Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

Friends! I just discovered an amazing cookie recipe that's sure to be a hit at your Christmas gathering. As for me, I'll be debuting it at a cookie swap next month. I have to make 7 dozen of these, so you know they're good.

Ingredients:

1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
3 T butter, softened
3 T applesauce
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t peppermint extract
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk.
2. Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, applesauce, vanilla, and peppermint in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer on high for 2 minutes. Beat in egg white. Add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until well-blended.
3A. If you have the time, shape dough into 6-inch log, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for 1 hour or until firm.
3B. If you don't have time, simply drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5A. If you rolled dough into a log and froze it, cut log into 1/4 inch slices and place on greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

This should yield about 2 dozen cookies, unless you're like me and really glob it on. I got about a dozen and a half. Also, normally I bake my cookies for 8 minutes, but even the smaller ones needed the full 10, possibly because I didn't freeze them first and they were still doughy at 8 minutes.

I got this recipe from my favorite cookbook, Cooking Light Complete Cookbook. A few things I did differently:

I didn't roll and freeze the dough, I just dropped it into little balls. What can I say? I'm impatient. I also didn't have peppermint extract, but I did have some peppermint chunks (like chocolate chips, but peppermint) and put something like a tablespoon in there (I didn't measure). I also didn't have regular applesauce, so I used cinnamon applesauce. I don't think it made a difference, because I can't taste the cinnamon.

All-in-all, considering I varied wildly at times from the original recipe and I had never made these before, I think they turned out fantastically. They're easy, quick, and delicious. And peppermint-flavored things always remind me of Christmas for some reason, so these are perfect for the season. Enjoy!