Peppermint Mocha Cookies
I thought that having it all was really, truly possible. I thought that being a wife, a mom, and a producer and being content with all three was totally possible. But after doing it for 6 years, I'm slowly starting to realize that, it's really not. At least not for me. It feels like not being able to pay attention to each one of the those jobs at any one given point. It's hard to focus, it's hard to enjoy the moment. I'm constantly thinking about the next thing I have to do. I realized this as I was putting my kids to bed. I'm supposed to be enjoying this one on one moment with my daughter. Cuddling with her, talking to her about her day (which I missed because I was at work), asking about her friends (who I've never met because I'm at work), but I can't enjoy it. Instead I'm rushing through it thinking about emailing my co workers back who are on the Left coast. These moments are so fleeting, yet I just don't have the capacity to enjoy it. There's no time left for savoring these them, and theres really nothing I can do to change it. Is there? I know people say to live in the moment, and be more present, but how do you do that when you're balancing mom life with work life, and for some reason I added on top of that... food blogger life? It's three separate lives pulled into one person. Granted I'm lucky to have the ability to multitask pretty well (it's the only way I can get everything done) but it also has me thinking of the next thing on my list constantly. And one of those things is baking the next tasty treat for this blog. It's both a win and lose, I suppose.
Being a parent means doing things you don't want to do most of the time. It means needing caffeine or alcohol and very specific times of the day. And it means, you can really use these peppermint mocha cookies. Inspired by my favorite holiday coffee drink, these taste just like it, in cookie form! Need I say more?
These cookies all started with a chocolate cranberry cookie from Martha Stewart that I discovered last year. The cookie is deeply chocolaty because it uses both melted chocolate and good cocoa powder. To this I added espresso powder for that kick and peppermint extract to really bring the holidays home.
The Recipe starts by melting the chocolate. I do this over a double boiler to melt the chocolate gently. Set this side. Cream the butter and sugars, add in the eggs, and flavorings and beat in the melted chocolate. Add in your dry ingredients and mix to combine. Once it becomes a cohesive dough, fold in the extra chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.
Using a medium cookie scoop, I dropped the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and topped them with more candy cane pieces. Bake these for about 12 minutes. Once they come out of the oven I like to top them with more candy cane pieces (seems like overkill but I like to really drive home the point- its the holidays after all!) And allow them to cool on a wire rack.
These are so packed with Peppermint mocha flavor you won't really need a cup of coffee to go with these. Maybe just a glass of cold milk! I hope you enjoy these this holiday season and don't forget to follow me on Instagram and twitter for more recipes and pics!
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
*adapted from Martha Stewart
Yields 27 cookies
Ingredients
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 6 oz semi sweet chocolate
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 3 large candy canes crushed, plus some for topping the cookies
- 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over pot of simmering water. Stir until melted; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking, powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs vanilla, espresso powder and peppermint extract; beat until combined. Beat in melted chocolate.
With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and crushed candy cane pieces.
Using a medium cookie scoop, drop dough 3 inches apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake cookies until edges are dry and tops are cracked, 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Once done, take the reserved crushed candy canes and sprinkle them on top of the warm cookies. Let stand on sheets 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.