a little something for Santa

On Christmas Eve, we made cookies! This is definitely the beginning of a new tradition. Actually, in an Aggie home, if you do something once, it's already a tradition.
Here's my dairy-free recipe for the sandwich cookies:

Chocolate and Peppermint Marshmallow Sandwiches

1 cup flour
½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 oz. unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter substitute, (smart balance light)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
½ c red and white sprinkles
1 recipe peppermint marshmallow filling (below)

1. Heat oven to 325. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, wisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over low to medium heat, melt butter and baker’s chocolate. Remove from heat and let stand until cool (approx 20 min)
3. Stir in sugar, vanilla extract and eggs to the chocolate mixture until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture until a dough forms.
4. Form a large dough ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
TIP: You could also split the dough into 2 or 3 dough balls and freeze the extras for later—great for getting that variety we need without wasting food!
5. When dough is firm, form into 1” balls. Dip the tops of half the cookies into sprinkles and place on ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 325 for 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool fully before adding the marshmallow filling (see next recipe).


Peppermint Filling
1 pkg unflavored gelatin
½ c cold water
1/3 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
a few drops of red food coloring (optional)

1. In mixing bowl of stand mixer, mix together gelatin and 1/2 cup water and let stand 5 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, mix 1/3 cup cold water and sugar and heat to 238 degrees, measuring with a candy thermometer. (appx 10 minutes)
3. Add sugar mixture to gelatin and beat on low with wisk attachment for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and food coloring on medium-high for 12 more minutes.