food instead of her adorable little new baby???}
I am sure that is what my family and some of my closest friends are thinking, but yes, it is Friday and I have some super fun recipes that I wanted to share before the holiday season was gone. And I might sneak in another post later today because I can’t help myself!
Let me just start off with the best holiday discover ever. Ande’s Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips! Head over to your local store and pick up a couple of bags because they are limited during the holidays. The first time I saw them, I didn’t have a recipe in mind, but then it came to me…Cake Mix Cookies. These are so simple they almost make themselves and do the dishes after!
Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
{Yields 16 cookies}
Cake Mix Cookie Recipe
1/2 bag Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
Mix together cookie recipe and roll into balls. Hold dough ball in one hand while piling on the chips with the other. You will need to push them in slightly or else they will fall off. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes. You don’t want to bake them too long or else your chips will get too brown.
*These would also be fun with the regular Andes mint crumbles, but I love how festive the red and white ones are. You will definitely want to make a double batch because you will have eaten most of the first batch yourself!
I have had this next recipe for over a year. I used it to make these cookies last year. I wanted to make some “fun” cookies to decorate with Liam this season and I cannot make a sugar cookie to save my life. My first thought was to make actual gingerbread men. Even though I like the taste, I didn’t want to try a new recipe and have it not work out then be stuck with a million cookies. And, gingerbread is not necessarily a kid friendly flavor. That is when this recipe came to mind. It is super delicious and tastes kinda of like brownies. How could you not like that? I bought a gingerbread man cookie cutter and Liam and I went to town. I actually made them for all the cousins at Thanksgiving time, but the adults gobbled them up too! The blog I found the recipe from is no longer available.
Chocolate “Gingerbread” “People” Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
powdered sugar for rolling
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and powdered sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Combine in vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture a little at a time. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. Transfer dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and form into a log. Cover and chill for 30 minutes or up to 4 days. Preheat oven to 400 and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out cookies for 1/2 inch thick and cut into shapes. Transfer shapes to cookie sheet and cook 7-8 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack. I frosted mine with a butter cream frosting, but you could also use a royal icing.
