Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
June 30, 2011
What can possibly be more relaxing than snipping some fresh mint from the garden? Nothing, unless your garden is a mutant jungle. Some of the lilies, which I love, are almost taller than me, which isn't much of a feat, but I still find disturbing. And the spiders...I think my garden is the home to the matriarch of the entire species. Case and point: After I cut a few stalks of mint and made my way out of the garden, an oddly-shaped branch caught my attention. In the back of my mind I knew that branches don't normally bend at symmetrical 90-degree, evenly-spaced angles, nor do they have fur. When it moved, I flew out of the garden/yard/neighborhood/city like a bat out of hell. Needless to say, fetching some mint is not as la-de-da as it sounds. Lucky for you and the future of this recipe, I had a death grip on the mint stalks as I was running and I made it safely back to the confines of my tiny indoor kitchen.
And just so you know, I'm not a total wuss. There are only a few things that make my hair rise: Spiders, ants (those big ones with the creepy segmented bodies), and clowns.
The last time I made these cookies, I used peppermint extract. This drew in mixed reviews, people either loved them or hated them. So finally I decided to make them the way nature, and the original recipe intended, by using real mint. It made a huge difference. Natural mint has a much softer voice. It's presence was evident in the cookies, but it wasn't as obnoxious as the peppermint extract, ergo it was much more compliant with the chocolate. What I love about these cookies, aside from the mint, is the texture. It's the perfect chocolate chip cookie...small, but perfect. The center is chewy and soft, while the edges have a light crisp. Also, they seem to improve with age. By some miracle of snug-fitting shorts, a few cookies managed to make it to a 2nd day, and they were fantastic! A bit milder in flavour, but surprisingly delicious.
If you don't have access to a garden/jungle, a few specialty stores carry fresh mint. If you can't find any, and you're not afraid of peppermint extract, just replace the mint leaves with about 1/4 teaspoon of extract. Just be careful, peppermint extract is extremely potent and a little bit goes a long way (just ask my stuffy storage cabinet.) If you use too much, you may not like the results...which would be a tragedy because cookies are lovers, not haters.
Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Montecarte)
[Note: This recipe yields only 12-15 cookies, but it can easily be doubled.]
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of baking Soda
1/2 cup (that's 1 stick) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed brown sugar (I used light)
1/3 cup of sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1 cup of dark chocolate chips (you can use any kind of chocolate, but mint and dark chocolate go deliciously together)
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves (once the leaves were measured out, I put them into a food processor and pulsed a few times until finely chopped)
Method
In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Place the butter, and both sugars into stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment (or any large bowl if using a hand held mixer.) Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes.)
Add egg and vanilla, and again, beat on medium speed until well combined.
Switch the speed down to low, and slowly add the flour mixture, beating only until the streaks of flour have disappeared.
Add the chocolate chips and mint.
Using a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix in both until well combined.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 3 hours (if you can't wait that long, a half hour is fine.)
When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375ºF, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Form the dough into balls that are about 2-inches in diameter (roughly about 2 Tablespoons.)
Place the cookies on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch of space between each one (these don't spread very much.)
Bake until light golden, about 7-8 minutes (mine were perfect after 7 minutes.)
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest on the sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Makes 12-15 cookies
Mmmhhh, can I have one of those babies with my Turkish coffee? So tempting.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Rosa
I am always looking for the perfect Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie. Mint and chocolate is also a classic combo. Gorgeous photos! I'd love to make these, as I have plenty of mint that I (stupidly) planted in my garden, instead of in a container. It's taking over!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you just made a great thing even better!
ReplyDeleteI simply loveee the mint/choc combo, but sadly dont seem to have it very often! the thought of using fresh mint from the old garden sounds so lovely and that little bit different if someone asks whats in them, great recipe :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you made it safely back from your mint patch! This looks like a fun twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie.
ReplyDeleteMint and chocolate together is awesome. Your recipes are great, millionaire shortbread used to be one of my favourite slices, unfortunately I haven't eaten it in a long time. Your site has given a gentle reminder!
ReplyDeleteHi Three-Cookies (love the name!)
ReplyDeleteMillionaires shortbread is one of the richest desserts in the world, which makes sense, given the name. I think it's meant to be enjoyed in roughly 2 year increments...just for the sake of one's health. :D
Thanks for visiting!
Yum, these cookies look delicious! I adore mint and chocolate, will definitely be trying them out soon :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Valerie! I make ccc's ALL the time and I grow mint because I love fresh mint and now next time I make ccc's, I'm going to put mint in them. (I'll have to start with just a little in a little bit of dough because I don't think the family will like it.) I can't wait though!
ReplyDeleteI made these, but they came out pretty cakey. Are they that way or might I have done something wrong? (I didn't sift the flour if that matters.)
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry the cookies didn't turn out chewy. Not sifting the flour may have had a bit to do with the cakey texture, but not much.
One trick I learned about measuring flour is to stir it up with a fork or whisk before measuring, that way it's not as heavy and compacted, which can effect the weight and amount.
There may have been mix up with the baking powder and baking soda...I know I've grabbed the wrong one several times. :)
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need anymore help on this.
I just made these and they didn't come out chewy and remained 'domed' the flavor is great. I doubled the recipe, but I don't think that had anything to do with it. The dough was very stiff. And very difficult to work with after it was chilled.
ReplyDeleteHi Candace,
ReplyDeleteAt least the taste was good. :)
I don't know why they didn't spread, but it seems as though a few people are having problems with this recipe, I'll have to make them again sometime and try to figure it out.
My daughter made a half batch yesterday - used more chips than she should have (she stopped short of emptying the whole bag)...they were chewey and the chips are still kind of a melty constistancy - so good! I don't know what she did right - but they spread - were beautiful - and just right! She chilled the dough and didn't seem to have a problem with it.
ReplyDeleteHi Mandy,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they turned out well for you...perhaps extra chocolate is the key! One cannot have too much chocolate in their chocolate chip cookies. :-D