Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies

For my family's Christmas presents, I made choosing a bit easy. Anthony and Kati (Oatmeal Scotchies) and Dad (peanut butter chocolate chip cookies) were essentially the same as before. I decided to make Helen the Pinipig cookies that I made a few years ago since Mom had heard her say they "taste like home" (and she's returning to the Philippines soon). Since I didn't know what non-food gifts to get Mom and Nonni, I decided to make them coconut macaroons (I had a lot of egg whites) and split the recipe between the two of them.

Kevin seems to be the one whose gift changes every year. One thing that doesn't seem to change, though, is that lately I've been more likely to choose a chocolate mint recipe (or chocolate peanut butter - both combos seem to be his favorites). Including this year: after the success of last year's Mint Chip Brookies, I decided to stick with finding a chocolate mint recipe. At first I tried to find the mint Oreo bars that I made for Father's Day in 2020 (the year I wasn't doing blog posts) but since I couldn't remember what they looked like, I wasn't successful. I eventually landed on the Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies (source)

Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 
  1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped mint Oreo cookies (can use Thin Mints)
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup Guittard mint chips (or chopped up Andes mints) (there are also Andes Crème de Menthe baking chips, which I was able to find this time)
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on cookies (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
3. With a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Don't over mix.
5. Stir in the chopped Oreos, chocolate chips, and mint chips. Drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set around the edges, but still soft in the center. Don't over bake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.