Sunday, February 22, 2009

Soft Chocolate Mint Cookies with Candy Cane



I have some leftover candy canes that I bought from after-Christmas sales. And then a friend of mine told me that she baked some candy cane cookies during Christmas to give to her friends and it was delicious. So, "Ding Dong", that's it, I can make some cookies with the candy canes that I have. I know chocolate and mint pair well together and I wanted to incorporate the candy cane with the cookies so my experiment began. As you can see, the candy cane melted while baking in the oven, nevertheless it still created a beautiful effect on the cookies.



This recipe produced soft cookies. Since a dark cocoa powder was used, it's slightly bitter with the fragrant of mint, quite refreshing actually. And the melted crushed candy canes gave a little crunch to the soft cookies. This recipe yield about 33 cookies for me. Please stay tuned for my other variation of this cookie, the hard and crunchy type, which I called my dark beauty!


Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of butter (113g), cut into 8 cubes (8 Tbsp.)
(A)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup powder sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
(B)
  • 1/2 tsp. pure peppermint extract
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
(C)
  • 1/4 cup crushed candy canes



Method:

1. In a food processor/stand mixer, add (A). Pulse to mix.

2. Add (B) and cut butter cubes. Pulse until a dough is almost formed.

3. Take a piece of plastic wrap, pour dough on it and knead a couple of times until a dough is formed. Then, roll the dough into a long log shape. Wrap and put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375'F. Unroll the plastic wrap and cut the cookie dough with a knife, about 3mm thick and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle the top with crushed candy cane. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

5. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in air-tight container.



original recipes round-up logo

I am also submitting my recipe to the Original Recipe event hosted by Lore at Culinarty. Check out others' recipes around the week of 15th.


14 comments:

Dwiana P said...

anything chocolate sounds good:) you still have candy cane? mine is all gone now.

Pearl said...

i've missed your posts! how creative - and also efficient to use leftover candy! :)

SIG said...

Wow, those look fantastic, so Christmassy :)

Family First said...

Oh! Finally a baking recipe! Love your cookies & cakes for its originality. Thanks again for sharing ya.

Beachlover said...

look so pretty wt red ribbon!! I think you should put the candy cane right away after you took the baked cookies out from oven.Then the effect of candy cane is there.I learn this from baking Kiss cookies that I have to push the choc kiss onto the cookies while it's still warm.Hope this help:)

Baking Fiend said...

the cookies are so cool! love the colours. and a great way to use up the candy canes.

pigpigscorner said...

What a great idea! THe candies give the cookies a nice touch.

Little Corner of Mine said...

Dwiana, haha yup, I still have more in my pantry. :P

Thanks Pearl. Are you a fan of my baked goods too? ;)

Thanks SIG. :)

You're welcome Family First. :) I know you'll love them.

Thanks for your tips Beachlover. I know people put it after it is baked, so I want to experiment mah. :P

Thanks baking fiend. :)

Thanks pigpigs! :)

Michelle said...

OH MY...these cookies are a MUST MAKE! So rich..so dark...so yummy! I can't wait to try these!

Anonymous said...

mmm ... sounds delicious. We don't buy any xmas cane candies in our house and we hope to keep that way so that Little One will not get addicted to it. :) The combination of chocolate and mint is divine.

Unknown said...

how cute! very christmasy hehe

daphne said...

gosh! what a great idea abt the candy cane! haha. i can never finish one candy cane actually.. but on a cookie..it might be different!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hope you like soft cookies Michelle. :)

Cooking Ninja, I don't normally buy candy cane too, but when I saw it on clearance after Christmas, I lost it. :P

Thanks Rita!

Ha Daphne, me too. I don't eat candy cane actually. But it's different when it's on a cookie. ;)

Lore said...

Dark cocoa powder and mint sounds like a winner and the crunch from the cane as an added bonus. I'd be hanging around the cookie jar all day long :D. Can't wait for the other version and thanks for sharing them with the Original Recipes Round-Up!