this recipe. 3 simple ingredients or 4 as I like to add vanilla and you have a perfect sweet treat. But I needed a dark cookie. So I decided to see what a chocolate shortbread would be like. I like it! I like it! To add some flair I made some very simple designs using white cookie icing. Rustic, primitive would describe it! I can't even take credit for the icing. I used Wilton's white cookie icing. Ready to use. Delish! The only fault I had was that the opening of the bottle was too wide to make any intricate designs. Well, that's what I get for trying to be lazy!

The only thing that took any time was cutting the star shapes out of the dough. The rest was just too simple!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa or HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 container Wilton White Cookie Icing or your own icing recipe
  

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 300°F. Beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add cocoa; blend well. Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth.

2. Roll or pat dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface or between 2 pieces of wax paper; with cookie cutters, cut in holiday shapes. Re-roll dough scraps, cutting cookies until dough is used. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or just until firm. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Store in airtight container. About 4-1/2 dozen (2-inch diameter) cookies.

4. Once the cookies have been cooled place them onto a flat surface and decorate with the icing. Let icing harden completely before placing them in a container or gift package.