Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Candy Cane Murder

Preheat your oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.

* Melt the butter and the chocolate squares together, mix thoroughly, and set them on the counter to cool. You can do this in a microwave-safe bowl for 3 minutes on HIGH, or in a pan over low heat on the stovetop. *(I do it by microwave in a Pyrex one-quart measuring cup.)*

**Hannah's 1st Note:** *If you like a strong peppermint flavor, use 2 teaspoons of vanilla and one teaspoon of peppermint extract instead of the Tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of vanilla extract that's called for in the recipe.*

* In a large bowl, combine the white sugar and the eggs. Beat the mixture until it's a uniform pale yellow color.
* Add the baking soda and salt. Mix them in well.
* Mix in the corn syrup, water, and the vanilla.

**Hannah's 2nd Note:** *Whenever I measure something sticky like corn syrup, maple syupr, or honey, I spray my measuring cup with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray first. Then the sticky stuff slides right out and it's easy to wash the cup.*

* Add half of the flour to your bowl. *(That's 2 cups.)* Mix it in. Then add the remaining flour *(that's 2 cups)* and mix thoroughly.
* Give the bowl a final stir by hand, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest on the counter while you spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and crush your candy canes.

**Hannah's 3rd Note:** *I unwrap my candy canes, stick them in a heavy plastic bag, and hit them with a little rubber mallet I got from Dad's hardware store before we sold it. Lisa says she does hers almost the same way, except she puts a board over the bag and bangs on the board with a hammer. Any way you want to crush the candy is fine—just be really careful with hammers and mallets if you have ceramic tile counters. You can also break the candy canes in pieces with your hands and then pulverize them in a food processor with the steel blade. (Read your instruction manual to make sure the food processor you have will handle a task like this.)*

*I probably shouldn't tell you this, but last summer when Andrea, Michelle, and I were staying out at Mother's lake cottage, we couldn't find a hammer, so I put the candy canes in a triple layer of plastic bags and Michelle backed over them several times with the car. (It worked.)*

* Measure out a quarter cup of finely crushed candy canes and place them in a small bowl. Add a quarter cup white granulated sugar and mix it all up with a fork. *(The goal is to get equal amounts of sugar and crushed candy cane on each of the dough balls that you'll make.)*
* Roll the dough into one-inch diameter balls with your hands. This dough may be sticky, so roll only enough for the cookies you plan to bake immediately and then put the bowl in the refrigerator.
* Roll the dough balls in the bowl of topping and place them on the greased cookie sheet, 12 balls to a standard sheet. Flatten slightly with a metal spatula or the heel of your impeccably clean hand.
* Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool them on the cookie sheet for a minute and then remove the cookies to a wire rack to complete cooling. *(If you leave them on the cookie sheet for more than a minute, they may stick. It's not the sugar—it's the crushed candy canes. They melt and then stick to your baking sheets.)*

**Yield:** approximately 8 dozen yummy cookies

## Conversion Charts

See Baking Conversion Chart for non-USA baking conversions.