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!

Mississippi Mud

Mississippi Mud

I made this for Family Home Evening tonight. Its one of my fall-back recipes when I can't think of anything to make. Its delicious and really bad for you. My husband likes to brag to people about how many cubes of butter are in them.


Mississippi Mud
(by my mom-Norma Jensen)

First, preheat oven to 350. Put two cubes of margarine or butter in 13x9-inch pan and put in oven for the margarine to melt while the oven preheats.

Meanwhile, mix 2 cups of sugar and 2 eggs.

Then add:
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour

Mixture should be pretty crumby.

When the margarine is melted, should take about five minutes, add 4 tbl. cocoa to the margarine. Mix until a chocolatey syrup in pan.  Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of the chocolate mixture.

Bake at 350 for 27 minutes.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I have tried a few recipes for these, but my favorite is the Betty Crocker one.  

Ingredients:

1/2

cup vegetable oil

4

oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled

2

cups granulated sugar

2

teaspoons vanilla

4

eggs

2

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/2

cup powdered sugar

Stir together the first four ingredients and then add the eggs one at a time.  Mix in the dry ingredients until the dough is about the consistency of play dough.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or until ready to bake them.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball.  Roll in powdered sugar and place on a greased or parchment lined pan.  This is a great kid job.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Do not over bake or they are not soft and delicious.

I wouldn't put this much powdered sugar on, but I couldn't tell my four year old that.

Heart Shaped Shortbread Cookies with Raspberry Butter cream Filling

Shortbread Cookies with Raspberry Butter Cream

My kids and I have fun looking through recipes and coming up with things we want to try.  Of course this month we want everything heart shaped.

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks butter at room temperature)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. milk
5 Tbsp. cocoa powder (optional)

For the Filling:
5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
a dash of raspberry jello powder
a dash of milk


    For the cookies preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Line two pans with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Beat the butter until creamy and add the sugar.  Add flour and cocoa powder if you are making chocolate cookies.  Add the vanilla and milk until the dough comes together.  Chill the dough in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.  Then roll out the dough and cut into heart shapes.

   Bake for 10-15 minutes.  Do not over cook!

   For the filling, beat the butter and add the powdered sugar, vanilla, raspberry jello powder, and enough milk to form a thick frosting.

   When the cookies are cool spread frosting in the middle and put another cookie on top.

   Enjoy!