Piped Chocolate Butter Cookies

recommend keeping the amount of milk small and using a large enough piping tip like the ones I suggest in the post above.
Add your large piping tip to the piping bag. Spoon a little bit of dough into the piping bag and pipe a 1 to 2inch swirl or line on the prepared baking sheet. The reason I suggest only a little bit of dough to start is because the dough may still be too thick to pipe. If its too thick transfer that dough back to the mixing bowl and add another 12 Tablespoon of milk. If the dough is creamy enough to pipe continue piping the dough in 1 to 2inch swirls or lines 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. If desired place a maraschino cherry in the center of the swirl or sprinkle the dough with sprinkles andor coarse sugar. Tip Since the dough is very thick and stiff so the first few cookies you pipe will be the hardest. Dont give up! It gets easier as you go along as you handle the piping bag and the dough becomes more malleable.
Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill the shaped cookies for 2030 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 350F 177C.
Bake the chilled cookies for 1215 minutes or until the edges seem set. The cookies will spread like all cookies do but not completely lose their shape especially if you refrigerated the shaped cookies. If the cookies are smaller they will take closer to 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Optional Chocolate You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Melt in 20second increments in the microwave stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Dip the cookies in chocolate and top with sprinkles if desired. Allow the chocolate to set completely at room temperature for about 1 hour or in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Once set you can stack
\store transport and gift the cookies.
Cookies with chocolate or cherries stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Cookies without chocolate or cherries stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.