This recipe was given to me by a wonderful woman in Montana - a friend and co-worker of my dad.  She's a great cook and helped out quite a bit with my bridal shower and my wedding, so when she sent me a book she had put together with all kind of great recipes, I was was thrilled!  

These cookies are some of my favorites from that collection (although there are so many good choices it's hard to pick a favorite).  The cookie is perfect for a more sophisticated dessert - not too sweet, with a wonderfully unexpected creamy filling.  

I followed the recipe almost exactly, but looking back, there are a few changes I would make.  I used pecans instead of walnuts - no particular reason, I just like them a little better.  Also, I used a snowflake cookie cutter for mine.  Really, you can use any shape you like, just remember that the rounder the cookie, the more filling you can pack into it.  And I have to say, the middle bite is the best. 

Double-Fudge Pockets

• 1 c butter
• 1 c sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c cocoa powder
• Fudge Filling (recipe below)
• Sifted powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  In an electric mixer, beat butter on medium high for 30 seconds.  Add sugar and baking powder; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined.

Stir in flour and cocoa powder with a wooden spoon.  Divide dough in half.  Cover and chill dough for 1 hour, or until easy to handle.  Mixing the flour and cocoa in with a spoon was miserable - next time I might use the electric mixer on low until it's just combined. 

Roll out each portion of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into rounds with a floured scalloped 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter.

Place half of the rounds 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Spoon a rounded teaspoon of Fudge Filling into the center of each round.  Place another round over the filling.  Press edges together to seal.

Bake for 10 -12 minutes, or until edges are firm.  Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute.  Transfer to wire racks and cool.  Place in an airtight container and chill up to 2 days.  Before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Makes about 30.


Fudge Filling

• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 1/4 c finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Melt chocolate in a bowl set over boiling water. Stir in sour cream and nuts.  Mixture with stiffen as it cools.



 Paper Snowflakes

Snowflake shaped cookies with powdered sugar sifted over the top reminded me of those paper snowflakes that I made as a child.   While they can be simple enough for a child, you can make them as elaborate as you want.  I love the effect they have when all hung up together.  In one of my favorite Christmas movies, Elf, there is an abundance of paper snowflakes and snowflake chains and the effect is just magical!

This is a great project to do on a quiet evening at home, or if you have kids, they'll love making them with you.  What better way to transform your home into a Winter Wonderland than with such a simple and inexpensive project?







There are some great tutorials and templates available online for making paper snowflakes, just in case you need a little refresher.  Just a few are here, here, here, here, and here. 




*I'd love to tell you where these beautiful photos came from, but I did something dumb and now I don't know myself.  So, if you know where any of them came from please let me know!