Chocolate Peppermint and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crushed peppermint candy canes give these Chocolate Peppermint and Chocolate Chip Cookies an extra festive look for the holidays.

The dough for these chocolate peppermint and chocolate chip cookies contains mini chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.

Making these cookies reminded me that I really should bake more with chocolate and peppermint.

The dough is really easy to work with and is not very persnickety. I broke all of the baking rules and used a cold egg and microwaved the butter to soften it. The hardest part is keeping track of the timing of each baking sheet... bake for 8 minutes, add the topping, bake for another 2 minutes, cool for 4 minutes.. I used two timers to keep track and only got confused once.

The result? A totally delicious cookie. Chocolatey, pepperminty, buttery, and a just enough salt to give it that salted chocolate taste that is soooo good.

Yield: 36 cookies

Chocolate Peppermint and Chocolate Chip Cookies

ingredients:

• 9 ounces semisweet mini chocolate chips, divided
• 1 C crushed candy canes, divided
• 1 3/4 C unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 C minus 1 T Dutch process unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 C unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 T vegetable oil
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

instructions:

1. Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F and line three baking sheets (you don't necessarily need three, but this worked for me to always have a cool baking sheet) with nonstick parchment paper. 
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips, 1/3 cup of the crushed peppermint candy, all of the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Pulse a few times, and then process until everything is finely ground.
3. Place the butter, oil, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until fluffy and light colored.
4. Add the egg, salt, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. 
5. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture and the rest of the chocolate chips.
6. Scoop out the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the parchment. 
7. Press them down with your fingers or the bottom of a glass to a 2 inch round.
8. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and sprinkle each cookie with some of the crushed peppermint. Spray the bottom of a glass with spray oil, and gently press the candy into the cookies. Return the sheet to the oven and bake for 2 minutes more. 
9. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 4 minutes. Move the cookies to a rack and cool completely. 
10. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 
11. You can keep these in an airtight container for up to 10 days! You can also freeze them for a month.

http://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2013/12/chocolate-peppermint-and-chocolate-chip.html

This recipe is slightly adapted from The All-American Cookie Book. I've loved everything I've made from this book.