Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies & ELF
With Thanksgiving behind us, it’s time for getting in the holiday spirit. I do this by watching Christmas movies, listening to seasonal tunes, and experimenting with new recipes. When it’s cold outside, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than the warm kitchen (or on the couch next to the fire eating something delicious).
In the classic Christmas movie Elf, Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) is accidentally transported to the North Pole and raised by Santa’s elves. Never feeling like he quite fit in with the elves, he takes a journey to New York City to find his father. Buddy’s innocence and naivety are eye-opening and hysterical, and his different take on everyday interactions will make you see the world through a new perspective.
I watch Elf every year during this time of year, along with several other holiday feel-goods. One of the many funny lines by Buddy is “I’m sorry that I ruined your lives and crammed eleven cookies in the VCR.” Inspired by this line and Christmas cookies for Santa, I changed up my chocolate chip cookies by adding mint. Just by infusing mint with the melted butter, you’ll get a cooling and refreshing crisp yet chewy cookie.
I’m always on the hunt for great cookie recipes, and since I first made these mint chocolate chip cookies I’ve had a batch going almost every weekend. Pro tip: make a big batch, scoop them into balls, and freeze them. That way when the cookie craving hits you can just pop a few into the oven and voila! – cookies baked, cravings satisfied.
These mint chocolate chips are so addicting you’ll be cramming eleven cookies into your mouth, but the only difference is that you won’t be sorry about it.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Serves: 15-20 | Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup mint
½ cup butter
½ cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chunks
Method
In a small saucepan, combine the mint and butter and heat over low-medium heat until the butter melts. The butter will froth and crackle, but to be honest, this makes the flavor even richer and in my opinion, even better. Swirl the pan around and make sure the mint is completely mixed in with the butter. Once the mint is fragrant (after 3-4 minutes), remove the pan from heat and allow to cool (but not so much to the point where the butter solidifies) for about 30 minutes.
Strain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and press down on the mint leaves with a spatula to extract any extra butter that may have soaked into the mint leaves.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted mint-infused butter with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour. Slowly add the dry mixture into the butter mixture until well-combined.
Add chocolate chips/chunks to the batter and mix until incorporated.
Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop the dough into balls and place on parchment or wax paper. Cover the dough and refrigerate for one hour.
When you’re ready for cookies, pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined sheet tray, leaving enough space between each cookie to allow for spreading during baking. Once the oven is hot, bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until the cookies are lightly brown on the bottom.
Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
© A Dash of Cinema