Chocolate Mint Cookies #FilltheCookieJar

Welcome to the March edition of Fill the Cookie Jar. This month's theme was Green / St. Patrick's Day. When I think of green and cookies, the first thing that comes to mind is mint! I was looking for a St. Patty's day cookie but everything was shamrocks and as you know, I'm still working on finding a sugar cookie recipe...plus I need to start adding cookie cutters to supplies. Speaking of cookie cutters, there's this guy at a farmer's market. His stand is so tiny and he has just about every type of cookie cutter you can imagine and if he doesn't, he'll custom make one for you!

Back to the cookies, I love the combination of chocolate and mint and thought these would be perfect for this month's theme. I love the little swirl of green from the melted Andes Mint on top. I ran out of mints (someone opened the box and ate a few before I made these), so I was able to try them both with and without the melted mint on top. The mint flavor was perfect for me but my husband said he would have preferred them to be "mint-er". I don't think he'll have a problem eating them though. 

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 - 4 drops peppermint essential oil (I use DoTERRA oils)

2-3 packages Andes Mints (4.5 oz)

In a medium pan, melt the butter, brown sugar, water and salt together over medium heat. Remove from heat and add in the chocolate chips. Stir to melt the chips and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted chocolate with one egg. On low add in the other egg, vanilla and essential oil. Mix until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients until its just combined. If the batter is too sticky or thin, refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Scoop dough into round tablespoons and place two inches apart on a the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, while you're unwrapping the mints. Place a mint on top of each cookie and let it melt for a few minutes. Once it's melted, gently spread the melted chocolate over the mint. Transfer to a cookie sheet to cool completely and the chocolate to set. 

Source: Cooking Classy