Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lately, it seems like everyone you ask has been discovering new hobbies or getting back into ones they've enjoyed for a while. I've been doing a lot of baking recently and have found many new recipes as well as new ideas for some I already love.

One recipe I've been experimenting with lately is mint chocolate chip cookies. I've always loved chocolate chip cookies and I've been trying out different extracts and flavorings and peppermint has been a huge favorite lately. The original recipe I started with came from a food blog called The Food Charlatan. They have a lot of great recipes so give them a look!

One of the ingredients I decided to alter was the chocolate chips. The recipe calls for dark chocolate but after making the first batch, it was agreed by most that it was a bit bitter. I decided to try using semi-sweet and that seemed to make a big difference.

Cream of tartar was also an ingredient I decided to make a substitution for. I usually make the usual substitution of lemon juice or white vinegar, not for any specific reason, I just always seem to have it around the house.

Aside from that most of the alterations I made have to do with the quantity of the ingredients instead of substitutions. So with that let's get into the recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 c. butter, softened

- 1 1/2 c. sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 1 tsp. peppermint (add to taste)

- Green food coloring

- 3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

- 2 tsp. baking powder

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 2 tsp. white vinegar or lemon juice

- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

- 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl or using a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar together. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and continue beating on medium until the mixture is light and fluffy, about two minutes.

Add in the eggs, peppermint extract, food coloring, and vinegar or lemon juice, mixing until just combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add mixture to the wet ingredients and combine until just incorporated.

Add half of the chocolate chips to the dough, keeping the other half to the side. Coarsely chop the other half with a knife or with a food processor.

Add the chocolate into the dough and mix until just combined. Cover the dough and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup measure out a ball of dough into an egg shape. Place them on the baking sheet tall ways, they will be fairly large so I usually do about 8 max. on a sheet depending on the size.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown. The centers should lose most of their shine but a little is okay. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

Tips & Advice:

As I mentioned before, I like to substitute the original dark chocolate with semi-sweet. Experiment with whatever chocolate you would like and see which you like best.

The original recipe called for an extra egg yolk to go along with the original two eggs. I've tried the recipe both ways and can't seem to tell much of a difference either way so I thought I'd save some trouble and leave out the extra.

For the cream of tartar, the ratio I use for substituting is 1 tsp. of vinegar or lemon juice for every 1/2 tsp. of cream of tartar.

The chilling period in this recipe is not mandatory, you can immediately try baking these cookies as soon as they're mixed. I enjoy having the chilling period for cleaning up any mess or getting things ready for the baking process.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy these cookies as much as I have.

If you do you might also enjoy my Korean pear tart and Pumpkin pie square recipes. Feel free to share this recipe with anyone who may enjoy it!