Chocolate Chips – Crumbs In My Beard

Makes 16

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp espresso powder
2 Tbsp milk powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolater chips, or chunks
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips, or chunks
1/3 cup white chocolate chips, or chunks

Method

In stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, milk powder and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add to the creamed butter mixture. Beat on low until combined
Add in the milk, beating to combine on high speed
Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Scoop the dough into balls, I use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop. Arrange on a thew preared cookie sheets allowing 2-3 inches between
Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3 times
Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely
Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 1 week

A food lover’s calendar is choc-full (pardon the pun!) of days on which to celebrate, indulge and extol the virtues of food stuffs galore. In fact I’m pretty certain that if you research hard enough you’ll find that every single day is bequeath to some food or ingredient somewhere in the world. Not that I’m complaining! On that note, May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day here in North American waters. And without further ado I present not one but TWO culinary efforts in homage to that humble morsel of cocoa goodness.

My “Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies” are chocolate, chocolate, chocolate lovers dream! Crumbly mint chocolate cookie studded with chocolate chips, enrobed in a smooth, dark chocolate case. Absolute perfection with a glass of ice-cold milk. Girl scouts eat your hearts out!

The second cookie that we have, “Choc Chip Short Oat Cookies” are a wonderful hybrid between buttery, crumbly shortbread and a classic oatmeal cookie. Easy to bake they’re also a handy one to have ready should you be looking for an afternoon activity with little hands.

Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Ingredients (makes apx 50)

Chocolate Cookies:

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Chocolate Peppermint Coating:

16oz chocolate, semi-sweet, broken into pieces

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Method:

Making the cookies:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar until well combined (apx 10 mins) Add the vanilla extract, peppermint extract, salt, and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is well combined and there are no pockets of cocoa dust
Add the flour and mix until you have crumbly dough
Gather the dough into a ball, and knead it together on a counter for about 3-5 mins It should become somewhat smoother. (Don’t worry if it’s still a little crumbly)
Divide the dough in 2, flatten into disks, and wrap in cling wrap. Chill in a refrigerator for 15-20 minutes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment
Roll dough out to a thickness of 6mm. I used a rolling-pin with guides to get a consistent thickness. A trick I found that works really well is to roll the dough out between two sheets of baking parchment. Not only are the cookies easier to lift, it also saves on counter top mess and cleaning up!
Cut out cookies (I use a 2 “ cutter) and place, spaced apart, on the pre-lined baking sheets
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the trays for 3-5 mins. Then careful remove to wire racks and allow to cool completely
When your cookies have cooled completely prepare your chocolate coating

Making the coating:

In a bowl set over hot water in a pan, slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally
Add in the peppermint extract and stir to combine. It may look like it’s caused the chocolate to separate and become grainy but fear not! Keep stirring and it’ll come right in the end.

Finishing the cookies:

With a fork in each hand, gently drop the cookies one at a time into the chocolate coating
Using the forks, flip to coat all sides. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate with one of the forks and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the cookie back into the bowl
Place the freshly coated cookie on a parchment lined counter, and repeat
Allow the cookies to cool at room temperature until ready. They’ll be ready in a couple of hours but I find it best to leave them overnight. They can be stored in an airtight tin for 3-5 days. (Use baking parchment to separate the layers and prevent sticking)

*When dipping the baked cookies you’ll get to a point where it becomes too awkward to flip and properly coat the cookies in the melted chocolate. I transfer the remaining chocolate to a piping bag and drizzle it over the remaining cookies.

Choc Chip Short Oat Cookies

Ingredients (makes apx 48)

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups cake flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup quick-cooking oats

12oz chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Method

Heat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment
In large bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar until light, fluffy and well combined
Add in the flour, baking soda, vanilla and oats., and mix until well combined
Stir in chocolate chips
On pre-lined baking sheets, drop dough by teaspoonfuls. Space them apx 2 inches apart
Bake in the preheated oven for between 11 to 13 minutes
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the trays for 5 mins
After 5 minutes carefully transfer the baked cookies to wire racks and allow to cool completely
Enjoy!