Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
Instructions
- Cream together butter an sugar until fluffy.
- Add in egg, vanilla extract and orange zest until blended.
- Slowly add in salt and flour.
- Cut dough in half. With 1/2 of cookie dough, mix in 2 table spoons of cocoa powder.
- Cover in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Roll out portions of your cookie dough on a lightly floured surface (don't forget to add a little to your rolling pin).
- Cut out your different shaped pandas and layer your pieces on top of each other.
- Bake for approximately 10 - 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Don't over bake them, or the white portions of the cookies will be super brown. Allow to cool before transferring over to cooling rack
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips for Perfect Panda Cookies
- Room temp everything: soft butter and a room-temperature egg blend into a smooth, workable dough. Cold ingredients fight you and lead to crumbly results.
- Do not skip the chill: it is the single biggest thing standing between cute pandas and shapeless blobs. Cold dough equals crisp, defined shapes.
- Go easy on the flour: use the lightest dusting possible when rolling. Too much dries the dough and makes cookies crumble.
- Chill between re-rolls: after you gather scraps and re-roll, the dough warms up. Pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes so it stays firm and easy to cut.
- Bake a test cookie: ovens run hot or cold. Bake one first to dial in your exact timing before you commit the whole tray. I learned this the hard way after browning a full sheet.