Chocolate Peppermint Hearts Recipes

Steps:

• Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined. With an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat together the butter, 3/4 cup shortening, sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl until fluffy; beat in the eggs, 1/4 cup milk, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, about 1 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a soft dough. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, cover, and chill for 1 hour in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To make filling, melt 1 3/4 cups of milk chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening in the top of a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water. Stir the mixture until very smooth, and remove the filling from the heat to cool and slightly thicken.
• Remove one piece of cookie dough from refrigerator at a time, and working on a floured surface, roll the cookie dough out 1/8-inch thick, and cut out 120 hearts (total) with a 2 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place half the hearts onto ungreased baking sheets. Carefully spread those hearts with about a teaspoon of the chocolate filling, avoiding the edges, and top each with another heart cookie. Gently pinch the edges of both cookies together to enclose the filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets before removing to finish cooling on racks.
• For peppermint drizzle, mix together the confectioners' sugar, 1 drop of peppermint extract (to taste), red food coloring to your desired shade of pink or red, and milk as needed in a bowl to make a smooth, thin icing. For chocolate drizzle, melt 1/4 cup of milk chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening over hot (not boiling) water in a double boiler; stir and heat until the mixture is thin enough to drip in strings from a spoon.
• Drizzle each cooled cookie with a little peppermint drizzle on one side, and a little chocolate drizzle on the other. Let the cookies stand so the drizzle sets, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Stir together confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, 1 tablespoon water, peppermint extract, and butter until a dough forms. Transfer to a work surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar and knead until smooth, dusting dough with more sugar as necessary, until no longer sticky. Form into a flat disk, place between two pieces of parchment, and roll out to a 1/4-inch-thick round. Remove top piece of parchment and generously dust with confectioners' sugar. Replace parchment and flip. Remove parchment from other side and generously dust with confectioners' sugar. Stamp out shapes with a 1 1/2-to-2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer cutouts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather scraps, reroll, and stamp out more hearts. Let stand, uncovered, until hard and dry, about 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Balance one heart on a fork, with tip of heart facing end of tines. Dip into chocolate until fully submerged; lift up and gently shake fork back and forth to remove excess chocolate. Scrape bottom of fork against side of bowl to remove any remaining excess chocolate. Tilt handleof fork upward and allow heart to gently slide onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining hearts and chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is hard and dry, about 1 hour. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 month.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer beat together the butter with the sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla. On a low speed beat in the flour mixture a little at a time. Gently mix in chocolate chips.
• On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop teaspoons of the batter about 2 inches apart. Bake until just cracked on top, about 8 to10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. Cool completely.
• For the glaze: In a small bowl mix together the sugar; mint extract and water until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium resealable plastic bag and snip off the corner. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Let cookies stand until set, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar, and salt and heat over medium-low heat. When the cream mixture just begins to steam, add the chopped chocolate, and stir, until melted. Stir in the peppermint oil. Divide the hot chocolate among mugs and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Steps:

• Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. Arrange candy canes on waxed paper in groups of 2 with ends touching to form heart shapes.
• In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave candy coating uncovered on Medium (50%) 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking time, until softened. Stir until melted and smooth.
• Spoon or pipe candy coating into centers of hearts to fill spaces. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Cool 30 minutes or until set.