Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Time goes so quickly! In just a few days we’ll be ushering in, not just a new year, but a new decade. While every holiday has its traditions, I can’t think of another holiday that equals New Year’s Eve (and Day) for the number of superstitions surrounding the celebration. After wrapping up the old year, we look to the future and try to ensure that it holds health, wealth, and happiness for ourselves and our loved ones. Some of the ways people do this, like eating lentils or grapes, contain a kernel of practicality (at least in the good health department), while other habits, such as not taking out the trash, veer toward the fanciful. Personally, I’d rather enjoy a good dinner with my family or a day out in the snow than worry about what comes into or leaves my house on the first day of the year. But I do indulge in a New Year’s superstition that I acquired from my husband’s family, which is to say “rabbit, rabbit” after the stroke of midnight, for good luck. It seems like such a quirky tradition that I’m always surprised when I hear that other people do this, too.

I like to think of New Year’s Eve as the dessert of the feast that is the holiday season. This week’s recipe, which uses crushed candy canes, is a fitting embodiment of that notion. These minty chocolate cookies make a wonderful addition to a New Year’s Eve buffet, or just a great snack with a cup of hot cocoa.

Best wishes from our family to yours for a wonderful 2010.
Ann
Ann Clark, Ltd.


Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Makes about 24 cookies
You will need about 3/4 cup of crushed peppermint candy to make and decorate the cookies; 12 medium-sized candy canes will yield the right amount.

Whisk together and set aside:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat together until light and fluffy:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Add and beat to incorporate:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add and mix thoroughly:
- Flour mixture from above
- 1/2 cup finely crushed peppermint candy

Add, if dough seems dry:
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix until ingredients are incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350º. Roll dough out on a lightly floured counter to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with your favorite Ann Clark cookie cutter, then transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until surface of cookies looks dry. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

To decorate, melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in microwave-safe bowl, then stir in 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and a few drops peppermint extract, if desired. Frost cookies and dip edges in remaining crushed peppermint candy.

My favorite shapes for Chocolate Peppermint Cookies include the Martini Glass cookie cutter, the Mitten cookie cutter, and the Mountain Bear cookie cutter.