On the tenth day of Christmas, Jena’s Tiny Kitchen gave to you Peppermint Tim Tams, Red Velvet Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Madelines, Italian Crescent Cookies, Booze-free Brandy Snaps, Florentines, Coconut Macaroons, Peppermint Pinwheels, Rice Krispie Treats and Snickerdoodle cookies.

The beauty of these cookies? It’s a spin on a classic, and a recipe I’ve already got in the archives. When I made the Homemade Tim Tams back in September, my colleague and I immediately knew that they would work really well with a peppermint filling as well – think Peppermint Patties.

You can work on these cookies over two or three nights, like I did, if you find that you don’t have time to work on them solidly for the three hours that are required to make them from start to finish (including chilling, cooling and setting times). You can make the biscuits one evening, allowing them to cool over night, and then make the butter cream the next day. You can then coat the cookies and leave them to set overnight again.

Ingredients

For the biscuits:
115 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
115 grams caster sugar
1 egg
30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
150 grams plain flour
pinch of salt

For the filling:
115 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
125 grams icing sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 drops red food colouring (optional)

200 grams 70% dark chocolate
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 candy canes, crushed

1. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter at a medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and continue to beat the mixture until fully incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
2. Add the cocoa powder and beat on a low speed, until smooth, then add the salt and flour until mixed through completely.
3. Scoop the dough onto a large sheet of parchment paper and cover with another piece of parchment paper. Roll out to 1/2 cm thick. If you are going to use a circular cookie cutter, then you can roll it out into a rough circle. If you want to make more rectangular biscuits, then roll the dough into a rectangle. Set on a tray and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray.
5. Remove the dough from the freezer, and cut into your desired shapes. Make sure you have an even amount, as you will be sandwiching the biscuits together. Place biscuits on the baking tray and bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Cream together the butter, icing sugar, peppermint extract and red food colouring (if using) until fully combined.
7. On half of the cool biscuits, spread the buttercream over the cookies. Then place the other half of the biscuits on top to make sandwiches. Place the cookies in the fridge to firm up.
8. Gently melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil together until smooth and shiny.
9. Take the biscuits out of the fridge, and carefully dunk both sides of the biscuit sandwich into the melted chocolate. Make sure the sides are coated too. Place on a wire rack covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Once all biscuits are coated, place the wire rack in the fridge until fully set.