A New Fav - Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

So many of the recent recipes I've blogged about have been new.  I love trying new desserts saving my tried and true desserts for special occassions.  I love sweets so I often give strong reviews.  But this little cookie - I love.  It came from the chocoholic, my sister.  She found it on someone else's blog (but didn't doesn't know the origin).  So anon blog - THANK YOU.  The only changes I made were to increase the baking soda and use semi-sweet chocolate versus dark chocolate.

When I first tried them, I thought maybe I should have added a little more peppermint extract.  But then I had another one after dinner and realized it was just right.  I only baked one batch, putting the rest in the freezer but I'm already tempted to bake more. 

Enjoy! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of baking Soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract
1 cup of chopped semi sweet chocolate - I used Ghiradelli

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and peppermint extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chopped chocolate by hand.  Preheat the oven to 375F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Scoop out well rounded teaspoon of the dough and roll them into balls.  I used tiny ice cream scoop which I love for chocolate chip cookies!

Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing.

Today's Post Sponsored by the Letter C

This week marked the 40th Anniversary of my childhood favorite television show, Sesame Street.  I can't believe that not only is it still on the air, but most of the original actors are still there as well.  My favorite character is Ernie.  I always thought Ernie and Bert were like me and my sister Roxanne.  I was Bert and my sassy little sister was Ernie.  Like Bert, I was way taller than my sister (Ernie) and we shared a bedroom with twin beds.  So similar, right? =)  As I got older, Ernie's place as my favorite was replaced by Strawberry Shortcake, who was replaced by My Melody who was replaced by Smurfette who was replaced by Mickey Mouse who has been replaced by no one (you should see my kitchen).

This show taught me about professions (who are the people in your neighborhood), other languages (okay I think I only learned the word agua but I never forgot it [smile]) and that your imaginary friends can be real to you (Mr. Snuffleupagus).  I hope it is still on the air fifty years from now when I have children (just kidding mom).  Happy Birthday Sesame Street.

So cookie monster, here's some cookies just for you!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Recipe from Williams Sonoma online

Ingredients:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Put the confectioners' sugar into a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. [Note:  my butter and sugar would not cream.  This may be because I halved the recipe or my bowl was too big.  Either way, it did not have a negative impact on the cookies.]  Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add 1 egg and beat on medium speed until blended. Add the other egg and vanilla and beat until blended.

Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended.

Using a teaspoon, scoop up a rounded spoonful of dough. Scrape the dough off the spoon into the palm of your other hand. Roll the dough into a ball. Roll the ball in the confectioners' sugar until covered.

Place the balls on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart.

When 1 baking sheet is full, put it in the oven and bake the cookies until they are crackled and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Using a metal spatula, move the cookies onto the rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.

Enjoy!

TWD - Peach Crisps

This is another quick and easy recipe - Dorie Greenspan's Cran-Apple Peach Crisp.  Since I was only making 1 serving, I was determined to use ingredients I already had in my kitchen (I'm also pretty appled out.)  So I substituted peaches for the apples and instead of ground ginger, I used ground nutmeg in the topping.  Okay I will use nutmeg in anything but nutmeg is a nice complement to peaches.

I also didn't bother to whip out the food processor choosing instead to use my hand mixer and then my hands to mix together the topping (sans coconut).

It took less than 10 minutes to put together!  The taste is great.  I love peaches.  The topping was a bit buttery but I think that was an error on my part in reducing the recipe.

This week's recipe was chosen by Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef.   Nice choice Em!  To see what other TWD bakers cooked up this week, check out the blogroll.