And on the Fourth Day of Christmas Cookies …I found some Andes Candies!

Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

Taken from Burghilicious– They just look so amazing.  The recipe can also be found in Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented.

For the cookies

•  2 ounces dark chocolate
•  2 ounces mint chocolate or Andes mint chocolate candies
•  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
•  3/4 teaspoon salt
•  1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature
•  1/3 cup granulated sugar
•  2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
•  2 egg yolks
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1 cup coarse sugar for rolling

 For the mint ganache

•  3 ounces high-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
•  3 tablespoons heavy cream
•  1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
  

  Olive Garden should give these out instead of Andes Candies!

   

 Melt together the dark and mint chocolate in the microwave using 30 second bursts. Whisk until smooth, and then set aside to cool.

 In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the white and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and continue beating until combined. Add the cooled chocolate and mix gently until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then add the flour-cocoa mixture. Mix on a low speed until the dough is smooth, but only just. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap it up and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

 When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and let the dough soften on a counter for a few minutes if it got really hard. Pour the coarse sugar into a shallow bowl and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

 Form tablespoon-size dough balls, taking care that they have no lumps or cracks, and try to make them all the same size. (A cookie scoop is awesome here.) Roll each ball in coarse sugar and place it on the cookie sheet. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make an indentation in the center of each cookie.

 Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the sheets from the oven and re-make the indentations (aren’t you glad you used that wooden spoon and not your actual thumb!) Swap and rotate the cookie sheets when you return them to the oven for an additional 4-5 minutes. Pull the cookies out of the oven at the very first sign of cracking and cool completely on a wire rack.

 To make the mint ganache, put the white chocolate in a glass measuring cup with a pour spout. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave until it boils, about 30 seconds. Pour the heavy cream over the white chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the peppermint extract. Use the measuring cup to fill the thumbprints with the ganache and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate and Mint! Yum!!

 These cookies freeze beautifully and thaw in minutes. …..if you can get them to the freezer!