Image Courtesy King Arthur Flour |
The good people at King Arthur Flour sent me some Peppermint Crunch to try out, and I thought it would be perfect in these cookies.
I also decided that I didn't want to fill the thumbprints with plain frosting. I am not a huge frosting fan, and didn't want the cookies to be so cloyingly sweet. Also, I love the combination of chocolate with mint. Enter ganache!
Sure, it's sweet, but it's made with semisweet chocolate, so it's not as sweet as frosting.
Here's what I came up with.
Candy Cane Thumbprints with Chocolate Ganache
(Modified from Baked by Rachel)
Cookie dough:
2/3 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
Ganache:
2 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate chips, by weight
2 ounces whipping cream, by volume
Topping:
Peppermint Crunch (or crushed candy canes)
Cream together butter and sugar. Add in egg and vanilla, then mix in flour until a nice dough forms. Let chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Form small balls with the dough (about 1") and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press with the back of a spoon to make indentations. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheet, and then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate with the whipping cream together in a microwave safe bowl, carefully, and stirring often. (You can also use a double boiler). Transfer the ganache to a pastry bag and allow to cool slightly, until thickened a bit, but not until solid. Carefully snip the end off the pastry bag and fill the indentations in the cookies with a bit of the ganache.
Sprinkle on a bit of the peppermint crunch. If desired, drizzle cookies with a little more ganache. Cool completely to let the ganache set, and then enjoy.
Thanks for posting this! I am not a fan of frosting either so I love the idea of ganache. How did they taste?
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