Brownie Roll-Out Cookies for Easter

Usually, I really dislike decorated sugar cookies. It takes soooooooo long to make them and only 10 seconds to devour them. So when I made some for Valentine's Day last month, I went ahead and cut out some Easter shapes and stuck them in the freezer. Yesterday, I baked them and decorated them in under 2 hours. Two thumbs up for planning ahead! It still only took 10 seconds to make them disappear, but at least the dog didn't eat them this time!
The cookie recipe can be found here on the Valentine's Day cookie post. The royal icing recipe is here from last year's Easter cookies, as well as more designs and a handy link to a decorating tutorial!

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. (I rolled mine between two sheets of plastic wrap. It was buttery enough that it didn't need any flour to keep it from sticking.) Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed. (My cookies were 1/4-inch thick and they only needed 9 minutes in the oven.)

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.