Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Fun: Thick & Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

♪♫ On the 2^nd day of Christmas Food, Folks, and Fun gave to me…♪♫

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Christmas To-Do List Printables

These cookies are now amongst my favorites and I don’t even like chocolate! They’re, chewy and fudge-brownie like, so delish! Now, what makes these cookies so good is the quality of ingredients. Please, please, please use good-quality chocolate and cocoa powder in these (Nestles, Bakes, and Hershey’s need not apply—I used Ghirardelli cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips for the recipe)!

Cook’s Note:  To melt the chocolate in a microwave, heat at 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stir, then continue heating at 50 percent power for 1 more minute. If not completely melted, heat an additional 30 to 45 seconds at 50 percent power. Resist the urge to bake the cookies longer than indicated; they may appear underbaked at first but will firm up as they cool.

Feel free to substitute the Peppermint Baking Chips with ones of your preference. I have made this recipe with mint chips but don’t think they taste as good as the peppermint ones.

Same recipe,but I used mint chips instead of peppermint ones

Thick & Chewy Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

Ingredients:

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 C cocoa powder

2 t baking powder

1 t table salt

16 ozs semisweet chocolate , chopped

4 large eggs

2 t vanilla extract

10 T unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), softened but still firm

1 1/2 C light brown sugar

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 10oz bag Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips (I found them at Walmart)

Directions:

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate in medium heatproof bowl set over pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth; remove from heat. Beat eggs and vanilla lightly with fork and set aside.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or with hand mixer), beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds (15 seconds with hand mixer). Beat in sugars until combined, about 45 seconds (1 1/2 minutes with hand mixer); mixture will look granular. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds (1 1/2 minutes with hand mixer). Add chocolate in steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds (1 minute with hand mixer). Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until combined, about 40 seconds (1 minute with hand mixer). Do not overbeat. Stir in the peppermint chips until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudgelike, about 30 minutes (DON’T skip this step).

Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Leaving about 1 1/2-inches between each ball, scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets with 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop.

Bake cookies until edges have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, turning cookie sheets from front to back and switching from top to bottom racks halfway through baking.

Cool cookies on sheets about 10 minutes, slide parchment with cookies onto wire rack and cool to room temperature; remove with wide metal spatula.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Tip Me Tuesday, Today’s Creative Blog