Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Bars Food

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in vanilla and almond extract until blended. On low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture until blended.
• Divide dough in half; flatten into rounds. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll each round to 1/4-inch thickness. Place dough on cookie sheet; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. Remove top sheet of waxed paper from dough; cut into 2 1/2 x 3/4-inch rectangles (reroll scraps once). On cookie sheets, place cookies 1 inch apart.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chips are softened and can be stirred smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Let stand until set. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

PEPPERMINT BAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, then beat in the food coloring and vanilla and peppermint extracts, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture in two batches until just combined.
• Spread the dough in the baking dish, pressing it with your hands until flat and even. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
• As soon as the bars come out of the oven, top with the white chocolate chips in a single layer. Let sit 2 minutes to soften, then spread into a thin layer with an offset spatula. Put the red candy melts in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted. Transfer to a small resealable plastic bag and snip a corner. Pipe diagonal stripes on top of the white chocolate. Sprinkle with the peppermint candies. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the bars cool completely.
• If the white chocolate is still soft, place the baking dish in the freezer for a few minutes until set. Lift the bars out of the baking dish, peel off the foil and cut into pieces.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer beat together the butter with the sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla. On a low speed beat in the flour mixture a little at a time. Gently mix in chocolate chips.
• On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop teaspoons of the batter about 2 inches apart. Bake until just cracked on top, about 8 to10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. Cool completely.
• For the glaze: In a small bowl mix together the sugar; mint extract and water until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium resealable plastic bag and snip off the corner. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Let cookies stand until set, about 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of paper to hang over the sides.
• Make the shortbread: In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add butter and process until a smooth dough forms. Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake until firm to the touch, and sides of the crust are beginning to pull away from the pan, about 25 minutes. Cool completely.
• Make the filling: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine confectioners' sugar, butter, cream and peppermint extract. Beat until mixture forms a thick, smooth paste. Press filling evenly over shortbread. Chill to set the filling for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Use parchment paper overhang to lift the shortbread and peppermint out of the baking pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares (there should be 36 squares). Place squares on a rack placed over a parchment-lined sheet tray, and let them come to room temperature for about 15 minutes.
• In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt 7 ounces chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat, add remaining 2 ounces chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.
• Add coconut oil, if using, and stir the chocolate until smooth. Spoon 1 teaspoon chocolate on top of a cut peppermint square, using the back of the spoon to spread chocolate to the edges. Be sure to fully cover the top of the square with chocolate. (Leave the sides exposed, though it's O.K. if some of the chocolate drips down.) Repeat with remaining squares.
• Let squares sit at room temperature until chocolate is set, at least 1 hour.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BARS

Steps:

• For Layer#1:.
• Melt chocolate and butter, stirring frequently.
• Cream eggs and sugar; add flour and chocolate mixture.
• Mix well and spread in 8x8 pan.
• Bake at 350F for 20 min; turn oven off and bake 5 min more.
• Let cool.
• For Layer#2:.
• Cream sugar and butter together.
• Blend in cream and extract.
• Spread on cooled crust layer and refrigerate until chilled.
• For Layer#3:.
• Melt chocolate and butter together; pour over peppermint layer.
• Chill& cut into small squares (this is rich!).

CHOCOLATE CHIP AND PEPPERMINT COOKIE BARK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In resealable food-storage plastic bag, place mints. With rolling pin or flat side of meat mallet, coarsely crush mints.
• In ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, break up cookie dough. In fine strainer and over dough, pour crushed mints; shake lightly so tiny pieces fall onto dough (reserve larger pieces of mints for garnish). With hands, knead tiny pieces of mints into dough; press dough in bottom of pan.
• Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla baking chips and oil on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth.
• With fork, drizzle half of melted chip mixture over cooled bars. Sprinkle with reserved crushed mints. Drizzle with remaining melted chip mixture (if mixture begins to firm up, microwave 10 to 15 seconds). Let stand until set, about 10 minutes. Break into irregular 2- to 3-inch pieces. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container.
• Cut this bark into bars instead of breaking it into pieces, if desired.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Tear off a 21" piece of aluminum foil; fold it to be 8 1/2" wide. Butter foil, leaving 3" on either end bare. Place foil, butter side up, into a 13x9x2 metal baking pan.
• Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
• In a stand mixer with paddle, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in chocolate chips and crushed peppermints. Spread dough evenly in prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until puffed and beginning to pull away from sides of pan, about 20 minutes. Place pan on a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. Lift cookies out with foil to a cutting board and cut into 2x1" bars. Remove from foil with spatula.