Peppermint Brownie Cookies
Hi!
Hello, Cookie Season! So this recipe is easy but it’s sort of a time consumer, so plan accordingly. I have an obsession with ASMR youtube baking videos. (Do you know what ASMR is? If not, click here and discover this insane trend. Fair warning, it’s not for everyone!) One of my favorites is Korean channel, Cooking tree 쿠킹트리. Is it weird that I find the sounds of creaming butter and sugar soothing?!
This recipe is a play on Cooking Trees' Nutella Brownie Cookies. The moment I saw these, I knew I needed to bake a peppermint version. These cookies are soft, like a brownie, but have a touch of a sugar cookie crisp. They bake up so easily and really require minimal equipment, but they do require a kitchen scale — sorry to all the volume measurement people out there! These need to be an exact ration for the sugar cookie coating to work with the inside brownie. There’s really no getting around that, unfortunately. I have linked a very great (and cheap!) kitchen scale in my "good to knows". I have also included a reference image above the "good to knows" to show how to assemble the cookie dough balls. Sometimes we all need a visual!
I hope you all enjoy these as I've been enjoying them today. I mean, you can never go wrong with peppermint and chocolate, amirght! Also, happy day 4 of my first annual Bakemas!
If you do bake these cookies, and I hope you do, I’d love to share in the moment with you. Tag me on instagram @foxandcrane and use my hashtag #foxandcrane so I may see your Peppermint Brownie Cookies!
xo -Jase
…Good to Knows…
Warning: These cookies take a bit of time (approx 3-hours) to mix and construct, so please read the instructions thoroughly and plan accordingly!
This is a kitchen scale recipe! Because the dough ball needs to be a specific weight, this recipe isn’t one where volume can vary. The ratio of vanilla bean sugar cookie coating to the peppermint brownie inside needs to be exact. Here is a link to a very affordable kitchen scale!
I provided a Good to Knows image in this recipe showing a visual of the forming stages. Please reference this image for more clarity on how to assemble the dough balls.
If you do bake these, I’d love to share in the moment with you. Tag me on instagram @foxandcrane and use my hashtag #foxandcrane so I may see your baking adventures.
…Provisions…
Surface: Erickson Surfaces
Metal Pan: Vintage Ovenex
Knife: Pallarès Solsona
Dessert Plate: East Fork Pottery
For a full list of recipes, check out the Recipe Index
Peppermint Brownie Cookies
…makes 30-35 cookies…
Peppermint Brownie (Inside)
300g dark chocolate
86g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
2 large brown eggs
100g dark brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
100g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
130g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie (Coating)
155g (11 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g white granulated sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 large brown egg
2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or the seeds from one vanilla bean pod
300g all-purpose flour
…METHOD…
Peppermint Brownie
As always, weigh out, gather and prepare all ingredients prior to mixing. In a large-sized, heatproof bowl, add chocolate, butter and cream cheese and place over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the bowl does not touch the water. With a rubber spatula, stir chocolate ganache until all the ingredients have become homogeneous and the ganache turns silky. Do not allow the ganache to boil. Remove bowl from heat, and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until the eggs are foamy and the sugar is fully incorporated, approx. 30 seconds.
Now pour 1/4 of the ganache into the egg mixture, and whisk together to temper the eggs. Add the tempered egg mixture to the remaining ganache and whisk to combine. Add vanilla and peppermint extract and whisk to combine.
At this time, fold in the flour and baking soda using a rubber spatula, and stir until there are no more streaks of flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie
In a large-sized bowl, using a whisk or a hand-held mixer, cream the unsalted butter, sugar and salt until mixture is fluffy and pale in color. Now whisk in the egg and vanilla.
Fold in the flour using a rubber spatula, and stir until there are no more streaks of flour. Using your hands, kneed the mixture, like dough, until it comes together. Note: this mixture will seem very dry and crumbly at first. Continue to mix, kneading with your hands, until it becomes a soft dough.
Place dough mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 1/2-inch rectangle, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
…BAKE and SERVE…
When you are ready to bake the cookies, remove both doughs from the refrigerator. Portion out the peppermint brownie dough into 20g portions, and the vanilla bean sugar cookie dough into 15g portions.
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line a couple sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Using your hands, gently roll these portions into small balls. The doughs will soften as they sit out of the refrigerator, which is what you want. Keep the finished balls under a piece of plastic wrap as you continue to roll them.
Once all the balls have been rolled out, take a vanilla bean sugar cookie ball and place it in the palm of your hand, pressing it into a flat disk (approx. 3-inches wide). Now place a peppermint brownie ball onto the flattened vanilla bean sugar cookie dough and carefully wrap the vanilla bean sugar cookie dough around the peppermint brownie. Note: you are aiming for a thin layer around the peppermint brownie ball. Note: If it seems that the vanilla bean sugar cookie dough isn’t going to make it around, keep thinning out the dough and stretching it around until the inside is fully coated. Continue this until all the peppermint brownie dough is wrapped with the vanilla bean sugar cookie dough.
When the oven is preheated to 350°F, drop the temp to 325°F. Place the dough balls on your prepared sheet pans, 2 inches apart, then gently press them into round disks, approx. 1/2 thick.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, then allow the cookies to cool completely on their sheet pans. Once cool, move cookies to a serving plate and enjoy!
Peppermint Brownie Cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to a week!
Easiest skillet recipe, although a handful of steps, that will impress your dinner guests every time!