White Chocolate Covered Peppermint Cookies

These cookies, with their white chocolate shell and bright red peppermint sprinkles, make for a very festive holiday platter. They are crispy and delicious, reminiscent of Girl Scout Thin Mints. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling cookies

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

3/4 tsp mint extract

4 candy canes, crushed

2 (12 oz) bags white chocolate chips

4 tbsp shortening

Directions

1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Cream butter and sugar, then gradually beat in egg and yolk. Mix in mint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour, up to two days).

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dough can be difficult to work with, but will be easier to roll out if the surface and rolling pin are cold. If you have a mat or large cutting board you want to use, put it and the rolling pin in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to rolling out the cookies. It can also be helpful to roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper. Roll out one disk of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. If you find that the dough is sticky by the time it's rolled out, chill it for a few minutes in the freezer before cutting out the cookies.

3. Line cookie sheets with wax paper. Cut cookies using a 2-inch cookie cutter and place on cookie sheet, 1/2 inch apart. Bake 11-12 minutes. Transfer cookies and wax paper to wire racks to let cool. Roll and cut dough scraps once.

4. Sift crushed candy to separate larger pieces from dust, keeping both. Melt chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl placed over a pot of gently boiling water. Stir chocolate occasionally. Be sure that bowl is not actually touching the water. When chocolate is almost completely melted, remove from heat. (If left on heat, chocolate will burn and develop a paste-like consistency.) Stir until smooth.

5. Using tongs or forks, dunk cookies in chocolate, let excess chocolate drip off, and place on wax paper to cool. Before chocolate sets up, sprinkle some of the cookies with peppermint pieces and the rest with peppermint dust. Refrigerate until set.