Okay, who am I kidding, I totally forgot that it was St. Patrick's Day today. The only green that I have on is my teeny-tiny hair rubber band. Hey—it counts!
However, I do have some delicious green cookies for you in celebration of the day. Previously I only thought of these as Christmas cookies because they're so decadent, but now I've realized that St. Patrick's Day is the PERFECT excuse to make them. So now, I get twice the fun out of these cookies because I can make them for either Christmas or St. Patrick's Day—observe:
Creme de menthe or mint + green food coloring = St. Patrick's Day
Peppermint + red food coloring + edges rolled in crushed candy cane = Christmas
You're probably wondering why I'm so crazy about these cookies; well, let me tell you, decadent isn't even a strong enough word to describe these little morsels of delight. It's cupcake-meets-ice cream sandwich-meets-cookie! The frosting of a cupcake, the coldness and sandwichyness of an ice cream sandwich, and the crumbliness and substantialness of a cookie (two, actually). These cookies combine fudgy chocolate and sugary frosting. It's delicious! It's addicting! I'm obsessed! Someone take them away before I eat them all!
You can tell I've eaten way too many cookies.
We've had this recipe for yeeeaaarrrs...once upon a time, a long, long time ago, someone (probably my mom) ripped this recipe out of Midwest Living—but it's often the oldest recipes that are the best: through the years, this recipe has persisted as a favorite of mine and my sister's, which is why I called in her help to make these the other week. I'm not going to lie, they take a lot of work! But I promise, they are so worth it.
Make these ASAP, and enjoy!
Decadent Chocolate-Mint Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients:
Chocolate Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened or unsweetened Dutch processed)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
Chocolate Glaze:
1/3 cup whipping cream
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Creme de Menthe Filling:
1/3 cup butter, softened
3 Tbs. green creme de menthe or creme de menthe syrup*
4 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Chocolate Cookies:
1. Beat butter using an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
4. Beat in as much flour as possible, then use a wooden spatula to stir in the rest of the flour by hand (this may not be necessary if you are using a stand mixer).
5. Cover dough and chill until easy to handle, 2 to 24 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Roll dough into 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch balls and place balls 2 to 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake cookies for 6 to 10 minutes (depending on size of cookies—less time for smaller cookies). Remove from oven when edges are set; the middles may be slightly underdone, but will set while cooling. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
7. While cooling, make the Chocolate Glaze and the Creme de Menthe Filling.
Creme de Menthe Filling:
1. Combine butter and creme de menthe with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating on medium speed until smooth.
3. If filling is not spreading consistency, add more creme de menthe, a little bit at a time. If filling is too loose, add more powdered sugar, a little at a time.
Chocolate Glaze:
1. In a small pot, stir whipping cream and chocolate over low heat until chocolate melts.
2. Remove from heat and let cool for about 20 minutes or until it thickens slightly.
Assembly:
1. For half of the cookies, frost the tops of them with the Chocolate Glaze. Do this spreading the Glaze on with an offset spatula or by dipping the tops of the cookies into the Glaze (you may have to reheat the Glaze a little to do this). Set cookies aside on wire rack, top sides up, until tops are set, about 30 minutes.
2. For the remaining cookies, use an offset spatula or a pastry bag to generously spread the bottoms of the cookies with the Creme de Menthe Filling.
3. For each cookie with filling, gently press a glazed cookie on top so that the filling is between the two cookies and the glaze is on the very top of the sandwich.
4. Place cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve cookies cold. Store leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
*Notes:
For the frosting, you can replace creme de menthe with: 3 Tbs. milk + 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla + 1/2 tsp. mint or peppermint extract + 2-3 drops green or pink food coloring.
To make: Combine butter, peppermint or mint extract, food coloring and milk. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add more milk to get to spreading consistency, and taste a little of the filling to make sure the mint/peppermint flavor is strong enough.
Recipe from: http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/cookies/ultimate-chocolate-mint-cookie-sandwiches/
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