Very Chocolate Mint Cookies

These chocolate mint cookies hit the mint flavor twice: a teaspoon of mint extract in the dough and mint chocolate chips folded through. The result is bakery-style cookies with that proper Andes mint candy taste.

The low oven temperature is the trick. A slow bake keeps the centers soft and fudgy while the tops crackle into a glossy crust, instead of going dry and crisp like a hot oven would do.

Creaming the sugars and butter into a grainy paste before adding the eggs is what gives these cookies their lift and chew. Skip that step and you end up with flat, greasy disks. The cocoa goes in dry with the flour so it hydrates evenly and gives the dough a deep dark color.

Pull them when the edges look set but the centers still look slightly underdone. They firm up as they cool on the sheet.

Pro Tips

• Use real butter, softened to the point where your fingertip leaves an indent without sinking through. Too cold won’t cream, too soft makes spreading cookies.
• Mint extract is far more potent than peppermint extract. If you only have peppermint, start with ½ teaspoon and taste the dough.
• Rotate the sheets halfway through baking for even browning, especially if your oven has hot spots.
• Store in an airtight tin with a slice of bread to keep them soft for up to 5 days.

Variations

• Swap the mint chips for white chocolate chips and add ½ teaspoon peppermint extract for a candy cane vibe at Christmas.
• Press an Andes mint into the top of each cookie the moment they come out of the oven for a melted glaze finish.
• Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar before baking for a chocolate crinkle cookie effect.