Sunday, December 9, 2012

#SundaySupper Holiday Cookie Exchange...Featuring Double-the-Mint Chocolate Kiss Cookies

This week, our #SundaySupper theme is Holiday Cookie Exchange, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. We had a Cookie Exchange at work yesterday, so I made fabulous chocolate-mint cookies for that event...and I'm also able to share them with you. If that's not baking fate, I'm not sure what is. There's just something about the holidays that feels perfect for baking cookies! Even someone like me, who only bakes cookies a handful of times a year, gets into the holiday spirit and breaks out the parchment and cookie sheet to whip up a fabulous treat. To me, nothing says Christmas quite like mint...other people go nuts for eggnog or gingerbread. Me? I'm a total peppermint freak between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. Don't get me wrong...I enjoy mint all year long, but I go into overdrive during the holidays! 

These cookies are for serious mint lovers! The chocolate cookie base is flavored with mint extract, and I added a generous helping of dark chocolate and mint chips. Because there's no such thing as too much mint -- in my mind, anyway -- I topped each cookie with a Hershey Mint Truffle kiss after they came out of the oven. Because these cookies are pretty much brown on brown, I made a last-minute decision to drizzle them with green icing. It was a great call, because the green really popped against the dark chocolate cookies! I picked up a squeeze bottle of Wilton cookie icing on my way to work, but feel free to make your favorite drizzle and tint it with green food color.

Double-the-Mint Chocolate Kiss Cookies
adapted from Hershey's

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl: 1 stick softened butter, ½ cup Butter-flavor Crisco, and 1 cup sugar. Mix at low speed until combined, then whip on high speed until fluffy – about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Then, add 1 large egg, ½ tsp. vanilla, and ½ tsp. mint extract. Mix on low speed until incorporated into the butter-sugar mixture.
Step 2: Add the following ingredients to the mixing bowl: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. salt, and 4 tbs. Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. Combine on low speed, until the dry ingredients are incorporated…stopping to scrape down the sides once during the process. Add 1 cup Nestle Winter Morsel Mix (dark chocolate and mint chips), and mix on low until the chips are incorporated.
Step 3: Roll the dough into small balls about 1-inch in diameter and place at least an inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cookies are set. I always turn my cookie sheet around midway through baking time to ensure even baking. Remove from oven and carefully use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack.
Step 4: Cool the cookies for one 1 minute. Then, press a Hershey Mint Truffle kiss into center of each cookie. Cool the cookies completely, then drizzle your favorite glaze on top; let sit for one hour for the glaze to set. I used green since the truffle filling and mint chips are green. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. 
These cookies were very popular at the Cookie Exchange. The cookie base isn't overly sweet, but it has a definite mint taste. The icing provides a touch of sweetness, and the mint truffle kiss on top is a punch of pure chocolate-mint goodness. As you see above, a few of my mint truffles melted over the sides of the cookies. They weren't as pretty as the rest, but they still tasted fabulous. I loved these cookies and can't wait to make them again!

Make sure to join the #SundaySupper crew for a live chat on Twitter this evening at 600CST. We'll be sharing our favorite holiday cookie recipes and some great baking tips. We'll also be giving away five copies of the cookbook Cookielicious by Janet Keeler during our chat. She is the Food and Travel Editor for The Tampa Bay Times, and  she tested more than 5,000 recipes while researching recipes to include in her book. The end result is 150 of the most scrumptious cookies ever published!! In the meantime, I hope you'll visit my #SundaySupper friends and check out the wide variety of cookies they are featuring on their blogs today...there's something for everyone!!!

The Sunday Supper Favorite Cookie Exchange Cookies:



 

46 comments:

  1. Love the marriage of dark chocolate and mint. Thank you for sharing your recipe =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chocolate and mint is a winning combo...especially during Christmas!

      Delete
  2. Oh if I could only eat mint...
    Great cookie for mint lovers for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you allergic? Just sub in another flavor of extract like cherry and use the cherry cordial kisses...those would work well with the holidays too!

      Delete
  3. Chocolate and mint should always go together. Great combination and I love the green drizzle on top!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The green was a last-minute decision to make the cookies more photogenic! Wilton to the rescue!!

      Delete
  4. I would have taken all of your cookies! Mint chocolate is one of my favorite things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too...I adore Andes mints, and these cookies remind me of them!

      Delete
  5. I fear that I may never stop drooling this morning...we love chocolate-mint combo in our house. These would go over SO well! =)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chocolate and mint go SO well together, these cookies must be fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I liked them a lot...and because my cookie sheet is huge, I could make 3 dozen in two batches instead of three. Anything that saves me time is a good thing in my book!!

      Delete
  7. Yum! Love chocolate and mint together, these cookies sound wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't make cookies that often, but these were easy to make and very tasty!

      Delete
  8. Chocolate and mint are meant to be together, especially during the holidays. I just happen to have those chocolate mint truffles in my pantry, so I'll be making these fantastic cookies soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are my favorite holiday kisses, so I was glad to find a fun recipe to use them!

      Delete
  9. Being a serious mint lover, these are perfect! And so festive looking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could also use the peppermint bark kisses and red drizzle!

      Delete
  10. My mint loving kids would love these! Perfect for a holiday cookie exchange!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cookie isn't overly sweet, but the drizzle and kiss take care of that!

      Delete
  11. Mint and chocolate is the perfect combination. Yum! ~ Bea @ Galactosemia In PDX

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the green - they look like superhero cookies (ok, weird comment! But it reminds me of the green of the Hulk ;) There is no better combo that mint and chocolate and I totally agree with you - there can never be enough mint so good call on adding the mint chocolate truffle at the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These are so good...pretty addictive if I do say so! I normally make no-bake goodies at Christmas: peppermint bark and peppermint oreo truffles. So this week's theme was good to get me baking!

      Delete
  13. Oh yum and they look so festive too! Love the bright green colour!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They needed something, so I hit the store on the way to work and found Wilton cookie icing. It worked great!

      Delete
  14. These are adorable! What a great twist on the kiss.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are indeed minty...but if that's your thing? You're golden!

      Delete
  15. My stepdaughter loves "kiss cookies" so I make them for her every year at the holidays. She's also a chocolate + mint lover, so she would go crazy for this variation.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have a similar cookie that I make gluten free. But I would never think to add the kiss on the top.

    ReplyDelete
  17. yum chocolate and mint is one of the best combos--those cookies look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love chocolate and mint together! Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yep, mint lovers would be all over these. And the green certainly does make these very festive! Good call, looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yum! These are a mint lovers dream come true. I love those chocolate chips and jumped for joy when I found them in the store.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love your decorating job! Chocolate mint is always so hit and miss

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yummmm!!! Mint and chocolate are one of my favorite combos...I get so sad though because my husband does not like mint+chocolate!!! He does not know what he's missing, I tell you!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love a minty cookie. And the green drizzle looks beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow! I bet these went over well. I love mint chocolate!

    ReplyDelete
  25. LOVE all the green!!! Mint has helped my morning sickness these days, maybe I should make a batch of these lovelies!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I always had these growing up but never double chocolate with mint! YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Minty fresh and lots of chocolate! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Mmm, why have a little after dinner mint when you can have one of these cookies?!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Mint is a favorite of mine! I look forward to trying these!

    ReplyDelete
  30. My boys would go crazy over these cookies... can't wait to try them!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love mint chocolate as well, so send me a dozen or two! Especially with those mint truffle kisses.

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing your feedback!!!