• Cooking Time: 12
• Servings: 24
• Preparation Time: 20
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2-1 tsp peppermint extract, to taste
• 12 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate, roughly chopped (or 1 package chocolate chunks)
• 12 peppermint candies, roughly chopped for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment or silpat.
3. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 25-second increments, stirring in between, until just melted. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
5. In the bowl of your mixer, beat eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract on high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved (4-5 minutes). Reduce speed to low and add the melted (and now slightly cooled) chocolate. Mix until uniform. Add the flour mixture until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chunks.
7. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Sprinkle a few pieces of the chopped peppermints over each of the dough mounds, pressing lightly into the dough (you can do this post-baking, too). Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet still soft in centers, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Rich, fudgey cookies spiked with festive peppermint