Chocolate-Dipped Mint Wafers

I'm going home today, so last night I decided to make some cookies to bring home (and procrastinate about packing!): Chocolate-Dipped Mint Wafers (or Girl Scout "Thin Mints").

For these cookies, I used a simple chocolate wafer cookie recipe to make the dough a couple nights ago, and stored it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it. I was excited because this was my first chance to break in my new French tapered rolling pin (!). To cut out the cookies, I used the scalloped round of a linzer cookie cutter.

Chocolate-Dipped Mint Wafers (chocolate wafer cookie recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

9 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating to combine. Divide dough in half; form into disks, and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Working with one disk at a time, roll out dough to a 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a scalloped round cookie cutter, cut out shapes and transfer to baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes.

3. Bake cookies until edges are firm, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Combine dark chocolate and peppermint extract in a double boiler over simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. Holding each cookie across the tines of a fork, dip in chocolate to coat completely, then tap underside of fork on side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until hardened, or overnight.

Cookies freshly dipped

Chilled overnight

These cookies turned out well and I'm excited to overwhelm my family with all the goodies I've been making! I also packed up the rest of the truffles from Sunday.

I will be in South Carolina for a week without the comfort of my iMac, so I won't be posting any pictures until I get back, though I do intend to entertain myself by baking/making while I am at home, too, if things don't get too busy on their own as holidays tend to do. I'm feeling pretty inspired by the New York Times' recent holiday cookie feature and might have to give some of the recipes a try.

Happy holidays!