Minty Chocolate Goodness

Sometimes I buy random baking items when I see them in the store, with no purpose for them in mind.  A while back, a coworker introduced me Andes mint baking chips.  It’s a bag of little bits of Andes mints, all ready to be tossed into cookies, or brownies, or whatever.  When I brought the bag home, the Hubster threatened to eat the whole bag before I had a chance to use them.  But, I hid them in the back of the cabinet, and they stayed there safely until I remembered I had them and used them for these cookies.

I was originally going to whip up a batch of brownies, and toss the Andes chips in the brownies.  But I wanted to make something new (to me).  I found these cookies in my googly reader and I was off.  One of the selling points for this recipe was that I had all of the ingredients on hand (well, basically).  I didn’t have any extra-bittersweet chocolate, as the recipe calls for, so I just used 5 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  

The batter for these cookies is a bit misleading at first.  It is very loose, like a brownie batter. But, after it sits for a few minutes, it really does thicken up.  I put the batter in the fridge for about 10 minutes, and then kept it there while each batch baked, but that’s mostly because that’s what I always do.  

Even though the directions are a little different than you normally see in a cookie, they are pretty simple.  Beating them for 10 minutes at first seems to take FOR.EV.ER, but other than that, they are a snap to make.  Give them a try!

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies
Source: Bakers Royale, adapted from Epicurious
Makes 28 cookies
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
⅔ cup sugar
½ tablespoon espresso granules
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 ounces Andes Mint Baking Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place eggs, sugar, espresso granules and vanilla in a bowl and beat on high for 10 minutes. Add in baking powder and salt and beat on high for another 5 minutes.

Place the butter in the top of a double boiler, and add the semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove from the heat.  

Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (streaks will be visible). Add the flour to the batter and gently fold it in. Fold in the Andes chips. Set aside the batter for five minutes to thicken.

Drop a tablespoon of batter onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed and cracked, 9-11 minutes.  Cool on the baking sheet a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.