When Christmas rolls around, I only have one thing on my mind when it comes to treats. Well, technically two: Chocolate + Mint. I feel that this is a love or loathe situation, and I am firmly in the love camp. Something about the crisp, fresh flavour of mint is just perfect match for cold days and Christmastime.

This was treat #2 on my baking day with Nicole, and the recipe comes from the amazing Baked Explorations. I actually hate traditional thumbprint cookies. What can I say, I have issues with jam in cookies. Nicole disagrees, but we compromised by making these.

The cookie itself has melted mint chocolate mixed in, and for this I bought a bar of Lindt ‘Intense Mint’ which worked out well. The book says you can use Andes Chocolate mints, but I don’t think you can get those in Canada, or at least not at the Shoppers Drug Mart near my office which is the only place I checked.

The filling is a white chocolate ganache which I will totally tint green next time, because melted white chocolate is kind of a weird off-white-ish colour. The only important note I have is that after filling, the cookies really need to sit in the fridge for a few hours so the ganache can firm up. I took mine out after half an hour and brought them to Book Club, and the filling was still goopy when we ate them. Delicious nonetheless!

Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

Source: Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito

Ingredients

Cookies

2 oz dark chocolate (60-72%)

2 oz mint chocolate (I used Lindt’s Intense Mint)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into 1″ cubes, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 egg yolks (save the whites to make these!)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar (regular or coarse) for rolling

Filling

3 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped (don’t use white chocolate chips, the don’t melt smoothly)

3 tbsp whipping cream

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

*green food colouring optional, but super cute*

Directions

1. Melt the dark and mint chocolates together in the microwave or over a double boiler. Whisk until smooth, and set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugars and beat again until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat again until combined.
4. Add the chocolate and beat until just incorporated.
5. Add the flour mixture all at once. Beat on low speed until the dough is smooth.
6. Shape dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in fridge until firm, 30 minutes.
7. Take dough out of fridge and get a little assembly line going: dough, then a shallow bowl or plate with sugar, then cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Also, preheat the oven to 350.
8. Form dough into balls, using a little less than 1 tbsp. (Note: We used 1 tbsp as instructed in the book, but only got 30 cookies, not the 40 that the recipe noted, so I would make them a little smaller next time). Roll in sugar, and place on the cookie sheets.
9. Use your thumb (we used the back of a 1 tsp measuring spoon) to make an indentation in the centre of each cookie. 
10. Bake for 10 minutes, remove sheets from oven, and use your thumb (or spoon) to make the indentation more visible.  Return to oven and bake for another 4-5 minutes. Pull out cookies at the first sign of cracking, as these cookies can overbake very quickly.
11. Set cookie sheets on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to the rack to cool completely before filling.
12. For filling: place the white chocolate in a glass measuring cup with a spout. Put the cream in a microwave safe bowl or cup, and microwave on high until it boils, about 30 seconds. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract.  Fill the thumbprint cookies with this white chocolate ganache and refrigerate until set, at least a couple of hours.
13. Cookies can be eaten at room temperature, or straight from the fridge. They can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.