How to Bake Chocolate Snow Drop Cookies for Christmas

My Grandmother Ruthven always made her Chocolate Snow Drop cookies at Christmastime and I’ve never tasted this delicious recipe anywhere else. The dark, bittersweet chocolate and cake-like consistency of these cookies is surprising and delicious and the dollop of white icing on top makes them look like snow covered peaks. I am happy to put Grandma’s recipe out into the world, so that many hosts and hostesses can experience the oohs and ahhs when people take a bite of these unique Christmas cookies.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 small bowl and 1 large bowl
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 3 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• (optional) 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• ungreased cookie sheets
• FOR THE ICING:
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 to 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 cup milk, heated but not boiling

Make the Cookie Dough and Chill It

1. In a large bowl, stir the beaten eggs into the sugar.

2. Melt the vegetable shortening (the simplest way to do this is to place it in a heat-resistant glass cup and microwave on high for one minute) and stir into the sugar mixture.

3. Melt the chocolate (similar to the vegetable shortening above, but set the microwave at 50-percent power and heat it gradually, in 30-second increments, checking each time to see if it is melted, so that you don’t burn the chocolate).

4. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Then pour this mixture into the big bowl and stir until the ingredients are well-combined. The dough should be a rich, dark brown color and quite thick in consistency.

5. Add vanilla (and chopped nuts if desired).

6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

8. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for ten to fifteen minutes (until the center springs back when lightly pressed with your fingertip).

9. The cookies will look lumpy and asymmetrical. This is correct--they should look like little mountain peaks, no two exactly alike.

After the Cookies Have Cooled, Make the Icing

10. Let the cookies cool completely.

11. Heat the milk in a saucepan and set aside.

12. Melt the butter over low heat in a separate saucepan.

13. Add half of the milk to the butter and stir.

14. Start to stir in confectioners sugar, a few spoonfuls at a time. Keep adding sugar until the icing has a consistency that is thick enough so it doesn’t run off the cookies, but thin enough so that when you put a cap of frosting on top of the cookie, it settles unevenly with a few dribbles easing down the sides, like a cap of melting snow on a mountain.

Tips & Warnings

• This icing hardens quickly. If it starts to harden while you are still in the process of frosting the cookies, simply add more warm milk, a few drops at a time, until the consistency is thin enough to work with.
• These cookies are sure to be a perennial Christmas treat!