Peppermint Mocha Sandwich Cookies

Happy December, everyone! It's that time of year when the coffee places start bringing out their winter goods. And, for whatever reason, my favorite beverage this year is peppermint mocha! I had to make some cookies for a bake sale for The Kid's daycare, and I decided to try to recreate my favorite drink in cookie form.

Like all cookies, these start out with softened butter.

Brown and white sugars come next.

The butter and sugars get creamed together until they're nice and smooth.

Measure and add some flour.

And some cocoa powder.

To get that coffee flavor, I wanted to use some instant coffee. However, I don't drink instant coffee, and I didn't want to buy a big container for just a few tablespoons. Luckily, I had some of this!

It's Starbucks' Via coffee--a mixture of instant and finely ground coffee. You just add hot water and you have a cup of hot, strong coffee. You could use either all instant or all finely ground, though. Espresso powder would be good.

Each packet yielded a little more than a teaspoon's worth of coffee (I'd guess about a teaspoon and a third.)

I used three packets--the next time, I might add four. If I were using a weaker coffee, such as Folger's, I'd double the amount. Starbucks coffee is pretty dark.

And yes, it was pointed out to me that I'm a coffee snob. I don't even drink the coffee at work because I think it tastes like coffee water.

Baking soda will help the cookies rise.

Baking powder, too.

Salt's always important in baked goods, especially things with chocolate. Salt really helps bring out the flavor of...well, just about everything.

Mix in the dry ingredients, and then add the eggs.

And add the vanilla. I didn't photograph that step, for whatever reason. Secrecy, I guess?

You should have a nice, thick dough that smells like a mocha in a bowl.

To up the chocolate factor, what better to add than chocolate chunks?

And to add that peppermint aspect, I grabbed some candy canes.

Use a can or some other heavy thing (like an unopened bottle of sesame oil) to crush the candy canes. You may need to double-bag the plastic bags, since the candy shards are pretty sharp and will make your bag hole-y.

I crushed them up fairly fine, but not to dust.

About a dozen small candy canes will yield you about 1/3 of a cup.

Fold the chunks and candy cane bits into the dough.

Because these are going to become sandwich cookies, it's pretty important that they turn out to be roughly the same size. So I used a small ice cream scoop to measure the dough.

I rolled the dough into balls and dipped the tops into some decorating sugar.

I used some peppermint sugar that I had on hand.

This made them pretty sweet. You could skip this step, but then you won't get the pretty sprinkles on top. So, it's your choice whether to bedazzle your cookies or not.

Set the cookies on a greased cookie sheet, and pop them in the oven.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool completely before adding the filling.

Speaking of the filling, its delicious fatty base is butter and shortening.

And, to focus on the coffee/cocoa drink aspect again, I added some marshmallow fluff.

Whip everything together until the filling is nice and fluffy.

Looks good already!

I keep squinting at the TV in this pic. I'm pretty sure I'm either watching Miami Animal Police or something on the History Channel about mobsters.

Powdered sugar will make the filling more frostinglike.

Peppermint extract will add even more to the peppermint flavors going on.

This is a nice, manageable frosting. The marshmallow fluff saw to that.

Spread a generous amount of frosting on a (completely cooled) cookie.

Then make yourself a nice, fat sandwich.

Roll the sandwiches in more crushed candy canes. Or sprinkle/press it on, if you don't like your cookies to look like they have five o'clock shadows.













Serve these cookies with a nice tall glass of milk, coffee, cocoa, eggnog, or your favorite holiday drink. These were popular at The Kid's bake sale--and they'll be popular with your family, too!

Recipe: Peppermint Mocha Sandwich Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. white sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 c. flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp. strong instant coffee granules (or 3 tbsp. weaker coffee granules)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package chocolate chunks
1/3 c. crushed peppermint candy

2-3 tbsp. decorating sugar (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars, and cream together. Add flour, cocoa, coffee granules, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in eggs and vanilla.

Add chocolate chunks and peppermint candy. Stir until combined.

Roll cookies into small balls. Dip the tops of the balls in decorating sugar, and then place at least 1" apart on a well-greased sheet. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely before adding filling.


Filling:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening, softened
1 jar marshmallow cream
3 c. powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract

crushed peppermint candy


Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; mix until light and fluffy.

Spread filling generously between two cooled cookies. Roll cookies in crushed peppermint cookies.

Oatmeal Chippies

I was in the mood for something sweet; I was also in the mood for something oatmeal-y. I had just bought bags of oatmeal and butterscotch chips that were just asking to be baked with. So I came up with these yummy Oatmeal Chippies.

Softened butter is the first thing you'll need to get these cookies going.

Brown and white sugars lend their sweetness and caramel-y flavors.

Two brown farm-fresh eggs with their pretty yellow yolks make this a dough and not just a bowl of calories.

Right?

They go round and round and round until everything is smooth.

Flour and oats make these into actual cookies. You could use quick or regular oats; they'll each have their own individual textures. I used quick oats because I had them, but if you wanted heartier, oatier cookies, I'd use regular.

Baking soda and salt are part of this, too.

Always the understated afterthoughts but incredibly important to the recipe.

Stir until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Then add the chips! I used chocolate and butterscotch because they're my favorite. Chopped nuts and peanut butter chips would be really good, too. Or how about candied nuts (like you put on salad) with butterscotch and white chips? So many possibilities.

And never forget the vanilla!

Mmm. Cookie dough. And it's healthy because of the oats, right? Right? Yeah. That's right.

I use an ice cream scoop to ensure consistent-looking cookies. Each scoop goes onto a well-greased cookie sheet.

They make you nice, perfectly round cookies.















Let them cool slightly and then move them to a cooling rack. They're great warm but are equally great the next day. Try this recipe and stir up your regular chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Recipe: Oatmeal Chippies

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. oats (quick or regular)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. butterscotch chips


Preheat oven to 375F.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add eggs one a time, beating well after each addition.

Add half the flour, oats, and baking soda. Mix until just combined; add the remaining flour, oats, soda, and salt (if using unsalted butter.)

Add vanilla and chips, stirring just to combine.

Scoop into even balls onto a very, very well greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 5-6 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

It's freezing cold here today (my car told me it was -22 this morning), so I expect all you local readers will be staying inside if at all possible! And what better activity to do with the kids (or the husbands!) on a cold day than to make cookies? 

I've been making these cookies for years, and they never lose their appeal. They're soft and chewy and have the slight, unexpected flavor of cinnamon. Mr. Kim Chee asks for these cookies more than any others. I'm a big fan of the Toll House recipe, but sometimes I crave something a little different--and these are it!

Here's what you'll need to start things off. Cinnamon and vanilla pudding are the secret ingredients!

Toss some softened butter and shortening in a bowl.

Add some white and brown sugar to the bowl.

I wonder how many pictures of butter and sugar I've taken so far?

Give the butter and sugar a brief beating, and then add the vanilla pudding.

A little vanilla extract can't hurt, either.

Now mix! Mix like your life depended on it!

Okay. Don't get too wild. You've got to take a break to add some eggs.

Add the dry ingredients in two batches. Flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda help your cookies come together. Give things a little mix.

Add the second batch of dry ingredients.

Scrape your beater. It's no longer needed. Let someone lick it if you're not squeamish about the raw-egg thing.

Add a whole bag of chocolate chips. Use your arm muscles to stir them in (this is a thick dough!)

I like to use a little ice cream scoop to divvy up the dough, but regular kitchen spoons would work fine too.

Drop them onto a greased cookie sheet.

You'll have to smoosh your cookies down. The dough is very dense, and these cookies don't spread at all, and if you don't smoosh them, you'll have two-inch-tall cookies.

Here's where the recipe goes against the grain of every other cookie recipe ever. Instead of telling you to not crowd your cookies, I'm going to tell you to crowd them. Fit as many cookies as you can on the pan. You want to underbake them a little, and since they don't spread, baking them this close together helps them from getting too dark.







Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes in a 350F oven, and soon you'll have dozens of delicious, soft cookies. Want to switch things up a little? Try different kinds of puddings. Caramel pudding with butterscotch and chocolate chips is amazing. Give things a darker twist by using chocolate pudding. Try them with peanut butter or white chocolate chips! Wait until fall and track down some pumpkin pie pudding, and try them with toffee chips! Whatever you do, make sure you've got lots of milk handy. You're going to need it!

 

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

8 tbsp. (1/2 c.) butter, softened

8 tbsp (1/2 c.) shortening, softened

1/4 c. white sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 small package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, and sugars.

Add pudding mix and vanilla; mix well.

Add eggs; mix well

Add 1 c. of the flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Stir until just combined.

Add remaining 1 1/4 c. flour and remaining baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until just combined.

Use a spoon to stir in chocolate chips.

Drop cookies onto a lightly greased sheet very close together. Use the back of a spoon to smoosh down your cookies.

Bake for 7-8 minutes until cookies are set but not darkly colored. Let cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack. Enjoy with a glass of milk or steaming cup of cocoa or coffee!