Chocolate-Cherry Rose Cookie Pops
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: About 12 cookie pops
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 406
- Total Fat
- 20
- Saturated Fat
- 12
- Carbohydrates
- 57
- Dietary Fiber
- 1
- Sugar
- 39
- Protein
- 3
- Cholesterol
- 51
- Sodium
- 104
- Total: 3 hr 30 min
- Active: 1 hr
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Icing:
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
5 teaspoons meringue powder
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon cherry extract
Red gel food coloring
Directions
- Make the cookies: Pulse the flour, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture looks crumbly and holds together when pinched. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and press into a ball. Knead a few times until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment and roll out the dough until 3/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees F. Cut out cookies using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Arrange 2 inches apart on 2 unlined baking sheets, then insert an 8-inch lollipop stick about three-quarters of the way into each. Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm, if needed; reroll to cut out more cookies.
- Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the pans, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Beat in the water and cherry extract with a mixer on medium speed until soft glossy peaks form, about 3 minutes; add up to 1 more tablespoon water as needed until the icing is pipeable but not runny. Tint red with food coloring.
- Decorate the cookies: Transfer about 1/2 cup icing to a resealable plastic bag and snip a corner. Pipe the icing around the edge of each cookie; set the bag of icing aside for adding details later. Thin the icing in the bowl until the consistency of runny yogurt, adding 1 teaspoon water at a time. Transfer to another resealable plastic bag and snip a corner; pipe within the outline, then use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to smooth it out. Let set, about 1 hour. Pipe the reserved detail icing on top of the cookies to make a floral design.