Tombstone Sugar Cookie Sandwiches

Make the cookies In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the sugar with the butter and molasses at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated, about 2 minutes. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients until the dough just comes together. Pat the dough into 3 disks.

Lightly dust a large sheet of parchment paper with cocoa. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Dust with cocoa and top with another sheet of parchment.  Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining disks of dough, stacking the dough between sheets of parchment. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 3-inch tombstone-shaped cookie cutter, stamp out the cookies as close together as possible and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart. Gather the scraps and stamp out more; you should have at least 36 cookies. Freeze for 30 minutes.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, make the filling and icing In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon, beat 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar with the butter, orange zest and salt until the filling is light and fluffy. In a separate medium bowl, mix the remaining 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar with 3 tablespoons of water until a smooth paste forms. Pour the icing into a large resealable plastic bag and using scissors, snip off a tiny bit of the corner. Pipe the letters R.I.P. on the tops of 18 cookies. Spread 2 teaspoons of the filling on the underside of the remaining 18 cookies. Sandwich the halves together and refrigerate until the filling is firm, about 1 hour. Serve.