C is for Cookie

I love baking cookies. They are my most favorite dessert, and I get really excited for cookie making at the holidays. I personally love to give the gift of sweet treats to friends, as they are nostalgic, delicious, and most importantly, easy to ship!



Every Christmas season, my mom, sister and I used to pick a day and bake all day long. There were rarely any new recipes to add to our standards, but I never cared, because the ones we made were always my favorites- Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Blossom, Sugar, Pizzelles, Sour Cream cookies (Dad's cookies!). When I moved out of my parents, I also started the tradition.



This year my baking day fell a little early in December, but thankfully, cookies are easy to freeze. I made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter blossoms, bourbon balls, sugar cookies, lemon poppyseed biscotti, irish coffee cookies, and this recipe. I look forward to this day all year long, especially this year, because Jack bought me Gourmet's Cookie book. Talk about some very different cookies, the book is totally jam packed with them. I love following the trends of all of the years, and it is interesting to see how cooks improvised during war years when many ingredients were rationed. Jack had the opportunity to choose a few for me to bake, and I am going to share one with you.



Before I indulge you with a chocolaty mint cookie bar, I do want to say this, and hopefully you are reading Mom, there were several times throughout the day where I really said, "I miss you mom," as I was slaving over the stove by myself, as opposed to the three of us. So maybe next year, I will make it home!



Now on to the cookie! This was the 2006 cookie of the year for Gourmet. The book details cookies from 1941, until the magazine's downfall in 2009. So, the Chocolate Peppermint Bar Cookies are definitely one of the newest recipes, and certainly my easiest undergoing of the day. The cookies were easy to whip up, required 2 bowls and a baking dish, and took only 20 minutes to bake. Much simpler than cookie sheet after cookie sheet being put in the oven every 10 minutes. The result was a chewy, chocolaty, minty brownie textured cookie bar. Immediately, Jack's reaction was this: "this one is a keeper!" There are very few recipes he says that for, but this one is definitely worth it!



For copyright purposes, I will not print the recipe here, but the easiest way to replicate the recipe without getting the book is to create a basic chocolate cookie bar recipe and add 1/2 c of semi sweet chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup peppermint candy pieces (or crushed candy canes)

Should you need help though or would like any of the other recipes, please let me know!