December is here! I love this month and what it symbolizes. It's the holidays! Everyone's a little nicer (though maybe a little bit more harried too) and it's the season of goodwill, giving, and indulgence. Speaking of indulgence, am I the only person who secretly enjoys walking down the Christmas aisles at Target or the supermarket? I was just telling my husband how I wish I could rip open all those bags of treats and sample everything! A girl can dream. On the home front, there are many goodies I need/want to make for Christmas but I told myself not to go crazy. I've narrowed my choices to a couple of standbys and a few experiments this holiday season and we'll see how it goes. My main focus is to relax, have fun, and enjoy the season.
I feel especially lucky to live so close to New York City at this time of year. Sure, the crowds are insane but the city has so much to offer.
Along the theme of winter and Christmastime, I'm offering these chocolate peppermint-chip cookies today. To tell you the truth, I actually made these months ago when mention of the holidays would've gotten me some funny looks. I just had a hankering to try it out so I did. The thing is I love mint and especially mint with chocolate. Think: mint chocolate chip ice cream, Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, and mint chocolate candies like Andes. I love them all and when I think of Christmas, peppermint is one of the flavors I think of. I am a huge fan of the peppermint bark William-Sonoma sells every year around the holidays - the ridiculously smooth chocolate mixed with peppermint oil and bits of crunchy peppermint candy on top are such an amazing combination. Those flavors were the inspiration behind these cookies.
Along the theme of winter and Christmastime, I'm offering these chocolate peppermint-chip cookies today. To tell you the truth, I actually made these months ago when mention of the holidays would've gotten me some funny looks. I just had a hankering to try it out so I did. The thing is I love mint and especially mint with chocolate. Think: mint chocolate chip ice cream, Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, and mint chocolate candies like Andes. I love them all and when I think of Christmas, peppermint is one of the flavors I think of. I am a huge fan of the peppermint bark William-Sonoma sells every year around the holidays - the ridiculously smooth chocolate mixed with peppermint oil and bits of crunchy peppermint candy on top are such an amazing combination. Those flavors were the inspiration behind these cookies.
The basis for these chocolate peppermint-chip cookies are Martha Stewart's double chocolate cookies, which are among my favorites. These cookies are brownie-like, slightly crackly on top and dark and chewy in the center as long as you don't overbake them. I thought I'd just make a slight twist to those awesome cookies by adding some peppermint extract to the dough in place of vanilla extract and incorporating some Andes Mint baking chips. We enjoyed the result a lot and it's a nice little change for the holidays. You might consider giving these a try if you like that chocolate-mint combination.
