Mint Chocolate Candy Cookies

These cookies come from one of my BFFs and I've been making them for a number of years at Christmas time. They are good anytime of year, of course... but I would think they'd be perfect for St.Patrick's day! They are a *very* minty cookie, yet not terribly sweet. My kids love them, but I find these tend to satisfy more "adult" tastes. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
For Cookie Dough:
1 Cup softened butter
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
2 egg yolks
10-15 drops green food coloring
2 1/4 Cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Cookie Topping:
1 cup dark chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons butter
25 Andes Crème de Menthe candies, chopped coarsely

Method:
1: Preheat oven to 350* F.

2: Beat 1 cup butter ans powdered sugar in a stand mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add in peppermint extract, egg yolks and food coloring until well blended.

3: On low speed slowly add in flour, baking powder and salt until well combined.

4: Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a deep well into the center each cookie with your thumb.

5: Bake 10-12 minutes until set. Reshape wells if needed. Cool 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks. Allow cookies to cool completely before moving to steps 6 and 7.

6: In a small bowl, microwave chocolate chips, cream and and 3 T butter on HIGH for 1 minute, stirring often, until mixture is smooth.

7: Fill each cookie with chocolate mixture and top with chopped candy pieces. Allow to stand until set. About 1 hour.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

When was the last time you had an orange creamsicle? Do you remember how delicious they were with that amazing combination of orange and vanilla? These cookies will have you recalling childhood memories of long, warm summers when the ice cream truck would come through the neighborhood. Remember hearing that familiar tune and running as fast as you could to the street with your quarters in hand, just waiting until the truck came close enough to go up and choose a cool sweet summer treat? Those were the days! And these cookies will bring a little of that feeling back... I promise!

These cookies are so easy to make since they use a pre-packaged sugar cookie mix. You can also make these using your favorite SOFT sugar cookie recipe. I've done that and they turn out even better! Just use a recipe that would normally yield 2.5 to 3 dozen regular sugar cookies and add in the additional items. The baking time should be about the same as this recipe calls for but you will want to keep a close eye on them to ensure you don't either under or over bake them.

I know it's still winter... cold and snowy in lots of places... but think of these cookies as a little taste of summer. Goodness knows we could ALL use that about now!

Enjoy!

Note: I love the second recipe on Elise's "Simply Recipes" blog here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sugar_cookies/ It's a great recipe to use for these cookies, if you don't want to use a pre-packaged mix.



Ingredients:

1 Package (that will yield 3 dozen) sugar cookie mix
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
5 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring
12 ounces vanilla baking chips (about 2 cups)

Method:

1: Preheat over to 350*F.

2: In a large bowl, stir in all ingredients except baking chips until a soft dough forms.

3: Drop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

4: Bake for 9-10 minutes until dough is set. Do not over-bake.

5: Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute and then transfer to cooling racks.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.