Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

First of all, I want to share how excited I am to be writing my first post of 2011 AND my first post at this web address. A big thank you to my parents for giving me this domain name—what an amazing Christmas present! And thank you to Josh, my friend Vanessa’s boyfriend, for letting me know that I could redirect my original blog to this web address. It’s all so very exciting. I can tell that 2011 is going to be an incredible year and I’m so excited to share it with all of you! My goal for this blog is post on some regular basis (that is still to be determined) and to create some of my own recipes. I think that’s pretty good for this year. :)

Now, back to the cookies…Once upon a time, someone made mint chocolate morsels. I think it was Hershey’s, but maybe it was NestlĂ©. But it really doesn’t matter because I can’t find them in any stores. Luckily, we wrote down this recipe from the back of the package and it will be forever saved in our family recipe books, and now on my website. I adore these cookies. Some of my former USD coworkers think that these are the best things I make. Seriously, what’s not to love? Chocolate and mint is another one of those almost unbeatable combinations for me. It rivals chocolate and peanut butter and that is really saying something.


Anyway, the key to these cookies is the pure peppermint extract. You have to use pure peppermint extract, NOT mint extract. Mint extract is half peppermint and half spearmint. The spearmint makes it taste like toothpaste, which is not a good partner for anything chocolate. So use pure peppermint extract please. :) Now, I keep the vanilla extract in the recipe because I think that the cookies need the vanilla to temper the peppermint.

So, I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do. They are delightful and a great way to start off the new year!

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
10-oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
pure peppermint extract
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375°F. Over hot (not boiling) water, melt ¾ cup chocolate chips and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.  Once the chocolate has cooled, stir in 2-3 teaspoons of peppermint extract.

Melted and minty!
 In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla extract; beat until creamy. 

Creamy, creamy, creamy.
Add melted chips and egg; beat well. 

Look at all that chocolate!!
Gradually blend in flour, baking soda, and salt. 

Now it is cookie dough!
Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Flavor with additional peppermint extract—approximately 2-3 teaspoons. The dough should have a very strong peppermint flavor prior to baking, as some of it cooks out while baking.

Double chocolate...love it.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. 

Note: I should not have used the Silicone Baking Liner; I think it made my cookies a little too thin and crispy.

Bake at 375°F for 8-9 minutes.  Allow to stand 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets; cool completely.

A perfect blend of mint and chocolate. :)
Thanks for reading everyone!

<3 Buttercup

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