{Hostess} Cream Filled Cookies

I know my appearance around here has been a bit spotty. Good thing no one is taking attendance. I wanted to clarify something this morning. When there are no recipes up on CSB, there is no cake in the CSB household. Just wanted to make sure no one thought I am too busy fressing on cake and cookies to drop in and post something drool worthy for you. 'Cuz I care about you guys, ya know. And if you don't have cake, I won't have cake. And kind of by default, vice versa. Just wanted to make that clear. So in honor of my poor attendance, here's is something mind boggling for you:

Cream Filled Cookies

Cookies:

2 ½ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup margarine

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together. Set aside.Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla; beat on high until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, beating on low after each addition. Beat just until the dough comes together.Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough on a surface lightly coated with a mixture of flour and cocoa to about a ¼" thick. Cut with a 3" round cookie cutter (For jumbo cookies as pictured)  Place the cut-outs on a prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer for 5-10 min. (This will prevent spreading.) Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until done. Allow cookies to cool completely. Makes approximately 22 jumbo cookies.

Cream Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cold water, or enough to make the filling cohesive
• Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until combined. You may need to add water- 1 teaspoon at a time. Divide the filling equally between cookies. Roll a ball of filling in your hand and press flat onto the cookie with your palm. 

Glaze:

1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp light corn syrup
6 Tbsp milk (rice or soy works as well)

In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together. Add the corn syrup and milk, whisking until smooth.The glaze will be very thick, but still pourable. Transfer to a piping bag, fitted with a #12 tip, or to a zip-top bag and snip the corner. Pipe the glaze in a circle onto the cookies. The glaze will spread, so don't go too close to the edges. If some spills over the edge, it's ok.Let the cookies dry for at least one hour before adding the white squiggle. You can use this recipe for royal icing for the squiggle. ( It will make WAAY more than needed for 22 squiggles, so you can definitely cut the recipe in half. You can also refrigerate leftover royal icing for a different time.

And a macro:

Happy Monday guys!