What's Baking?: Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

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!

What's Baking: Peppermint Fudge

So, I got to be the host of "What's Baking?" this month--yay! For my theme, I chose holiday colors. Now, I only used one holiday color, and that's red, but I think the results are delicious enough that you won't mind the absence of green!


I have a friend who can't have gluten. As such, I couldn't give her the yummy cookie dough mix I gave everyone else, so I needed an alternative. Fudge seemed like the perfect thing! And peppermint fudge would be fun-looking and seasonal! Just be sure to find candy canes that are gluten-free (some are rolled in flour before packaging). Besides being delicious, this fudge is also really simple--no candy thermometer required!


Peppermint Fudge (slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 2 (10-oz) bags of white chocolate chips
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• Healthy splash (otherwise known as 1-2 Tbl.) Peppermint Schnapps
• 1 1/2 c. crushed candy canes, divided
  
• A couple drops of red food coloring

Line an 8x8 pan with foil, and grease it with baking spray.

Pour the white chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk into a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are nearly melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until all chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Mix in Peppermint Schnapps and 1 c. of cushed candy canes, stirring until well-combined. Add a couple drops of red food coloring to different areas of the pan, and stir once or twice, just to slightly swirl in the food coloring. Transfer mixture to the 8x8 pan, and top with remaining crushed candy canes. Refrigerate several hours, or until firm.