Mint Patty Thumbprint Cookies

Christmastime is synonymous with thumbprint cookies, most often prepared with chocolates or preserves. So, let’s shake it up a bit by pressing chocolate mint patties into the cookie dough. These are the perfect holiday confection for the mint lover in your life!

I have never met anyone in my life who loves mint as much as John.e does, so Mint Patty Thumbprint Cookies are for him! In fact, every Christmas, both McKenna and I make sure that we gift him a good supply of After Eight mints. He loves those in every shape and size, so between the two of us, we make sure he has enough to keep him in good supply until at least the end of March! In most cases, whenever I bake something minty, he will say the same thing: it needs more mint!

I’ve never once heard him complain about the lack of minty flavour in a York Peppermint Patty, so that’s why I decided to use them in this cookie recipe. I love the flavour of mint too. It’s certainly evident with the number of minty recipes I have shared with you over the years – especially at Christmastime! Remember last year’s Peppermint Chocolate Biscotti? Or these Mint Chocolate M&M Cookies? I swear, he ate 90% of those!

Christmas baking is all about preparing sugary, sweet confections that you hope to share with those you care most about. We all share our baked goods with neighbours, family, colleagues, and even classmates or fellow churchgoers. I even put out bags of Christmas cookies for postal workers and couriers when I’m expecting packages. So, with that said, for the fifth cookie in this series, I am sharing one of John.e’s favourites!

ARE MINT AND PEPPERMINT THE SAME THING?

I used to think that it was, but it is not, even though mint is an umbrella term for plants in the mint family. These include plants like peppermint, spearmint, orange mint, apple mint, chocolate mint, etc. Each of these has a distinctive flavour. For example, orange mint has a citrus flavour while apple mint has an apple flavour.

Mint has a sweet taste and produces a lingering cooling effect on the tongue. Peppermint has the strongest flavour with a more menthol taste. It is a hybrid between watermint and spearmint. Even though the peppermint plant is native to the Middle East and Europe, it is now widely cultivated around the world.

Peppermint has a unique flavour and aroma and is used for many products that you’re already familiar with. There’s peppermint tea, peppermint ice cream, peppermint oil, peppermint breath mints, etc. It’s also used in the cosmetic industry for things like lip gloss, shampoo, and even some perfumes.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THESE MINT PATTY THUMBPRINT COOKIES:

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! You can use salted or unsalted butter. If you use salted, do not include the additional salt further down in the list of ingredients.
• Sugar – Sugar will caramelize when baked, which will help to brown cookies and cakes.  In cookies, the sugar will help the dough to spread, and will create a crispness to the bottom of the cookie.
• Egg – One large egg is all you need. In fact, you will only need the yolk.
• Milk – When a baking recipe requires milk, I always use whole milk, unless otherwise stated. 

• Mint or Peppermint Extract – Used to match the flavour of the cookie base to the mint patty.
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Cocoa Powder – Cocoa powder is an unsweetened chocolate product which adds deep chocolate flavour to desserts and beverages.  Use a good quality cocoa powder, not the kind we used to stir into milk as kids!
• Salt
• Sprinkles
• York Peppermint Patties

LET’S TALK SPRINKLES!

Where do you buy sprinkles?  Do you have a favourite vendor or brand?  A few Christmases back, I changed my sprinkle game.  I would always buy sprinkles from the baking supply section at Bulk Barn, but not anymore – no way!  Let me tell you how this all went down.

In November 2018, I was baking a few Christmas goodies and just could not source sprinkles that looked anything like what I was imagining in my head. John.e was on a major sprinkle hunt.  He used to work in close proximity to Michael’s, HomeSense, Winners, and Marshall’s.  He purchased at least ten different sprinkle colours, shapes, and brands.  But, I wasn’t impressed with any of them as much as I was with Sweetapolita.

After Christmas, I needed Valentine sprinkles, so I tracked down the brand and found their online store.  I ordered enough sprinkles to last a lifetime!  Shopping for sprinkles online might seem a little over the top, but I’ve never once pretended to shy away from getting what I want!

For these Mint Patty Thumbprint Cookies, you can use sprinkles that have an elongated shape – like a miniature rod! They’re usually called Jimmies. The nonpareils (small balls) are what I used. The cookie will look more uniform with a smaller sprinkle. Don’t use any metallic sprinkles, because they will melt. You can also use sanding sugar.

SANDING VS GRANULATED SUGAR

I use coarse sanding sugar quite often in my recipes, and I hope it hasn’t been too difficult for you to find. Sanding sugar is sometimes referred to as baking sugar, and there are some substitutes. You can use other sugars – which are basically the same, but named something differently – there’s pearl sugar and coarse sugar. You cannot, however, use granulated sugar. Let me explain why.

Whereas an individual granule of sanding sugar is large and hard, a single granule of granulated sugar is quite small. Sanding sugar will hold up to the heat in your oven without melting; granulated sugar will not. If you cannot find sanding sugar, then I’m afraid this recipe is not for you.

You can find sanding sugar online, but it’s expensive in comparison to what you can find at a baking supply store. I buy most of my sanding sugar at Bulk Barn. They have just about every colour you will need!

HOW TO MAKE MINT PATTY THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Start by placing the softened butter and sugar into a mixing bowl. Use a hand-held mixer to beat the butter and sugar together until it forms a light and fluffy mixture. This should take about three minutes. Now, add the egg yolk, milk, and extract. Beat until well combined with the butter and sugar mixture. Next, in another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Remember, if you used salted butter, do not add the additional salt here! Add this to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.

Cover and refrigerate for one hour. In the meantime, pour the sprinkles into a bowl big enough to roll the cookie balls into. Secondly, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Using one tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and then into the sprinkles. Place on the prepared baking sheet and use a measuring teaspoon to push an indent into the center of the ball. You can use your thumb too if you wish. Place each ball two inches apart. Bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the cookies bake, unwrap the peppermint patties so that they are ready to go. Once baked, remove from the oven and immediately press an unwrapped patty into the thumbprint you made earlier. Press down gently, but firmly so that the patty sticks to the cookie. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Mint Patty Thumbprint Cookies, you certainly can! Once they are completely cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 100 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!