Don’t you just love this time of year? I always look forward to Christmastime as there is something so fun and cozy about all of the lights, movies, sweaters and baking all the things. This past weekend the husband was at work, so I decided to go get a coffee from Starbucks, put on a Christmas playlist and bake some cookies. I baked up a chocolate cookie recipe with dark chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter chips, but since this was Christmas I also added some colorful icing on top to make it a little more festive.
Although a stand up mixer would be handy, I like to mix my cookie dough by hand. There is something about the process that I enjoy, so I take my time and really get into mixing the ingredients together one by one.
Having this time to myself is very calming and therapeutic. I love the process of creating a baked good and to really take my time in every detail. These chocolate cookies are so delectable too as they really turn out like fudgy brownie bites. I baked this batch for my husband to take to work to share with his colleges who work in the ICU as well.
After the cookies are all baked I opened the red and green icing and created fun patterns on the cookies to give it a festive touch.
And of course I enjoyed a couple of cookies for myself by the Christmas Tree. It was a Sunday of baking at home and it was cozy and delicious all at the same time. I will provide the recipe if you are interested in baking these cookies too. The recipe is not my own, just one that I picked up online from www.houseofnasheats.com.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl or a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars and beat for 3-4 minutes, until light. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt to the other mixture and mix on low speed or mix by hand, just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and give them a quick stir so they are evenly distributed. Gently stir or fold in 1 3/4 cups of the chips into the cookie batter, setting the remaining chips aside in reserve.
- Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of cookie dough for each cookie and shape into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. You might need to refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes in order to work with it as it is a very soft dough, although I can usually skip that step as long as I work quickly. Once the dough is shaped, place the balls on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes, just until set. Do not overbake.
- As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, press a few of the reserved chocolate and peanut butter chips into the top of each cookie. It’s a total vanity move but adding the extra chips at the end makes the cookies look so pretty and festive. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and store in an air-tight container.
Leave a Reply