Some food, some drink.
Something Edible on Video: “The Best” Chocolate Mint Cookies (No, Really!)
Abstract:
While some folks believe that the warming aroma of cinnamon best represents the Christmas season, there are just as many people that identify with the cool tingle of mint. Christmas cookies are best when made with a healthy dose of tradition; and ever since I began doing a holiday baking regiment, these Andes mint-topped chocolate cookies have been a must-bake. The hardest thing about making this mint chocolate cookie (other than unwrapping all those wafer-thin mints) is the waiting involved: Dough must be sufficiently chilled so as to prevent too much spreadage, and ensure that each cookie is ever so chewy on the outside while remaining rich and fudgy on the inside.
The holidays are busy for most of us, and a serendipitous quality of this cookie recipe is that it's got do-ahead potential: As the dough has to firm up in the fridge anyway, a day or two more isn't gonna hurt anything. Roll the cookies into properly portioned balls, and heck you've practically got Christmas cookies on-demand. As there's no mint to speak of in the cookie itself, you could probably even use other flavored chocolate-type things to top this cookie, but the mints work so damn well that I've never been able to bring myself to do it.
Recipe: Jump to the detailed recipe. (or, keep reading for the gist of it) -
Over medium heat in a medium saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar, water, and salt just to a boil stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips until melted and fully integrated. Let this stuff stand for at least 10 minutes or until the temperature drops below 160F. Move the now cooler (but still warm) mess to the bowl of a stand mixer and slowly pour in the beaten eggs while beating it all on medium speed. Once the eggs are fully integrated, continue to mix one minute longer, then take the speed down to a stir. Gently whisk the baking soda into the flour and then spoon it into the wet stuff, (still stirring) while scraping the bowl as necessary. Mix until everything is just integrated, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
When it's time to bake, Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll dough into 1 inch diameter balls (about 1/2 oz), and load 'em on a parchment or Silpat-lined half sheet pan, leaving 2 inches of space around each to spread. Bake 10-12 minutes; then out of the oven, immediately place a mint on each hot cookie and let 'em rest on the pan for 5 minutes. After the 5, spread the melted mints over the cookie with a knife and move 'em to a cooling rack so you can set up for the next batch. Be sure to let all cookies cool completely on a rack before storing so the melted mints have ample time to set back up again.
Notes:
Just how big a cookie dough ball do you need to roll, and why is temperature so important for this recipe? All is revealed in my original post for this cookie recipe!
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