PEPPERMINT COOKIES & CREAM COOKIES

*Side note: Cookie recipes that include pudding always help create the soft texture we all love, but below you’ll find a few other tips for making soft cookies!

Some tips for making cookies that stay soft and chewy:

• Make sure that you have enough flour in the dough. If the dough is too sticky, you may need to add a little bit of flour.
• Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
• Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
• Use a cookie scoop! If you want all your cookies to be perfectly shaped and have them all be the same size, a cookie scoop is the way to go.
• Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan – they will just slide right off in perfect shape!
• Don’t over bake the cookies – when I take mine out of the oven, they still look slightly under baked but they will continue to bake on the cookie sheet for a couple more minutes so that’s ok!

Ingredients in Peppermint Cookies & Cream Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (4.2 oz) pkg Oreo Cookies & Cream pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup crushed candy canes
• 15 Oreo cookies, coarsely crushed (you want big chunks!) –  I used the holiday variety in this batch which contributed a lovely red color to the cookies, but you could also use the Peppermint Oreos, or even just regular ones!

How to make Peppermint Cookies & Cream Cookies

1. Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars.  Add the pudding mix and mix until well blended.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract and mix well.
3. Add the flour and baking soda and continue mixing.
4. Stir in the crushed candy canes and Oreo cookie chunks.
5. Drop cookies by rounded teaspoonfuls (I use a cookie scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°.

How do you crush Oreo cookies?

The Oreo cookies should not be crushed too much because you want to make sure to have large chunks of Oreos in the cookies. My favorite way to crush the Oreos is by placing them in a Ziplock bag and then smashing them with a meat mallet or a rolling pin. This method gives you more control over how finely the Oreos are crushed.

You can also use a blender or food processor to crush Oreos but make sure to pulse the Oreos for only a quick second at a time to make sure that you don’t over blend. This method is wonderful if you want to make fine crumbs for an Oreo crust, but is a little trickier when you want larger pieces of cookie.

Cookies and Cream cookies troubleshooting tips

Over the years, I have had many cookie failures along with all of my successes and I have learned a few things along the way! You may have a favorite cookie recipe that you love, but they don’t always turn out perfectly. Why?! Here are some helpful tips for some common cookie problems!

Why are my cookies flat?

If your cookies are flat and spread out too much while baking, you may need to add a little bit more flour. Start by just adding a few tablespoons of flour to the batter and see if that is enough to help the shape of your cookies. If you are using a recipe with butter, make sure you aren’t melting the butter. There are a few cookie recipes that actually call for melted butter, but most of them just require the butter to be softened to room temperature. Which leads to the next question…

How do you soften butter to room temperature?

The best way to soften butter is to set it out for a few hours before you make your cookies. Since most of us (or maybe just me!) aren’t that prepared or don’t think that far in advance, there are a few tricks to softening butter perfectly in just a matter of minutes. My favorite way to soften butter is in the microwave. It’s definitely fast, but you do have to be very careful not to melt it. Just put the whole stick of butter in the microwave (as long as it isn’t wrapped in foil!) and microwave for about 6-7 seconds. If the butter is still really cold, try another 5-7 seconds and check it again. You may need a few intervals, and if the butter is starting to feel soft, you can shorten the final interval to just a few seconds to make sure it doesn’t start melting.

I actually prefer to use the defrost setting on my microwave – I don’t know exactly what that mode does differently, and it takes a little bit longer (closer to 30 seconds), but it seems to be easier to get the butter to soften without melting.

In just a few short days, this little one of mine is going to have a birthday and I just can’t believe that she is already turning 1! She has been such a joy in our family this year. She has gotten to be a bit of a handful recently as she has begun pulling up and everything and getting pretty close to being fully mobile. All of my cupboards and drawers are constantly being emptied and I feel like I’m constantly trying to keep her from falling and eating things off the floor.

She absolutely loves to help with laundry (which is a good thing considering I spend a lot of time in the laundry room!) and although she isn’t the greatest helper I’ve ever had, she is definitely the cutest!