Lemon and Strawberries: Game of Thrones inspired sugar cookies

No matter if you're throwing a themed party or planning a nice movie night with your significant other, it's good to surprise your guests or beloved ones with some delicious snacks! I'm a big fan of "Game of Thrones" series and books, so I've decided to make some special GoT themed cookies to munch while I'm re-reading it and waiting for the new season of series. Plus, I came across Food 'n Film blogging challenge on Cooking for Kishore blog, so the idea appeared just in time! They are also perfect for movie-themed Halloween party or birthday.

These sugar cookies are delicious, crunchy and really great, but addition of dark and white chocolate makes them even better!

INGREDIENTS (for about 30 cookies):

500g flour
150g unsalted butter
2 yolks
1 egg
3/4 glass sugar
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3tbs cream (optional)
1 pack vanilla sugar
few drops of vanilla extract

For decoration:

2 dark or milk chocolate bars (250g)
1 white chocolate bar (125g)

Mix "dry" ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Add yolks and whole egg and combine using your hands or mixer. Cut butter in little pieces (it makes it easier to mix with other ingredients) and start kneading your dough. In the end add vanilla extract and work on it for few more minutes, until everything is combined well and you're able to make a ball from a dough. Cover with plastic foil and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After your dough has cooled down, preheat your oven to 190ºC (374ºF). You can use a little bit of flour on the surface you'll be working on to prevent sticking of the dough. It's also easier if you divide your dough and make it in batches. Roll out the dough to about 5mm thickness using a rolling pin.

Cut out round cookies using either a cookie cutter or a glass. Place them on a baking pan - they don't grow much, but leave a little bit of space between them.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Set aside to completely cool down before adding chocolate decorations.
When your cookies are cool, melt dark/milk chocolate. You can do it in the microwave or in a "water bath" - place a bowl with crushed chocolate over a pot with boiling water and stir until the steam melts the chocolate completely.

You can spread chocolate with spatula, or simply dip your cookies in it. I think dipping is faster - just watch to drop your cookies flat into chocolate - we want to cover only the top!

Place chocolate-covered cookies on a sheet of baking paper to settle down. Chocolate layer must be completely cool and hard before we add white chocolate decorations. You can save some time by putting them in the fridge.

When dark chocolate layer has cooled down and hardened, melt white chocolate the same way you did before. Just be careful if you're using a microwave, as white chocolate melts faster and it's easier to burn it.

Using a small painting brush make your decorations. For the Lannister's (Lion), Stark's (Direwolf) and Arryn's (Falkon) crests/sigils you can use a little trick: draw them on a piece of baking paper using paintbrush or piping bag with tiny opening and then put in the fridge for few minutes to settle. Then carefully take them off the paper and transfer onto cookies.

Other designs: Baratheon's (Deer) and Greyjoy's (Kraken) crests as well as GoT lettering are too delicate to transfer from a paper, so I've "painted" them directly on the cookies. I also painted Throne of Swords and crown directly, as they were spontaneous ideas and I didn't prepare them earlier.

Let your cookies to settle down completely and serve!
They taste amazing with a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of milk. They're also perfect for dipping!