The Blog Christmas Cookie Train

The Blog Christmas Cookie Train has arrived at Candy Cane Lane. . . or at this recipe for White Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies!

This recipe is a blending of a recipe that appeared in Bon Appetit in 2005, with a glazing inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe.

This recipe is NOT for the dietary conscious (but are any Christmas cookies?)



Time: 11 minutes of baking; but lots of time with the little details
Yield: 36 very large sandwich cookies. Just skip dinner and eat these.

Ingredients:

Cookie:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), at room temperature
2 large eggs

Whisk flour, cocoa & salt in a bowl to blend. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter until well blended; beat in eggs. Add the dry ingredients to sugar mixture and beat until blended. Refrigerate dough for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll 1 level tablespoon of dough into a ball and then squish flat into a 2" round on the baking sheet. This works best if you actually measure out the 1 tablespoon rather than guess. Place about 2" apart on baking sheet.

Bake 11 minutes, and do not over-bake! Cool on pan for 5 minutes, move to cooling racks.

Filling:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 sticks, at room temperature (did I mention that there
are massive amounts of calories in this? but let's not go there.)

3/4 tsp peppermint extract

2 drops, approx, red food coloring. aim for pink; red would look really ugly; this is one spot where substituting would be just weird; orange would NOT look Christmasy, would it?)

1/4 cup crushed red-and-white striped candy canes (about 4 ounces) (time to vent anger with hammers!) Put the crushed candy on a plate.

With an electric mixer, beat powered sugar and butter until well blended. Add peppermint extract, and now add coloring. (let's all hope bleach will work well on those formerly white cabinets!)

Spread about 1 tsp of filling evenly over flat side of one cookie; top with another cookie, flat sides facing each other; roll cookie sides into crushed peppermint.

Glazing:

1/4 cup white chocolate morsels

Melt white chocolate in a heat-resistant bowl placed over a small pan of boiling water. Stir the chocolate, and once the morsels lose their shape, remove from heat and stir until completely melted. Transfer chocolate into a zip lock bag.

Snip a tiny hole in one corner of the bag, and squish the chocolate out of this hole onto the cookies in pretty squiggles. Before chocolate hardens, sprinkle some of the crushed candy canes on top of the cookies. Cool in refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Ward off hungry hordes demanding cookies until they promise to be at your beck and call, performing tricks or tasks. I vote for tasks.

Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days, or freeze.

Now, you lucky bunnies! You get to head over to the next stop on the fabulous, unbelievable, totally fattening Cookie Blog Train to another marvelous recipe! Have fun!

And just in case you get lost somewhere along the way, this is a list of all the stops on the Cookie Blog Train:

http://loishouston.typepad.com/thoughts-along-lifes-highway/
http://www.scatteredpoppies.com/
http://www.littlelifeofscrap.blogspot.com/
http://web.me.com/xnomads
http://www.evalyn.typepad.com
http://mypixelatedoasis.blogspot.com/
http://livelifeandscrapit.wordpress.com/
http://www.beglorious.blogspot.com/
http://www.deanabirks.com/
http://amberls365.blogspot.com/
http://mylifesingredients.blogspot.com/
http://purplecrazymum.blogspot.com/
http://www.cupcakequeenworld.blogspot.com/