Ingredients:
Icing

2 lb confectioners sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter (room temp)
4 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract

Shortbread Cookies (No egg recipe.)

2 cups (4 sticks) margarine or butter
1 cup granulated sugar
5 cups sifted flour (all purpose)


Cookies
     Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add flour. (A splash of vanilla can be added before the flour for a little brighter taste.) Chill for at least 4 hours. Lay out dough on floured surface, cut with cookie cutter (2"). Bake ~30 minutes at 300°F on an ungreased pan. Remove when slightly cooled.

Icing
     With a fork, blend the sugar and butter until evenly blended. (Icing will be too thick for a blender. This takes a little time and some elbow grease, but it won't do you in.) Add cocoa and vanilla and blend again until smooth.

     When applying the icing to the cookies, the icing may need a moment or two in the microwave to soften it a bit if the cookies are breaking. Don't leave it in there long, only a few seconds are needed. Apply the icing as thick as you like, since this recipe allows for a thick center layer. Keep any unused icing in a closed container. Store the cookies in a sealed container to prevent the icing from drying out at the exposed edges. These will go in a hurry in a sweet toothed crowd.