Eggless Peppermint Mocha Cookies (with Whole Wheat)

Peppermint Mocha Cookies with whole wheat and totally egg free; now that is a healthy cookie I would love to have a bite of! Make these crispy, flaky and buttery black beauties with just a few ingredients and impress your family and friends at Christmas or on any other occasion! Coat them with peppermint laced chocolate for a more decadent experience!!

FOR THE COOKIES:

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp instant coffee powder

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup softened unsalted butter

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp to ½ tsp peppermint extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING:

1 cup chopped dark chocolate

¼ tsp oil

¼ to ½ tsp peppermint extract

Silver edible sugar sprinkles

In a medium sized bowl, sift whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking powder and salt together to distribute everything equally. You can use a whisk to mix the ingredients too.

In another large bowl, beat softened butter and powdered sugar using a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla essence and peppermint extract; beat again to incorporate fully.

On low speed, slowly mix in the dry ingredients in batches until just mixed; do not over beat!

Do the rest of the process by hand to make a soft dough taking care not to overwork the dough.

Divide the dough into two portions and cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Remove dough from refrigerator about 10 minutes before rolling it out.

Preheat oven to 350F or 180 C.

Lightly grease a large baking sheet or pan and keep aside.

Remove dough from wrap and gently pat with hands on a piece of parchment paper.

Place another piece of parchment paper on top and using a rolling pin, roll to about ¼ inch thickness.

Using a round cookie cutter (about 2 to 3 inches in diameter; I have used a 3-inch one), cut into circles and transfer to the greased baking pan.

Re-roll the remaining cut dough, roll out and cut out.

Bake the rolled peppermint mocha cookie dough for about 14 to 15 minutes; remove from oven and let cool on baking pan for about a minute; at this stage the cookies will be soft.

Remove from pan and cool completely on cooling wire rack.

Continue with the second half of the dough.

Once the cookies are baked, you can enjoy these buttery and mildly sweet whole wheat cookies (with a dash of peppermint and coffee) as such or to make it more decadent, dip in melted chocolate! I have dipped only a few of them in chocolate as sometimes we love to enjoy simple plain cookies

Melt chopped chocolate in a microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring in between or over a double boiler.

Once the chocolate has completely melted, stir in ¼ tsp vegetable oil and ¼ to ½ tsp peppermint extract

Dip the cooled peppermint mocha cookies in the melted chocolate using a spoon to coat completely on both side, remove using a fork, gently tapping the fork on the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip and gently place on parchment paper-lined baking pan to set.

For a festive look, I have sprinkled some silver sugar balls over them while the chocolate has not yet set; you can use any colored sprinkle or any other topping you have.

Let cool completely to set the chocolate (either in the fridge or over the counter) and gently remove from the parchment paper.

Enjoy these scrumptious but healthy whole wheat chocolate mocha peppermint cookies, plain or chocolate coated, with a large glass of cold milk or even as a snack with your evening chai or coffee.

These chocolate coated cookies taste yummy when thoroughly chilled, you should try it. The cold cookie totally complements the cool flavor of the peppermint!

These crunchy, buttery black beauties make a great edible gift too! Just box them up, and gift to your loved ones! Enjoy!!

You can use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat instead.

If you do not want to roll the cookies and then cut them out (some people find it difficult to handle the dough) into whatever shape you want, you can form the cookie dough into two logs, wrap in plastic and chill thoroughly. Just before baking, remove, cut into ¼ inch slices and bake.

For the coating, use any kind of chocolate; dark, milk or white.

I love just a whiff of the peppermint flavor, so I have used only ¼ tsp in my cookie and ¼ in my chocolate coating; feel free to use more but not more than ½ tsp!

Store leftovers in airtight containers.