Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse

Kaye Hansen is a self-taught baker and the owner of the Riviera Bakehouse in Westchester, the bakery of choice for devoted customers from Albany to New York City. Liv Hansen trained as a painter before turning her eye for color and composition to buttercream and melted chocolate. The bakery has been featured in theiNew York Times/i, and the Hansens have appeared on theiToday/ishow, Food Network, andiThe View/i. Both Kaye and Liv reside in Rockland County.bRudolph Chocolate Shortbread/bbrbrMakes 3 dozen cookiesbrbrThis recipe is a chocolate variation of our regular shortbread. We pipe a red chocolate nose on Rudolph and sprinkly it with red sanding sugar-see how it glows!brbrbPreheat the oven to 350°F/b.brbrbGrease 2 cookie sheets/b.brbrbOn a piece of wax paper, sift together:/bbr* 3 1/2 (3.5) cups all-purpose flourbr* 1/2 (.5) cup cocoa powderbr* 1 cup confectioners' sugarbr* 1/4 (.25) teaspoon saltbrbrbPlace the ingredients in a large bowl of an electric mixer.brbrAdd:/bbr* 17 ounces (4 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 (.5) inch cubesbrbrbMix on low speed until the dough comes together.brbrOn a lightly floured board:br/b* Roll out the dough 1/4 (.25) inch thick. Use a Rudolph cookie cutter, or a cookie cutter of your choice, to cut out the dough. Place Rudolphs 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Prick each cookie once with a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not attempt to move the cookies before they have completely cooled or the legs might break off.bbrbrMelt:/bbr* 1/4 (.25) cup white wafer chocolate or 2 ounces white chocolatebrbrbAdd to the melted chocolate and stir until well combined:/bbr* 6 dropsb/bred candy color (add more or less as desired)brbrbP