peppermint

Peppermint Brownies

Another perfect Christmas recipe for the books! These brownies go perfect with hot chocolate on a cold winter night while decorating the Christmas tree or watching a movie. Maybe even leave one out for Santa on Christmas Eve! I’m sure he would appreciate it with a glass of milk 😉 Gooey chocolate with a hint of peppermint. Heavenly.

What you will need:

8 x 8 square bake pan lined with parchment paper

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup Andes mint chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Combine the butter and chocolate in a glass bowl and melt in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each time. Pour into a larger bowl and whisk in both sugars. Once cooled to room temperature, whisk in eggs and both extracts until combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cocoa powder. Stir into the wet ingredients until you still see some flour (you do not want to overmix the batter). Stir in the mint chips. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store covered at room temp. Enjoy!

Peppermint Meltaways

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If you follow me on Instagram, you know I always post the pictures of what I’m about to blog about next. So… I hope you all were waiting for this recipe! Seriously, THIS is the cookie of Christmas 2017 for me. They literally melt in your mouth and peppermint just has that holiday flavor you crave this time of year. Ugh, I ate way too many already and it’s not even December. But as always, not only do these taste great, they are super simple to make, too. Definitely add these to your holiday cookie exchange/platter/dessert table because they are not worth passing up 🙂

Go get your aprons on… it’s about to feel like Christmas in your house (and mouth) 😉

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the frosting:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup crushed candy canes

In a bowl, whisk together flour and cornstarch. In another bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and extract until smooth. Slowly add in flour mixture until dough is formed. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the bottoms are beginning to brown. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat butter until smooth. Add in milk, extract and powdered sugar and beat until you reach desired consistency. Spread on each cookie (I just used the back of a spoon) and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Enjoy!

Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Store covered.

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

I’m so happy how these turned out! They are so delicious and look beautiful. The cookie is almost brownie-like and the peppermint candy on the top creates the perfect crunch. They are super easy and do not take long to make, either so let’s go!

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup crushed candy canes

Note: This recipe only made about 15 cookies, so double it if you need more.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, or the bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add flour mixture until just combined. The dough will be quite thick! Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll dough into balls and press down lightly onto cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes. As soon as cookies come out of oven, sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Look at these beauties! 🙂

Peppermint Bark

The holiday season is here!!! I love it so much. To start off the baking season I wanted to do something simple but super delicious! Peppermint bark is so good and beautiful, the perfect thing to bring to your holiday gatherings. AND people will be like “you made this?” Yes, yes I did 😉 So let’s go make some bark!

What you will need:

8 inch square pan lined with foil

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Crushed candy canes (or other peppermint candy)

Melt the chocolate and vegetable oil in a large glass or stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir constantly. Pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and smooth evenly with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candy evenly over the chocolate. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Store covered in the refrigerator for several days.

Tip: You can also add a layer of white chocolate. Just pour 6 ounces of melted white chocolate on top of the hardened chocolate layer and add the crushed peppermint to the white chocolate.