Peppermint Archives - Slice Of Honey

Peppermint Cocoa Cookies

Sarah Baade

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional but add richness to the chocolate flavor)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
5 oz starlight mint candies or candy canes, broken into small pieces

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, melted chocolate, vegetable oil, espresso powder and vanilla.
Stir in eggs one at a time.
Stir in broken candy pieces.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat over to 350°F.
Form cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet, 2" apart.
Bake 13-15 minutes.

Notes

*I did not have any marshmallow fluff on hand when I made these but I think it would be great for turning these into a sandwich cookie.

Keyword Chocolate, Cookies, Peppermint, Peppermint Cocoa Cookies

Let’s talk Valentine’s Day. Whether you love it or hate it, this holiday is great for making and eating sweet treats! It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but food is definitely my favorite way to celebrate a holiday. My typical go-to is cake or cookies but I wanted to change it up this year. One of the things I love about these truffles is that you can customize them just by changing up the flavor of liqueur. I know we just finished up Christmas and all of its peppermint glory but who says we can’t use that flavor all year round? I absolutely love peppermint with dark chocolate so I went for it! I also wanted to do something more unique for a white chocolate flavor which brought me to horchata. You could make these truffles as a gift for your valentine but you could also just treat yourself – you deserve it!

Tips:

If you aren’t much of a drinker, don’t invest in a full-size bottle of liqueur. Just skim the section of single serving bottles (you know, like the tiny bottles they have on airplanes or in hotel minibars).
The white chocolate filling is a bit sticky and challenging to work with. Do yourself a favor and leave them in the freezer right up until you are ready to dip them in the dark chocolate coating. You could even pull just a few out at a time as you go. Trust me, they are worth the extra effort though!

Boozy Truffles

Dark Chocolate Filling:

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used a peppermint coffee flavor

White Chocolate Filling:

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons liqueur – I used an horchata flavor

Dark Chocolate Coating:

1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil

Decorative garnish – I used crushed peppermint pieces and gold colored sugar sprinkles

Directions:

For dark chocolate filling, place chocolate chips in a medium heat safe bowl. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream to a low boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk liqueur into cream and chocolate mixture until mixture is blended together and smooth. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 1 day. Repeat this process for the white chocolate filling.

Once fillings are chilled, shape into 1 inch balls then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 1 hour.

For the dark chocolate coating, place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.

One at a time, dip chilled ball of filling into coating mixture, making sure each one is completely coated. Place each truffle back onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with decorative garnish. Once all truffles are garnished, refrigerate until coating is set or you are ready to serve them.