Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

I think that the chocolate/mint combination is such a classic one. It's very a Christmas flavour, and if I get a chance this season I'll be making some to give as gifts.

I found this one a long time ago from Joy The Baker - if you aren't a fan of hers, head on over and check her out. I'm a long time lurker at her blog, and am plotting grabbing her book as soon as I can justify yet another cookbook purchase!

The mixture that this recipe makes is a bit of an odd one to work with, as it's quite thick and sticky. This is quite possibly due to the fact that the only "wet" ingredients in it are butter, eggs and peppermint extract. However, the cookies it produces are chewy without being tough. They do spread a LOT though, so definitely watch your spacing on the tray!!

A simple case of whisking the dry ingredients together in one bowl..

 Mixing up the butter and sugars in another bowl...

 Adding the dry ingredients in and mixing some more

 Here's the finished product (after a failed batch due to badly measured cookies)

 The first 2 batches - one guess which one was the failed batch! (They still taste awesome)

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
From http://joythebaker.com/
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups plain flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon peppermint extract (I used essence, it's still good)
2 large eggs
340g dark chocolate chips, or baking chocolate chopped up (I used 1 packet of home brand choc chips and half a packet of Nestle milk choc chips - obviously it's better with good chocolate!)

Method
- Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius, line baking sheets with baking paper or silicone sheets
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- With a stand mixer and paddle attachment, or hand-held mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes, until well blended.
- Beat in the peppermint.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each egg goes in.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and and add the dry ingredients in three portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated.
- Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls (I really recommend you go for teaspoonfuls - they really spread!)
- Bake cookies, rotating half way through, for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are just set around the edges. They may still be a little soft in the middle.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool. (Again, recommend that this is more like 5 minutes as these cookies are fall apart soft straight from the oven!)
- Repeat with the rest of the dough, cooling baking sheets between batches

Note: Joy notes that you can easily cover the uncooked dough and refrigerate for up to 3 days prior to baking. You can also freeze the dough in spoonfuls, ready to bake. No need to defrost the dough, simply add another minute or two to the baking time. I'm definitely going to try this!