we made a lot of treats growing up.
lots and lots and lots.
but, like everyone else, we made extra at christmas time. and not just any extra treat, but specific treats. ones you only make in december.
well these were my favorite growing up. i'm trying to remember what it was exactly that made them my favorite. the dough....the minty taste....or that they were the simplest treat to make. not sure.
i remember every christmas, a few days before the big day, my mom would sit all of us kids down at the kitchen table and ask, "okay, what's important to you that we make this year?" we'd all take our turns spouting off what treats we wanted made. chocolate pies, seven-layer bars, sugar cookies, loads more that i can't remember and THESE double chocolate mint chip cookies. i would always pipe up quickly that i'd make those. (i'm not listing the many treats that grandma would bring: the apple pie, cheesecake, pumpkin pie, almond roca, peanut brittle, fudge, rocky road, hand-dipped chocolates....truffles, orange cremes, raspberry cremes, mint cremes, caramels, spritz cookies, divinity (grandma...am i forgetting some?))
we had a very large laundry room growing up...huge actually. and every counter top was covered with treats by christmas day.
but back to the cookies at hand....
the last several years i couldn't make them. nestle decided to pull a fast one and take their mint chocolate chips off the market. what? eventually they replaced them with some scary looking green chips.
then andes mints came out with bag in the baking section of chopped up mints. so i decided to give those a try this year.
double chocolate mint chip cookies
1 c Andes mint chips
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 c flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 c butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t peppermint extract
1/2 t vanilla
1 egg
Preheat oven to 375. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Let cool. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla and peppermint extract, until creamy. Add melted chocolate and egg. Mix. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in andes mint chips. Drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes. Don't overcook. Let cool for 2-3 minutes and remove from cookie sheet.
*warning: the dough is addicting. really addicting.
