Chocolate Mint Cookies

Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

## Ingredients

* 1 and ½ cups salted butter ***(3 sticks, 12 ounces, ¾ pound)***
* 2 cups cocoa powder ***(unsweetened—I used Hershey's)***
* 2 cups brown sugar ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon mint extract
* 3 large eggs, beaten ***(Just whip them up in a glass with a fork)***
* 3 cups flour ***(not sifted—pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 1 cup mini chocolate chips ***(½ of an 11 or 12-ounce bag)***
* ½ cup white granulated sugar in a small bowl ***(for later)***
* 1 large bag Mini York Peppermint Patties ***(for later)***

**Hannah's 1st Note: This recipe is easiest if you use an electric mixer, but it can also be mixed by hand.**

## Directions

* DO NOT preheat oven yet. This dough must chill before baking.
* Place the 3 sticks of salted butter in a microwave-safe container. ***(I used a quart Pyrex measuring cup with a spout.)***
* Heat the butter on HIGH for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for an additional minute and stir it with a heat-resistant spatula to see if it has melted. If it hasn't heat it on HIGH for another 20 seconds, let it sit for 20 seconds, and stir it again. Repeat in 20-second intervals until your butter is melted.
* Pour the melted butter in the bottom of a mixing bowl.
* Add the cocoa powder and mix it in.
* Mix in the 2 cups of brown sugar. Make sure the brown sugar is completely incorporated.

**Hannah's 2nd Note: If your brown sugar has hard lumps in it, remove the lumps, then add more brown sugar until you have a full 2 cups.**

* Add the baking soda and salt to your mixing bowl. Mix until they are completely combined.
* Add the vanilla extract and the mint extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
* Feel the sides of the mixing bowl. If the contents are so hot that it might cook the eggs if you add them now, let everything cool to slightly above room temperature.
* If you haven't yet beaten the eggs, put them in a glass and whip them up until they are completely blended. ***(I still use a fork from my silverware bowl to do this the way my great-grandmother Elsa used to do.)***
* Add the beaten eggs to your mixing bowl. Mix them in thoroughly.
* Add the flour to your mixing bowl in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: If you're using an electric mixer and you add all the flour at once, it will poof out all over your counter and floor when you turn on the mixer.**

* Once the flour has been thoroughly incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a butter spatula and take the bowl out of the mixer.
* Set the bowl on your counter and give it another stir.
* Add the cup of mini chocolate chips and stir them in by hand. Make sure they're evenly distributed.
* Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. ***(Overnight is fine, too.)***
* Once your cookie dough has chilled and you're ready to bake, take the bowl out of the refrigerator.
* Preheat the oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.
* While your oven is preheating, prepare your cookie sheets by either spraying them with Pam or another cooking spray or lining them with parchment paper.
* Roll the Chocolate Mint Cookie dough into walnut-sized balls with your impeccably clean hands.
* Working one dough ball at a time, roll the dough balls in the bowl of white sugar and place the balls on your prepared cookie sheets, 12 to a standard sheet.

**Hannah's 4th Note: This dough may be sticky, so roll only enough cookie dough balls for the cookies you plan to bake immediately and return the bowl to the refrigerator.**

* Flatten the dough balls a bit with a metal spatula ***(or with the heel of your hand if the health board's not around).***
* Press one Peppermint Pattie in the center of each cookie.
* Bake your cookies at 350°F for 10 minutes.
* Take your cookie sheets out of the oven and cool the cookies on their cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes.
* When the cookies have cooled for a bit, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to metal cooling racks on your counter. If you leave them on the cookie sheets for too long, they may stick and fall apart when you try to transfer them.

**Hannah's 5th Note: If you used parchment paper, let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets a bit and then pull the parchment paper, cookies and all, over to the cooling racks. (Don't forget to use oven mitts or pot holders to do this! Metal cookie sheets take longer than 1 or 2 minute to cool enough to handle with your hands.)**

Yield: 4 to 5 dozen deliciously minty cookies that everyone who enjoys chocolate-covered mints will love.

**Hannah's 6th Note: Chocolate Mint Cookies are a big favorite at The Cookie Jar, especially around the Christmas season. Be sure, however, to serve them with tall glasses of icy cold milk, cups of strong coffee, or mugs or hot chocolate.**