Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

At last! Baking success is mine again!

Last night we had tacos and as soon as the dishes were cleared, I set to work on making Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, using a recipe from a Martha Stewart Holiday magazine I bought two years ago (recipe at the bottom).

This time I read the whole recipe before I got to work and noted one potential disaster: it called for using a mixer with a paddle attachment, which I do not have. But I'm happy to report, that didn't stop me!

The recipe called for me to jigger a mixing bowl and a pot of water into a makeshift fondue station. I placed a metal bowl on top of my simmering water and melted 4 ounces of Nestle chocolate chunks and an entire stick of butter (no one is losing any weight in my house).

I was really impressed with this tactic; everything melted slowly and smoothly with no risk of burning or clumping.

Doesn't that look good? I knew that bowl wouldn't be big enough to hold the rest of the ingredients, so I transferred the chocolate mixture to a bigger bowl.

I added sugar, vanilla extract, peppermint extract and three eggs, then mixed.

Then I slowly added a mixture of flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

I refrigerated the dough for about an hour (longer might have been better; this got real soft and melty real fast).

I used an ice cream scoop to shape the dough and then rolled it in my hands, which then looked like they were covered in poop.

Each ball of dough was dipped in crushed peppermint candy canes.

Then placed on parchment-lined baking sheets. They were supposed to be 2 inches apart, but I don't roll like that.

I like to bake them into big messes that then have to be taken apart! They look like uniboobs.

But the important thing is they turned out DELICIOUS. Seriously. I'll be mailing these off to some special someones and also brought some to the office. I recommend all of you try this recipe; it was fairly easy and for all the prep work, the cooking time is only 15 minutes. You could easily prepare the dough one night and cook a day later.

Martha Stewart Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 4 ounces of chopped milk chocolate
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 large eggs
• Coarsely crushed peppermint candies (I used candy canes)

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
3. Attach bowl to a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (NOTE: This is jibber-jabber. I don't have a mixer with a paddle attachment; my hand mixer worked just fine.)
4. Add sugar, both extracts and eggs; mix on medium-low speed until combined.
5. Reduce speed to low, mix in flour mixture. Then add 1/3 of the crushed peppermint candy.
6. Refrigerate dough until firm.

30 minutes later

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using an ice cream scoop, form mounds of dough, dip the tops in the candy.
2. Place cookies, candy sides up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spaced 2 inches apart.
3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until just set, about 15 minutes.
4. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.