1/2 cup butter, unsalted
1 cup sugar, granulated
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp mint extract
1/2 tsp mint extract
1/2 cup flour, unbleached
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder, double-acting
2 oz chocolate, unsweetened
1 non-paralleils, multi-colored
2 tsp water
Directions
Beat butter until soft; gradually add sugar and blend until creamy.
Mix in beaten egg and extracts. DON'T USE A FOOD PROCESSOR!!!
Stir salt and baking powder into flour; stir into butter/sugar
mixture.
Melt chocolate in water over a double-boiler; add to dough. Form into
a long roll approximately 2" - 3" wide. Wrap dough with plastic wrap
and chill overnight.
Slice dough 1/4" thick and place on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle
with non-paralleils and press in slightly with back of spoon. Bake in
400 degree oven for 8 - 10 minutes. Cool cookies on rack.
Vicki's notes:
* Can substitute 3 oz. semi-sweet chips for the chocolate.
* These cookies came about when my husband asked me to make
chocolate-mint cookies for Christmas. (They are based on the
refrigerator cookies in "Joy of Cooking," with my own variations.)
Although disappointed because he really wanted Girl Scout cookies
(!), everybody else likes them and I've had several requests for the
recipe. (Actually, my husband usually asks for chocolate chip
cookies, no matter what time of year...)
Servings: 3 dozen
Brian's Chocolate Mint Christmas Cookies Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chocolate; Christmas; Cookie; Dessert; Holiday
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be found way back into ancient history, at least as far into history as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that maybe, sadly, these old cook books were just very simple pictorial instructions for food preparation.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe found, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of ancient tablets in the Sumerian language describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel exhilarated and blissful. As we move into The time of the roman empire 25BC a man called Apicius created a few documents showing how to cook the recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were split into starters, main meal and desserts, a very modern way of dining. This early Roman chef recounts how the Roman chefs used a good variety of herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs like bay, rue and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times we have some interesting books which date from the 14th Century ; one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, they have no connection with the indian curry that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of food enjoyed by the rich people of that period. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of spices and herbs from the East, such as basil and coriander. These new spices and herbs was responsible for an explosion in recipe books, most of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. By the arrival of the twentieth century, cooking publications are greatly in demand mostly due to increased literacy, people having more free time and being a little richer. The introduction of television brings us TV chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which brings us neatly up to date and the internet revolution, allowing us all to search through thousands of recipes such as those found on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Brian's Chocolate Mint Christmas Cookies recipe.
