Kneader's Peppermint Brownies

During the holiday season, my Christmas is not complete until I've had at least one York Peppermint Pattie...or a whole bag of minis, but hey, who's counting?!  So when I saw this Kneader's Peppermint Brownie recipe floating all over the internet, I knew it was a must-bake.  And it is.  I vow to make this over and over in the holiday seasons to come.  It was that good.


Kneader's Peppermint Brownies
adapted

Brownies:
1 cup butter
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups Splenda sugar blend
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13x2 baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a microwavable bowl, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate on high, stirring every 20-30 seconds until chocolate is melted.  Let cool slightly.  Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips until just combined.  Pour into pan and bake 25 minutes.  Do not overcook.  Let cool.

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
Peppermint extract to taste (as mentioned above, I love peppermint, so I used around 8 drops)
Red food coloring

Beat the softened butter, sugar, and extract together until you achieve your perfect mint flavoring.  Add in red food coloring.  I made mine a bright red for Christmas, so I used several drops.  Spread evenly over cool brownies, then chill.

Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup half and half
Crushed peppermint

Put the chips and half and half into a microwaveable bowl.  Melt on high, stirring every 20 seconds until chocolate is melted and mixture is well combined.  Make sure not to overheat!  Immediately pour on brownies and decorate with crushed peppermint.

Although there are three steps to this recipe, everything goes quickly and it is definitely worth it!    

Chocolate & Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches

Hello Christmas season!  My mom's office Christmas party was today so last night I baked these super festive cute holiday cookies for her to bring.  The chocolate cookies have a true wafer taste - chocolatey, but definitely not to sweet.  This evens out well with the sweet peppermint middles, giving the whole cookie sandwich a good balance.

Chocolate & Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches
(Adapted from the Chocolate Mint Wafer recipe in The Taste of Home Baking Book)

For the wafers:
2/3 cup butter - softened
1/2 cup Splenda sugar blend
1/2 cup packed Splenda brown sugar blend
1/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (of course you can use 2 cups of all purpose, I just wanted to add some fiber)
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 tsp salt
About 5 drops of green food coloring

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars.  Once this mixture is fluffy, mix in the milk and egg.  Gradually add in the flours, baking cocoa, and other dry ingredients.  Mix until well combined.  Cover and refrigerate for two hours or until firm.

After the two hours have passed, remove the dough and let it warm just a bit so it's not frigidly cold.  If it's too cold, it can be hard to work with.  On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut with a cookie cutter that is approximately 1.5 inches.  Place cookies on a greased baking sheet about an inch apart.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Let cool for several minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.  This recipe should make around 75 wafers.

Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix until everything is very well combined. 

Once the cookies are completely cooled, ice the inside of half of the wafers and top with the remaining wafers.  As an added bonus, I added red sprinkles on the outside of the icing to make them extra festive!