Lots going on in the Giddy Gourmand's kitchen lately, so here's a sneak peek at a test batch of cookies I recently came up with. First, the backstory. It's long, so grab some paprika-dusted popcorn and enjoy your first trip back to the Giddy Gourmand's childhood :)
My mom, who is an amazing cook and baker, as well as my main culinary influence, makes this amazing cookie every year and I have yet to taste anything like it. It's a double chocolate chip cookie with just a touch of peppermint extract. The dough is chilled, formed into 1-inch balls, then rolled in powdered sugar. As the cookies expand during baking, the sugar spreads and creates a very pretty crackle effect. For lack of a better term, I dubbed them Snowy Cookies because they look like little chocolate snowballs when they're finished. Whenever I make them myself, they never come out quite like Mom's - guess I need a few more years of experience and that special touch that only moms have :)
Anyway, coming from a baking family, holiday time in my house was always a big deal. During the last week of November, Mom would break out the trusty old orange Betty Crocker cookbook to prepare for the annual Christmas cookie bakeoff. I would watch in awe as she skillfully flipped through just about every cookie recipe in the book, all the while anticipating the delicious cookie aromas that would soon fill the house. Snowy Cookies were introduced a few years after our traditional Thumbprints, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Sugar Cookies and Florentine Lace - but they quickly became a family favorite all the same. Now that I'm all grown up, I've incorporated Snowy Cookies into my own holiday baking as well and not a year goes by without at least one batch. This year, I had a surplus of Snowy Cookie dough - so I stored it in my freezer to use at a later date.
That brings us back to present day. A few days ago, I wanted to bake a treat for my awesome boyfriend and remembered the Snowy Cookie dough in my freezer. However, it was already late at night - and while I am a bit of a night owl, I didn't really feel up to doing the whole roll-in-sugar deal. Why not just bake them like a regular chocolate chip cookie? Sure, sounds like a great idea! I used my trusty #70 cookie dough scooper and soon discovered a new rule: do not use a scooper on frozen cookie dough. SNAP! Apparently, frozen cookie dough will snap that little scoop right off its designated gears. Minor setback aside - the cookies were all scooped out onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet and into the 350-degree, preheated oven they went.
Ten minutes later, they looked great. After the cookies were completely cooled, I did a quick taste test (absolutely mandatory, of course!) and was pleased to see that the original chewiness of the cookies was still there in this new form. The kiss of mint was perfect and the chocolate was rich and velvety. Wonderful. But, these were a gift - how to give them even more of a personality? Looking through my pantry, I decided that these cookies were going gourmet: the double chocolate chip mint cookies would be dipped in white chocolate with a dark chocolate drizzle. The end result?
I really loved the addition of even more chocolate to this already decadent cookie. The contrast of the white and dark chocolate gives this cookie an instant makeover, making it a perfect and delicious gift for any special occassion. And, they were a big hit with the boyfriend too! I haven't tried my Snow-free Snowy Cookies on Mom yet, but I have a pretty good feeling that she'll like this new revision as well. What do you think of putting a new twist on a favorite family recipe? Let me know if you have any stories of your own - I love to hear from my fellow foodies!
