Christmas cookies

First, process flour, potato starch and powdered sugar in a food processor for a few seconds until combined. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pastry board or do it by hand on a work surface.

Add cold butter and mix until mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal.

Now, add the eggs, salt, vanilla extract and mix everything until the dough starts to clump together.
Take a piece of dough, about 1/4, and stir in the bitter cocoa, mixing well. Shape into a ball.

Wrap with plastic wrap and refridgerate for at least 1/2 hour: this step is essential because resting allows time for the gluten in the dough to relax.

Tip: if you don’t want to use the dough right away, you can refrigerate it for up to 6 days, or freeze it for up to a month and then thaw overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 5 – 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is ¼-inch thick.

Use Christmas cookie cutters (or the cutters you like more) to press out shapes. I used these ones

Transfercookies using a spatula onto baking sheets. Re-roll any scraps and repeat to cut out more cookies.

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden brown.

Let the cookies cook for a couple minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

While cooling, chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt into the microwave or in a double-boiler. Pour melted chocolate in a plastic bag and decorate the cookies.

Here they are. Christmas Cookies are ready!

Buon appetito!