Chocolate Peppermint Sticks

 These cookies are the most requested cookies in our house during the holidays.  They are pretty easy to prepare, especially with some of the time savers I have discovered over the last 29 year of preparing them.  

My mom was the first to make these chocolate and mint wonders, I can't remember how many years ago.  The recipe is in one of my favorite cookbooks that I no longer have, thanks to our black lab Jingle Belles

 She joined our family 7 years ago, a Christmas present I received on December 23.  I always say she is the gift that keeps on giving.  

She is an angel now compared to her puppy years, don't get me wrong, she still has her naughty little moments but she is SO much better than she was.

She enjoys her life here in Florida,

especially snoozing with her brother Apollo.  

But as a 6 month old pup, she was asked to leave obedience class, not once, but twice.  At the group lesson she was asked to leave because she was such a distraction to the other puppies.  The instructor recommend that we take private lessons.  After 15 minutes of our one on one instruction, the trainer said, "there is nothing I can do, there is no hope, she is way to stubborn.  Good luck!"  Hence the reasons she fits right in with me, she is stubborn like me and we found out she has a veracious love of cookbooks and shoes, just like me.  I lost numerous pairs of shoes and way to many cookbooks to that little girl, but I would never trade those wonderful puppy memories, okay, maybe I could have done without the dead squirrel through the doggie door.  She was the main reason I made it through the year Gordy was in Iraq, she kept me so busy, I had no time to miss him.  

Oh yeah, back to the cookies.  As you may have guessed by the tales of Belle, my Magician in the Kitchen was consumed (or shredded) 7 years ago,  but luckily my mom still had her's.  She refuses to give it to me, but she has agreed to share the missing recipes with me.  What a mom!!!

I combine all the ingredients for the cookie bottom and spread it in a pan.

One secret I have learned is to line the pan with parchment paper, it makes slicing the sticks SO much easier.

After the cookies have cooled, I mix up the icing.  Years ago, I was out of peppermint extract, no worries, I substituted Creme de Mint, for the extract and the milk, adding just enough to make the icing spreadable.

Using my off set spatula, I try to get the icing smooth, but it does not have to be perfect.  I pop the bars into the fridge to set the icing for about 10 minutes.

The chocolate topping is so easy.  I just melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in a small saucepan.  If you are out of unsweetened chocolate, which happened to me this year, no worries.  I used cocoa powder, following the substitution directions on the box.  I like to spread the chocolate coating with a silicone paint brush.  It goes on smooth and the clean up is a breeze!!!

When it is time to cut the sticks, I just slide them out of the cookie sheet unto a cutting board.  

I use a pizza cutter to cut them into little sticks or squares.  These are the perfect cookies for the holidays, they can be made ahead and frozen

Chocolate Peppermint Sticks
(print recipe)

Cookies
  4 eggs
  2 cups  sugar
  1  cup  cocoa
  1 cup  flour
  1 teaspoon  vanilla
  2 sticks  butter, softened

Frosting
  2 3/4  cups  powdered sugar
  1 stick  butter, softened
   milk
  1/2 teaspoon  peppermint extract
  3 drops  green food coloring,  if desired

Chocolate Coating
  4 ounces squares  unsweetened chocolate
  4 tablespoons  butter

Preheat oven to 350.
To make the cookies, beat eggs, sugar together by hand until thick  Add the cocoa and the flour, mix well.  Add peppermint, vanilla and butter, spread into 11X17 inch pan greased pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Do not over bake .  Cool

To make frosting, beat powdered sugar and butter until creamy.  Add peppermint and enough milk to desired consistency for icing. Add green food coloring if desired.  Frost cooled cookies.

Coating melt chocolate and butter.  Paint on frosted cookies,  Chill 10 minutes before cutting.