Adapted from a recipe by Elinor Klivans.

Ingredients:

11/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for the baking sheet
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon strong coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/4 cup (about 2 ounces) finely crushed peppermint candy

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter 2 baking sheets.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat the butter, sugar, dissolved coffee and vanilla until blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture, mixing until the flour is incorporated and the dough holds together.
Divide the dough in half and shape each portion into a smooth ball. Place 1 piece of dough between 2 large pieces of wax paper and roll it out to slightly less than 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top piece of wax paper. Using a 2 1/2-inch star cutter, cut out cookies. Slide a thin metal spatula under each cookie to loosen it and place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and look dull rather than shiny, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the second piece of dough and then press all of the dough scraps together to form a smooth ball. Repeat the rolling and cutting process.

For the icing, dip a fork in the melted white chocolate and drizzle it randomly and generously over the tops of the cooled cookies. Immediately sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate is firm.