Tag Archives: Mint

Mint Chocolate Cookies

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Who doesn’t love Mint Chocolate?  Anyone..anyone at all?… didn’t think so.

It’s a total weakness for me.  You may have caught on with these Mint Chocolate Brownies, or with this Mint Chocolate Mousse.  If you ever catch me with Ice Cream, its most definitely Mint Chocolate Chip (something that’s also on my list of food to make).  And I’m a huge fan of After Eight mints at Christmas and will usually buy a box for the house, and ahem, a box for myself, but ssh don’t tell Scotty that.

These cookies are to die for, and are a very appropriate addition to my Mint Chocolate addiction. They taste like Christmas to me, but I will happily make them, and eat them, any time of year.

I dare you to resist the temptation to eat the batter, if you do well you have some serious willpower.  Go ahead and enjoy them warm and gooey out of the oven, fresh off the cookie sheet.  If you can let a few go, I also dare you to pop a couple in the freezer to cool down.  Crazy idea I know, Scotty’s the only person I know that actually chooses to put fresh out of the oven cookies in the freezer, but with these ones, it actually works.  They get minty cool yet still soft and chewy in the middle.

These make for great christmas gifts, cookie exchanges or simply fill your own cookie jar. Enjoy :)

Mint Chocolate Cookies  (Adapted from Foodess)

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Peppermint Extract
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Chocolate Chips, or Mint Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well blended.  Beat in eggs one at a time and add peppermint extract.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add to wet mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Form dough into approximately 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon.

Bake cookies until edges begin firm but center still appears soft (there will resemble cracks on the tops), about 9 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container on the counter, in the fridge or even the freezer.
Note:  I rolled half the batter in Cocoa Powder (you’ll see in the top photos) however I didn’t find it made any difference to the taste.

Walking! (Oh, and Watermelon Salad)

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It didn’t take long for Calla to venture on her own after walking along furniture and using mom and dad’s hands for support.  For a month and a half Calla practiced. Pulling herself up and working on her balance and coordination. Building and strengthening her legs and core muscles. She would surprise us by walking a step or two away from the couch, or turn to see her standing on her own. We practiced a few times letting her try taking steps between us and made it to about 5.  Now at 10 1/2 months she walks freely, with arms in the air, sometimes pausing to clap and smile. Her balance improves in leaps and bounds everyday.  A small step she had trouble with one day, is conquered the next.  Her speed gets swifter, and fearlessness more defined.

She’s a tough little girl, always climbing or pulling herself onto something.  Figuring out how to get where she wants to go.  It shocks me sometimes how she’s figured out something so quickly and with such ease.  The faster she moves and more determined and independent she gets only means the tumbles may happen more frequently, and more hurtful. What lays ahead of us is something I’m not looking forward to, the bumps and bruises.  The first cuts and wounds.  The tears.

Many of those tears shed I’m sure will be my own.  As Calla gets more independent, it will be hard for me to let go and let her figure things out on her own, even if that means there will be a few stumbles along the way.  This I’m learning is one of the hard parts of being a mom. However, one of the very best parts of being a mom, is watching those first steps, the attempts to run and skip, and even being there when the tears come to kiss the bumps, bruises and wounds and make it all better.

Watermelon, Quinoa, Feta & Mint Salad
(Adapted from Tartelette)

1.5 Cups Quinoa, rinsed
3 Cups Water
1 Cup Watermelon, cut into small cubes
1/2 Cup Feta, crumbled
2 Green Onions, chopped thin
1/3 Cup loosely packed mint, thinly chopped
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, add rinsed quinoa and water and bring to boil over high heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Once the quinoa has cooled, add chopped watermelon, feta, green onions, olive oil and mint and fold together gently, keeping watermelon pieces intact. Season with salt and pepper and chill until ready to serve.

Father’s Day Mousse

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Here’s to one very special Father, on his 1st Father’s Day.

On Calla’s behalf, I’d like to thank you for being the #1 very best daddy in the world. Thank you for your big hugs, and big silly smiles. For letting me taste new foods behind mom’s back.  For pushing me on my red car. For making me laugh and always making funny noises. For helping me walk. For reading to me. For letting me stay up when mom wants to put me to sleep.  For being the best dad I could ever ask for. I love you to the moon and back.

Now to celebrate Scotty’s first father’s day, I made him a deliciously rich, light and airy, Minty Chocolate Mousse.  This serves up to about 8 people, but works just fine as a single serving as well.

Mint Chocolate Mousse
(Serves 1-8ppl)

3 Squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1/2 Cup Mint Chocolate Chips
2 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Whipping Cream

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour into bowl of chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add vanilla, and whisk again.

Place bowl in refrigerator and let cool and thicken, about 30 minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat chocolate and cream on low for about 10 minutes, or until thickened and has a light, airy, mousse consistency.

Eat with a spoon, or share with others. Garnish with mint leaves and chocolate shavings.

Banana Buckwheat Pancakes & Berry Salsa

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You have 45 minutes, ready….. and Go!

Dishes, laundry, shower, eat, sit, about to bring that re-heated for the 5th time coffee to my lips and…. oops she’s up.

Nap times lasts 45 minutes (about 3 times).  Sometimes I can get all of those things done. Sometimes I can get one chore done.  And some days I say “Screw the dishes, I’m making Pancakes!!”

There is so much going on with these pancakes, so many flavors.  Smashed sweet ripe banana mixed in with heartier buckwheat batter, topped with creamy honey greek yogurt, a sweet & spicy berry salsa and of course maple syrup.  They were kind of intense, but in a good way.

If you haven’t noticed I’m starting to build a small obsession to fruit salsa.  Ever since the Watermelon salsa a few weeks ago, I keep imagining other fruits to use. I feel like Kiwis might be next…

Sometimes I get a little impatient when cooking pancakes.  I heat the griddle too hot, add the pancake too soon, don’t wait for enough bubbles or forget about them completely.  Today, I am happy to say, worked out so great.  They take some time, you definitely cannot rush pancakes. But they are worth the wait.

Trick is, wait for the griddle to heat (water drops should sizzle), melt a little butter, and add batter evenly. Wait for air bubbles to pop throughout the whole pancake, especially the middle, then flip. After the flip, it should only be a minute or so until cooked.

Banana Buckwheat Pancakes

2 Cups Bob’s Red Mill Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1 Banana, Mashed
In a medium bowl, whisk together mix, eggs and milk until just combined.
Heat a skillet on medium high heat.  Once heated (butter or water should sizzle when added), add batter using a 3/4 measuring cup.
Flip pancake after a few minutes and air bubbles have popped throughout the pancake.
Cook for an additional minute or until cooked.

Serve with greek yogurt, berry salsa (recipe below) and maple syrup.

Berry Salsa
1 Cup Blueberries, diced
1 Cup Strawberries, diced
A few Mint Leaves, finely chopped
A few Cilantro Leaves, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 Lime, juiced
1/8 Red Onion, diced
1/4 Jalapeno, diced

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and taste for seasoning.
Instead of dicing the berries, you could use a food processor, however I find there’s something almost therapeutic about dicing.  Salsa will last a few days, but tastes the best fresh on day 1

Mint vs. Peanut Butter Fudgey Brownies

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Are you a mint chocolate fan? Or Peanut Butter & Chocolate fan? For myself, mint all the way… unless there’s strawberries involved, then its a toss up, but that’s for another day.  Scotty has always been a peanut butter fan, however, I think I’ve wrangled him over to my side.

I mean what’s better than mint, and chocolate?  It’s refreshing, it’s cool, it’s chocolatey, you can’t go wrong.

These brownies, however, almost made me second guess my standing.  The peanut butter chips are creamy and really go great with the fudgey brownie.

With that being said, it’s a really good thing I made these for some great friends as a thank you for letting us use their baby gear; jolly jumper, high chair, etc. Otherwise, lets just say they wouldn’t have lasted long in our house.

For the peanut butter ones, I think next time I might consider adding some chopped peanuts or a swirl of peanut butter on the top of the brownie right before baking.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
*1 cup mint chocolate chips or 1 cup reese peanut butter chips (or split the batter in half and do 1/2 cup each)

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
Melt butter in a large saucepan.

Remove from heat.
Stir in cocoa.
Blend in sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Blend in dry ingredients and mint chocolate chips.

Pour batter into greased 13x9x2-inch rectangular baking pan.

Bake in preheated 350F oven 30 to 35 minutes or until edges start to become a little crispy and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Let cool and cut into squares

* You can basically substitute anything here; chopped walnuts, toasted hazelnuts, chocolate chips, etc