Christmas baking is pretty standard around here. I make a Red, White, and Green Biscotti every year – it’s fool-proof, the raw dough tastes awesome, and everyone loves them. With every passing year, I’ve pretty much had to double the previous year’s output. Supply and demand doesn’t lie!

Then there are the Fleur de Sel Caramels. Last years batches were spiked with pretty flecks of Tahitian vanilla bean. I also think that we might actually enjoy them more than the recipients but they’re definitely one of our holiday favorites.

And then there’s the annual, revolving-door Chocolate + Peppermint combo. I’ve made Swirly Peppermint Bark and a decadent hot chocolate mix with peppermint marshmallows before. But this year, I decided to slap a bow on an oldie-but-goodie and call it a Christmas cookie. And with my holiday chocolate order arriving, I have plenty of chocolate hanging around.

I recently stumbled across an old recipe that I used to make in my pre-Foodie Bride days, forever known as “The Emergency Cookies.” There aren’t many cookies out there that I’d say taste better cold than fresh-from-the-oven warm but these are one of them. Straight out of the gate, these cookies are fall-apart tender but I love sneaking two of these for breakfast the next morning. The cooled and crackly chocolate leaves a very chewy cookie that borders on confection and the peppermint extract provides a Christmasy hint of mint among all that chocolate.

Peppermint Chunk Cookies
8 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-1 tsp peppermint extract, to taste
12 oz chocolate, roughly chopped (or 1 package chocolate chunks)*
12 peppermint candies, roughly chopped for garnish

* I used 6oz chopped semisweet and 6oz chopped dark chocolate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment or silpat.

Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 25-second increments, stirring in between, until just melted. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract on high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved (4-5 minutes). Reduce speed to low and add the melted (and now slightly cooled) chocolate. Mix until uniform. Add the flour mixture until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chunks.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Sprinkle a few pieces of the chopped peppermints over each of the dough mounds, pressing lightly into the dough. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet still soft in centers, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart Living
Yields: ~2 dozen cookies

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