This month's What's Baking? challenge was to bake something using peppermint. How wonderfully seasonal! I had recently seen a Paula Deen show where she was making cookies and dipped them in white chocolate and then into crushed candy canes, but it was with butterscotch cookies or something of the sort, which didn't seem to me to go at all! I did think it sounded like a great idea to do on chocolate cookies, however, so when this challenge rolled around, I knew what my plan was!
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart)
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips (roughly 1 c.), divided
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 c. all purpose flour
- 1/2 c. cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- White chocolate or vanilla coating
- 1 box of candy canes, unwrapped and finely crushed
Melt the butter and 4 oz. of the chocolate chips in the microwave. Beat in sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir into the chocolate mixture until mostly combined. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips. Chill batter overnight.
Scoop the batter out by tablespoonful (or 1 1/2-in cookie scoop) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325* F for 15 minutes, or until edges are set. Let cool completely.
Melt the white chocolate coating in the microwave. Dip each cookie partially in the white chocolate coating, and shake excess white chocolate off. Immediately dip coated part of cookie in crushed candy cane. Let set, and then enjoy!
