Continuing on our Best of Holiday Baking, we love the holiday flavour of these cookies Lyndsay of Coco Cake made for us back in 2011. Yum!

These rascal-ish cookies are very simple to prepare and holiday-ish in flavour - peppermint = holiday, right? They have a rich, fudgy consistency and are best eaten with a tall frosty glass of milk or hot tea. Or, bag these up in some sort of cute packaging and present as a holiday gift to a loved one, or co-worker! Cookies make a delightful homemade present! I love the contrast of the dark chocolate cookie with the milk chocolate middle, with that fudgy minty-ness. Quit asking people to choose which they like better! Dark? Milk? Why not both, in one cookie!?



CHOCOMINT COOKIES WITH MILK CHOCOLATE MIDDLES

Ingredients:

1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract
1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon of salt
2 bars of nice fancy milk chocolate (or Lindt milk chocolate chunks - I used Lindt Piccoli "Extra Au Lait" couverture chocolate, but that might be too crazy fancy to find. Plus, how many names can one milk chocolate have? Piccoli, AND Extra Au Lait? AND couverture? seems crazy).

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper (if so desired). Makes 2 dozen cookies.

1. Using a stand mixer or handheld beaters, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, like an angel's soft, cloudy bed!
2. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
3. Add pure peppermint extract to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until combined.
6. Using a small ice cream scoop or your clean bare hands, dole out 1 inch balls onto parchment-paper covered baking sheets, a dozen per sheet.
7. Break up your chocolate bars into nice little squares. Place a square in the middle of each ball and push down with your finger.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets! Turn the pans once halfway through. Leave to cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling racks (or your mouth).



Rammerjammer these into your mouth (or daintily nibble away on one like a little cheese mouse) and enjoy!