When it’s peppermint bark cookies!

A staple of our holiday cookie baskets has always been peppermint bark. It’s quick (melt dark chocolate, melt white chocolate, smash candy canes), and easy (mix them together and wait for it to set) and people love it. This year, however, I wanted to try something different and, to be honest, I wanted to avoid the whole chocolate-tempering issue. I wanted a cookie with some snap and the flavors and appearance of chocolate peppermint bark. Here’s what I came up with – a thin chocolate cookie base topped with white chocolate and peppermint candy bits. The cookie foundation is adapted from the chocolate wafers in Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies By Alice Medrich.

.75 cups cocoa powder

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated white sugar

.25 teaspoon kosher salt

.25 teaspoon baking soda

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pieces

3 tablespoons of whole milk

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 – 2.5 cups finely chopped white chocolate

.33 – .5 cups smashed peppermint candies

Get Ready

Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Line a half-sheet pan (a 13×18 inch rimmed baking sheet) with parchment paper.

Make The Base

In a food processor, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Pulse a few times. Add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse until it’s almost mixed in. Combine the milk and vanilla and, with the processor running, add it to the processor and process until the dough comes together in a ball. Put the dough into the pan and press it out to cover the bottom of the pan. The layer should be about .25 inches thick. When you’re done, cover it with plasic wrap and smooth it with a rolling pin. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just smoothed out. Tip: You can also take the dough out of the processor, wrap it in plastic wrap, put it in the fridge for a few hours, then roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap and put it in the pan. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325. Bake for about another 5 minutes. It will puff up, then deflate. Be careful not to overbake it. Place the pan on a cooling rack and cool the base in the pan. If, after cooling a bit, the base doesn’t seem crisp enough, you can put it back in the oven for another 5 – 15 minutes. It’s done when, after cooling for a bit, the edges are pretty firm but the very center may be a bit tender. Again be careful not to let it overcook! (Nobody likes a burnt chocolate cookie). Make sure the base is completely cool before topping.

Make The Topping

Carefully melt the white chocolate. Tip: Be careful – white chocolate can be uncooperative. Try melting it in a bowl set on top of a pot of gently simmering water – the bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water. Stir it constantly until it’s melted and don’t walk away until you’re done. Scrape the chocolate onto the base and spread it out with an offset spatula. Before the chocolate sets, evenly sprinkle the peppermint bits on top of the white chocolate. Press them down a bit (and then you get to lick your fingers – cook’s treat!)

Serving: