Gooey Lemon Peppermint Chip Cookies

I think the best part of Christmas is Christmas Clearance.  I stock up on a lot of baking supplies right after Christmas due to the oh so very low prices.  I usually end up buying seasonal flavors like pumpkin, peppermint, cocoa, etc.  I like to stock up on my favorite seasonal candies too, especially my all time favorite Terry's Chocolate Oranges.

Not pictured: 1 egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint chips

This year I didn't find any chocolate oranges on clearance.  Bummer!  Someone must have beat me to 'em! I did invest in a few packages of Andes Peppermint Chips though.  This year was the first year I have ever seen them and only at the Walmart.  I can usually find the Andes Creme de Menthe chips year round though.

I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest that has been making the rounds:

Source: alifeunprocessed.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

I figured if sucking on a lemon through a peppermint straw is tasty then lemon cookies with peppermint chips have to be mighty tasty too!  Glad I was right.  These cookies are so yummy!

I used a gooey butter cookie recipe as the cookie base by swapping out yellow cake mix with lemon cake mix.  Gooey butter cookies and cake are my favorite and lemon my all time favorite cake flavor.  Peppermint is not usually my thing but they added a cooling effect to these cookies that reminded me of lemon cooler cookies.

The cookie dough does need to chill out in the fridge for a bit before dishing out and rolling in the powdered sugar.  As the name implies they are very gooey to work with.  Other than that these cookies are easy to make and addictive.  Enjoy!

Gooey Butter Peppermint Chip Cookies

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened  

1 egg, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix  
5 oz. (half a bag) Andes Peppermint Baking Chips
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
  
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Add cake mix, and stir until well blended. Stir in Peppermint Chips. Refridgerate dough in covered container for one hour.

After chilling dough, Roll dough into 1inch balls and roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar. Place 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Twisted Peppermint Cookies {12 Days of Sweet Treats}

Welcome to day one of 12 days of Christmas Sweets!  Today, and for the next 12 days, I'll be posting my favorite Christmas cookies, candies and desserts.  Post will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until Christmas.  I'll also be sharing my favorite Christmas memories, decor and printables that you can download and use in your own decorating this holiday season.

The first complicated cookie recipe I ever tried to make were these Peppermint Twist Cookies.  I was in middle school and I spent all day making them and they were horrible.  Bland in color and in taste.  I was devastated because the picture in my Step-Mom's Betty Crocker cookbook looked so beautiful!

I tried to find the original recipe but it turns out that I don't have that particular cookbook!  My mom and step mom have copies.  Worn out, food splattered, pages falling out copies that I still love to look through every time I am in their kitchens.  They even smell like their kitchens.  Like the spices and extracts that have been inadvertently splashed on them.

I miss hanging out in my mommas kitchens, especially around the holidays!  There would be so much baking and good times.  I miss them something fierce, but it just isn't feasible to make a holiday visit this year.

Peter's momma comes to visit right after Christmas and his family stays until New Year's.  We're going to celebrate Christmas with a dinner and everything just like it's the 24th.  I can't wait to share some of my cookies with them!

Like I mentioned, I wasn't able to look at the original recipe but the Betty Crocker website had one posted which looked like what I remembered.  So I took that recipe and changed it up a bit based on what I remembered about my original results.  So I had more peppermint extract and flavored half of the dough with cocoa and additional sugar to jazz them up a bit.  Brown and pink is so cute together!

Twisted Peppermint Cookies

adapted from Betty Crocker

1 cup butter, room temp 1/2 and 1 tablespoon white sugar 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt red food coloring brown food coloring if not using cocoa white sugar or crystal sprinkles for decoration

Directions

	In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1/2 white sugar and confectioners' sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Cover or wrap dough and chill for at least one hour.
	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into halves. Color one half red by mixing in the food color. Color the other half with cocoa until desired brown color, add additional sugar (or just use brown food coloring!). Roll a small amount of each dough into a 2 inch long worm. Roll them together in a twisted rope and curve the end like a cane. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with sugar or sugar sprinkles.
	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Tip:  If your dough isn't co-operating, try refrigerating for up to 30 minutes.  The dough can get pretty floppy due to the heat of your hands and all that rolling and twisting! Linked up at these blogs this week=)