Striped Peppermint Sandwich Cookies Recipes

PEPPERMINT SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Roughly shape each portion into a 12-in. roll along the edge of a 12x12-in. sheet of waxed paper. Tightly roll waxed paper over dough, using the paper to mold the dough into a smooth roll. Securely wrap waxed paper-covered roll in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap and cut dough crosswise into 1/2-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 13-15 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in extract. Spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies. Let stand until set.

STRIPED PEPPERMINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Line 8x4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving 1 inch of plastic wrap overhanging at 2 opposite sides of pan. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and peppermint extract. On medium-low speed, beat in flour and salt until blended.
• Divide dough in half. Tint half of dough with red food color, kneading with gloved hands until well blended. Press half of plain dough evenly in bottom of pan. Gently press half of red dough evenly over plain dough. Repeat layers with remaining dough. Cover with the plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from loaf pan; unwrap. Cut dough in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

PEPPERMINT STRIPE COOKIES

Steps:

• Prepare the royal icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar, egg whites and glycerin, if using. Combine on low speed, then raise speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer, and test some of the royal icing on a cookie: If it doesn't spread out to a smooth finish within 10 seconds, it's too thick. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water as needed to thin the mixture, whipping it by hand using the whip attachment. If the royal icing runs off the edge of the cookie, it's too thin, so you'll need to whisk in more sugar to thicken. You should have 1 1/2 cups royal icing.
• Transfer to a small airtight container and refrigerate. It can be left out for 1 or 2 days, but you'll need to refrigerate for longer storage. (The icing will keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.)
• Decorate the cookies: Pour the royal icing into a wide bowl. (The icing can be used cold, but it may separate, so it needs to be whisked, and may need to be thinned out with water or thickened with confectioners' sugar.) Holding a cookie by the edges, with the top-side down, dip into the icing, moving the cookie around a bit to make sure the icing coats the whole surface. Gently shake the cookie from side to side to let the excess icing drip off.
• Use a small offset spatula to stop the flow of icing, gently scrape cookie against edge of bowl, and flip the cookie over. Use the spatula to spread the icing to pop any air bubbles, and make sure it goes all the way to the edges. It should quickly smooth out on its own. If not, thin it out a bit until it does. Use your fingers to wipe away any icing on the outside edges. Repeat with all the cookies. Place on a cooling rack set over a parchment- or wax paper-lined baking sheet to dry completely, preferably overnight (or at least 4 hours).
• When dry, set up the cookies on a baking sheet or other flat surface in four rows of five cookies (you may have a few extra cookies), so they are abutting one another with no spaces. Mix the petal dust and luster dust with enough peppermint extract to make a very loose "wash" and, using brushes of different widths, make continuous brushstrokes in a few different widths across the entire surface. If you run out of pigment as you're brushing, dip the brush again, and continue the line, allowing the brush texture to show in places. When dry, rearrange the cookies on a platter so the lines no longer match up. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

PEPPERMINT CREAM SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in eggs. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, espresso powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a disk; cover. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. fluted round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until firm. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough., In a large bowl, beat butter and extracts until creamy. Beat in confectioners' sugar, alternately with milk, until smooth. Tint as desired with food coloring. Spread frosting on bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.