Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies Recipe
The perfect festive treat for a holiday! Not to mention that they are the dream of a chocolate lover! A sweet vanilla marshmallow, chocolate icing, and crushed peppermint candy are layered on the chocolate cookies. Who might have resisted?
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 48
Calories: 135 kcal
Ingredients
Cookies
12 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, and broken on pieces or chopped
1/2 cup (113g) of unsalted butter and diced into 1 Tbsp pieces
1 1/2 cups (213g) of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (21g) of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/4 cups (280g) of packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp of peppermint extract
1 tsp of vanilla extract
24 large marshmallows
Icing
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup (21g) of cocoa powder
4 Tbsp (56g) of unsalted butter and diced into small pieces
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 tsp of peppermint extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
-Fill a medium microwave mixing bowl with chocolate and butter.
– Microwave heat at intervals of 30 seconds, stirring well between intervals until melted and smooth, set aside for slightly cooling down.
– Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, sift in the cocoa powder and add the baking powder and salt.
– Whisk together the mixture to mix. Just set aside.
– Mix brown sugar, eggs, peppermint extract, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
– Mix in a mixture of chocolate.
– Slowly add the mixer to the flour mixture with the mixer set at low speed and mix until mixed.
– Cover the bowl and cool for 1 hour or until sufficiently firm to handle (I actually divided the dough into two containers and it chills faster).
– During the last 15-16 minutes of chilling, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
– Scoop out about 1 slightly heaping tablespoon of dough at a time.
-Form it like a ball and transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, separating cookies 2 inches apart (keep remaining dough chilled).
– Bake until slightly under-baked in a preheated oven, about 10 minutes.
– In the meantime, kitchen scissors are used to cut marshmallows in half.
– Remove the cookies from the oven, add 1 half marshmallow to each cookie and place the cut side downwards.
– Return to the oven and cook for about 3 minutes until the marshmallows have started melting.
– Remove it from the oven and gently press down to slightly flatten the marshmallows.
– Cool for a few minutes on the pan then transfer to wire racks on cookies and set wire racks over a baking sheet.
For the icing:
-Sift the sugar and cocoa powder in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
– On medium heat, heat the butter and cream and cook, stirring frequently until the butter has melted and the mixture has simmered.
– Remove from heat, add sugar and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.
– Combine with the peppermint extract.
-If the mixture is too thick, thicken it with a little hot water, and if the mixture is too thin, thicken it with a little more sifted sugar.
– Spoon icing on cookies immediately (or alternately drizzle from a resealable bag with a cut corner) and after adding icing, sprinkle each cookie with crushed peppermint because the icing will start to set quickly.
Recipe source: adapted from Rachel Ray & Glorious Treats.