White Chocolate Dipped Spice Cookies

For the Christmas cookie Recipe Swap, I was given Spice Cookies from Cookies on Friday.   

Spice cookies were my grandpa's favorite cookie.  He put molasses in them though, and I remember as a little kid making them with him. It has been so long since I've had one however, that I didn't remember what they were like.

White Chocolate Dipped Spice Cookies
slightly adapted from Cookies on Friday
yields 24 tiny gingerbread men shaped cookies
Ingredients
Spice Cookies
2 cups flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have allspice in my spice cabinet)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature, cut into slices
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

White Chocolate Dip
6 ounces white chocolate chips
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Directions
1) In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, ginger, pepper, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Process to blend.
2) Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.
3) In a small bowl, mix vanilla, lemon peel, and 1 tablespoon water. Add to food processor; process until dough forms a ball.
4) Divide dough in half. Roll out each portion between sheets of waxed paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Stack and chill rolled dough until firm, about 45 minutes (or longer).
5)  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut out cookies with a 2-inch round cutter. Place 1/2 inch apart on silicone mat-lined baking sheets. Bake until pale brown, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.
6) Melt white chocolate and shortening in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
7) Dip each cookie halfway into white chocolate mixture, then place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. If desired, drizzle undipped half of cookie with more white chocolate mixture.

I have to say that this is one busy tasting cookie.  In each bite, it is hard to discern what you are actually tasting.  I didn't mind this cookie, but it isn't my favorite cookie.  I really liked the plain spice cookie better than the cookie with the chocolate dip on it.  I think the shortening overwhelms the amount of chocolate and it just ends up muting the spices within the cookie. 

This cookie takes a long time to make if you're doing it in one evening.  I started mine at 6:15 in the evening and didn't finish until a little after 9 at night.  Between making the dough, letting it chill in the fridge, cooking the cookies, cooling them, and then dipping, it just makes for a long process.