Mint Chocolate Shamrock Cookies

Last year I told you all a tale of a hard working girl and the length's she would go through to make a few extra bucks on St. Patrick's day. The story also included a recipe for Chicken Shepherd's Pie. Click here for the recipe and the story. I don't have any stories to tell this year. Just a fun recipe to help you get into the spirit of a good old fashioned American Irish tradition.

MINT CHOCOLATE SHAMROCK COOKIES:

2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled slightly

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons of pure peppermint extract

1 cup of 60% dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

1 egg

1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 package of Wilton's Green Candy Melts

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter together. Whisk in the peppermint and chocolate. Then add the egg and whisk thoroughly.

In medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder. salt and baking soda.

Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the butter mixture. Give it a good stir. The batter will be stiff.

Let the dough rest for about an hour on the counter. The texture of the dough will become very much like play dough.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lay a piece of parchment onto the counter. Dump the dough on top of the parchment and mold into a square.

PREPARATION TIP: At this point, the dough can rest in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. However, when you are ready for rolling and cutting, bring the dough up to room temperature first.

Cover the dough with another sheet of parchment paper and roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 2 or 3 inch shamrock cookie cutter and transfer the cookies to the baking sheet. Be gentle! Mold the scraps of dough together and rolled it out for more cookies. I was able to get 30-2 inch cookies out of this dough.

Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes. The cookies are very dark and you will not be able to SEE if they are done. You can lightly press in the center of the dough and if it is stiff to the touch, the cookies are done. After 2 minutes of being pulled from the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt the green candy.

Dip the cookies into the candy melts and let them dry on a piece of parchment paper. I get my parchment paper from a website called webstaurant.com. They have bulk items at great prices.