mint condition brownie cookies

It's Thanksgiving!  Time to give thanks, and how better than to bake an extraordinary amount of goodies with your sister?  Inspired by one of mine and my sister's old favorite spots, Caribou Coffee, these cookies combine dark chocolate and peppermint for a perfectly moist and fulfilling cookie.  I believe Erin's exact words were that next to her favorite flour-less chocolate cake, "these are the best things to come out of this kitchen."

Score one for team Melissa and Erin.

Want to know another great thing?  These are really easy and fun to make.  First, you combine dark chocolate chips, brown sugar, butter, and a teeny bit of water, and melt this over a double boiler.

You may or may not decide to make a little snack out of what yields from this.  I'll let you decide if you can resist.

Next, you just combine this with the egg, peppermint extract, and then gradually add in the flour mixture.  The dough becomes quite thick, but not to worry - they won't be dense or dry in the least.  Let the dough chill for an hour in the fridge before baking, and then roll them into even-sized golf balls.  Look how beautifully cracked the cookies become!

Then, top them with whole Andes mints.  We bought the chopped baking pieces, but this became a little messy.  I think just cutting the regular sized mints in half would be perfect.  But these were still so pretty.  Festive, if you will.

Mint Condition Brownie Cookies 
Adapted from Lovin' From the Oven

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
12 ounces dark chocolate chips, or whole bar coarsely chopped
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
Andes candies

1. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In a double boiler, combine butter, sugar, chocolate, and water - heat until melted and smooth.
3. Pour into a large mixing bowl and let stand until cool (about 10 minutes).
4. After your chocolate mixture has cooled, add the eggs (one at a time) and beat with an electric mixture on high speed. Mix in your extract. Finally, slowly mix in the flour mixture and stir until well-blended.
5. Chill batter for at least one hour.
6. After chilled, heat oven to 350°F.   Roll the dough into walnut/golf ball-sized balls. Place two inches apart on baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes.
7. Right after you've taken your baked cookies out of the oven, place a mint chocolate candy. Allow to melt slightly and spread with a spoon.