Updated Post- Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!  December is here, which means peppermint is in order!  Today, I'll be sharing with you a delicious peppermint treat 😋.

These peppermint hot chocolate cookies are the epitome of Christmas flavors.  And if you're looking for a simple, spirited cookie to whip up for a cookie swap, you need not look any further than these cookies.  (Well, actually these peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and these snickerdoodles are winners, too 😊.)

So, I've got to tell you the story behind re-photographing these cookies.  Because, as the title, notes, this is an updated post.  Why the update?  Well, first of all, these are super seasonal cookies.  And second of all, as you can clearly see from the original post, the photography was in dire need of improvement 😂😬.  My class was going to have a Christmas decorating session so of course cookies were in order.  Being a full-time student and therefore needing a quick and reliable dessert to make, I looked to these trusty peppermint hot chocolate cookies.  I decided to one and a half the recipe to make sure I had enough and because cookies are a wonderful part of life 😍.  Let it be known that math is not my strong suit, so I think that when I one and a halved this recipe, things didn't go too well; the dough looked good, but the cookies did not spread in the oven at all.  My poor guestimating coupled with me neglecting to chill the dough probably messed up the cookies.  But I just had to photograph these cookies; December had just dawned upon us and it would pretty unorthodox as a food blogger to just scratch the idea of sharing a peppermint dessert. So I decided so smoosh the cooked dough balls down into quasi-cookies, stacked them on top of each other and snapped a halfway decent photo.  Food photography tip:  if your cookies turn out less than perfect, stack them on top of each other with the more pleasing side showing and snap away!

I hope that this anecdote in which I explained my cookie debacle does not dissuade you from making these cookies; if you follow the instructions in this recipe and do your math right if you're changing the proportions, you'll be rewarded with chewy, crunchy, minty, rich cookies, ready to please you and your guests.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  I slightly tweaked this recipe to bring you today's recipe.

That's all for now.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!  I look forward to posting again on Monday, so stay tuned for a delicious fudge recipe 😋!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 T. water
• 1/2 cup white chocolate peppermint baking chips

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

2.  In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream sugars and butter together until well-blended.

3.  To the butter mixture, add the egg, vanilla, and water and beat until well-blended.

4.  To the wet ingredients, gradually beat in the flour on low speed, just until combined.

5.  Fold the peppermint chips into the dough.

6.  Chill the dough in the fridge in a covered container for at least one hour.

7.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

8.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.

9.  Using a 1.5 T. cookie scoop, scoop out the dough into round balls onto your prepared cookie sheet.  (The dough will be very thick.)

10.  Bake the dough balls in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the cookies are set, being careful to not overbake.

11.  Enjoy, storing leftovers at room temperature for up to 3 days and freezing for at least a month.