Double Chocolate Cookies with a Peppermint Patty Surprise

This gorgeous cookie comes to us courtesy of the December 2011 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray.  This was the first recipe I bookmarked to try from that issue and it did not disappoint.

I made them on the weekend and have to admit I was thrilled when I saw that Deborah of Taste and Tell made them first, as she made it much easier for me. 

These are a bit tricky to make.  First of all, I found the dough to be extremely dry.  I had to get in there with my hands and work the mixture into a ball so I could wrap it and chill it.  It simply wasn't going to come together otherwise.

Secondly, encasing the peppermint patty in the dough would have been a pain in the butt if not for Deborah coming to the rescue.  She suggests (and I agree) breaking the dough into 24 balls.  Then break each ball in half and make two flat discs.  Put a peppermint patty in the center of two of the discs and wrap the dough around the patty.  Make sure the peppermint patty is completely encased in the dough or it will leak out.  All I can say is thank you Deborah!  I had no problems whatsoever with the cookies leaking.  They came out perfect as you can see from the pics and were quite easy to make following Deborah's instructions.

Not to mention they taste wonderful.  Who can resist a chocolate cookie and a peppermint patty all rolled into one? 

These are a perfect Christmas cookie.  They look lovely and taste even better.

Enjoy!

I want to take this time to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  This will be my last post for 2011.  I'm taking a little blogging break to enjoy the holidays, but I'll be back in the New Year with some delicious (hopefully!) new recipes.  See you then!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Double Chocolate Cookies with a Peppermint Patty Surprise
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 egg

24 miniature (about 1 1/2-inch) peppermint patties, such as York, unwrapped and chilled

6 oz. white chocolate (not chips), chopped

peppermint candy canes or peppermint candies, crushed or finely chopped

Using an electric mixer, beat the flour, cocoa powder, both sugars, salt and baking soda on low speed. Beat in the butter, then the egg (my dough was very dry and did not want to come together so I had to use my hands to work it into a ball). Turn out the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk; seal.  Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment.  Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, use your fingers to evenly encase each peppermint patty with dough (make sure peppermint patty is completely encased in dough so it won't ooze out when baking).  Place on the prepared pans and smooth the dough with your fingers.  Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until just firm to the touch, about 15 minutes (watch the time, they may not need the entire 15 minutes).  Remove the pans from the oven and let cool slightly.  Transfer the cookies on the parchment to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a double boiler or small, heatproof bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt half of the white chocolate, stirring until melted.  Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining white chocolate until smooth.  Using a large spoon, drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies.  Sprinkle immediately with the crushed peppermint candies.  Let set completely before serving or storing.

Makes about 24.

Source:  Every Day with Rachael Ray - December 2011 

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