Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Remember how I'm supposed to be making this huge transition into working on my own (slash with my Mom!), and how I'm really excited to do it, and how I can't wait for that time to come? Well... I still can't wait for that time to come. Which was supposed to be this week. Like on Monday.

Technically, I am making the transition. Hooray! More realistically, I'm still going into work 3 hours a day for the next two weeks. This really puts a damper on my productivity at home. If I'm going to have to get dressed, go out, change gears, etc. there are a lot more excuses for not being productive with the NEW work I should be doing from home.

What have I accomplished this week? Let's see... I've cleaned our washing machine, resumed going to (real, in public, at a class) yoga, caught up on my Glee and 30 Rock, made a cake (tbp, to-be-posted), made some bread, caught up with friends around town, and made these cookies.

Most of that isn't awful stuff to do (let's leave the Glee out of this); however, that is certainly not what pays the bills. If only...

When all else fails: make these cookies. They're astonishingly delicious — seriously, I think I've found my new chocolate ______ cookie base recipe. They're dense, full of chocolate, soft, and downright amazing. For these, I considered adding some peppermint extract; however, with the crushed candy canes mixed in AND on the outside, it is definitely not necessary. In fact, adding extract would probably be overkill. These cookies had just the perfect balance of chocolate and peppermint — and they look pretty damn fun, too! I'm trying not to toot my own horn here, but really: get on it.

This dough is super thick, so be careful with your final mixing. Roll 'em in crushed candy cane before you bake (not too much, I learned), and you'll have some show-stealing cookies on your hands in a jiffy! I took our last batch to work this week, much to Derek's chagrine when he discovered we no longer had any at home... Luckily he had a few hidden at school! Sly dog...

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups, divided, crushed candy canes
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl. Whisk together, and set aside.

With a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy — at least 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of the mixing bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract.

Since this dough will be VERY firm, add ¾ cups crushed candy canes, and the chocolate chips, at this point. Mix on low until incorporated. Add the flour mixture, mixing slowly until just incorporated.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Using a small cookie scoop, or a spoon, form ⅛ cup balls of dough and roll them, excluding their base, in the remaining ¾ cup crushed candy canes. They will not spread very much during baking, so set them 1 to 2 inches apart on a lined cookie sheet. Cook for 9-11 minutes. They will not look done, but the edges will be set.

Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.