The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013: Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies

For the second year in a row, I participated in THE BEST COOKIE SWAP EVER: The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! Last year I made Maple Waffle Cookies for the swap. This year, I decided to go minty and chocolaty.

#fbcookieswap Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies // Loves Food, Loves to EatI�m pretty much obsessed with peppermint. When peppermint ice cream starts popping up in stores I go crazy. It�s so good! And I�ll even bend my no-sugar, no-flavorings-in-coffee rule for peppermint mochas. Chocolate, coffee, peppermint...seriously, put that in my stocking this year!

#fbcookieswap Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies // Loves Food, Loves to EatI had seen peppermint mocha cookies before, but usually in drop-cookie form, with pieces of crushed candy cane mixed in the dough. I wanted to make something new, so I decided to do slice and bake cookies (icebox cookies), and then dip them in chocolate and coat that in crushed candy canes.

#fbcookieswap Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies // Loves Food, Loves to Eat
Sidenote #1: crushed candy canes are the most beautiful thing ever. It�s like sparkly white and pink glitter snow.

Sidenote #2: crushing candy canes kind of sucks. I put them in a big freezer sized ziplock, then wrapped that in a hand towel, then beat it with a hammer. Then, because I�m crazy and wanted perfect tiny little speckles, I sifted out the big chunks. #imcrazy

I love icebox cookies because they�re so easy. You can make the dough, then roll it in logs (which, unfortunately, resemble a friendly little Christmas cartoon named Hanky), and then freeze. Then you can fully clean your kitchen, listen to some holiday tunes, watch Home Alone, drink some hot buttered rum, get a good night�s sleep, and wake up the next day, bright eyed and ready to slice and bake!

#fbcookieswap Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies // Loves Food, Loves to EatSidenote #3: I love the word icebox. Oooh, how retro. How very Madmen of you, Amber!

1 Month Vegan Challenge
Also, thanks to the espresso powder, these cookies are super chocolaty. Like, majorly so. Like tiny little cookie shaped brownies. You�ll die ten times. Then you�ll add that cool pepperminty crunch of the crushed candy canes, and you�ll die a few more times. Probably 15 times in all.

#fbcookieswap Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies // Loves Food, Loves to EatGuys. Seriously.

Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies
Very loosely adapted from this recipe 
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate chips
8-10 candy canes, crushed

Whisk flour, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer, beat sugar, vanilla, and egg on high speed until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Add butter and continue to beat on high speed until smooth, about 3 more minutes. Using your fingers, work flour mixture into butter mixture until dough is just combined. It will be sticky and a little difficult to work with, but it's all worth it!
Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 9" log. Wrap each log in parchment paper, twisting ends tightly to make a uniform longs. Freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough and slice each log into rounds about 1/3 inch thick. Place rounds 1/2 inch apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake until cookies are slightly puffy, about 8-9 minutes. Let sit on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool. Be careful, they're really soft at first. 

Let cookies cool completely. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl or over a double boiler, stirring until smooth. Dip each cookie half-way in the chocolate (I tried to dip only on the top), and then dip in crushed candy canes. Set on wax paper to harden. Let cool completely. 

Enjoy!

#fbcookieswap Peppermint Mocha Icebox Cookies // Loves Food, Loves to EatWait, there's more!
Looking for more recipes from the cookie swap? Check out the blogs of my random matches: the bloggers I sent these bad boys to, as well as the bloggers who sent cookies to me!


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