Chocolate Mint Explosion
12 tbs unsalted butter
3/4 cp granulated sugar
3/4 cp firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cp (95g) Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder (substitutes won't have the same dark bittersweet taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cp (165g) all purpose flour
15 oz. Guittard Smooth and Melty petite mints
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the butter, sugars and cocoa (sifted) in a heatproof bowl above a pan of barely simmering water. Stir mixture occasionally until butter is completely melted and then stir to combine fully (mixture will appear grainy). Remove bowl from pan. After mixture has cooled slightly, stir in one egg at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated. After second egg, mix thoroughly, until the mixture is glossy and smooth. Add extracts and mix to combine, being sure to scrape the bowl. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, making sure soda is fully mixed in. (Triple sift). Add flour mixture in two additions to the cocoa mixture, scraping the bowl each time. Combine until the flour mixture is incorporated fully. If dough is still warm, stir once or twice, then let sit until it reaches room temperature to avoid melting the mints. When cool, stir in mints. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough, spaced two inches apart, onto lightly greased pans. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
In my family, passion for baking started with my grandmother, a woman who had dreams of opening her own bakery. She never fulfilled her dream, but I'm happy to say that I still use her Kitchen Aid mixer she bought in the 1950s. I hope she'd be proud of the recipe I created. An anniversary cookie has to start with chocolate! But it needs something more: visual flair, and unique ingredients that cause it to stand apart from anything that's come before. Some addicting pastel mints made by Guittard do the trick. They add color, taste and texture, and a delectable crunch from the non-pareils that stud the bottom of the chips. The result? A deliciously bittersweet, intensely dark chocolate mint cookie, splashed with pastel color throughout, with a fudgy interior. I proudly offer this recipe in honor of Mrs. Field's 30th Anniversary. Congratulations!
on 05/25/07
|
