TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

Ingredients
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups Andes mint chocolate baking bits

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lighty grease, or line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, melt semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave at 50% power, or in a double boiler. Stir and set aside to cool.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium at speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Stir in the cooled melted chocolate.  Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in mint-chocolate baking bits. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is easy to scoop and fudge-like. Using about 1 tablespoon, shape dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set, but the centers are still soft. Cool cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Let's Dish
I'd seen this recipe over at Cookin' Canuck and needed to bring cookies to my son's Pinewood Derby.  And whenever I see a recipe that calls for a pound of melted chocolate, I have to try it!  I'm glad I did.  These have a crispy outside and a chewy, fudge-like center.  Needless to say, they were the first thing to go at the Pinewood Derby!  I did make my cookies a bit smaller (the original recipe called for 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie) since I knew I had to feed a lot of hungry cub scouts.  If you do make larger cookies, you'll probably want to increase the cooking time by a minute or two.  The dough does stiffen up quite a bit as the melted chocolate continues to cool, so you may end up with some really stiff, fudgy bits of dough stuck to the side of your bowl.  You'll just have to chip them off and eat them!  If you can't find the Andes mint chips at your grocery store, you could always chop up the full-size version. I think I may have to add these to my list of must-bake Christmas cookies this year.

Who Dished It Up First
Dara at Cookin' Cunuck, and she found it in The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.

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