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Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

December 12, 2013 · by Ari ·

Ultra soft and fudgy mint chocolate crinkle cookies topped with a smooth and creamy peppermint Hershey’s kiss.

Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

All my life, I’ve always been obsessed with those peanut butter cookies with the chocolate Hershey’s kiss on top. I know, I know…they’re called “Peanut Butter Blossoms”, but to me, they will always be those peanut butter cookies with the chocolate Hershey’s kiss on top.

Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookiespeppermintblossomcrinklecookies-2

If I ever saw them at a party, I’d immediately grab a couple, and then try to secretly make my way back all night long. What can I say, I’m a classy lady.

Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

A few years ago, Heather and I made some peppermint crinkle cookies during our holiday baking extravaganza. This baking extravaganza was no joke. Heather made a spreadsheet dictating how many pounds of butter, flour and sugar we needed to stock up on at Winco. Oh Winco…best grocery store ever.

Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

Then we baked for probably a solid 24 hours, and gave away our treats to the entire musical theatre department, and used our talents to suck up to our professors. How could we not be your favorite voice student when we made you 70 pounds worth of holiday dessert???

Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

So I took two of my favorite cookies, and I made them one. I made them for a couple of Christmas parties last year, and they were the first thing everyone flocked to (we all have similar tastes it seems 😉 ), and immediately asked “WHAT ARE THESE????” Then they quickly disappeared. Fluffy powdered sugar covering a rich peppermint chocolate cookie with a smooth, melty peppermint kiss on top. It’s everything you could ask out of your holiday cookie.

**Note: All photos on this post were taken by my husband. I made these last year before I was exclusively taking the photos for my site. I could make them again (they are so good), but his photos are gorgeous, so I decided to keep them. 🙂

Print
Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: approx 4 dozen

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Peppermint Blossom Crinkle Cookies

Ultra soft and fudgy mint chocolate crinkle cookies topped with a smooth and creamy peppermint Hershey's kiss.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or gluten-free baking blend)*
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 and 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup light cream cheese
  • 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • Approx 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
  • 48 peppermint kisses (the mint truffle kisses would also be delicious!)

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, eggs and cream cheese. Beat in melted chocolate and extracts until well combined. Slowly beat in flour mixture. If dough becomes too thick, use your hands to mix the rest of the way. Cover and chill for 2 hours (or longer).
  3. Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or lining sheet. Pour powdered sugar into a wide, shallow bowl. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll in powdered sugar until coated, then drop onto prepared baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 8-10 minutes until set and crinkles have formed. Immediately press a kiss into the top of each cookie. Let stand on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

*Recipe tested with white whole wheat flour, but I have subbed the gluten-free baking blend in many similar recipes and it has worked perfectly. Cooking time may be lower, so check cookies at 7-8 minutes.

3.1
https://arismenu.com/peppermint-blossom-crinkle-cookies/

Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Gluten-free, Holiday & Seasonal · Tagged: blossom, chocolate, christmas, cookies, crinkle, dessert, holidays, peppermint, recipe, seasonal

Peppermint Bark Cookies

December 3, 2013 · by Ari ·

Rich, chocolatey cookies overflowing with pieces of sweet, crunchy peppermint bark, topped with crushed candy canes–a chocolate and peppermint lover’s dream! Peppermint Bark Cookies On a whim, I decided to buy a bag of peppermint bark baking bits at TJ’s. I knew it probably wasn’t the greatest idea. I took it out of my basket more than once, but I just kept imagining all of the wonderful things I could bake with it! Peppermint Bark Cookies I LOVE peppermint bark. Every year, it’s pretty much the biggest act of willpower to stop myself from buying a bag of the Ghiradelli peppermint bark, and eating the whole thing in one sitting. Buying the bag to eat a few in “moderation” isn’t even an option. I figured at least these ones were chopped into reallllly tiny pieces. Plus, when I bake, I give things away. If I try to give away the store bought candy I just purchased, I feel a little silly. Peppermint Bark Cookies So I bought this bag of baking chips, and I was trying to decide what to do with it. Then I looked at the back of the bag, and there was a recipe. A recipe that called for use of the entire bag. Perfect. No bark left over means no pieces getting shoveled down my mouth by the handful. It’s a win-win situation. Peppermint Bark Cookies Especially when the cookies turn out ridiculous-stop-everything-I’ve-found-the-solution-for-all-the-world’s-problems-amazing. Peppermint Bark Cookies These cookies are soft, chewy and filled with delicious chocolate flavor, complemented by the bright refreshingly sweet peppermint, and topped with crunchy candy canes for some extra texture. To me, the secret to a perfect cookie comes in the texture combinations. A slight crunch on the outside with an extra soft, almost dough-like inside. Peppermint Bark Cookies And you know how I KNOW they were a success? I brought them to a showcase where a bunch of kiddos happily gobbled them down without any clue that they were eating health(ier) cookies. Kids are the best testers because they are ridiculously honest, and happy, chocolatey faces tell all. **Note: All photos on this post were taken by my husband. I made these last year before I was exclusively taking the photos for my site. I could make them again (they are so good), but his photos are gorgeous, so I decided to keep them. 🙂

Print
Peppermint Bark Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Peppermint Bark Cookies

Rich, chocolatey cookies overflowing with pieces of sweet, crunchy peppermint bark, topped with crushed candy canes--a chocolate and peppermint lover's dream!

Ingredients

  • 1 and 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or gluten-free baking blend*
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)
  • 1/2 cup light cream cheese
  • 1 and 1/3 cups brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 bag Trader Joe's peppermint bark baking bits
  • 1 candy cane, crushed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large bow, beat together cream cheese and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated, then beat in extracts. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Fold in baking bits.
  4. Use a small cookie scoop to transfer dough onto prepared baking sheet. Press a pinch of crushed candy cane into the top of each dough ball. Bake for 10-14 minutes until set. Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container for about 1 week.

Notes

*Recipe tested with white whole wheat flour, but I've subbed my gf blend in very similar recipes and it has worked great. You may need to reduce baking time, so check cookies around 7-8 minutes.

3.1
https://arismenu.com/peppermint-bark-cookies/

Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Gluten-free, Holiday & Seasonal · Tagged: chocolate, christmas, cookies, dessert, peppermint, recipe, seasonal, trader joe's, whole grain, winter

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

December 19, 2012 · by Ari ·

Everyone has their holiday candy of choice.

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

I’m not usually a candy person. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if it includes sugar, I almost always enjoy it, but candy is certainly not my dessert of choice. If it isn’t frozen or baked, it’s usually pretty easy for me to pass up. For me, candy is a topping or an ingredient, not a dessert. It goes on top of my fro yo, or in this case, inside of my cookie.

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

Have I ever told you about birthdays in my family? I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know that they have always been a big deal. The other day I was talking with some friends about how our families are big on celebrations and my friend Lauran said “If we could, my family would celebrate Tuesday!” Well, that pretty much sums up my dad. Birthdays, half birthdays, quarter birhdays, 5/16 of a century birthdays. You think I’m joking. He never fails to remind me juuuust how close to 30 I’m getting by giving me fractional decade updates. Thanks dad. Being 7/8 of my way to 30 or whatever the last number you gave me is really something I want to celebrate.

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

Leading up to my mom’s birthday last year, he kept emailing her daily count downs. They haven’t been married for about 26 years. My family is…well, different. Those after school specials about there being “more than one way to have a family” must have been made special for me and my cooky family.

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

 

So….I made these for my dad. For his half birthday, because that’s something we celebrate. I always make my incredibly Jewish father Christmas themed half birthday desserts because his half birthday is December 1st, and that time of year, all I want to cook with is eggnog and candy canes. Best daughter ever.

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

Oh, but about candies (tangent much?), my holiday candy is the Lindt truffle. Pretty much any flavor, any time; always has been. When I was a kid, my dad would always buy them for me this time of year, and I’ve even gotten Steve’s family hooked on them! One of my students must have read my mind and given me a whole bag as a part of my secret santa present, and they were not doing me any favors by sitting there taunting me, so into the cookies they went, and the rest is history.

According to Hermano, these are “the best cookies I’ve ever made”. This was after he told me my lentil soup was “not his favorite soup”, so at least we know he’s being honest. To be fair, I loved the lentil soup, but nothing can really compare to a perfectly chewy cookie with pieces of crunchy candy cane stuffed with a rich, delicious Lindt chocolate truffle that melts into the cookie, and then perfectly into your mouth at first bite. The cookies are ridiculous.

 

Truffle Stuffed Candy Cane Cookies

yield 9 huge cookies

  • 1 cup + 2 tbs white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • dash salt
  • 1/2 cup light whipped cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tbsp turbinado sugar
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
  • 3 tbsp egg substitute (an egg white would work too)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 candy canes, crushed
  • 9 Lindt truffles, frozen (any flavor–they’re all good, but I used milk chocolate)

Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugars. Add almond milk, egg substitute and vanilla bean paste and beat until combined. Add dry ingredients to cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Stir in crushed candy canes. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. Cover each frozen truffle completely with chilled cookie dough and roll into a ball, then place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes (they are big cookies, it takes a while), turning half way through, until the edges are browned and cookies are completely set. Let stand for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cook completely.

Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Holiday & Seasonal · Tagged: candy cane, chocolate, christmas, cookies, dessert, lindt, peppermint, recipe, seasonal, winter

Double Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies

December 20, 2011 · by Ari ·

These whoopie pies are intense. Believe it or not, I am not a super chocolatey dessert person. I like chocolate, but I don’t prefer it to be the base flavor. Unless it’s white chocolate. Maybe next time I will experiment with white chocolate and peanut butter. That sounds amazing. Anyway, these are rich, chocolatey and especially delicious if you are a chocolate lover. Don’t get me wrong, I would still happily eat the entire batch in one sitting 😉

Double Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies

yield approx 3 dozen

For the cakes:

  • 1/2 cup light whipped butter
  • 1/2 cup fat free or reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2/3 cup Splenda
  • 1 packet Starbucks via
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup egg substitute
  • 1 cup dutch process cocoa
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 cups reduced fat buttermilk
  • 2 candy canes, crushed

For the filling:

  • 1 10 oz bag Sunspire white chocolate chips
  • 1 tbs light whipped butter
  • 1/4-1/3 cup 2 % milk
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Beat together butter, sugar, Splenda, via, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla until smooth Beat in egg substitute. Stir in cocoa.
  3. Alternately add in flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary. Mix until no lumps remain.
  4. Drop rounded tablespoon sized balls onto prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly (I used a sprayed piece of parchment paper to flatten to avoid sticking).
  5. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.
  6. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until cakes spring back when you press lightly with your fingers.
  7. Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
  8. Meanwhile, melt white chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
  9. Stir in peppermint. Slowly, add 1/4-1/3 cup milk. Cool completely in refrigerator.
  10. Spread a little white chocolate on the flat side of one cookie, top with the flat side of a second and press together. Repeat with all cookies.

Filed Under: Cakes & Pies, Cookies, Dessert, Holiday & Seasonal · Tagged: chocolate, christmas, peppermint, recipe, whoopie pies

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