Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cutouts

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With Christmas cookie decorating fast approaching, I decided I was going to need a cookie that tasted like Christmas as much as it looked like it. Although I enjoy typical Christmas flavors like eggnog, there are few things that say Christmas to me more than chocolate peppermint. So when I found a recipe for chewy, fudgy cutouts, I couldn’t help but add a Christmas twist!

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cutouts
Yields about 3 dozen cookies

4 sticks (454 grams) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup baking cocoa
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

This recipe requires about 45 minutes to an hour of refrigeration, so keep that in mind as you’re planning you’re prep. Start by creaming the butter in the bowl of a mixer. For such a big batch, you’re really going to want to use a Kitchen Aid or some sort of kitchen mixer, or you can half the recipe and use a regular hand held mixer and a large bowl. Once the butter is smooth, add the granulated and brown sugar. Mix until butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy, about 5-10 minutes. Add the eggs, and mix until just combined. Stir the flour and baking cocoa together in a large bowl, and add the mixture to your mixer bowl. Mix on low until the dough begins to clump and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Now you add your extracts. When I made this, I separated my dough into two equal parts and made one plain chocolate (with 1 tsp. vanilla extract) and one peppermint chocolate (1 tsp. peppermint extract). If you want to make the whole batch chocolate peppermint, you’ll need to add 2 tsp. peppermint and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Gently mix until the extract is combined with the dough.

Cover the dough and refrigerate for 45 minutes- 1 hour. Once the dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350* Fahrenheit (175* Celsius). Roll the dough out to 1/4″ thin on a lightly floured surface, and cut out the desired shapes. Gently remove your cutouts to parchment lined baking sheets. Set each baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. This will help keep the cookies from spreading while they bake. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny. Allow the cookies to cook overnight before decorating.

Happy Baking!

Sources:
Recipe adapted from Sweetapolita

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