Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until tops are cracked. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Drop a teaspoonful of marshmallow creme into the center of each cookie. Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Immediately sprinkle with candies. Place on waxed paper and let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• For the cookie dough: Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of parchment or into a medium bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour mixture in 2 batches until just incorporated. Remove half of the dough, shape into a rectangle, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• For the filling: Add the cocoa powder to the remaining dough and use your hands to knead it in until completely combined. Shape the chocolate dough into a rectangle, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate with for 30 minutes.
• Roll each dough piece between 2 pieces of parchment to a roughly 11-by-8-inch rectangle. Refrigerate the rolled dough for an additional 20 minutes.
• Stack the vanilla dough on top of the chocolate, then peel away all of the parchment except the piece on the bottom of the chocolate dough. Use the parchment to help roll the dough into a tight spiral to form a tight log. Cover the log in plastic wrap and freeze until solid, 1 to 2 hours.
• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Cut 1/4 inch off each end of the log with a sharp knife to reveal the swirled pattern. Slice the log into 1/4-inch-thick slices, about 34 total. Divide the slices between the prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the cooking time, until the tops of the cookies are no longer tacky, about 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• For the add-ins: Once the cookies are cooled, microwave the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 15 seconds, until completely melted. Dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate, then sprinkle or dip in the crushed peppermint candies. Allow the chocolate to set before serving.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in eggs, vanilla and espresso powder. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half., Preheat oven to 350°. Roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Cut with floured 3-in. snowflake cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For icing, in a large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, shortening, schnapps and enough water to reach a spreading consistency. If desired, add 4 drops food coloring to the inside a of pastry bag fitted with a small star tip. Decorate cookies as desired. Let stand at room temperature until frosting is dry and firm.