Black Velvet Cookies

'Tis the season! I'm so excited. I don't like gore but I do like a good theme, and Halloween will serve me perfectly the entire month of October. Ghouls and ghosts and spiders, oh my! 

The original recipe was entitled 'Red Velvet Cookies.' Now they are 'Black Velvet Cookies.' You see what I did there. No further explanation required.

They are delicious and chewy and kick off the festivities in a dark way. Boo!(yah).

Black Velvet Cookies

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped                                           

1/2 tsp. baking soda                                                     

1/2 cup butter, softened                                               

2/3 cup packed brown sugar                                        

1/3 cup sugar                                                               

1 egg                                                                           

1 Tbsp. black food coloring *

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (16 oz) cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a microwave, melt unsweetened chocolate at 20 second intervals. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg, food coloring and vanilla. Add cooled chocolate; beat until blended.
4. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream, beating after each addition.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes or until completely set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
7. Spread with frosting.

*A word about black food coloring - it's hard to find. The first time I made these I tried to mix red, yellow and blue per the genius of a google search but it turned out gray and rather gross looking. The second time I used frosting dye which I found at Walmart in a cute tiny jar. It worked much better AND I have a cute tiny jar of frosting dye for future use. Win win. Win.

-Recipe adapted from Christina Petri via Taste of Home