Mega Chocolate Mint Holiday Cookies

I was recently contacted by Earth Balance to submit a recipe to their new “made just right” website (I mentioned their recipe contest in a recent post).  I wanted to do something that felt festive for the holiday season, and these Mega Chocolate Mint Cookies seemed to fit the bill.

These cookies are super chocolaty, chewy and so delicious!  If you can’t find non-dairy white chocolate chips you can leave them out, and if you aren’t a fan of mint you can leave that out as well.  These would also be really good (and equally as festive) with dried cranberries and pistachios.

Mega Chocolate Mint Holiday Cookies

makes about 7-8 dozen mini cookies

3 ounces Earth Balance non-hydrogenated shortening

3 ounces Earth Balance non-hydrogenated margarine

3/4 cup organic sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon EnerG egg replacer powder

1/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon all-natural mint extract

1/3 cup (2 oz) chopped non-dairy semi-sweet (or dark) chocolate, melted and cooled

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup cup non-dairy semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup non-dairy white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt into a small bowl.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the shortening.  Add the margarine, and beat again.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, add both sugars, and cream the mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk the EnerG powder with the warm water.  Add the EnerG mixture along with both extracts and the melted chocolate to the creamed mixture.  Beat until all the chocolate is incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients, and with the mixer on low, slowly pour in the chips.  Mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

For mini cookies, drop rounded teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 5 minutes, flip the trays around, and bake for another five minutes, or until cookies are just set.  Cool on baking sheets and store at room temperature for 2-3 days.  For longer storage, the cookies can be frozen.  (You can also store scooped dough in the freezer.  Just bake the froze dough balls for a couple extra minutes.)