My Favorite Christmas Cookies

Of all the cookies my mom ever made while I was growing up, the mint filled chocolate cookie has to be my favorite. They were only made at Christmas, because quite honestly they are a pain to make. But once a year it's worth it to pull out all the equipment and just go for it. The recipe came from my Great-Grandmother, and not to let the heritage recipe die, I of course have to make them every year too.

There is a very essential piece of equipment that I own solely for making these cookies, and that is the cookie press:

I asked for one for Christmas a few years ago as visions of these cookies danced in my head. It's quite the contraption, but without it I could never end up with cookies that look as good as this:

Now these cookies are quite good all by themselves, but what sets them apart from your average boring chocolate Christmas cookie is this:

The mint frosting. You take a big dollop of this stuff and slap it between two of the cookies, and voila! You have the perfect Christmas cookie.

Don't they look divine? They actually get better the longer they sit because the frosting hardens up while the cookies soften up and you get the perfect soft, chocolaty, minty cookie combo that makes you eat far more than is truly healthy for any one person. And these cookies can be deceptive. Since there are two sandwiched together you feel like you are really only eating one cookie for every two you actually eat. That gets dangerous. We had to hide these to make sure we had some to give away.

Now since I know you are all craving these delectable delights I have condescended to share my recipe with you. Aren't you pleased? Here it is:

Mint Filled Chocolate Cookies
3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate 2 cups flour
½ cup butter 2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar ½ tsp salt
1 egg ¼ cup milk

Melt chocolate. Cream together butter and sugar. Add chocolate, then egg. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk. Roll out dough and cut out with cookie cutters or use a cookie press. Bake at 400ºF for 8 minutes. When cool sandwich two cookies together with mint frosting between.

Mint Frosting:
2 T butter, melted 3 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp mint extract
4-5+ tsp milk

Blend melted butter and powdered sugar in a bowl. Add vanilla, mint and milk and mix until of spreading consistency, adding more milk as needed. May tint frosting with green food coloring.

Make these. You won't be disappointed.

And not to leave the rest of my second favorite Christmas confections unrepresented, here is a sampling of the others.

Mmmm. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Soft, chewy, with crunchy chips. Sooo good.

The Magic Cookie, aka Almost Candy Bars. Everything sinful about dessert wrapped up into one neat little yummy package.

The butter toffee. Butter, sugar and chocolate. How can you go wrong?

And last, but not least, the sugar cookie. We don't normally make these, but I thought Ella might have fun decorating them. I was right.

She liked to make very large piles of frosting in one place on every cookie she decorated.

Takes after me I guess.

So now that I have you all salivating and craving cookie goodness, go forth and bake yourself some Christmas goodies before it's too late!