Holiday Cookie Countdown: Peppermint Oreo-doodles

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It’s December!!! Please ignore the fact that I did not post a single recipe in November. That has never happened before. I usually plan ahead and have all my November posts done early so I can focus on testing for this holiday series. But holy crap, I had a November y’all. I thought I had pulled a muscle in my leg while moving a while back but it just wasn’t getting better. A zillion doc appointments, xrays and 1 MRI later we realized I had torn some cartilage in my hip. Yowza. So it was slow going for me. BUT, it is feeling so much better and I’m back to exercising and running around like a crazy person and so here we are. Welcome to my favorite blog series of the year. I’ve been baking since October (with my gimp hip) to narrow down my cookie recipes to the best 12. I kept everything a secret and I have to tell you it’s almost as hard as keeping your pregnancy a secret for those first 12 weeks.

Oh, who am I kidding? I never kept my pregnancy secret for 12 weeks.

Anyhoo, I have been dying to share these with you. I made them all once (along with about 20 others) and shared them with family and friends to get opinions. Then, when I had narrowed them down, I sent the top 15 recipes to friends and had them make the cookies. This ensures the recipes are user-friendly and work with varying equipment/ovens/skill levels etc. Then we made edits and narrowed them down to 12 together.

This whole process is seriously one of the most fun things I do all year. Have I been eating peppermint and chocolate since October? Yes, I have. Did my children ask me not to bake cookies on Halloween so they could have “one day without the house smelling like food?” Yes they did. But I love coming up with these twelve awesome recipes so much because I know they will be a part of your special holiday celebration, and there’s something magical about knowing I get to be part of lots of holiday memories. It’s an honor.

(Unless it goes badly. Then let’s pretend we never had this conversation.)

Anyway, I always fret about which cookie to start with because, you know, it’s like choosing the team captain. The lead-off runner. The first chair (for all you band geeks). I wavered back and forth but decided to start with this one because it was my kids’ favorite. They love everything about it — from the overload of chocolate to the silly name — and they had the best time crushing all the Oreos for me.

p.s. If you want even more pepperminty flavor, sub the semisweet chocolate chips with some of the peppermint baking chips in stores now. We tried it both ways and ultimately preferred the deep chocolate flavor with the hint of peppermint dusting on the outside, but both were fantabulous.

Holiday Cookie Countdown: Peppermint Oreo-doodles

Holiday Cookie Countdown: Peppermint Oreo-doodles

Ingredients

4 ounces coarsely chopped dark or semisweet chocolate

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

2 large eggs, room temp

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

12 candy cane Oreo cookies, finely-crumbled (You can also use 36 mini oreos)

Instructions

In a microwave safe bowl, melt chopped chocolate and butter on 70% power, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly.

Place the batter into your mixer and add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined. Gradually stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill dough for one hour (up to overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls and roll each ball in the crumbled Oreos until covered.

Place balls two inches apart on silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bake for 11-14 minutes, until the cookies begin to crack. Don't overbake! I sprinkle a little more crushed Oreos over the top immediately after they come out.

Makes about 20 cookies.

http://sugarmamacooks.com/holiday-cookie-countdown-peppermint-oreo-doodles/

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