Instructions: Cream together the butter and sugar for 5 minutes. Add the cocoa and flour and mix together well until it combines. Allow to rest for 1 hour, covered in plastic.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and with a cookie cutter shaped like a football, cut the dough into footballs. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the sheet and bake another 5 minutes. Allow to cool.

Mix together the mascarpone and 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar until well blended. Spread a little of this mixture on one football and top with a second football to make a sandwich. Continue spreading the mixture until all cookies are used.

To make the royal icing, combine the 1 cup of confectioners sugar with the egg white. Mix until the consistency is very smooth. Pour icing into a piping bag fitted with a round #1 tip. Pipe a football lace design on the cookies. Let dry.

This recipe yields 12 small cookie sandwiches.

Raw Egg Caution: The American Egg Board states: "There have been warnings against consuming raw or lightly cooked eggs on the grounds that the egg may be contaminated with Salmonella, a bacteria responsible for a type of food poisoning... Healthy people need to remember that there is a very small risk and treat eggs and other raw animal foods accordingly. Use only properly refrigerated, clean, sound-shelled, fresh, grade AA or A eggs. Avoid mixing yolks and whites with their shell."

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