Chocolate Mint Shortbreads

Do you like mint and chocolate together?  Me too.  I wanted a bar cookie that was chocolaty, minty, and surprised your mouth all at the same time.  This recipe is the result of my efforts.  These are not brownies.  They are delicate and crumbly and minty and you get to use a hammer to make them.  Why wouldn't you want to try them?

 
 












 

Notes:
My mint extract is oil-based as opposed to alcohol-based.  The cocoa powder I use for this recipe is Natural High Fat Cocoa from Penzeys Spices and the peppermint candies are YummyEarth wild peppermint candy drops.  I like the contrast of white peppermints against the chocolate and the mint flavor of the YummyEarth candy drops is really intense.  To crush the candies, unwrap them and place them in a Ziplock bag.  Place the bag on a cutting board, and hit the candies with a hammer.  You don’t have the make all of the pieces the same size.  If you can't find YummyEarth peppermint candies, the traditional red and white ones will work!

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup butter, cold
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons mint extract
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided use)
3 tablespoons milk
20 hard mint candies, crushed

Yields 80-100 1”x1.5” bars depending on how you cut them.

Assemble and Bake:
Line a jelly roll pan (15.5”x10”) with a piece of foil, leaving a two-inch overhang at each end.  Preheat the oven to 300°F.  Sift the flour and the cocoa powder together, and set aside.  Combine the butter with both types of sugar in a food processor with the metal blade.  Pulse several times until combined.  Add the mint extract, and pulse until incorporated.  Then add the flour-cocoa mixture and the milk, and pulse again.  The dough will be crumbly looking, but will hold together when you pinch it between two fingers.  If it is too dry to hold together, add more milk a ½ tablespoon at a time until it does hold together.  Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips.  Spread the mixture out in the foil-lined pan and press it firmly in the pan using the bottom of a measuring cup.  Bake at 300°F for 25-30 minutes, until the top looks dry and you can smell the chocolate.

Top It:
While the shortbread is still warm, distribute the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top so that the heat of the shortbread can melt the chocolate.  Once the chips have melted, use an off-set spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate evenly over the shortbread and then sprinkle the crushed mint candies on top.

Cut It:
Once the shortbread is cool and the chocolate is set, use the foil overhang to lift the bar onto a cutting board.  Use a sharp knife to trim the edges off, and then cut the shortbread into 1”x1.5” rectangles.  Make sure that none of the squares have any foil remaining on the bottom. Pin It