Copycat Mystic Mint Cookies

My husband's family always had Mystic Mint cookies for Santa.  They don't exist anymore so my daughter and I dug up a recipe and this is our take on it...

Mystic Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

For Cookie dough:

2 cups sugar

2 sticks butter (1 cup), softened

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped up and melted

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

For Peppermint Frosting:

5 cups powdered sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

6 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. peppermint extract

For Chocolate Drizzle:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

4 Tbsp. corn syrup

12 oz. dark chocolate chips

For cookies cream the sugar and butter together until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave.  Add to eggs when cool.  Mix well, making sure to scrape bottom and sides of bowl.  Then add the flour and salt.  

On a greased cookie sheet add teaspoon fools of dough, try to form it into a vague shape of a ball.  Then smoosh down in a flat circular shape (think Thin Mints shape).  

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  

For the Peppermint frosting mix all ingredients together until light and fluffy.  When the cookies are cool frost each cookie.

For the chocolate drizzle melt all ingredients on low in a small saucepan.  Drizzle onto peppermint frosting.  Enjoy!

My Holiday Menu

I love holiday baking.  Here is what we are eating this season.

Christmas Eve:

Every Christmas Eve we have a "Shepherd's dinner" which means we mind of eat what we think they would have eaten when the angel came.  We fudge this a little bit but mostly its things like: nuts, dried fruit, grape juice, dried meats, breads, crackers, and cheese.  We also dress up like shepherds.

My favorite thing is to melt Fontina, olive oil, and rosemary in the oven and eat it with good bread.  

Usually we end with fudge.  Here is my favorite recipe:  http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/fudge-smooth-as-silk/

Its tastes just like my mom's fudge but it never fails to turn out.

Christmas Morning:

We have really good chocolate milk and cinnamon rolls.  I make these the week before and freeze them so I don't have to bake any more than I have to on Christmas.

Christmas Dinner:

I would have ham, but my husband hates it so we have Thanksgiving dinner all over again with a few additions.

Turkey (with Alton Brown's brine)

Holiday Sweet Potatoes

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup milk

½ cup shredded coconut

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup margarine, melted

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup margarine, melted

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, coconut, salt, vanilla, and margarine.  Pour into greased 2 quart casserole dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Combine brown sugar, pecans, and margarine to make topping.  Sprinkle on sweet potato dish.  Bake for another 20 minutes until brown.

Serves 8

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

Rolls

Raspberry Salad

1 small pkg. Raspberry jello

3 oz. Cream cheese

          Dissolve jello in 1 c. hot water.  Combine cream cheese and dissolved jello in blender until smooth.  Add ½ c. cold water.  Let set up in refrigerator for about one hour.

Then add:

1 pkg. Thawed raspberries

1 pkg. Dream whip (whipped)

          Refrigerate until firm.

For dessert this year we are having a Raspberry Chocolate Piecaken.  
http://piecaken.blogspot.com/2013/11/raspberry-pie-nestled-in-flourless-dark.html