Recipe
These Peppermint Mocha Cookies Will Put Your Post-Holiday Candy Cane Stash to Good Use
The holiday season has passed. Lights and trees have come down (maybe? hopefully?), the sweaters have been put away, real life is starting to kick in again, and you probably still have some candy canes sitting out just begging to be eaten. But don't worry, I got you. These peppermint mocha cookies are the answer.
Let's face it: candy canes are the true Ghost of Christmas Past. They come in boxes of twelve, and you've probably only gone through three candy canes. There are too many left to eat in a reasonable amount of time, but you spent money on those things, so you don't want to throw them away! In the event that none of these other uses suit your fancy, I challenge you to channel your inner coffee-lover with these awesome cookies.
Before you get kickin' on these peppermint mocha cookies, here's a quick note about cocoa powder. I have found that using cocoa powder containing Dutch process cocoa keeps the dough more firm (Hershey's Special Dark works great). You can surely use regular cocoa, but the dough will be softer and the cookies will come out of the oven flatter. I learned this the hard way. Here's a great article on why there's a difference. If you don't have Dutch process cocoa but don't want flat cookies, you can add a collective 1/4 cup of cocoa and flour to counteract it.
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
- Servings: 30
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Hershey's Special Dark works best
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1-2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup finely-crushed candy canes; about 5 regular-sized
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar to coat
- Marshmallows to fill the cookies; slightly stale works best
- Crushed candy canes as desired to coat
- Instant coffee or espresso powder as desired to coat
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Voilà! You can keep these cute peppermint mocha cookies stored in an air-tight container for up to five days. You can also freeze them, or the dough, for three months.
Recipe adapted from What's Gaby Cooking.