Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
Dark chocolate cookies studded with peppermint bark pieces and topped with squares of peppermint bark for a truly festive, decadent cookie.
Yield: about 15-16 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups / 218 g all-purpose flour
- ½ cup / 45 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder*, sifted
- 1 tablespoon / 10 g dry milk powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter
- 10 tablespoons / 142 g unsalted butter
- 1 cup / 155 g packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup / 100 granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract, or, if using oil-based flavoring, a few drops to taste
- 10 ounces / 300 g peppermint bark
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, sifted cocoa powder, milk powder, baking soda, instant espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat, or in the microwave in short intervals at 50% power. You want it just melted, not hot and sputtering.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and white sugar. Add melted butter and stir until smooth.
- Add egg and mix with a whisk or spatula until smooth and emulsified, then mix in vanilla and peppermint extracts.
- Add dry ingredients and gently mix with a large spatula until flour is almost nearly incorporated. Fold in chopped peppermint bark until evenly distributed.
- Use a large cookie scoop to form 2-inch balls (approximately 60-65g each). Place on prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the ball of your hand to make a puck-like shape (this makes for a more even spread without a big 'hump' in the middle). Repeat, leaving 2 inches apart on baking sheet (you should be able to fit 6-8 max on one sheet).
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies have spread evenly and tops are no longer raw looking (but they won't be completely matte yet, you don't want to over-bake these cookies).
- Immediately after removing from oven, optionally swirl a large round cookie cutter around the edges of the cookies to perfect the circular shape. Then, while the cookies are still hot, lightly press a square of peppermint bark into the top of each one. Let cool on cookie sheets for 10 additional minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or wrapped and bagged in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
- * I used mostly Dutch process cocoa, with a few tablespoons of black cocoa for a deeper color and flavor (approximately 30g Dutch process and 15g black cocoa). Don't use all black cocoa though or the cookies will be overly dry.