Black Magic Chocolate Mint Cookies

I made these cookies recently for a church meeting. Everyone was raving about them and asking for the recipe.  This is actually the second time I've made these but the first time I didn't feel like sharing them with anyone.  I didn't even want to blog about it.  But I discovered, these are too good not to share.

only the best

Lately I've noticed that most of my recipes I'm using are from other food blogs.  This one I found in a random food blog search.  Une Gamine dans la Cuisine.  I have no idea what it means but to me it means a little taste of heaven to have found these cookies.

the secret ingredient

Most of the time when I find a recipe, I almost always make some changes.  This is one recipe I followed exactly, even down to the brand names of the products.  It just works just like it is.  I will warn you...these cookies are not for children or the faint of heart.  They aren't very sweet (surprisingly) but they are very very rich!! And absolutely divine!

swirling the dry ingredients together

Definitely check out the recipe on her blog.  Her pictures are way better and really show off how amazing these cookies really are!

lots of flour and sugar make good cookies

very thick

and very gooey

Black Magic Chocolate Mint Cookies (adapted from Love from the Oven)
*print me*
Ingredients1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of coarse salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup (that's 2 sticks) of cold butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract (optional)
2 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli's 60% cacao chips)
Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)



MethodIn a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until well combined, light, and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the peppermint extract (if using).
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Use your hands to work in any remaining streaks of flour. (Note: This is a very thick dough, so don't over strain your mixer.)
Using a large spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
Divide it into 12 4-ounce portions. (Note: If you don't have a scale, just eyeball it).
Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten slightly. Place them onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 1 1/2-inches between each cookie. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt (if using).
Bake for 16-18 minutes. (Note: There really is no visual clue as to when these cookies are done, just don't over bake them. Mine were perfect after only 14 minutes, but I prefer mine to be very chewy.)
Allow them to rest on the cookies sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 cookies 

cookie balls waiting to go in the oven

these are chocolate cookies, I swear!

The only thing I did do a little differently: refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.  I'm not very patient when it comes to this kind of thing. I only waited about 4 hours and it was fine. You just want the dough to be cold enough so its not so sticky. You could do without the peppermint too but I feel it really adds an extra dimension to the yumminess of these cookies.

decadent and heavenly

Chocolate Bark Treats

Chocolate bark makes a nice treat to have as a quick snack or to give as gifts.  Its very easy to make and there are so many options for flavors and add-ins.  You can even make healthy versions!

I found this basic recipe in the December issue of Health magazine.  The ingredients they had listed are as follows:  3/4 cups dried cherries, 1/2 up unsalted pistachios, 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger, 7 oz dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids) chopped into chunks.

Combine cherries, pistachios, and ginger in a medium bowl.  Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil, chill pan.  Melt chocolate in double boiler or the microwave, stirring frequently.  Stir in half of fruit mixture and spread into prepared pan.  Using a rubber spatula, spread chocolate evenly onto baking sheet.  Immediately sprinkle remaining fruit mixture evenly over top of chocolate.  Chill about 10 minutes.  Break into pieces and serve.

Now there are definitely a ton of modifications you can make to this.  First of all, you can certainly leave out the ginger.  It can be hard to find and also it can have a strong flavor that you may not want.  No big deal to leave it out.  I made this version minus the ginger and it was great. And when I couldn't find pistachios, I substituted chopped walnuts instead.

I also wanted to make another version that didn't involve nuts, as I've mentioned there are several people in my family with nut allergies.  So I came up with the idea of using coconut (which is a fruit, not a nut) and pretzel sticks to give it a sweet/salty flavor like nuts would have done.

You can also use any kind of chocolate...milk, semi-sweet, even white chocolate.  As long as it melts, you're good.  As for toppings, the possibilities are endless.  Using unsalted nuts of any kind with dried fruit of any kind will help keep it on the healthier end.  You could also probably melt in some peanut butter into the chocolate for a more decadent version.  For other mix-ins, you can use peppermint (great for Christmas), granola or any kind of cereal (hmm, I wonder what fruit loops would be like?), marshmallows and graham crackers for a smores effect...I could go on and on. 

And in 10-15 minutes you have a great home-made treat to share with friends or eat for yourself!

Peppermint Brownie Cups

I'm not a huge fan of peppermint but when its in a dessert paired with chocolate, I can easily make an exception.  I've made these for a couple holiday events this season and they are so easy to do.  And very yummy, especially if you like chocolate and peppermint.

This recipe is originally from a Pampered Chef cookbook called Celebrate and they are originally called Tuxedo Brownie cups.  But I made just a couple changes to make them a little more festive for Christmas.

The brownie cups themselves are just a packaged fudge brownie mix plus the ingredients to make cakelike brownies (usually 1/4 water, 2/3 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs).  Mix the brownie batter like you normally would for brownies.  Then using a mini muffin pan, put a small scoop of brownie batter in each cup, filling about 2/3 full.  Bake for 14 minutes, until edges are set.  Remove from oven to a cooling rack.  Immediately press tops of brownies with a mini tart shaper (or the back of a small spoon or even your thumb) to make indentations.  Let brownies cool completely.

For the topping, melt 2 ounces of white chocolate with 2 TBSP milk for about 1 minute in the microwave.  In a separate bowl, combine 1-8oz package of softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Mix well, then gradually stir in the melted white chocolate mixture until smooth.  Fold in 1 cup whipped topping like Cool Whip. For the peppermint version, I also added about a teaspoon of peppermint extract.

If you have a Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator with a star decorating tip, it makes life so much easier for things like this.  If you don't, you'll want something like a icing/decorating bag and a decorating star tip that you attach to it.  Otherwise, you could just use a spoon too but it may not look as pretty.

easy accent decorator from Pampered Chef

So fill your decorator or icing bag or whatever with the topping and pipe out a small dollop on top of each brownie cup.  The original version decorated each cup with a slice of strawberry and a mint leaf.  For my peppermint version I sprinkled crushed peppermint candies.  You could also drizzle with melted chocolate for either version! Then they suggest refrigerating them 1-3 hours before serving.

This recipe makes about 4 dozen and it can easily be halved or doubled for however many you need.  The brownie cups can be made up to 1 day ahead but the topping should not be made until you're ready to pipe it as it will become too hard to decorate with after being in the refrigerator. And a little side note: make sure you grease and flour the muffin pan before putting the batter in.  They can get a little sticky!

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas.  Its evening, the presents have all been opened and so much food was eaten, everyone's relaxing into their comfy pj's and getting ready for bed.  I have so much I want to blog about so I'm hoping to have lots of blogging time over this next week off. But one post at a time...

For today, here's a run down of how our day went.  First hubby and I wake up around 8am, and spend a little time just the 2 of us before the craziness begins.  We opened a couple gifts for each other.  He got me a nice electric tea kettle, which I can't wait to use. And I got him a starter sushi-making kit.  We stop to notice a few snow flurries outside! So pretty! Then we gather up gifts to take to my in-laws house a few streets away.

can you see the tiny snowflakes??

When we arrive, kids are running everywhere, the TV's playing Charlie Brown's New Years, and the kitchen is bustling with activity.  We start by digging in to our traditional Christmas treat...monkey bread!!  We can't have Christmas without it!  So much ooey gooey goodness wrapped in sweet bread and sugar and cinnamon and, of course, tons of melted butter!!

luscious monkey bread

Then we do presents...fun but total chaos!  This year is my youngest niece's 1st Christmas.  Boy, did she make out with the presents!  After presents, more eating, with cheese and ham quiches and cheesy hash brown casserole.

Now its time to run home to grab gifts and food for my family, who live an hour away.  Over the river (almost) and through the woods on top of a mountain (literally), we arrive at my parents house, greeted by their 2 big golden retrievers.  Here again, we feast.  There's only 5 of us but between my mom and I we make enough food for about 20 people. 

Here's what our dinner consisted of...(some of these menu items will be posted with recipes in subsequent blogs to come)...

*cheesy crab bisque

*vegetable beef soup

*cheese and sausage/venison bites

*fancy cheese plate

*garlic and old bay shrimp

*hot crab dip

*venison meatballs

*peppermint brownie cups
*pineapple rum spice cake
*hot wassail

Needless to say, we won't be lacking any leftovers for a couple days. 

After stuffing our faces, we opened a few small gifts and then chatted by the fire, while sipping our wassails and enjoying one another's company.  Now we're back home and the day is done. Another Christmas come and gone.  And we are so abundantly blessed that the Lord has given us such a wonderful family and nice gifts to enjoy!!