Dear anybody who is nice enough to view this blog:

I'm not going to claim to be a cook, baker, whatever. I like to make treats, and I'm slowly getting into cooking meals. There are two main purposes for this blog: 1) I think it will inspire me to cook/bake more often, and 2) I like when people share recipes with me, so I figured this would be a fun way to share the recipes that I like.

I hope you like some of the recipes I find. Also, I would love you forever if you shared your favorite recipes with me. Remember, cooking newbie here. Thanks!

Friday, January 8, 2010

chocolate-mint truffle cookies

After many weeks (or months) of saying I was going to make the chocolate-mint truffle cookies, I finally made them. They actually weren't too hard to make. I learned a few things, and I think the next time I make the whole process will go a lot smoother. But I didn't light anything on fire so I'd say it already went really smooth.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 tsp. peppermint extract (I just used mint extract)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (4.6 oz) mint Andes candies, chopped, divided
2 tsp. shortening, divided
1/2 cup vanilla or white chips

1. Over low heat, melt butter and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Stir in the egg, sugars and extracts.
3. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture.
4. Fold 3/4 cup Andes candies.
5. Roll dough into balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake at 350˚ for 8-10 minutes or until tops appear slightly dry.
7. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. (I forgot to do this with one of the little cookies, and it tore off the bottom. So I highly recommend the wire racks.)
8. In a microwave, melt 1 tsp. shortening and remaining chocolate chips and Andes candies; stir until smooth. Melt vanilla chips and remaining shortening; stir until smooth.
9. Dip half of the cookies in melted chocolate mixture; dip remaining cookies in melted vanilla mixture. Immediately sprinkle with toppings of your choice. Let stand until set.
Yields about 2-1/2 dozen.

OK. So I mostly followed the recipe. I actually forgot to put in the salt, so I guess it doesn't fall apart without that 1/8 tsp. I would probably make the little chocolate balls a little smaller. Oh, we didn't make any vanilla topping — why make vanilla when you have chocolate? Also, I would dip the cookies once. Wait, then dip them again. I think it would have a better coating with two dips. For toppings, I favored the chopped almond.
This recipe is from the November/December 2009 Taste of Home.

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