Chocolate Mint Dreams

My favorite flavor combo is chocolate and mint, so these frosted cookies are hard to resist. Luckily, I always manage to save some for friends.

—Anne Revers, Omaha, NE

PREP: 30 MIN. • BAKE: 5 MIN./BATCH + COOLING • MAKES: ABOUT 3 DOZEN

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• ¼ tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

ICING

• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. 2% milk
• 1 to 2 drops green food coloring, optional

DRIZZLE

• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ tsp. shortening

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in cooled chocolate and extract. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in chocolate chips. (Dough will be soft.)
2. 2. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until firm, 5-7 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
3. 3. For icing, mix butter, confectioners’ sugar, extract and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. If desired, tint green with food coloring. Spoon icing onto cookies.
4. 4. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over tops.

1 COOKIE: 123 cal., 8g fat (5g sat. fat), 12mg chol., 37mg sod., 14g carb. (9g sugars, 1g fiber), 1g pro.

SWEET SECRET

If you use a fork dipped in melted chocolate for your drizzle, let the first clumpy drip land in the pan before you move the fork over to the cookies. Another option is to fill a heavy plastic storage bag with the melted chocolate, and snip off a small piece of 1 corner to use it as a pastry bag.