DIY Chocolate Coated Peppermint Cookies

I've been a cookie monster my entire life and I want to tell you these cookies are awesome! Plus they have the holiday spirit with the red and white peppermint sprinkled on top! Tom and I scarfed 'em right up so they didn't last long in our house. If you're baking cookies for the holidays, this is a great recipe to add to your collection. I shared some with some friends and they were a big hit. The good news is that they're easy to make and very easy clean up as the dough forms its own ball in the mixer. So, happy holidays to everyone and here's to more cookies!

MAKES: 40 cookies (Batch size varies according to how large you make the cookies.)
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 10-12 minutes per batch

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup walnut oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 candy canes, crushed
1/2 bag chocolate morsels, melted

This is what they look like before you press them flat.

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 375* F.
2. Put walnut oil and sugars into a mixing bowl and cream. Add one egg at a time and continue to cream. Add the peppermint and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda then add gradually to the creamed mixture.
4. Crush the peppermint candies into small pieces. Use the smallest pieces to add to the dough and keep some of the larger pieces to decorate the cookies. (check out the photo to see the sizes I used) You'll use about 2/3 of the crushed peppermint for the dough mixture. Mix peppermint into the dough.
5. Take about a tablespoon of dough and form a ball then, using your palm, press into a circle. These cookies do not expand much so you can place them about 1/4" apart on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake at 375* F for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should start to brown around the edges when they're done. Remove from cookie sheet onto a wire rack to cool.
7. When cookies are cooled, melt chocolate morsels in a double boiler. Using a rubber spatula, apply the melted chocolate to half of the cookie. Then sprinkle with the crushed peppermint. Place on a rack or tray for chocolate to set.

PLATING: For us, there is no plating, we just eat 'em!

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita

DIY Chocolate Coated Peppermint Cookies