Chocolate Roll Out cookies with Chocolate Royal Icing

This is now my favorite chocolate cookie recipe.  No disrespect to Smitten Kitchen, but Georganne's recipe is so much easier to work with, and just as delicious, if not more so.  They keep their shape beautifully, in part because the shortening does not melt like butter does.  I love to sub 1/2 black cocoa and use hershey's special dark- that's what makes them so black!  They are really good paired with Chocolate Royal Icing

Chocolate Roll Out Cookies
Adapted from LilaLoa


1 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (11 1/2 oz or 325 gm)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup cocoa (2 3/4 oz or 80 gm)
3 cups flour (15 oz or 425 gm)

Cream butter, shortening and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add baking powder and salt and mix again. Stir in the cocoa until well blended. Add flour.  Roll out between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Roll out to 3/8" thick.  Bake at 375 F for 6 1/2 minutes. Let cool on pan for 10 minutes.  Do not overbake!!!!!

Chocolate Royal Icing
Adapted from Sweet Sugarbelle


2 lbs confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark)
1/2 cup meringue powder
1 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup+2 Tbsp warm water

Add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix lightly before adding the liquid. Mix half the water with the flavoring and add to the dry ingredients and mix on low adding the remaining liquid little by little until the mixture reaches the consistency of honey. At this point, turn the mixer to high and whip for approximately two minutes until the icing is light and fluffy like meringue.