White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs cold
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks
1 cup miniature pretzels, crushed
Crushed Peppermint Candies
Miniature Pretzels
Flaky Finishing Salt

DIRECTIONS
Using a paddle attachment, further soften butter until lighter in texture.
Cream together granulated and brown sugar, until pale in color. Scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add vanilla extract, and mix to incorporate.
Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Scrape bowl between additions.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. To ensure even distribution of baking soda and salt.
Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl, and pulse until barely incorporated.
Again, scrape the sides of the bowl, and be sure to lift the ingredients from the bottom.
Add remaining flour, and pulse until just mixed. There will probably be some flour still visible.
Again, scrape the sides of the bowl, and be sure to lift the ingredients from the bottom.
Add peppermint chunks, and crushed pretzels, and mix until incorporated.
It's okay if the paddle crushes the pretzels and chunks, the broken pieces are more evenly distributed.
Using a cookie scoop, (I used a #40 scoop, which is about 1.75 Tbsp), scoop your dough.
Place balls of dough on a cookie sheet, and scoop the entire batch.
Roll the top half of the dough in the crushed peppermint candies, and top with a miniature pretzel.
Refrigerate dough for at least half an hour, up to a day. Then bake.
Preheat oven to 375° F; at least 30 minutes before you begin to bake.
Place dough on cookie sheet, at least 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until edges are lightly golden brown.
Top cookies with flaky finishing salt.

This is legitimately my new favorite cookie. I first discovered the flavor combination when I mistakenly thought my niece's favorite thing was white chocolate and peppermint- (she likes it when it's on top of very thick dark chocolate)… so I grabbed a bag of these at Costco, and then quickly became obsessed with them. My favorite flavor of Perk Energy is even inspired by those White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Crisps. So when I was making chocolate chip cookies as a request from my grandma, I figured why the heck not? I grabbed a bag of Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks from the freezer, crushed some pretzel until I had a cup, decided they didn't look quite festive enough, and bam! my new favorite holiday cookie was born. I took them to work the next day to test on some of our clients, and by the double fisting action that went on, I knew they were winners.

S'mores Cookies

recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

INGREDIENTS
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Hershey's Milk Chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup mallow bits
Optional:
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars
Mallow Bits
Extra graham cracker pieces

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth. Scrape down the sids, and then add the egg, and vanilla extract, and beat until smooth.

Carefully add half of the dry ingredients, and mix until a dough starts to form. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined - there should be crumbs on the bottom.

Gently fold in the mallow bits, and chopped chocolate bars. Taking care to lift all of the dry crumbs from the bottom of the bowl.

Scoop dough with your favorite cookie scoop, and plate rounded ball on prepared baking sheet. Flatten top of dough with the palm of your hand. Repeat, placing cookies about 1 inch apart.

Top dough with a pips of Hershey's Milk Chocolate, and mallow bits.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until cookies are set. Remove from oven, and cool on baking sheet for at least 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

*I used a #40 Scoop, which is about 1.75 Tbsp of dough. Which gives the perfect S'mores ratio of chocolate:graham:mallow, with the addition of a pip of Hershey's Milk Chocolate.

S'mores Cookie

Ain't nobody got time to build a fire, put out a fire, clean up the sticky mess, AND wash your hair- all in the name of eating America's favorite campfire treat, the S'more. These cookies incorporate all the best things about S'mores without all the hassle of S'mores. Truly a gift. The dough is fairly dry, so the cookie ends up crunchy like a graham cracker, and when eaten lone tastes like a graham cracker. The mallow bits are dehydrated mallows - like the ones from hot chocolate packets. So on the inside they absorb some the moisture from the dough and get soft & chewy; but the ones on the outside get a tiny bit browned, and are similar in texture and color to roasted mallows, just on a much smaller scale. The chopped Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars, and the pip get melty and gooey. Just like the mallows of your dreams, but with so much less mess. These are winners.

CCC: Tried + True CC Cookies by ABK

recipe adapted from: A Bountiful Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt, or coarse sea salt
12 oz chocolate chunks*

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Prepare baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt, and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.

Add eggs, beating well.

Stir in flour mixture and chocolate chips. Taking care not to over mix.

Using a cookie scoop, drop onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 7-10 minutes on a middle rack until golden brown.

Remove from oven, and cool on baking sheets for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire baking sheets to finish cooling.

*Chocolate Chunks are necessary. Trader Joe's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks are best. Cheap and delicious.

A Bountiful Kitchen will never lead you astray. Her Tried & True CC Cookie recipe is literally the Toll House Cookie Recipe… aka Phoebe Buffay's Grandmother's Family Recipe. However it has all the tweaks that we need for high altitude. Si swears by baking these with a convection oven, and her cookies always look beautiful; but they work just as well in a conventional oven. THIS is my go-to chocolate chip cookie.

CCC: Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from No. 2 Pencil
INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Mini semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
In a small bowl, blend butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla together with a tiny whisk, or a fork.
Add egg yolk and stir again.
Add baking soda and flour and stir until combined.
Then stir in mini chocolate chips until you feel like there are enough.
Scoop dough, and place on baking sheet at least two inches apart.
Bake for about 8 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
Remove baking sheet from oven and give the baking sheet a firm, but careful bang on the counter top. This will deflate the cookies and give them a perfect wrinkly appearance.

My grandmother once told me that "Lazy" should be my middle name. Joke is on her because my middle name is HER middle name. But she's right, because I am a lazy baker. I love baking, but sometimes I just can not. Cookies cause this laziness to come up to the surface. You make the dough, bake a couple sheets, and then you still have a crap ton of dough. It's like the song that never ends, and sometimes my hand gets crampy from all the scoopin'. This recipe is perfect for my lazy baker heart. It yields six cookies, and they all fit on one cookie sheet. It's not a holy grail recipe by any means- as in I'm not going to only use this recipe. BUT when the craving for a chocolate chip cookie comes, and there isn't any cookie dough in the freezer, and you don't feel like baking batch after batch in the oven, this recipe is a definite go to.

CCC: JT "Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies"

recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart Show: Jacques Torres's Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars, until pale yellow in color. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients, on a low speed until just combined. Remove bowl from mixing stand. Gently fold in coarsely chopped chocolate.

Scoop dough with your favorite cookie scoop. I like a #20 or 2.5 ounce scoop for this recipe. Cover with cling-wrap, and let sit in the refrigerator for 12-36 hours. I just did 24 hours, because waiting a day for cookies is all I can handle, BUT I swear this makes all the difference.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies, and about 10 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

SO Martha Stewart is the OG. She posted this recipe and made it on her show like a year before the infamous NYT article. The recipe she posted is kinda similar to the NYT Recipe, but also nothing like it. It doesn't call for the refrigeration step, and the proportions are insane. BUT MARTHA IS QUEEN, and I would trust her with every aspect of my LIFE. That being said, I genuinely prefer the recipe she posted. I tried them both, and Martha won handedly. However, I added in the step of refrigeration, because I found that it DID make a difference.
These cookies are massive, the texture is perfect, they look gorgeous, and the striations of chocolate are heavenly. I thought the bittersweet chocolate was perfect, but if that scares you, semi-sweet chocolate is okay. Just not Toll-House chips, you are not Phoebe Buffay.