Chocolate Mint Dream Sandwich Cookies
by Karen Burkett
(Reseda, Ca US)
Chocolate Mint Dream Sandwich Cookies
My 10 yr old daughter loves mint, so I took a recipe for a whip cream filled cake that was handed down from generation to generation in my family and altered it by adding mint extract to the filling.
To my surprise, the minty twist seemed to be a great hit with not only my daughter, but with everyone that tried this new/old fashioned dessert. Even my grandmother, who had given me the original recipe was impressed with the cool, fresh taste the mint added to the recipe she had been making all of her life.
I was preparing my minty cake one day with my 5 year old daughter by my side. She was standing on a little stool - she always stood on to help me in the kitchen, snacking on a chocolate cookie left over from a batch of cookies I had made the previous day.
I had the whip cream filling prepared in my mixing bowl on the counter in front of her, I turned to grab a spoon to scoop the filling on to the cake and when I turned back towards my daughter, she had dipped her cookie into the whipped cream. She laughed when I caught her and said it was yummy.
Her small mischievous act sparked the creation of a Chocolate Mint Dream Sandwich Cookie. I top homemade chocolate cookies with the special chocolate and cream fillings I use in my Minty Dream Cake.
The cookies are easier to bring to get-togethers and much easier to serve. They provide the same delicious minty coolness as the cake, in a portable individual serving.
My Chocolate Mint Dream Sandwich Cookies are a hit wherever they go.
I guess you could say my 5 and 10 year old daughters inspired me to create this recipe. We now have a new recipe that we can pass down from generation to generation.
Chocolate Mint Dream Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients:- 1 1/4 cups margarine, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 18 ounces semisweet chocolate chips; divided
- 2 cups whipping cream, chilled
- 1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup shaved chocolate
Directions:
For the Cookies:
Heat oven to 350F degrees.
In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually blend into creamed mixture. Stir in 2 cups or 12 oz chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling).
Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet onto wire rack. Cool completely.
For the Filling:
Stir the chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly.
Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup of cream in another large bowl until thick and fluffy.
Fold 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate.
Fold half of the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
Fold in the remaining whipped cream.
In another clean large bowl, add the remaining cream and mint extract.
Using an electric mixer with clean beaters, beat on medium speed and gradually add the powdered sugar. Beat until firm peaks form. Fold in the shaved chocolate.
Spoon the chocolate mixture onto the bottom of half of the cookies.
Spoon the minty cream mixture onto the bottoms of the other half of the cookies.
Lightly press one of each topped cookie together.
Freeze until set.
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