Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Snaps

Chocolate Wafers

Makes about 12, 3-inch rounds

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp baking soda

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla on medium speed for one minute until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda and paddle on low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto a surface, divide into two equal pieces, and flatten into two evenly shaped pancakes. Roll each dough pancake out between two sheets of parchment paper to a ½-inch thickness. (Using parchment here is a real sanity saver, so don’t skip it!) Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or water glass), cut the dough rounds as close to one another as possible. Refrigerate or freeze the entire sheet of dough for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 325°F. Pan-spray or line two half sheet pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Pop your chilled rounds onto the parchment and transfer them to the prepared pan, spacing them ¼ inch apart. (They don’t spread in the oven!) Reshape the dough scraps into a ball and roll out, cut, and chill, repeating until you run out of dough.

Bake each sheet of cookies at 325°F until the edges are set and the center is no longer glossy, 10 to 12 minutes. (It’s hard to know when a chocolate wafer is baked properly, so set a timer!)

Let the wafers cool completely on the pan before layering into a snap. If made in advance, these cookies will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

 

Chewy Caramel

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

If in doubt, strain the caramel to ensure that it’s velvety smooth. And if you’re in a hurry, refrigerate the warm caramel to cool and thicken completely before using.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Make a dry caramel. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, cook ¼ cup of the sugar over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heat-resistant spatula to move it constantly around the pan — you want it all to melt and caramelize evenly to a gorgeous amber color. Once the first amount of sugar has taken on color, add an additional ¼ cup sugar to the existing caramel in the pan, repeating the previous steps — cook and stir, cook and stir, until the mixture is once again a gorgeous amber color. Continue adding ¼ cup sugar twice more until all your sugar has become one pretty pan of caramel.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Very slowly and carefully, stir in the butter. The caramel will bubble up and steam; stand away until the steam dissipates. Use the heat-resistant spatula to stir the mixture together.

Carefully add the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt, stirring constantly. If the mixture is at all lumpy, put the saucepan back over medium heat and stir constantly until the sugar bits have dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Let the caramel cool completely before using. It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month.

 

Peppermint White Chocolate Coating

Makes about 1 cup (enough to coat 12, 3-inch snaps)

Ingredients

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

In a microwave-safe medium bowl, melt the white chocolate chips and oil in the microwave in 30-second spurts, stirring after each, until smooth, about 2 minutes (but every microwave heats at different strengths). Use a heat-resistant spatula to mix and ensure the mixture is fully melted and homogenous. Stir in the peppermint extract until well distributed. Keep warm or remelt if necessary before using.

Adapted from All About Cookies. Copyright © 2022 by MomoMilk, LLC. Photographs copyright © 2022 by Henry Hargreaves. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.

 

Bake With Christina

Two more recipes from All About Cookies for AARP members to try:

Milk Bar Pie Bars

It’s no surprise that this dense, sweet, gooey monster is a deep part of Milk Bar’s flavor and textural heritage.

Crunchy Confetti Cookie

The sprinkles are the star of the show in these confetti cookies gone crispy.

Read about Christina Tosi's latest cookbook, All About Cookies.