Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

After seeing a recipe for Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies, and eyeballing the LOADS of peppermint bark in my kitchen leftover from Christmas indulgences, I knew what had to be done.
I'll keep some of these in the freezer to see how they bake after being frozen, and bake the rest today and deliver them to two darling families that I know will love them.  Temptation gone, creative urges sated, and friends made happy.  Win-win-win.

1 cup of butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder\
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Pinch of salt
1+ cup of peppermint bark, broken into little chip size pieces

  

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until well incorporated and light in color.  Add the egg and the extracts until well incorporated, about a minute. Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl halfway through.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter mixture cup by cup at medium speed, stopping once all of it is incorporated (do not overmix).  This batter is very dry - do not be alarmed.  It'll form into balls nicely.
Fold in the peppermint bark chips.
Take small spoonfuls of the dough and roll into one inch sized balls and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 2 1/2 - 3 dozen cookies.

While these were okay, I think I'd prefer to find a better chocolate cookie recipe and alter that, or stick to my beloved peppermint brownies. I found these cookies to be a little greasy and not as chewy as I'd hoped.

It's Snuggler Season!!!

So what if The Spir.It calls it a Peppermint Kiss.  I'll forgive them - I mean, tis the season afterall.  Some festive Peppermint Schnapps cocktails for your tree trimming festivities.  The Peppermint Stick looks awfully close to the drink I made for my birthday one year, dubbed the Candy Cane.
Maybe I will make that batch of homemade Peppermint Schnapps after all, and not just stick to Kahlua. 


Peppermint Twist
1 oz Peppermint schnapps
1 oz Coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
1/2 oz Dark creme de cacao

Combine in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Peppermint Stick
1 oz peppermint schnapps
1 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
1 oz light cream

In a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, combine and shake the schnapps, creme de cacao, and cream. Strain into a champagne flute, garnish with a candy cane.

Peppermint Kiss
3/4 oz Peppermint schnapps
5 oz Hot cocoa
whipped cream

Combine cocoa and schnapps in an irish coffee cup or mug, garnish with whipped cream.

DIY Peppermint Schnapps
Recipe adapted from Epicurious
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups water
2 1/12 cups brandy
3 drops peppermint oil

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the peppermint oil. Cool until luke warm, stir in brandy. Seal in a bottle or airtight container. 

Birthday Cocktails

I like to honor the Sandra Lee in me with a little birthday inspired Cocktail Time. . .
Last year, no wait, two years ago? we had the Candy Cane and the Sugarplum (which I believe was some sort of blueberry vodka based beverage). This year I'm not straying far from that and I think I'll do the Candy Cane again, but swap out the mediocre Sugarplum for my favorite bubbly drink, the Champagne Cocktail.
See, I loves me some blueberries, and I found BLUEBERRY BITTERS. Blueberry. Bitters. Y'all. I was looking for a recipe for bitters to see if I could make my own blueberry ones, when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a link to some clever people that have done all the work for me. I am hoping and praying that this is delicious, but we shall see.
For those of you unfortunate enough to have made it this far in life without the pleasure of a Champagne Cocktail, let me break it down for you:

Drop a sugar cube into a champagne glass and douse it with a generous hit of bitters. Top with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Seriously that easy and so yum. See how blueberry bitters could be awesome here? I do!

Now about that Candy Cane. . . I can't remember exactly what I did, but let's try this:

1 shot of Godiva white chocolate liqueur
1 shot of vanilla vodka
1 shot of peppermint Schnapps

Garnish with a mini candy cane (as the crushed peppermint candy rim I tried to go with was a bit of a nightmare).

I admit, it might not be equal parts of all three, but you can start there at least. Please keep in mind that while this is all milky delicious and candy tasting it is pure alcohol so don't go guzzling them down and then driving out to do your Christmas shopping.

Oh, and in honor of my roommate (who had never had one of these if you can even imagine) - maybe I'll also serve Snugglers. Should we rename them Snuggies to remain culturally relevant?
(BTW, Snugglers are hot chocolate with peppermint Schnapps). Might sound girly, but after a cold day of cutting down trees and stringing lights, they are just what the doctor ordered. As long as the doctor in question is Sandra Lee.

(it doesn't really kick off til 1:23, but I have no idea how to edit video, so, fast forward or something)

Peppermint Patties

Again, from Apartment Therapy. I can't wait to try to make these.

The preparation time is only thirty minutes.

Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1.5 tbsp softened butter
2 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cream
8 ounces (about 1-1/3 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable shortening

Preparation:
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or a silpat. In a blender, cream together the sugar, butter, extracts, and cream on low speed. After the ingredients are combined, raise the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture holds together very well and is creamy, not powdery.

Using a teaspoon, roll the candy into small balls and flatten them on the wax paper or silpat with the palm of your hand into patty shapes. When done, put them in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chopped chocolate and the shortening in the microwave or over a double boiler.

Using dipping tools or two dinner forks, dip the patties into the chocolate one by one. Drag them across the lip of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Return them to the wax paper or silpat, and place back in the refrigerator to set the candies. They should be ready to eat in a few hours.

And that's it! Due to the dairy ingredient, these need to be kept in the refrigerator. Layer the patties between sheets of parchment in an airtight container. They'll last for a month.