Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

What can I say? It’s Christmastime and that means it’s time to make delicious cookies. I had to balance out my healthy diet somehow! But I did donate half of them to a bake sale to help children in need, so it made me feel a little better about eating the other half…….in about a day ha!

Anyways, back to the yumminess of this recipe. It is from our good and trusted friend, Martha Stewart. For me, her recipes are the go-to source for holiday cookies. This one did not disappoint. The chocolate peppermint dough was just perfect with the sweetness of the white chocolate, and the crushed peppermint on top gave a nice crunch to this crisp little cookie. The only downfall was that the dough had to chill in between mixing, rolling, and cutting, but other than being a little time consuming, it was easy enough to make. And definitely worth it!

Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

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
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
1 pound white chocolate, coarsely chopped

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. Beat in the peppermint extract. Slowly add the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape the dough into two disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (this can be made up to two days ahead).

Preheat oven to 325°F. 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 cookie cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll and cut scraps once (if there is still enough dough left to make one or two more after this, roll back out and place in freezer while you cut out the rest from the second disk). Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk.

Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer parchment, with cookies, to wire racks and let cool. (These can be kept covered for up to 3 days).

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Dunk the cookies into the melted chocolate, using a fork to turn them. Let the excess drip off, and gently scrap the bottom against the edge of the bowl (if you don’t do this, they will start sticking to the parchment!) Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle the crushed peppermints on top. Refrigerate until set, up to 3 hours.