Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies

With such a complicated meal planned, I decided to make something quick and easy for dessert. And these were just that. They’re refrigerator cookies, so you basically just whip up the dough, roll it into a log, then freeze or refrigerate until you’re ready to slice and bake.

I made the dough a day ahead, and then baked them when I had time. They were a little difficult to slice evenly, but I blame that on not leaving them in the freezer long enough when I transferred from the fridge. Oh, well.

The icing part was a bit tricky. It didn’t quite turn out like the picture. Not even close, actually. Of course, the photographers probably cheated and used paint. My icing, on the other hand was rather thick, and dragging the toothpick just made it clump up. Maybe more milk would have helped? But the cookies were tasty nevertheless. Very crunchy. Very Oreo-ish. Luke thought they tasted like chocolate teddy grahams. They’re not overly indulgent by any means, but a cute little crisp cookie. They're sure to please if you have kids. Or, a Luke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Tonight we had them on ice cream. Even better.

Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies

Yield: 2-dozen cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

Ingredients:
1  cup  all-purpose flour
1/3  cup  unsweetened cocoa
1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
1/8  teaspoon  salt
1/3  cup  vegetable shortening
2/3  cup  granulated sugar
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
1  large egg white
Cooking spray
2  cups  powdered sugar, sifted
3  tablespoons  2% reduced fat milk

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350º.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Place shortening in a large mixing bowl; beat with a heavy-duty mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until well blended. Add vanilla and egg white; beat well. Add flour mixture; beat until well blended.

Turn dough out onto wax paper; shape into a 6-inch log. Wrap log in wax paper. Freeze 2 hours or until very firm.

Cut log into 24 (1/4-inch) slices, and place slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Combine powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk until smooth. Spoon into a small zip-top plastic bag; seal. Snip a tiny hole in 1 corner of bag. Working with 1 cookie at a time, pipe 3 concentric circles onto each cookie. Starting at center circle, pull a wooden pick through other circles at regular intervals to create a "web."

Nutritional Information: Calories: 102 (26% from fat), Fat: 2.9g (sat 0.8g,mono 1g,poly 0.7g), Protein: 1g, Carbohydrate: 19g, Fiber: 1g, Cholesterol: 0.0mg, Iron: 0.0mg, Sodium: 42mg, Calcium: 5mg. Source: Cooking Light 2004.