Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

makes about 24 sandwiches

I got this from a website that is no longer available on the web.  Good thing I saved the recipe!

For the cookies:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

For filling:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 Tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons raspberry jam

(you can add an extra tablespoon of jam to make the color darker if desired)

In a large mixing bowl add cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir together to combine.  In a small bowl add egg and vegetable oil.  Beat well with a fork.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture.  Beat with an electric mixer until all ingredients are well combined.  The dough will be thick and slightly crumbly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.

Place dough onto a lightly floured worksurface.  Divide in half and set one half aside.  Using the palms of your hands, flatten out the dough you’re working with until it’s about an inch thick.  Then, using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle, or a glass – any cylinder-shaped kitchen item will work) roll out the dough to a 1/4″ thickness.  Use a cookie cutter to cut into desired shapes.  Place shapes onto baking sheets, leaving about 2″ between each one.

Bake for 5 – 8 minutes.  Baking time will depend on how big your cookies are.  My cookie cutter was about 2 1/2″ across, and 5 minutes was plenty of time for them to bake.  Let cookies cool completely before adding filling.

For the filling: 

In a mixing bowl add cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla.  Using an electric mixer mix to combine.  Slowly add powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time (to prevent a big mess).  The mixture will seem very dry at first, but continue mixing and it will come together.  Once it’s creamy, add the jam and mix again to combine.

Using a rubber spatula, transfer filling to a pastry bag.  As an alternative you can use a large zip-top bag.  Once filling is added snip a hole in one corner – works just as well in this instance.  Squeeze a fairly large mound of filling into the center of one side of the cookie.  Add another cookie on top and slowly push down to spread filling to edges.  Don’t worry if the first few aren’t perfect – it just adds to the homemade charm of the cookies.