Chocolate Candy-Cane Rings

Preparation : 1. Into a bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Chop chocolate and in a small heavy saucepan melt with butter over very low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove pan from heat and stir in sugar. Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and cool 10 minutes. Stir in eggs and vanilla until just combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined.

Halve dough and roll out each half between sheets of wax paper into an 11 1/2-inch round (about 3/16 inch thick). Remove top sheet of wax paper from each round and with a 1 1/2-inch round cutter cut rounds, leaving all of dough on wax paper. Cut a 2/4-inch-diameter hole (we used wide end of a pastry tip) in center of half of rounds. (Do not remove and of cut-outs from dough; keep rounds intact on wax paper). Replace sheets of wax paper and stack dough on a baking sheet. Chill dough until firm, at least 4 hours, and up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Finely chop candy canes. Transfer dough rounds, still between sheets of wax paper, to a work surface. Remove top sheet of wax paper from each dough round. Replace wax paper loosely and flip over each wax-paper-enclosed dough round. From each dough round remove and discard sheet of wax paper now on top (this process prevents cookies from sticking to wax paper). Life cut-out centers and scraps from wax paper and reroll them to make more 1 1/2-inch solid rounds and rings in same manner, chilling until firm. Center rings on top of solid rounds and fill each center with about 1/4 teaspoon chopped candy cane.

Arrange cookies about 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake cookies in batches in lower third of oven 8 minutes, or just until candy begins to melt (not liquefy). With a spatula transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in airtight containers at room temperature, 1 week. Makes about 60 cookies.