Chocolate Mint Cookie Recipe

This cookie recipe is a great one to prepare for after holiday thank you gifts.  The cookies are also good any time of the year as a wonderful treat!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• green mint wafers (or mix peppermint chocolate as directed below)

Directions

In a large saucepan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted.  Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted.  Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Pour into a large mixer bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool.  Mix at high speed and beat in eggs one at a time.  Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients.  Mix until just blended.  Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour until dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with foil.  Roll teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake 12-13 minutes and NO longer.  Cookies should come out of the oven looking slightly underdone.  They will crisp when cool.

Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, place one mint wafer on top of each cookie.  Allow mints to soften; then swirl to cover cookie.  Peppermint chocolate can be placed on top of cookies instead of wafers.  See note below.  Sprinkles can be added at this point if desired.

Making Peppermint Chocolate

You will need 1 cup white chocolate and peppermint extract to make this.  Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl by microwaving for 30 secs and then stirring. Repeat until chocolate is partially melted.  Remove from microwave and continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted.  At this point add 2-4 drops of peppermint extract and food coloring if desired.