
Today was the first snowfall of the season, so it seemed a perfect time to test out a holiday gift-giving cookie recipe from Bon Appetit.

I learned two lessons today. One: I will never again buy store-brand chocolate chips. Nope. Never. No matter how much the prices of good chocolate rise. The Ghiradelli chips I splurged on today melted into shiny, beautiful ribbons of dark chocolate… and that brings me to lesson number two: My double boiler was completely worth the money.

Unfortunately, that Bon Appetit recipe that caught my eye didn’t make nearly as many cookies as I thought it would (anticipated: 50, actual yield: 32!? Argh), but the cookies are pretty divine… especially with one switch.

Soft peppermint sticks! I have no idea where my mother got them, but thank goodness she threw them into a care package a while back. I’m not a fan of super-minty hard candies, so when I realized I had these in my baking cabinet (yes, I have a cabinet devoted to baking supplies–don’t you?), I knew this was the perfect thing. Too bad they’re a pain to crush, but it was worth it.

I also highly recommend using a cookie/melon scoop, because this is not a fun dough to scoop by hand. Unless you like chocolate all over the place–in which case, go for it.

Oh yes. They turn out quite pretty. But they still need a little something…

There we go. And then just a little bit of…

That. Perfect. Now the question is, will I be able to stop myself from eating all of them before I put them in the freezer to give away? So much for gifts… good thing I started early. Continue reading →