Just because the holiday season was sooooo last year, doesn’t mean that we should wait another 11 months to start making anything involving peppermint and chocolate. I have stocked up enough Andes peppermint baking chips and Hershey’s mint chocolate chips to last for the next 3-4 months.. so don’t be surprised if you see a post or two (or three… or four) about mint chocolate desserts on SEF this spring!
Remember these amazingly decadent gooey bars I made a while back? Well, today I have created a cookie version of those bars, and they’re equally as delicious! It’s a chocolate cookie base with tons of crunchy peppermint chips sprinkled throughout, so you’re guaranteed plenty of crunchy minty chocolatey goodness in each bite!
I also added extra semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter simply because, well, you just can’t have too much chocolate in a cookie! Although it’s not required, it is highly recommended since it makes the chocolate flavor even more pronounced (read: even more amazing).
Soft, chewy chocolate cookies with bits of mint crunchiness in each bite – I bet you won’t be able to eat just one!
Just like all my other cookie recipes, I took these out 2 minutes prior to the regular recommended baking time, gently pressed the tops with the back of a fork, and put them back in the oven to cook for another 1-2 minutes. I do this a lot for cookies that don’t naturally spread out a whole lot during their time in the oven, just to achieve a nice crinkly cracked top in the end. I have tried just pressing them down after removing them from the oven completely, but I realized that they the end results aren’t as nice as taking them out after cooking them for 80% of the recommended time.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 3.9 oz instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 cup Andes peppermint baking chips
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and pudding mix. Gently mix with a spatula and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed until smooth. Add in the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between additions.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the hot water. Add the baking soda mixture to the butter mixture. Then add in the vanilla. Mix well.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients into the mixer bowl. Mix under medium speed until combined. Add in the baking chips and chocolate chips and mix some more.
- In heaping tablespoons, scoop the cookie dough on the baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, slightly press the tops with a spoon or a fork, and bake for another 1-2 minutes. Remove cookie sheets from oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
- Makes about 40 cookies
I actually decided to freeze half the batch of cookie dough balls for later – not only would they be readily available when I’m craving cookies at a later date, I was hoping it will limit how many cookies I eat a day… note to self for next time: if Amy wants to eat 10 cookies a day, Amy will eat 10 cookies a day, regardless if there are 10 or 20 cookies laying around the house.
Well, at least I have enough peppermint baking chips for a few more batches!
Recipe adapted from Something Swanky
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