Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

I love, love a good sandwich cookie.  They seem so versatile not to mention you can make them with a cake mix or you can make them completely homemade.  

I love that you can make them with so many different flavors too.  Some of my favorites are peanut butter and chocolate (thanks Chris that was amazing!) and peppermint and chocolate.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Plus I  love making mini versions of these beauties because they are perfect bite size pieces of deliciousness.  And everything mini tastes better for some reason!

So here's to Christmas in 2 days and wishing you all have an amazing holiday!

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookie

(click here for printable version)

Dough:

1 1/2 cups flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled (don’t scoop-very important!)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp table salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

5 Tbsp real butter

1 Tbsp water

1 large egg lightly beaten

Frosting:

1/2 cup real butter (1 stick)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 -  1 tsp peppermint extract ( I use a 1/4 because I like just a hint of peppermint)

milk, as needed for consistency

optional: red or green food coloring and sprinkles or crushed candycanes

1.  To make cookies, preheat oven to 350°F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Heat chocolate chips, brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth, but there will still be grains of sugar.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl and beat in egg.  Stir in flour mixture until just combined.  Don’t overmix.

2.  If dough is too soft to work with, let sit at room temp for a few minutes to firm up, or place in the fridge for a few minutes.  Gently roll about 1 rounded teaspoon each into balls (these will be minis).  Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake cookies until just puffed in the middle and edges are set but centers are still soft.  About 6-8 minutes.  If using 2 cookie sheets, rotate them half way through baking.  Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

3.  To make filling, beat all frosting ingredients together, adding peppermint extract to taste.  Add milk by the teaspoonful until a spreadable, but not too soft consistency is reached.   Add food coloring if desired.  Place frosting in a zip-top bag and cut off a corner.  Pipe onto one side of cookie and place another on top.  Roll edges in sprinkles or crushed candycanes if desired.

Yield:  If using rounded teaspoon they will make 4-5 dozen cookies.

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