Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

This Saturday was my mom's cousin Julie's annual Christmas Cookie Party.  Every year I try to bake a new recipe, this year I came across a delicious recipe for Peppermint Crunch Brownie Cookies at Six Sisters' Stuff.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe
{Makes about 3 dozen very small cookies or about 2 dozen medium size}

Ingredients:
1 (19.5 oz) package brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Brownie mix)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use a non-stick cookie sheet (or grease cookie sheet if needed) and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together brownie mix, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add in eggs and milk and stir with a large spoon. Add in melted butter, vanilla, and peppermint extract; stir until well blended. The original directions say to spoon dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet (I used my trusty cookie scooper which is about the size of a tablespoon and I still had room for 15 cookies per sheet as these cookies do not spread out much). Bake for 9-10 minutes (don't overbake them- you want them soft and chewy like a brownie!). Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely before frosting (frosting recipe below). Once cool, frost each cookie and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.

Vanilla Frosting Recipe:
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-6 tablespoons milk (I ended up needing 7 tbsps in order for the frosting to be soft enough spread easily)

In your mixing bowl, add sugar, butter, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium-low speed and slowly add milk. Add more milk if needed until you get the desired consistency. Increase the speed on your mixer to medium and beat until frosting is fluffy.  Place frosting in a zip lock bag (don't forget to zip it closed) and cut off a small tip from the corner of the bag to use as a piping bag.

The piping bag helped create a perfect swirl on the cookie.  But I wanted the frosting to look like a blob of snow.

Tap-tapping the cookie a few times helped the frosting settle and create a nice blob!

I actually doubled this recipe and ended up with quite a sea of cookies!

These were not only pretty to look at, but very yummy too!  I highly recommend this recipe!

I found the idea on Pinterest to decorate a paper plate by punching holes in it and threading a ribbon through it!

There were lots of yummy cookies at the Christmas Cookie Party!

We also played the gift exchange game with holiday ornaments (which in this picture are all nicely wrapped and sitting under the tree).

Here I am with the wonderful ladies of my family!  From left to right: me, my mom Marilyn, my mom's cousin Barb and her daughter the awesome hostess Julie!

Do you have any annual parties that you look forward too?  What type of fun festivities do you partake in?