We recently moved into a brand new neighborhood, so not only are we new to town but so is everyone else! I wanted to find a way of introducing ourselves to our neighbors, not by just knocking on their doors to say ‘we’ve arrived!’, but by embracing the season of giving with some home baked goods.
It’s been a while since I baked as my long suffering husband will attest to. Having lived in small apartments with even smaller kitchens for the past few years, my baking literally has taken a back burner. Now we have a gourmet kitchen fit for a domestic goddess (who just needs to come out of retirement), out of the many, many moving boxes came my trusty mixer and off I searched for the perfect cookie recipe – that’s biscuit to the non Americans out there!
I flipped through my recipe books and scoured endless sites for ideas before I settled on creating a chocolate cookie, with a festive twist… peppermint chunks.
The end result was a soft, chewy, chocolate cookie with a seasonal mint flavor which was delicious and definitely worth indulging in – after all, apparently calories consumed in December don’t count, right?!
Time to go and meet the neighbors…Happy Holidays!
Choc Mint Chunk Cookies
(Makes 12 large cookies, 24 small cookies)
1 cup bittersweet chocolate baking chips
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peppermint chunks
Preheat oven to 350° F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray and set aside. Melt cup of chocolate chips in a microwave or over heat until smooth and runny. Set aside to cool. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract and melted chocolate and mix well. Fold in dry ingredients and peppermint chunks. Spoon onto cookie sheets and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until still soft and chewy. For an extra chocolatey taste, drizzle with melted chocolate to finish.
The Hill Country Mom 