the thrifty crafter

A few years ago, a patient brought in some delectable chocolate cookies that incorporated Andes Peppermint Crunch candies, found in stores during the winter holidays.  I decided to attempt to remake the soft and chewy cookies, using Martha’s Double Chocolate Cookie recipe as a place to start, and tweaking it based on ingredients I had on hand.  I think the results are delicious! If you are a chocoholic and like the refreshing taste of peppermint, you must give these a try!

Ingredients

Makes about 4 dozen

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (like Hershey’s)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 4 ounces 72% cacao dark chocolate (I get mine from Trader Joe’s for cheap!), broken into pieces
• half of a 9.5 oz bag of Andes Peppermint Crunch, cut into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. Melt dark chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl in the microwave for ~45 seconds.  If chocolate is not completely melted, stir mixture until it is. Let cool slightly.

   

3. Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in Peppermint Crunch chunks.

   

4. Using a 1.5 inch ice cream scoop (like this one from Crate and Barrel), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Optional: this dough is easy to pick up and roll into balls for perfectly round cookies, which is what I did after using the scoop.

   

5. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 12 minutes (cookies should be soft). Slide parchment sheets onto wire racks and allow cookies to cool. Cookies will be soft at first, but after cooling will maintain their shape – parchment paper is a must!

Note: Martha’s original recipe called for Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which I was out of.  I used natural Hershey’s cocoa powder so had to change the amount of both cocoa powder and baking soda to get the right acidity.  I used information on this website to make my conversion.