Brooklyn Blackout Mint Shortbread

some tips:

• black cocoa — if you don't have access to this oreo-like wonder, you can substitute regular cocoa. But i HIGHLY recommend you make the effort to get it.
• meringue powder in icing — use if you want icing to firm up completely, which is a good idea for presentation purposes if you plan to pack/gift them
• crushed candy canes — for years i used the crush-in-ziploc-bag method and no matter how neat i tried to be, i found little sticky shards all over my kitchen for weeks. this year i used a food processor. so much easier and neater! and no need to freeze the candy canes, as i read many places online. just pulse till you get the size pieces you'd like. 

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Yield: about 60 2” cookies

​Dough Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ tsp peppermint extract
¼ cup + 1 tbsp black cocoa (i use King Arthur)*
½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Icing Ingredients:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
5-6 tbsp water
​pinch salt
4 tsp meringue powder (optional. i like Wilton)*
​crushed candy canes for sprinkling*

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