Peppermint Patty Surprise Cookies

Before I get into a summary of the weekend and the last several days of application mayhem (the last in this wave is due at midnight tonight - woohoo!) I need to tell you about some cookies I baked this weekend for my brother's holiday housing warming party. Priorities, right?

Perfectly Christmasy - right?

I spotted this recipe nearly year ago when it was mentioned in passing during a Christmas post over on Young House Love, and it had been in my head ever since.  There was probably no need to wait so long to bake these cookies, but with all the chocolate and mint and crushed up candy canes action going on there was something so over the top holiday about them that seemed best saved for the month of December.

And oh yes, they are as wonderful as you would think they'd be and they went very, very fast at the party.  I will admit to being a bit of a cookie stalker and watching out of the corner of my eye as unsuspecting party guests bit into the cookie and found the peppermint patty tucked inside.  It never failed to garner a second look and positive reaction.

The money shot

As always, a few quick notes:

• In my sleep deprived, post-second application haze, I did not read all the way through the recipe before getting started and missed the fact that you have to refrigerate the dough for about an hour before assembling the final product.  Not a huge issue at all, except that I didn't start this little project until nearly 10:00 pm on Friday, so I thought I would point it out to spare you the same issue!
• The recipe says it produces 24 cookies but I was able to get 30 cookies out of it.  I think it depends on how you wrap the peppermint patties and while I certainly wouldn't skimp on the dough-to-patty ratio, I think you may be happy to find yourself with some extra goodness.
• The white chocolate drizzling process was less delicate than I expected it to be and was more of a gloop and smear situation.  Also, in case you find yourself thinking, "oh, I'll just add some water to that melted chocolate to thin it out," do not do it. The result is a grainy mixture that is truly disgusting.  I was lucky to have a little extra white chocolate on hand to save the day after that little mishap so all's well that ends well.

These cookies take a little bit of time to assemble but they really are easy and I know you will find them to be worth the wait.  So excited for that Christmas Cookie season is here. . .Happy December!