Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bites

WARNING!  These Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bites are highly dangerous…and addictive.  We tested them out last night while watching multiple episodes of Downton Abbey.  They are going to become a favorite among our Christmas Cookie recipes from now on.   The muffin tins make the outside of the sugar cookies crisp and wonderful, while the inside stays soft and chewy.  The peppermint cream nestled into the thumbprint on top is sprinkled with a mixture of white chocolate bits and peppermint as well. Oh my but are these GOOD!

I make them, with my Mom’s recipe for cutout sugar cookies. It’s very easy to whip up.  You start with one cup of butter and one cup of sugar.

Dump them in a mixing bowl and cream them together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add in one egg , two teaspoons of vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Mix again, just about a minute.

Then add the flour, one cup at a time, finishing with the last 2/3 cup of flour. Don’t over mix them.  Just make sure it’s all blended in.

Normally, we’d roll this into a disc and put it in the refrigerator to chill.  But for these cookies, you can use it right away.  You should pre-heat your oven to 350º and then either spray or line a mini-muffin tin with liners.

Seriously, how cute are these liners for peppermint themed cookies?

Now, we’re going to roll balls of dough to put inside these.  Mine worked perfectly with one level tablespoon.  You could make them even smaller if you like and make scads of them.  If you use one tablespoon per cup, you’ll end up with about 36 cookies, but the frosting recipe is generous and you could halve them and make them smaller and plentiful, just don’t bake them as long!

You don’t have to measure each one out…this is just a template for your first one.  Roll the dough into a ball.  Then make all the balls roughly the same size after that.

Then plop it right into one of the muffin cups.

Take your thumb and press into the center of the ball which should squish it out to the edges of the pan and create an indention in the center.

Then continue filling the cups with the dough balls.

Then press them with your thumb or middle finger.

Then pop them into the oven for about 15 minutes.

While those are baking, let’s make the Peppermint Frosting.

You’ll need 1/4 cup of butter or 1/2 of a stick ,and it needs to be soft or room temperature.

You also need to whip it around until it’s fluffy and creamy with no lumps, for about 2 minutes.

Now you will take one 16 oz. bag of powdered sugar and alternately add it and a little milk until you get a fluffy and creamy consistency.  I ended up using about 4 1/2 tablespoons of milk but it can vary.  Add in the powdered sugar by cup.

After you add a cup of the powdered sugar, drizzle in a little milk.

Then keep adding a cup of powdered sugar and a little milk until the consistency looks like this.

It should be thick enough to hold up to being piped out of a baggie with the corner cut off (or a pastry bag) and not soupy or runny at all. If you were to lift your beater blade out of the bowl, the frosting would stick to it and not drip at all.

We need to flavor the frosting with a hint of peppermint now so we’re going to use this…Peppermint Extract.

We really want to taste the peppermint in the frosting so we’re going to add in 1/2 teaspoon of this. We’re also adding in 6 drops of red food coloring to make it nice and pink and peppermint looking!

Now turn on your mixer and beat this in until it’s all smoothly blended and pretty pink!

Spoon some of your frosting into a piping bag or simply in a quart size freezer bag that you’ve snipped a corner off of.

Then pipe your frosting right into the indention of your cookies.  You could just spoon it, but this is so much faster and it is pretty besides!

Once you get them all filled up.

Open up one package of these….

Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips.  (I believe these are only available during the holiday season.)  Part white chocolate, part peppermint candy…this stuff is wonderful!  If you can’t find it at your stores, crush up some candy canes in a baggie by hitting them with your rolling-pin until you get bits and use those!

Sprinkle some of this over each little bite.

And there you go! These delicious little darlings will be perfect to take for your next holiday gathering or to enjoy with a cup of cocoa in front of the fire!

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bites

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Mini sugar cookie cups filled with peppermint buttercream and sprinkled with peppermint candy

Author: Katie of dishinanddishes.com

Recipe type: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Serves: 48

Ingredients

• For the Cookies
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. butter
• 1 egg
• 2 t. vanilla
• 2⅔ c. flour
• ¼ t. salt
• For the Peppermint Frosting:
• ¼ c. butter
• 1//2 (8 oz) package powdered sugar
• 2 T. milk
• ½ t. peppermint oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• 6 drops red food coloring
• Optional Toppings
• 1 c. Crushed Candy Canes
• 1 package Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Spray mini muffin pans or line with mini-muffin liner.
3. Cream butter and sugar well.
4. Add egg, salt and vanilla, beat well.
5. Blend in flour gradually, about a cup at a time. take one heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and press into each muffin tin cup.
6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until edges begin to slightly brown.
7. Allow cookies to cool.
8. Meanwhile make frosting.
9. Beat butter with mixer until light and fluffy.
10. Add in powdered sugar alternately with milk.
11. End with powdered sugar.
12. Stir in peppermint oil and food coloring.
13. Spoon icing into quart sized plastic freezer baggie or pastry bag fitted with inch tip.
14. Pipe frosting into each sugar cookie cup.
15. Sprinkle with crushed candy.

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