A Mouthful of Mint...Chocolate

It's pretty much a given that Food Network will be switched on at some point during the day in my house.  Typically after my morning cardio and workout sessions =)  And then it'll stay on for the rest of the day whether or not I'm watching it. Many times it becomes ambient noise that carries me through my housework and kitchen time.  One morning Giada was in one of her chocolate moods.  I seriously love this woman!  She's a mother and a wife, she can cook and bake, she loves her chocolate and she looks AMAZING!  Definitely my food idol.

On this particular episode she put together a Double Chocolate and Mint Cookie.  As soon as she said chocolate, I was all ears, eyes and drooling..
Aside from the previously mentioned attributes, I just admire the way she works in her kitchen.  Everything is perfectly arranged and she has tons of counter space (JEALOUS!) to create her masterpieces.
Here's my rendition of her delectable recipe:

First, you chop up 6 ounces of milk or dark chocolate (I would use dark chocolate to give the cookies a richer flavor).  Melt your chocolate with butter and set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Now unwrap half a bag of Andes mints and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces.  Go ahead and sneak a few for yourself ;) 

I don't have pictures for the other steps, but just whisk together your dry ingredients and set aside.  Then, do the same for your wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl, and mix in your dry ingredients.  Now, take your cooled melted chocolate and stir it into the batter.  Your dough will stiffen up after this step, but that's perfectly normal.  Oh, don't forget to fold in your mints!

Once you have all of your delicious ingredients mixed together drop your batter by the heaping tablespoon on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving enough room for each cookie to spread out in the oven.
Oooh, I know it's so hard to part ways, but place your cookies in the oven and watch them transform into mint-chocolaty amazing-ness!  After several short minutes, take them out and have them cool for another few minutes.

Okay, now TASTE THEM!  This has got to be one of the best parts of baking =)  Oh, yeah, they turned out  fantastic!!  The chocolate and mint meld together, creating pockets of deliciousness that will drive your sweet tooth crazy!

Hey, don't forget to share now! =)

Mint Chocolaty Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

6 Ounces  Dark Chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons  Unsalted Butter, softened

1 Cup  All-purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons  Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon  Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon  Salt

2/3 Cup  Light Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

1/2 Bag Andes Mint Chocolates

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine dark chocolate pieces and butter in a microwave safe bowl.  You may use either a double-boiler or your microwave oven to melt the chocolate. Just be careful to not burn your chocolate!  Stir together and set aside to cool.

2. Whisk your dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  (Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt)

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, 2 Tablespoons of water and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in the dry ingredients and cooled chocolate.  And fold in the mint chocolate pieces.

5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Drop cookie dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake for 9 minutes.  Rotate the sheet and bake for another 9 minutes or until the cookies are set and dry looking.

6. Let cookies cool completely before storing (or eating) them.