White Chocolate- and Peppermint-Studded Chocolate Mountains

By ltruitt

These festive peppermint-and-chocolate cookies are laced with white chocolate and finely crushed peppermint candies and shaped into little mountainlike mounds. A few shards of extra crushed peppermint serve as an eye-catching garnish for the mountaintops.

To easily crush the peppermint candy canes, break them into about 1-inch lengths and put them in a triple thickness of resealable plastic food storage bags. Seal tightly, then pound with a kitchen mallet or heavy spoon until the candy is evenly crushed into 1/4-inch or smaller bits. (All of the pieces must be small, as larger ones can hurt the teeth.)

MAKE AHEAD: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or frozen for 3 to 4 weeks.

Makes 32 to 35 cookies

Recipe Source:
From cookbook author Nancy Baggett.

Ingredients

• 11 About 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus a scant 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fairly fine
• 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candy canes or pinwheels (see headnote)
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more as needed
• 1 cup (about 5 ounces) chopped (1/4-inch pieces) white chocolate bar

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line several large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a large, microwave-safe bowl; microwave on MEDIUM for increments of 30 seconds, stopping to stir in between, until smooth and well blended.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the crushed peppermint candy for garnish, then stir the remaining crushed candy into the hot chocolate mixture. Some but not all of it will melt; that is okay. Stir in the sugar and peppermint extract until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool till barely warm, then vigorously stir in the egg, baking powder and salt, mixing until well blended and smooth.

Gradually add the flour and white chocolate, stirring just until incorporated. Let the dough stand for 5 to 10 minutes, during which time it should firm up. If it remains soft, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour.

Pull off dough portions; use the palms of your hands to shape them into thirty-two to thirty-five 1 1/4-inch-wide balls, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake (middle rack) one sheet at a time for 8 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are just barely firm when pressed in the center.

Place the baking sheet on the stove top (off the heat); immediately garnish the top of each of the just-baked cookies with a pinch of the reserved crushed peppermint candy. Return to the oven and bake for about 1 minute or just until the bits begin to melt.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer them to wire racks to cool completely before serving or storing. Cool the baking sheets between batches so the cookies don't spread too much. Repeat to use the remaining dough and crushed candy.