Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in the vanilla and salt, followed by the flour. After mixing in the flour, switch to a rubber spatula and continue to mix the dough by hand to ensure all of the flour is incorporated.
- Split the dough nearly in half, giving one half a bit more dough. The larger half will be used for the chai spiced cookies.
- In a small dish, combine the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and allspice.
- Add to this larger half of dough and carefully fold in the spices. Give it a few folds to swirl the spices throughout. Do not completely mix them in.
- To the smaller half of dough that’s still sitting in the original mixing bowl, add the chopped chocolate and cherries. Mix to combine.
- Lay out two sheets of plastic wrap and place each dough in the center of the sheets. Form each piece of dough into a log that’s about 8-9 inches long.
- Tightly wrap the logs in the plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Scrape out the mixing bowl you used for the vanilla dough. No need to wash it, just make sure there are no large pieces of dough or mix ins left in the bowl.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in the salt and vanilla, followed by the flour and cocoa powder.
- Use a rubber spatula to mix the dough by hand to ensure all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Split the dough in half and add one half to a separate bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts.
- To the dough that’s still in the original mixing bowl, add the peppermint extract and chopped dark chocolate. Mix well to ensure the peppermint extract is well combined with the dough.
- Lay out two sheets of plastic wrap and add each half of dough to the sheets. Roll each piece of dough into an 8-9 inch log and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap. Chill alongside the vanilla dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Once the dough is chilled solid, roll each log in its coating. For the dark chocolate cherry dough, sprinkle a plate or pan with the raw sugar. Roll the dough in the sugar to fully coat. Press the sugar in with your hands to help it stick. If it doesn’t stick, brush the outside of the dough in a thin layer of egg wash (1 egg beat with 1 tbsp water).
- Repeat this process for the chai spiced cookies (rolling in the cinnamon sugar mixture), and the hazelnut cookies (rolling in 1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts). The peppermint cookies are left bare.
- Slice the ends off of each log and then slice each log into roughly 12 cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and place the sliced cookies in the refrigerator to chill while the oven heats up.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cookies onto the baking sheet, each spaced about 2 inches apart. Keep the remaining slices of cookie dough in the refrigerator while the first batch bakes.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are a very pale golden brown and the tops have turned matte.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and bake the rest of the dough.
- Once cooled, dunk the chocolate peppermint cookies. Place the melting chocolate and oil in a heat safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. Dunk one half of each cookie into the chocolate and then top with crushed candy canes. Transfer these cookies to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set.
- Your cookies are ready to enjoy!
Notes
FREEZING – The dough can be frozen in log form or sliced. In a log, chill firm in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then wrap in an extra layer of foil and place in the freezer. If sliced, chill the dough for 2 hours and then slice. Place the slices in a freezer safe bag or container. Both should keep for up to 1 month. Freezing in slices is recommended as it is difficult to cut frozen logs of dough.
SHIPPING – These cookies make a perfect gift and ship well. Group cookies by flavor, wrapping about 3 together at a time in plastic wrap. Wrap the peppermint cookies in plastic wrap and then foil to prevent other cookies from absorbing the peppermint flavor.