We now have an important Christmas cookie debate occurring at our home. My children and I consider that all the things may gain advantage from a dose of sweet cane crunch this time of yr, whereas Adam is solidly in opposition to occasion a touch of mint in his cookies. In our quest to transform him, I created these peppermint chocolate shortbread cookies which might be like a smooth and chewy snowball wrapped round a molten chocolate heart. And so they’ve received a double dose of peppermint taste, with extract within the batter and crushed sweet canes sprinkled on prime.
One chew (or 5) and even Adam was satisfied—these are one of the best chocolate peppermint cookies any of us have ever tried (even these of us who aren’t Staff Peppermint), and I’ll undoubtedly be making batches of those for vacation gatherings all season lengthy.
Why I Love These Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
The molten chocolate heart. If you chew into these cookies, they ooze with wealthy chocolate taste (suppose chocolate lava cake in cookie type).
A brand new twist on snowball cookies. I needed to reinvent the basic chocolate snowball cookie, so I rolled these in powdered sugar, making them look festive and Christmas-y.
Crushed peppermint topping. These get topped with crushed peppermints for vacation taste, crunch, and festive coloration.
The best way to Make Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Mix the moist elements. This one-bowl recipe begins as anticipated—in a stand mixer, cream collectively your unsalted butter and sugar till fluffy, then add peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and huge egg.
Add the dry elements. The place many recipes will inform you so as to add your dry elements individually, I’m a fan of washing as few dishes as attainable. Add the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, give it somewhat stir, then mix into the moist elements till simply mixed.
Chill for an hour. Extra on that beneath, however this can be a key step in maintaining the cookies’ form and ensuring they’re smooth and chewy.
Scoop into balls, then roll in powdered sugar. It will give your cookies that festive snowball impact.
Stick a chocolate disc within the heart of every cookie. Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, and add a chocolate disc to the middle of every cookie dough ball. I like to make use of bittersweet chocolate right here, however semisweet or darkish works nice, too. That is the step that can give us that gooey molten lava cake-like heart after they’ve baked.
Bake and go away somewhat underdone. Keep in mind, we’re after a smooth and gooey (not crispy) consistency with these cookies.
Sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Do it whereas the chocolate remains to be melty, so it acts like a glue to carry the peppermints on. You then’ll cool on a wire rack to allow them to set earlier than consuming.
Secrets and techniques for Peppermint Cookie Success
Since sweet canes soften within the oven, you’ll need to sprinkle in your crushed sweet canes or peppermints proper once they come out of the oven. Do it whereas the chocolate remains to be melty, so the crushed sweet cane sticks!
One secret to smooth and chewy cookies is to relaxation the dough for at the least an hour within the fridge earlier than baking. This step evaporates a few of the water and will increase the sugar content material, serving to to maintain your cookies chewy.
We’re additionally going to maintain these cookies chewy (not crispy) by leaving them the slightest bit underdone. We would like that molten lava heart that’s not fairly set within the center.
The best way to Retailer and Freeze
It’s uncommon that I make a batch of cookies with out doubling the batch freezing leftovers. I prefer to have fresh-baked cookies on the prepared always, whether or not it’s household film evening, or we’d like an impromptu dessert to take to a dinner or ship to a neighbor. These chocolate peppermint cookies maintain properly for as much as three days, saved in an hermetic container at room temperature. Nonetheless, in the event you do resolve to freeze them, listed here are two strategies to select from:
Freeze the Dough and Bake When Able to Eat
That is my most popular option to freeze cookies since you get all of the pay-off of actually fresh-baked cookies. The way in which to do it’s: proceed via Step 4 of the recipe by rolling the chilled dough into balls. However as an alternative of rolling them in powdered sugar, you’re going to pop them on a baking sheet and stick within the freezer for about half-hour. This will get them actually arduous in order that they gained’t stick collectively. Switch the cookie dough balls to a gallon-sized Ziploc and freeze for as much as a month. If you’re able to bake, thaw at room temp for about 10 minutes, and proceed with steps 5-8.
Freeze the Already-Baked Cookies
If in case you have leftover cookies which have already been baked, you possibly can nonetheless completely freeze them. Simply seal right into a gallon-sized Ziploc and freeze for as much as a month. When able to eat, rewarm at 50% energy within the microwave or place on a baking sheet in a 350 F oven for about 5 minutes.
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Easy, festive, and scrumptious—want we are saying extra?
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Description
These chewy peppermint chocolate shortbread cookies have a shock molten heart. There’s a double dose of peppermint, with extracts within the batter and crushed sweet canes on prime.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 giant egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
12 chocolate baking discs (bittersweet or semisweet)
crushed peppermint
Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream collectively butter and sugar on medium-high. Add each extracts and egg, then beat till properly blended. Sprinkle over prime flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Combine till simply mixed.
Refrigerate for at the least an hour till arduous.
Take away dough from fridge, and roll into tablespoon-sized balls. A cookie scoop makes this straightforward.
Roll into powdered sugar and place on parchment lined baking sheet, unfold about an inch aside.
Place 1 chocolate disc in heart of every cookie, pushing down barely.
Bake for 10 minutes – you need the middle to be barely underdone. Take away from oven, and sprinkle instantly with crushed peppermint whereas the chocolate remains to be melty.
Let cool on a wire baking rack, then eat!
