Monday, December 6, 2010

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies


Well, the Christmas season is officially upon us, and I LOVE Christmas cookies.  I was searching around for something new I could try this year, and came across these lovely, tasty things!  The inside is a crunchy, chocolate mint cookie (similar to a girl scout thin mint cookie), and to top it off, covered in white chocolate!  The original recipe calls for sprinkled candy canes on top, which I'm sure is PHENOMENAL, but I didn't happen to have any and settled for some sprinkles :).  I thought these were a delicious, fun, unique cookie to make.  They do take a more time and effort than your average cookie, but they taste great.  Enjoy!

Printable Version

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
8 large candy canes or 30 peppermint candies, crushed
2 pounds white chocolate, coarsely chopped 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add egg, then yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in peppermint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).
2. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll and cut scraps once. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk.
3. Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer parchment, with cookies, to wire racks, and let cool. (Undecorated cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.
4. Sift crushed candy, and separate larger pieces from dust, reserving both. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Dunk cookies into melted chocolate. Using a fork, turn to coat, let excess drip off, and gently scrape bottom against edge of bowl. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of either candy pieces or dust on top. Repeat, sprinkling half the cookies with pieces and the rest with dust. Refrigerate until set, up to 3 hours. Decorated cookies are best served the same day.


Source:  Martha Stewart

20 comments:

  1. oh...oh...oh... I dont go crazy for much....except thin mints - its embarrassing, actually. Now I wont have to buy 15 boxes anymore :)

    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Absolutely amazing! I love thin mints. Thanks for sharing

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  3. Talk about recipe indulgence!.. Delicious! Luna

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  4. I love love love thin mints. These would be even better since they're dipped in chocolate!

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  5. It definitely is with peppermint! I'm still not convinced it's Christmas.

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  6. Keep the recipes coming, seems like this year,all my Christmas cookies will be from this blog :)

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  7. Peppermint and chocolate is such a christmas combo, I love it!

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  8. These cookies look delicious! Thanks!

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  9. Oh my goodness do those look sooooo good! I LOVE peppermint and I love chocolate and white chocolate! Your cookies look beautiful too :)

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  10. thin mints dipped in chocolate, OMG I'm drooling.
    yours look amazing. thanks for sharing.
    hope you're having a wonderful week

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  11. This is the second peppermint cookie recipe I've seen today but I like the white chocolate covering.

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  12. Anything covered in white chocolate is heaven and combined with a thin mint-type cookie sounds amazing. I will definitely have to try these!

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  13. What a fabulous cookie!

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  14. Aw.... these cookies looks amazing and great for my tea! Thank you for sharing this great recipes. :)

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  15. I ate a box of thin mints in one afternoon. This was a number of years ago. And I was pregant. But I take full responsibility. I shudder to think how long these would last at our house. Maybe an hour? :-) They are beautiful and being the chocolate peppermint fan that I am I'll try 'em! Lovely images!

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  16. omg beautiful. white choc and cocoa mix can be heavnen. truly a recipe indulgence. thank you for sharing!

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  17. how many cookies does this make?

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  18. It's been last Christmas since I have made them, but if I remember correctly, I think it makes about 2 dozen or so :) I hope that helps!

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