Chocolate Conversation Hearts Sour Cream Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare 2 cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment beat shortening and sugar. Add in egg and mix.

3. In a separate small bowl dissolve baking soda in the sour cream.

4. Mix together flour and cocoa.

5. Alternate adding flour and sour cream mixture into the mixing bowl with the sugar mixture.

6. Mix until you have a nice soft dough and then set dough on your work surface.

7. Roll the dough out using more flour if needed so it is not sticky.

8. Use cookie cutters to make your heart shapes.

9. Place cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet. Decorate with sprinkles if you are using sprinkles instead of frosting.

10. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set them on a rack to cool before decorating.

11. For the icing combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Beat for 30 seconds.

12. Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time.

13. Mix in up to 1 tablespoon of milk, depending on what consistency you would like to have for your frosting.

14. Separate frosting into bowls and mix one to two drops of food coloring into one of the bowls.

15. Spoon frosting into a piping bag or sandwich bag with a corner cut off. Decorate as desired and enjoy!

This icing was made thick so I could pipe it onto the cookies and hold its shape. You can add more milk to make it more spreadable if you would like to spread the icing on.

Notes:
1. These cookies can be cooked longer if you like a crunchy cookie. My husband does so I make a tray just for him.

2. You can decorate after the cookies have cooled using frosting of your choice.

3. This recipe is adapted from my grandma’s cream cookies. The icing is adapted from glorioustreats.com.