Viennese Chocolate Cookies Recipes

VIENNESE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Combine flour and ground almonds; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. , Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/4-in. round cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., Spread jam on the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip half of each sandwich cookie into chocolate mixture; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper until set. Store in an airtight container.

VIENNESE CHOCOLATE-NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan.
• Cream margarine and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Mix flour, cornstarch, hazelnuts, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl and quickly mix into the margarine mixture. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely before dusting with confectioners' sugar.

VIENNESE CRESCENT HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter, nuts, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla. Hand mix until thoroughly blended. Shape dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place sugar in a bowl or small container. With sharp chef's knife, split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out seeds, and mix them into the sugar. Cut pod into 2 inch pieces and mix into sugar.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and form into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball into a small roll, 3 inches long. Place rolls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, and bend each one to make a crescent shape.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set but not brown.
• Let stand 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets. Place hot cookies on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with prepared sugar mixture. Turn gently to coat on both sides. Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving, coat with more vanilla flavored sugar.

VIENNESE CHOCOLATE PEPPER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer on medium speed, soften the butter, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, if still a little gritty, about 2 minutes. Beat in 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper and the allspice. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour and turn the dough onto it. Roll gently into a 9-inch log, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.
• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liner.
• Slice the log into 1/4-inch-thick pieces and place them about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 6 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back. Bake for about 6 more minutes, or until the cookies are slightly puffed and the tops feel springy. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely.
• In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. After all of the cookies are cooled, sift the sugar-pepper mixture over the cookies through a fine-mesh strainer. Store in an airtight container at room temperature between layers of wax paper for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

VIENNESE VANILLA COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and add sugar. Add 1/2 cup of flour mixing after each addition. Add remaining ingredients. Shape into a disk and then chill for 30 minutes. You can also put the dough in the freezer at this point.
• Begin to roll the dough the dough so that it is about 1/4-inch thick or a little more. Cut with cookie cutters. Place dough on parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet. I prefer using parchment paper. It's just easier.
• Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until the edges are a bit brown. You may need to lower your oven to 325 degrees F.
• You can also freeze or chill the dough in a log shape rather than a disk. If you do this, simply cut small rounds about 1/4 inch thick and place these rounds on the lined cookie sheet. These bake for 15 minutes. (This works well, if you want to transport dough to a friend's house and have kids form the cookies.)
• Once the cookies come out of the oven, either cool them on the cookie sheet or move the parchment paper to a cookie rack. As the cookies cool, but before they're fully cooled, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
• Arrange on a plate and don't blink because they'll disappear before you open your eyes. Eat.
• That's the classic Brown family cookie. Without it Christmas simply isn't Christmas. Sometimes I bring a batch from my Chicago home and that simply doesn't work. My sister and mother are upset that the house doesn't smell like Christmas...no cookie smell in the air. I'm often required to make many batches...and the cookies are eaten at all times
• and for all meals.
• These were the cookies we left for Santa...He regularly gobbled them up, leaving only a few crumbs on the plate and a note that said, "These are excellent cookies, the best I've had." In retrospect, the writing looked an awful lot like my father's... If they're good enough for Santa, I think they're good enough for anyone.

CHOCOLATE VIENNESE KISSES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Grease two, 12 cup mini muffin pans and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter, and sugar. Beat at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbles.
• Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 1 ball into each prepared muffin cup.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
• Remove from oven and immediately press kiss into center of each cookie. Let cool in pan 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

VIENNESE HOT CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a large saucepan until almost boiling. Meanwhile, whip the cream to soft peaks. Set aside.
• Remove milk from the heat and whisk in all but 2 teaspoons of the chocolate. Add the sugar and rum or Cognac and whisk until foamy.
• Ladle the hot chocolate into 4 mugs, top with a large dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate. Serve immediately.