Stenciled Love Letter Cookies

Make your own letter stencils!
This is a fun, easy way to decorate chocolate cookies or brownies and - a great way to send a sweet message!

You will need:
A batch of chocolate cut-out cookies or a batch of brownies (cut)
Cardstock
A computer and printer
Paper hole puncher
Detail Scissors (small scissors with a sharp tip)

This is the recipe I used for the cookies:

Mocha Rolled Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup STRONG coffee

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Add dry ingredients alternately with coffee. Wrap dough with waxed paper and chill for several hours.  Roll out on floured surface at least 1/8 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Using a simple, bold font, type the word/words that you would like to stencil. Choose a point size that will fit nicely on your cookies/brownies. Leave lots of space between letters.
My cookies were about 3" so I made my letters about 2 3/4" and I placed each letter within a 4" square so that I could completely cover each cookie with its letter stencil.
Once you're happy with your letters - print on card stock.
(Sorry for the bad photo. My printer was running out of ink)

Using a standard/small circle paper punch, punch a hole in the letter. This will give you a place to insert your scissors so you can cut out the letter with out bending or tearing your stencil.
Cut out all of your letters. Remember, if you have a letter with a middle (like an "O") you'll need to leave a little "attachment" spot that middle part.

Sift powdered sugar over stencils and then carefully lift stencil straight off cookie.