Red Velvet Snowflake Cookies

Preheat oven to 400°F.

1. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar on low speed. Add egg, red food coloring gel, vanilla, cocoa, and melted chocolate. Once all combined, add flour, baking powder and salt, continue mixing on low speed until the dough forms a ball. Transfer the dough onto the parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment, and roll into 1/4 inch sheet, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once the rolled dough has chilled, cut out snowflakes with your cookie cutters. Bake on middle rack for 8-10 minutes, allow to cool to room temperature before decorating.
2. To make the royal icing: in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine powdered sugar and meringue powder mixing on low speed, add water, vanilla and mix on low speed until combined. Then, increase the speed to medium, allowing the icing to whip for 8 minutes. To make a thinner consistency: add 1/2 tsp of water at time. Enjoy!