Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
The new year is upon us and seasonal treats are over. Pumpkin is out and the trees are tossed. If you are like me, you always have leftover candy canes which you can’t eat forever. These chocolate peppermint cookies are perfect for getting rid of all your extra candy canes.
Ingredients: The View From Great Island
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 7 ounces semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (or use chips)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp instant espresso powder (I left it out since I loathe coffee)
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I just smashed normal size chocolate chips)
Filling:
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 Tbsp finely crushed peppermint candy (use leftover candy canes; I used 3 large ones)
- Very small drop red food coloring (optional – I left it out)
- Milk or cream to thin
Directions:
Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
1. Set the oven to 375F. Put the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for one minute. Remove and stir to melt the chocolate. Heat a little bit more if needed. When the mixture is smooth, set aside to cool.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer or with electric beaters until pale and thick. This will take several minutes.
- You don’t want meringue, but you do want pale, like egg whites.
4. Add the slightly cooled chocolate to the eggs and sugar and gently mix together. Blend in the vanilla.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and espresso powder and fold into the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined. Fold in the mini chips. Let the dough sit for about 15 minutes.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
- When you fold in the dry ingredients, make sure you are not mixing. You want this to be a gentle process or you will deflate the eggs. The folding is what gives the cookie the crinkles.
6. Scoop out the dough with a rounded 1 inch scoop and put on a lined baking sheet. Keep the cookies 2 inches apart.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
- You want these to be as similarly sized as possible. This way, when you turn them into a cookie they are the same size.
7. Bake for about 7 minutes or until dry on top and starting to crackle. They will be puffed at first, but will flatten as they cool. Let cool for a minute or two on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
8. Fill the cookies with the peppermint filling when they are completely cooled.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
9. For the filling, mix the butter, sugar, crushed peppermint and a very small drop of food coloring in a bowl until smooth, adding just a little milk or cream as you mix until you get a good frosting consistency. Spoon a little filling on the underside of one cookie and gently press another one on top.
- To get crushed peppermint, I put the candy canes into a ziplock bag and took a meat mallet to it. If you don’t have a meat mallet, you can use a rolling pin. It is actually kind of fun smashing them.
In the end, these peppermint cookies were a hit. They would be perfect for a party or if you are like me and forgot to give out Christmas treats to neighbors. These are perfect for after holiday treats. Plus, they get rid of all those candy canes you put on your now dead tree.
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Kortni’s Kitchen: Peppermint Cookies
