Preparation

1. 1. Put the flour, cocoa powder, and salt
2. into a medium mixing bowl. Using the
3. beaters, mix on Speed 1 to fully combine,
4. about 30 seconds. Reserve.
5. 2. Put the butter into a large mixing bowl.
6. Mix on Speeds 2 to 3 until creamy, then
7. add the sugar. Mix on Speeds 2 to 3
8. until light, then add the egg and extracts
9. and mix until fully combined. Add the
10. dry ingredients and mix on Speed 2 until
11. evenly mixed (it will most likely not be a
12. complete dough; that is OK, as long as
13. there are no dry patches).
14. 3. Divide the dough into two even pieces.
15. Spread out a large piece of plastic wrap
16. on a clean work surface. Wet hands with
17. cold water, so they are slightly wet. Take
18. one portion of dough and form into a
19. 10-inch cylinder/log and try your best to
20. smooth out the outer surface. Roll tightly
21. in the plastic wrap. Once wrapped in the
22. plastic, roll back and forth a few times
23. to even out the cylinder, to be sure there
24. are no are gaps or other imperfections.
25. Repeat with remaining dough. If the
26. dough is sticking a lot, either chill it for
27. about 10 minutes, or very lightly dust the
28. dough with flour.
29. 4. Chill the dough cylinders for a minimum
30. of 2 hours, or up to overnight (they can
31. also be frozen, if wrapped very well, for
32. up to 1 month).
33. 5. Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in
34. the middle position. Line two baking
35. sheets with parchment paper.
36. 6. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough
37. into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Place on the
38. prepared baking sheets. Put one pan in
39. the oven to bake and the other in the
40. refrigerator to stay cold. Bake the cookies
41. for 6 to 8 minutes. They will be set,
42. but the tops will still seem a bit soft.
43. Remove and repeat with remaining
44. dough. Cool completely before coating
45. with the chocolate.
46. 7. While the cookies are cooling, prepare
47. the chocolate coating. Put the chopped
48. chocolate, peppermint extract, and salt
49. in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of
50. simmering water (or a double boiler/
51. bain-marie). Once the chocolate is mostly
52. melted, remove from the heat and stir to
53. finish melting. Stir to cool slightly. You do
54. not want the chocolate too warm, just
55. about body temperature.
56. 8. Once the cookies are cool and the
57. chocolate is the right temperature, line
58. a baking pan with parchment or foil and
59. set a cooling rack inside of it. Dip the
60. cookies in the chocolate so they are
61. completely coated. Remove and place
62. on the cooling rack and continue with the
63. remaining cookies. This is a messy task,
64. so disposable gloves are recommended.
65. 9. Transfer the coated cookies to the
66. refrigerator and chill for about 1 hour, or
67. alternatively, to the freezer for 20 minutes.
68. 10. These are best served chilled, and can be
69. stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week,
70. or the freezer for up to 3 weeks.