CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH WHITE FROSTING RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt in a large bowl. Stir orange zest into flour mixture. Mix vegetable shortening and margarine into dry ingredients, using your hands, until mixture is crumbly.
• Beat eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl with an electric mixer until foamy; add egg mixture, 1/4 cup orange juice, and 1/4 cup milk to flour mixture and knead dough in the bowl until thoroughly combined and dough doesn't stick to your hands, about 8 minutes. Dough will be stiff. Knead cream cheese thoroughly into dough, followed by walnuts.
• Form dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place onto ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool cookies on racks.
• Beat 3 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon orange juice, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a bowl until smooth; gradually beat in remaining confectioners' sugar until frosting is thick and drizzles slowly from a spoon.
• Dip tops of cookies into frosting and place frosted cookies on racks with waxed paper underneath to catch drips. Let cookies dry overnight.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheets with shortening or cooking spray. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, 1/2 cup butter, the buttermilk, vanilla, egg and 2 oz melted chocolate with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until dough forms. Stir in nuts.
• Onto greased cookie sheets, drop dough by level 1/4 cupfuls or #16 cookie/ice cream scoop about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly with fork.
• Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In 2-quart saucepan, melt 2 oz chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and hot water until smooth. (If frosting is too thick, stir in additional water. If frosting is too thin, stir in additional powdered sugar.) Spread frosting on cooled cookies. If desired, draw tines of fork through frosting to make wavy lines. Decorate with candy sprinkles.