Right Now... & Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Right now, I’m living the high-school-senior-life. I go to school, I go home, and I go to work. I’ve stopped going out with friends. I’ve stopped blogging, save for the occasional post, mostly because I’ve stopped baking. Not only do I lack the time, but I generally bring home morethan enough baked goods from work to satiate my sweet tooth.

Right now, I’m in the midst of applying to university. It’s terrifying to think that in half a year, I will be graduating from high school. I remember being in seventh grade thinking that I had years and years and years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t sure then and I’m still not sure now, but after three and a half years of high school, I have a better idea of what I want to do.

But I’m not worried. I have the grades to get me where I want to go right now and I know I’ll figure out the rest along the way. I’ve just received my first offer of admission and I look forward to receiving at least four more (should I actually get around to finishing all my supplementary applications...)

Right now, my mind is shot. I feel stretched thin in all directions, unsure of what to tackle first despite knowing that everything needs to be done, um, now. I’m feeling scatterbrained and unorganized, though I have all the lists in my Moleskine to tell me what to do. 

Right now, I’m contemplating whether or not I should bake another batch of these Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies. They’re kind of hard to resist, especially so because they’re intensely chocolate-y and just the right kind of sweet—bittersweet—and oh-so buttery. Yum.

Click below for the recipe.

Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

Yield: about 30 cookies 

Source: Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Ingredients:

Cookies

• 2 ounces dark chocolate
• 2 ounces mint chocolate
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1 ounce white chocolate, chopped
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract

Directions:

For the cookies, melt the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the chocolate and beat until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until the dough is smooth.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form tablespoons sized dough balls and roll it in the coarse sugar. Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet. Make an indentation in the center of the cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, remove sheet from oven and make the indentation more visible. Return the sheets to the oven and baked for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the cookies just begin to crack. Let cool five minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

Melt the white chocolate and heavy cream over the double boiler. Stir in peppermint extract and fill the thumbprint cookies with the ganache. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. I ran out of white chocolate ganache, so I used jam to fill the remaining cookies.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for until to 3 days.