Crème de Menthe Cookies

Happy National Chocolate Mint Day! February is full of food holidays. We have two this week. I will let tomorrow’s be a surprise, but you are going to love it. July is also a big celebratory month. Not only do we have 6, count them 6 food holidays, but it is also my birthday month and one of them is on the actual day. Of course, there is December, the granddaddy of them all. Yes people, 12 food holidays. I’m so excited. I’m probably the only person that gets all a dither about finding recipes to go with the day. I love a good theme.
Chocolate Mint Day, to me it ranks up there with Gumdrop Day. Not my thing. But, if you don’t try new things then you stop growing, and one of my reasons for having a blog is to try new things. So, I looked long and hard for a recipe that I thought I could tolerate and I was going to make Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies, but I grabbed the Andes Mint package and found a cookie recipe on the back. There we go; I will make these I told myself in the baking aisle as people were coughing and sneezing on each other in the store. What the heck are people doing in the baking aisle of all places with the flu? Don’t you know that you don’t bake if you are sick? I digress.
These cookies, well, they can't all be winners. If you like Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream you might like these. If you eat a big meal where garlic is the star of the show, eat these cookies. They do make your breath minty fresh and your kitchen as well. So cook a big Italian meal and have these for an after dinner treat. They bake up very well, very pretty, just like your standard chocolate chip. If you subtract the mint flavor, they are not really sweet. Also, in the recipe it calls for salted butter. I do not keep this on hand so make sure you add at least a 1/4 of teaspoon of salt.

Crème de Menthe Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter - softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package (10 oz.) Andes® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips
2-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed.
Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then flour. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator.
Measure out approximately 1 oz. of dough.(About 2 tablespoons) Form a ball and slightly flatten. Raise oven rack one level above the middle and bake on non-stick baking pans.
Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

Gumdrop Cookies

Happy National Gumdrop Day!
(According to Bizarre and Unique Holidays)
I do not care for gumdrops, but I did not want this holiday to go unnoticed. So, here is a recipe for Gumdrop Cookies from Paula Deen’s magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen. I have no idea what these would taste like, my guess, an unusual Oatmeal Raisin. I do not have a picture for you this time. However, here is a link to the cover of the magazine where she is holding a container full of these very colorful cookies.
So, get out there and make some Gumdrop Cookies in honor of today. If you make this recipe send me a picture, and I will be happy to replace the above link with your photo of this holiday treat.

Gumdrop Cookies
1 1/2 cups gumdrops
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 3/4 c. All-purpose Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 c. quick-cooking oats

Preheat oven to 350degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using scissors, cut gumdrops into small pieces, set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined. Stir in oats & gumdrops.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, and bake 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.