Peppermint Crunch Cookie

 

Don't those just look delish? Trust me -- they are! Peppermint Crunch Cookies are Santa's favorite cookie in these parts. A lot goes into these to make them the perfect holiday treat. It starts off with the standard cookie ingredients and then you add oats. The oats give the cookie it's unique texture. Next you toss in the coconut which gives it a nice sweetness to each bite. Pecans are sprinkled and this gives the cookie a rich depth. Lastly, the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips are tossed in. The chips just push this cookie over the top with that fantastic minty overtone.

 

 

Now, the trick to making these cookies is actually not in the making, but in the FINDING of the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. I originally stumbled upon these chips three years ago. They were in every market I went into. I picked up a bag of them simply because I had seen them everywhere.  I made these cookies for the first time that year and Santa announced that those were his favorite cookie EVER. I knew at that moment that these would become a staple in my holiday baking. Fast forward to 2013. I had a bit of a hard time locating them, however right after Thanksgiving my local market carried them for about two weeks. Luckily I had grabbed a bag so I was not disappointed when they sold out and did not reorder (yes, I check every time I went to the market because I wanted a bag in reserve). Finding them this year has been an entirely different experience. None of the markets I shop at  (and I shop at 4 on regular basis) have carried them! I ended up posting on Facebook about it and asking if anyone has seen them to please let me know. No one within a 5 mile radius of me spotted them in any stores. They were seen east and north, but not where I am. I started to come up with alternative plans for the cookie (you can chop up the Andes after dinner mints pictured above in place of the baking chips if needed) and then a friend found them and bought me TWO bags. Not only did she purchase them she also drove to them to me on the way to a professional football game to give them to me. How sweet is that? She totally saved Christmas! Well, not really, but kind of, but not really...you get what I am saying right?

 

So, when you are ready to make these make sure you pick up the RED bag of Andes baking mints and not..... I repeat NOT the green bag. The green bag are not the same thing. You will need these:

 

I discovered (about a week to late) that you can order them off of Amazon as well. I plan on doing that next year. They come in a case of 6, but the expiration date is good for at least two years and I usually use two bags a year.

 

Without further delay here is the recipe:

 

servings 2 dozen

active time 2 hours

total time 2 hours

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter microwaved for 30 seconds
1 C packed dark brown sugar
1/3 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 TBLSP Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C oats
1 1/4 C sweetened shredded coconut
1 C chopped pecans
1 1/2 C Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 F
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Microwave your butter for about 30 seconds if it is not room temperature.
Using an electric mixer cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla.
Mix until well incorporated.
On low speed add the baking soda, salt and then the flour.
Stir in oats, coconut, pecans and baking chips until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll about 2.5 tablespoons of dough into balls and set on cookie sheet at least two inches apart from one another.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the cookies have set up nicely and are starting to turn light brown on the edges.
Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months