Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies

My sister and I have started a lovely little tradition of baking cookies together to share with our family for Christmas. This year we made four (including the traditional chocolate chip which cannot be messed with) including this tasty bite I found at Life, Love & Sugar. Perfect amount of chocolate and mint (you will see I added more mint than the original recipe and I thought it was just right as adjusted). Make sure not to over-bake these or they will end up more like chocolate mint scones. If you make the recipe as is, you will have a lot of leftover mints and Oreos. Rough stuff. As a side note, ever tried frozen Oreo cookies?

Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies
How I Did It:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flout
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup Andes mints, chopped
1 cup Mint Oreo, broken up

1. Whisk together the first three ingredients and then set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).

3. Beat in egg and vanilla extract

4. Add in dry ingredients and beat just until combined.

5. Stir in Andes Mints and Mint Oreos until evenly distributed.

6. Chill for at least 2 hours (overnight is fine).

7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls and space 2 inches apart on your prepared cookie sheet.

8. Bake for about 8 minutes or until edges are firm, but center looks still slightly unset. Remove and let cool slightly before continuing to cool on a cooling rack. Fantastic served warm, but still good for a couple days if kept in an airtight container (does not need to be refrigerated).

Andes Mints Muddy Buddies

Muddy buddies (or puppy chow if you'd prefer) is one of the most addicting desserts. I think part of the reason is that it feels a bit like a snack and it's easy to just pop in your mouth. You think, I'll just have a couple and then all of a sudden you have eaten the whole bowl! Also, they're delicious. Aside from the original peanut butter and chocolate muddy buddies (which are fantastic as they are), I have also made Harvest/Halloween Muddies Buddies and coconut muddy buddies. I'm not sure which are my favorite, but if you like mint and chocolate, you'll love these. I had some leftover and friends who have been over open up on the bowl to take a couple handfuls every time they walk by. I can't say that I blame them!

Andes Mints Muddy Buddies
How I Did It:

5 cups Rice Chex
2 boxes Andes Chocolate Mints
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp red sprinkles
1/2 tbsp green sprinkles

1. In a double-boiler, melt the Andes Mints and chocolate chips.

2. While the chocolate is melting, pour the Rice Chex into a large bowl and set aside. Pour the powdered sugar into a separate bowl and mix the sprinkles in.

3. Once the chocolate starts to get glossy, stir to speed up the melting. Pour immediately over the Chex and gently stir to combine. At first it might not seem like enough chocolate, but keep stirring until the Chex is fully and fairly evenly coated.

4. 1/2 cup at a time, pour the powdered sugar mixture over the gooey Chex. Stir to coat. Make sure all of the cereal is completely coated in powdered sugar. If it's warm out, you might want to lay it out flat to dry. Once dry, cover and store in an airtight container. Will last for several days before starting to get stale.

Peppermint Patty Brownie Bites

How I had not made brownie bites before? They are like the brownie bar's better looking and much more well behaved sibling. I got it into my head that I should make brownie bites for a Saint Patty's Day party I was going to this afternoon. I had all of these ideas for how to make them more fun and a little more festive. I'm not sure why I thought putting a peppermint patty in the middle would make them Irish, but they sure did taste good! I am using past tense because they are long gone.

Peppermint Patty Brownie Bites

How I did it:

Your favorite brownie recipe (or box mix)

20 peppermint patties

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare brownies according to recipe.

3. Thoroughly grease mini muffin tins (I used 20 tins).

4. Drop a small amount of the brownie batter into the bottom of each tin. Make sure the bottom is covered. Place an upsidedown peppermint patty on the top of each and press down gently. Cover with batter, making sure all holes are filled. Fill any leftover (empty) tins with a half inch or so of water so you don't ruin your pan. 

5. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes. As tempting as it is, do not remove the brownies right away or they will fall apart. When slightly cooled, gently twist the brownie and pull up. If it does not come out easily it needs more time. 

Microwaved brownie bite...messy, but so worth it!

Serve immediately to enjoy the creamy center or wait until cooled to experience the traditional peppermint patty texture. You can re-heat in the microwave for about 10-30 seconds, depending how gooey you want it. 

Chocolate Covered Mint Oreos

It was post-dinner on a Friday night and the amount of time I had before needing to head out the door was quickly dwindling. I had wanted to make something sweet to give to my friend, but delays on my commute home limited my options. Cookies were out and something about a bar dessert doesn't really scream, "Happy Birthday." So yes, I decided to cover something in chocolate. Chocolate covered Oreos have the distinction of being ridiculously delicious, very presentable, simple to make in whatever quantity you desire, and just all around quick and easy with great results. Or, at least they should be...

I wanted to go with a St Patrick's Day theme. My idea was this: Mint Oreos with the green center, coated in a layer of dark chocolate, frozen until well set and then covered in a layer of white chocolate. Before the white chocolate set I planned to sprinkle them with green sugar. In my mind, they looked beautiful.

As you can tell, it was a fail. Even though I worked quickly the warm white chocolate immediately and disastrously melted the dark chocolate underneath creating what you see above. I would love to try again as it had the potential to look really neat and it sure did taste good! 

I ended up giving her the best look of the double dipped Oreos (not pictured), and just leaving the rest with the single coat. Next time I'll do the white chocolate first. Any other ideas?

Chocolate Covered Mint Oreos

How I did it:

1/2 bag dark chocolate chips 

1/2 bag white chcolate chips (if you want to be daring)

12 Cool Mint Oreos

1. Prepare a cookie sheet with wax paper and set next to the stove. 

2. In a double boiler, melt half a bag of dark chocolate chips (or more/less depending how much you would like to make). Be careful not to get any water or steam into the chocolate as it will seize and be ruined. Mix with a spoon until smooth. One at a time drop the desired amount of Oreos into the chocolate and flip around with a fork until coated. Carefully remove the Oreos by sliding the fork underneath and lifting out and placing on the cookie sheet. 

3. The Oreos can be put either in the fridge or the freezer to set. Putting them in the freezer ensures that you will be able to eat/transport them within a few minutes. 

4. If you are daring you can repeat the same process with the white chocolate on top and then put them back in the freezer to set again.