First off, this is a recipe in two parts, the first is making a chocolate wafer cookie, the second is making a mint chocolate covering for said cookie.
For part one, you will need…
Software
Wet
2 cups butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry
5 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
Hardware
Spatula
A large mixing bowl - The largest mixing bowl you have. If you’re not sure if it’s big enough, it likely won’t be.
Electric hand mixer
Wax paper or plastic wrap or parchment paper
Gallon-size ziploc bags.
Optional: Food Processor
You may have figured by now that this is going to make a lot of cookies, well, you won’t be using them all now, you’ll be freezing it. Additionally, it also makes an awesome pie crust.
Step one: Add the butter and the sugar to the large mixing bowl, mix until the mixture appears like whipped butter. It should be significantly lighter in color and appear a little like ice cream.
Step two: At this point, add the remaining wet ingredients and mix it for a few more minutes.
Step three: If you have all a food processor, combine the dry ingredients in there and mix well. If not, in the largest mixing bowl you have, combine the dry ingredients and mix them together well.
Step four: Using the spatula, take a small amount of the wet and add it to the dry. Mix it around a little and then continue to repeat this process until you’ve added all of the wet. Once you’ve added all of the wet, break out the electric beaters and combine the two. (Note: The reason I don’t just add them both together and then break out the beaters is I’d kick up a fair amount of dust. And I hate cleaning up.) Once it looks like a giant mud-ball, you’re done!
Step five: Divide the mudball into four pieces and wrap it in rolls on the wax/plastic/parchment paper. It should look like an 8 - 10" roll. Put the roll inside the freezer bag, squish out as much air as possible, and store in your freezer for up to six months. If you manage to hit six months, you have much stronger willpower than I.
Part two (Per two dozen cookies):
Software
12 oz Peter’s Coating Eastchester Dark (I’ve tried eight different coating options. This one is the best IMO)
1 tsp Peppermint Oil
Hardware
Double boiler (One metal bowl on top of a pot with one inch of water boiling in it, if you’ve got steam coming out of the corners, your heat is on too high)
Slotted spoon or fork (If you use a fork, you’re significantly more likely to start swearing as you keep dropping the cookies)
Spatula
Baking Sheet
Parchment paper
Cookie cutter
Paring knife
Step one: Take your frozen mudsicle out of the freezer and give it a few hours to thaw. I waited about six hours, your time may vary.
Step two: Preheat your oven to 350F, and cover your cookie sheet with parchment paper
Step three: Cut the dough into 1/4" rounds. To get the rounds, I used a cleaned out tomato paste can with both ends cut off. I’d squeeze some through, and lop it off with the paring knife and onto the parchment paper. Space the cookies about 1/2" apart.
Step four: Bake for 10 minutes, and allow 30 minutes for the cookie to cool.
Step five: Set up your double boiler and add the chocolate chips, then drizzle the peppermint oil on top of that. Use the spatula to keep moving the chocolate around. Once you no longer see any lumps, it’s dunking time.
Step six: Take a cookie off your sheet, lay it on top of the chocolate, push it so it’s just submerged with the spoon, and then flip it. Fish it it out and tap it along the sides to remove excess chocolate. Once it’s no longer dripping and the surface appears smooth, place it back on the sheet. Repeat with the remaining cookies, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with your spatula.
Step seven: Once all the cookies have been completed, store in the fridge for an hour before digging in. And just like thin mints, they’re even better when they’re frozen.
Enjoy!