Receta Chocolate & Peppermint Candy Cane Wedding Cookies Recipe
by Cookin Canuck

With only eight days until Christmas, my two boys have taken to checking the NORAD Santa Tracker in hopes that Santa may have left his cozy workshop at the North Pole a little earlier than usual. They are intrigued by the Santa Tracker…”How do they know where Santa is?” “Does Santa let them put a GPS tracker on his sleigh?” “I can’t believe he gets to all of the places so quickly…those reindeer must be supersonic!” Leading up to Christmas Eve, the site gives updates on Santa’s activities. Yesterday, he apparently took a break from toy-making and cookie-sampling duties to take Mrs. Claus for a little spin around the kitchen. Delivers toys and charms children the world over, plus he’s a great dancer? The guy can do it all.

One of our favorite traditions each year is the reading of The Grinch and The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. With their heads full of sugarplums, the kids then trundle over to the hearth, hang their stockings on the mantle, and lay out the treats for Santa and the reindeer. The reindeer are treated to carrots, with the biggest one being saved for Rudolph. He needs extra help to keep that nose glowing brightly. Santa get a selection of Christmas cookies and a big glass of milk. As is our tradition, the boys leave Santa some of Grandma’s spritz cookies, but maybe this year they will include one of these chocolate and peppermint cookies as well. With a crisp texture, like Louisiana Butterscotch & Pecan Ball Cookies, these take on a wedding cookie are filled with the flavors of Christmas. Perhaps Santa will linger at our house a little longer to enjoy his treats.

The recipe:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Turn the mixer to medium speed until the mixture is just blended.

Place high-quality bittersweet (60% cocoa) chocolate chips in a metal bowl set over a bowl of simmering water, stirring until the chips are melted. Let the melted chips cool for 4 to 5 minutes and then add to the butter mixture.

Beat on medium speed until blended. Stir in candy cane pieces.

Using a scant 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie, shape the dough into balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart.

Bake the cookies until they are pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, switching the position of the pans halfway through baking. Let the cookies stand on baking sheets for about 30 minutes. Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Working with a few cookies at a time, roll the cookies in the powdered sugar until coated. Lightly brush off an clumps of powdered sugar that may form.

Set cookies on racks to cool completely.

Other cookies with peppermint and chocolate:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Chocolate & Peppermint Bark Cookies
Cookin’ Canuck’s Triple Chocolate Mint Cookies
Back to the Cutting Board’s Mint-Chocolate Bottom Shortbread Cookies
Two Peas and Their Pod’s Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies
My Baking Addiction’s Mint Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate & Peppermint Candy Cane Wedding Cookies
1 cup (1/2 lb.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, divided
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup high-quality bittersweet (60% cocoa) chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed candy cane pieces