Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

There’s plain vacation magic within the mixture of peppermint and chocolate—the cool jolt of mint towards deep cocoa feels immediately wintry. These sandwich cookies take that acquainted pairing and switch it into one thing polished however playful: a whipped peppermint buttercream flecked with crushed peppermint sweet sandwiched between crisp-edged chocolate shortbread cookies that keep tender with each chunk. They’re festive and ideal for events and vacation cookie swaps.

Making the Good Chocolate Sandwich Cookie

Anybody who’s ever eaten a sandwich cookie is aware of the traditional pitfall: The cookie is so crisp it snaps in half the second you chunk in, sending the filling squishing out the again. An amazing sandwich cookie wants steadiness—a clear snap on the edges with simply sufficient give within the heart so your enamel sink by way of with out collateral injury.

This recipe comes from our colleague Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman in our Birmingham, Alabama, check kitchen, who got down to engineer precisely that texture: a chocolate cookie that bakes up sharp-edged and tidy however by no means dry, brittle, or overly crunchy. She begins with Dutch-process cocoa, which supplies the cookies their deep shade and clean, rounded chocolate taste. As a result of it has been handled with alkali, Dutch-process cocoa is much less acidic than pure cocoa, making it style extra balanced in a cookie. 

A strategic mix of butter and refined coconut oil offers the cookies their crisp edges and tender chunk. The butter brings richness, but it surely additionally incorporates water, which may result in puffing and less-defined edges. So to make sure this does not occur, the butter is balanced with refined coconut oil, which behaves extra like shortening: It is agency, water-free, and melts cleanly, serving to the cookies maintain their form whereas nonetheless baking up tender. It is essential to make use of refined coconut oil right here, since unrefined (or virgin) coconut oil retains coconut aromas that might compete with the chocolate and peppermint taste. 

The dough comes collectively by creaming the fat with sugar till mild, then including the egg yolk, cream, and extracts earlier than the dry components are combined in simply till mixed—a step that forestalls extra gluten improvement and retains the cookies tender.

Rolling the dough between sheets of parchment paper prevents sticking, eliminating the necessity to mud the floor with additional flour. An excessive amount of flour can dry out the dough, toughen its texture, and mute the chocolate taste. As a result of the dough softens shortly, briefly freezing the rolled sheet is crucial—it corporations the dough simply sufficient so the cutter can punch by way of cleanly. That chill additionally helps the cookies maintain their sharp edges as soon as they hit the warmth. 

Half of the cookies get a small cutout—a traditional linzer-style “window”—whereas the remaining rounds keep complete for the bottoms. The dough is sturdy however nonetheless tender, so the internal cutouts carry out simply (a toothpick helps if wanted). As soon as baked, the cookies ought to cool utterly so the frosting can set correctly.

A Peak Vacation Frosting

The filling is a traditional American-style buttercream whipped till fluffy and clean. Butter types the bottom, overwhelmed with powdered sugar and simply sufficient cream to maintain the feel pipeable with out making it unfastened. Vanilla rounds out the flavour, and a small quantity of peppermint extract brings a frosty end.

Finely crushed smooth peppermint candies are folded in on the finish, including small pops of mint and a little bit of welcome crunch. 

A Sparkly End

As soon as the cookies are absolutely cooled, the entire rounds get a layer of peppermint buttercream piped onto their flat sides. The cut-out cookies are then gently pressed on prime, making a sandwich with a window of buttercream within the heart. A light-weight bathe of crushed peppermint is non-compulsory, but it surely provides a sparkle that matches the season.

Because the cookies relaxation, the chocolate layers soften barely towards the buttercream whereas holding their crisp edges, giving every sandwich a balanced chunk of deep cocoa and funky mint. The buttercream spreads simply and stays put, so the cookies chunk cleanly moderately than squishing aside. All of it provides as much as a cookie with the correct quantity of vacation aptitude—festive sufficient for any vacation celebration.