Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies

Prep Time: 15 min
Bake Time: 9 minutes
Frost Time: 5 minutes

Grade: ??
Make Again: ??
Recipe Source: Everyday Food (December 2011)

The online version of the recipe is not available yet.

These are not bad cookies, but I felt they were a little dry, and my first thought was I wouldn't make them again. I really love chocolate mint so like the taste of them overall, but I didn't love the texture. Everyday Food has come up with lots of great mint recipes so this doesn't really fill a gap in the recipe collection.

However, the picky eater did really like them and gave them an A+. This was after they were frozen and defrosted. I liked them when I ate them later also, so I may end up using this recipe again after all. 

The Espresso Snowcaps recipe that I reviewed a few years ago is a similar chocolate cookie for the holidays, and I really love that one, so that might be my first choice most years, but this one may come into rotation again in the future.

Melting Mint Brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour
Icing Time: 10 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour Baker's Banter Blog

These are pretty good, but I give them a "-" because the brownie itself is nothing great. The icing is what makes these good, I think. It is an all-cocoa brownie, and I usually like recipes that use melted chocolate, and those that are a little fudgier. But the icing/glaze has some butter in it, and is really rich and with the mint adds more flavor. They are pretty too, without much effort, so I liked that aspect of these.

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 45-60 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour
Glaze Time: 10 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (December 2004)

I made this for desert on Christmas Eve, and it went over very well. Even my 3 year old neice said "this is very good!" The mint is only in the frosting, so it could be skipped. The cake is very moist and dense, almost like a brownie. I didn't do a good job with the glaze, I don't think I really got the boiled cream to the chocolate fast enough, and it wasn't super smooth. Then I went back and tried to even out a part, which made it look even less smooth. It can be very pretty and shiny when done correctly.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2006)

These are really delicious cookies. However, the dough was not scoopable after chilling. I wonder if it is because I used chocolate chips instead of a bar semi-sweet chocolate. The other thing I did different was to use Andes little chip/chunks, instead of putting one on top for frosting. I will do that in the future though, because these will be great Christmas cookies, and worth the effort.

The prep time included waiting for the melted butter/sugar/chocolate mixture to cool, so this is really a pretty easy recipe. Putting mints on top will make it take a little longer.