I had no intention of baking Christmas cookies in my lifetime, and especially not this year. I’m Jewish so the whole Christmas cookie thing really doesn’t mean much to me. We had a cookie exchange last week with my playgroup and though I was planning on participating, I just didn’t have it in me after being sick. But once I saw everyone’s cookies I thought, “what the heck, why not?” Plus I have this one friend who shall remain nameless who baked 13 kinds of cookies in one afternoon with her friend, and also baked twice more in addition to that day. I began to feel inadequate. And so the cookie baking extravaganza began.
I made butterball cookies, mint chocolate truffles, and gingerbread men. I’ve got triple chocolate coffee bark and holiday cheesecake presents left to do. I think those will be made today or tomorrow. Too. Much. Sugar.
The great news is that if we have enough we are hoping to bring a tin of treats to our local fire and police stations. Yay!
I’ll let you in on the mint chocolate truffle secret… There is none. But here’s the recipe! Enjoy!
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Mint Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
- 1/4 C butter, cubed
- 1 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- 1 egg
- 1/3 C sugar
- 1/3 C packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 C all purpose flour
- 1/3 C powdered baking cocoa
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 package (4.6 oz) mint Andes candies, chopped and divided
- 2 tsp shortening
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Melt the butter and 1/2 C chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Stir in the egg, sugars, and extracts.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in 3/4 C Andes candies.
Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until tops appear slightly dry. Cool for 1 minute, and remove to cool on wire racks. When cookies are completely cooled, continue onto the next step.
Melt the shortening and remaining chocolate chips and Andes candies. Stir until smooth. Dip cookies in melted chocolate mixture and allow excess to drip off. Place on parchment paper. Sprinkle with your topping of choice (chopped nuts, sea salt, crushed candy canes, sprinkles, etc.) and let stand until completely set.
Now I have to admit, I did not do a great job at shaking off the excess chocolate. It was kind of a mess, actually. First I was just going to use my hands and quickly realized that wasn’t going to work. I switch to a fork, and then eventually settled on a spoon. I also didn’t have Andes candies, but used these new mint-filled chocolate chips by Nestle. They worked quite well, so if you’re in a pinch they will work just fine.
And that’s it! I let mine sit out overnight and then transferred to a tupperware until I can find some tins to fill. Yum!
Don’t forget to link up with Annmarie, Cassandra, and me for some awesome recipes.
What’s YOUR favorite holiday cookie recipe? Do you make cookies every Christmas?
Happy day!
xo
