Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Cookies with Almond Glaze

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**Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Cookies with Almond Glaze**
**Ingredients:**
* 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 3 teaspoons vanilla
* 4 cups flour
* 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1-2 tablespoons espresso powder
* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 2-3 teaspoons milk
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
**Directions:**
1. Cream butter and sugar together in bowl, and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
2. Scrape down sides of the bowl with plastic spatula and mix again for few seconds more. (Overmixing the butter and sugar will cause too much air to be incorporated into dough, making the cookie fluffier, mug more likely to spread in baking).
3. Add eggs slowly and mix.
4. Add liquid vanilla extract. Stir briefly.
5. In separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture. (Careful not to overmix.)
6. Roll dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper (about 1/4 inch thick). Flour generously on a work surface, and cut out desired shapes.
7. Transfer cut out cookies to the freezer for 30-60 min.
8. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
9. Place cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
10. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until center of cookie no longer looks wet. Baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
11. Let cool before transferring, or Cookies will crumble. They should harden a bit as they cool.
12. For the glaze: sift powdered sugar into a bowl, add almond extract, and slowly add milk until thin enough to brush onto the cookies.
13. After the Cookies have cooled completely, use a pastry brush to glaze the cookies (and ad sprinkles if desired).
14. Enjoy!