The Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

When a dear old friend phoned last night to see if she could stop by this morning with a Christmas present for Jem, her godson, I told her we’d be delighted.

And then I hung up the phone with an “Ack! I don’t have anything for her yet!”

I quickly made plans to whip up a batch of my very favorite Christmas cookies from last year—the ones I talked about in this post—and ran to the grocery store after supper. I stood in the baked goods aisle for a full ten minutes, seeing every kind of baking chip possible except for the mint-flavored. (I did, however, finally find the price code for the mint chocolate chips. They were all out of them. Of course.)

Feeling stuck in a rut and as if nothing else could possibly do, I drove home deep in thought. I looked in the freezer and found a bag of miniature chocolate chips. Then I went to my stash of Christmas goodies and grabbed a couple of red-and-white striped candy canes.

Inspiration struck. I was in business.

The Very Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. salted butter - softened
• 3/4 C. dark brown sugar
• 1/2 C. white granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. peppermint extract
• 2 eggs
• 2-1/3 C. sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 package (10 oz.) mint chocolate chips (I only use half a package, but that’s just me.) And if perchance you cannot find the mint-flavored chocolate chips, do not fear! Use semi-sweet and proceed with confidence.
• Crushed candy cane pieces, about 1/3 cup.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Blend butter, sugars, extracts and eggs until mixed.
• Sift together flour, baking soda & baking powder. Blend into dough.
• Stir in chocolate chips. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator.
• Form dough into 1-inch balls and slightly flatten. Sprinkle a few crushed candy canes on top and gently push into the dough.
• Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
• Cool on wire racks, gently pushing in any loose candy cane bits.

Eat one and box the rest up for your friend.

Or, conversely, eat the entire box and try to save one for your friend.

Either way, these cookies are very, very good.

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

(Recipe courtesy of Cathie B.’s Catering)

Warning: these cookies are probably a little too good, if you know what I mean. If you are working on the virtue of temperance then perhaps you’d better go google-search a nice, safe fruit salad.

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• dash of salt
• 48 chocolate covered caramel candies (Rolos)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

1.Preheat oven to 375. Cream the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.

2. Carefully beat in the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt).

3. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or two while you unwrap all those Rolos. (It is helpful to put the Rolos in the fridge, too.) Use a cookie scoop or spoon to make balls with the cold dough. (If it is too sticky, put the dough back in the fridge.) Put an unwrapped Rolo in each blob of dough. Make sure the dough completely covers the Rolo or the caramel might leak out while baking. Roll or dip the little balls of dough into the white sugar.

4. Place on a cookie sheet (I use parchment paper for easy clean-up if some caramel bakes out) and bake for 8 minutes at 375. Let cool for a bit on the pan and then move to a cooling rack.

5. Ingest in large quantities. Pause; wonder if you should have shared with the kids.

Peppermint Bark

20 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
20 oz. white almond bark
1 1/2 c. crushed peppermint

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Spread on your cookie sheet and cool until hardened.

Melt almond bark in a double boiler. Gently spread on top of chocolate. Sprinkle with candy. Cool.

Break into pieces and serve.

Santa's Surprises

Santa's Surprise Cookies

These cookies are a huge hit around here! The kids can help with unwrapping the Snickers bars and then wrapping the dough around them. Lots of little hands make for quick work!

Makes 4 dozen cookies, approximately, but you mustn't use too much dough on each cookie.

Ingredients

* 1 bag of SNICKERS Miniatures
* 2 sticks butter (softened)
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1 cup light brown sugar
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1. Combine the butter, peanut butter and sugars using a mixer on a medium to low speed until light and fluffy.

2. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Then mix in the flour, salt and baking soda.

3. Cover and chill dough for 2-3 hours.

4. Meanwhile, unwrap the Snickers.

5. Remove dough from refrigerator. Divide into 1-tablespoon pieces and flatten.

6. Place a Snickers miniature in the center of each piece of dough, and form into a ball.

7. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. (Baking time and temperature may need to be adjusted if using more than 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie.)

8. Let cookies cool on baking rack or wax paper.

9. Sprinkle cookies with with powdered sugar and then drizzle with melted chocolate.

10. Hide until Christmas!

Double Chip Pumpkin Muffins

I found this recipe in a bed & breakfast cookbook that we stayed at in Duluth. I had the best time just sitting in that lovely room copying down recipes while my husband read Butchering Deer on the bed. It was such a Mars/Venus moment.

This recipe makes two dozen.

3 C. flour
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs
1 can pumpkin puree
6 T. butter, melted
1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. Beat eggs slightly. Stir in pumpkin puree, butter & chips. Blend well.
4. Stir in dry ingredients just until moistened.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Caramel Popcorn

Really Good Caramel Corn
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. butter (1 stick)
1/4 C. corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 quarts popcorn, popped

Microwave the first five ingredients on high for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the soda. Put your popcorn in a brown paper bag and pour the caramel over everything. Microwave the popcorn (bag and all) for 1 minute, shaking after 30 seconds.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of my dear friend Tanya