Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

We don't do a lot of sweets in our house. It's not just because of the eating healthy thing that we have going on now, but when it comes to snacking, we are more prone to eat the salty, instead of the sweet.  When I do get around to making something sweet, it's go big, or go home, especially when it comes to cookies.

This cookie philosophy carries over from my childhood.  I remember being at my babysitter's house and making cookies.  It was sometimes an all day affair, MANY dozens of cookies were made and some were left out to be eaten now, and several containers were put in the freezer to be pulled out when they were needed or wanted.  This just makes sense to me, if I'm going to make cookies, i.e. a mess, I'm going to at least double the recipe.  Who doesn't love having a stash of cookies in the freezer?

For this particular cookie session I doubled the recipe, but I will give you instructions as I found them, which will make you about 4 dozen cookies.  I use my handy dandy tablespoon ice cream scoop for these.  The blueprint here is from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties Cookbook, and if you don't have it, I suggest you add it to you collection.  It is an older book, but it is so very good. These will seem a little under baked when you pull them out of the oven, and that is a good thing, go with it they will take care of themselves while they are cooling on the baking sheet for a few minutes. These cookies are wonderful with a glass of milk, or, and I promise not to tell on you, with your coffee in the morning.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Ina Garten's Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes about 48 cookies 

1/2  pound unsalted butter. softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used good old Hersheys)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 8.5 ounce bag of Andes Candies (or any other mint-chocolate candy), unwrapped and chopped
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand mixer or hand in a large bowl)  mix together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy.  I never knew what "until fluffy" meant, I finally saw somewhere that you should beat them together for about 3-5 minutes.  I do better with specifics!  With the mixer on low slowly add in one egg at time, and then your vanilla extract.  Keep it going until you can't see any runny or yellow parts of the egg.   Add the cocoa and continue to mix until combined.

Sift or whisk together you flour, baking soda, and salt.  With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixer and continue until just combined.  Shut the mixer off, or shake out your arms to relieve your weary muscles.  Add in your chocolate chips & chunked up Andes Candies, and fold into the  cookie batter until evenly distributed.




I just spray my baking sheets with some baking spray and I start scooping out the cookies.  If you need to put down some parchment paper, or silpat, do so, and proceed with the scooping.  I do 12 cookies to a baking sheet, but they do some spreading so if you are using a smaller baking sheet, (mine is 17.25 in. by 11.5 in, and technically I think it is called a jelly roll pan) then just give them a little room.  



Once you have them on the baking sheet, use your hand or a spoon to give them just the gentlest of flattening so that they lose a little of their rounded top, this will help them bake more evenly, otherwise you end up with really crispy over cooked edges, and a much different texture in the center of the cookie.


Put the cookies in you oven and bake for 15 minutes.  When you take them out they will seem like they are not quite done, but this is what you want.  Remove them from the oven, and give them about 5 minutes to cool on the baking sheet.  Remove them from the baking sheet to a wire rack and let them finish cooling. . . if you can wait that long!