Cookie of the Month - Chocolate Mint Sandwiches

We had company visiting for Easter weekend that I know likes the combination of chocolate and mint. So, I thought this would be the perfect cookie to try to make for them until they got here and I discovered they had given up cookies for lent. However, these will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days and I'll send some home with them! I made these chocolate mint sandwiches from a Martha Stewart recipe in her Cookies book and they are in the rich and dense section. Boy - is that true! First of all, the chocolate cookie dough was like the consistency of fudge and there are two of them with chocolate mint ganache in between and then a melted chocolate covering. They were very good, but a bit of chocolate overload for me. I'll stick with an After Eight mint for my chocolate mint fix. However, they are yummy and were very fun to make, although more time consuming than a normal drop cookie.

After making the dough, I flatted it into two discs and it needed to be refrigerated to chill. I made this a day in advance and chilled it overnight.

The dough was to be rolled out to about a 1/4 inch thickness so I used my roller bands to help me keep the dough a consistent thickness. It's still tough to get the consistency on the edges, but it worked out pretty well. I used a plain round cutter to cut all the cookies and baked them on Silpat lined baking sheets.

Now, this is when you'd be done with most cookies, but these needed putting together. We need to make the sandwiches! I made the chocolate mint ganache using Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate and used pure mint extract. I put a teaspoon of ganache in each cookie and squished it together to spread with another cookie on top. They went in the refrigerator for a while to chill and adhere before topping with even more chocolate. The topping was simply melted semi-sweet chocolate. I dipped each sandwich in and then placed them on a wire rack to and put them back in the refrigerator to harden. Before I put them in the refrigerator, I tried one and this was when they tasted the best to me. It was a bit messy since the chocolate was still soft on top, but that was the perfect time. You have a fudgy chocolate mint sandwich with warm melted chocolate on top of it! I thought the cookies would be crispy, but they were so nice and chewy even after being refrigerated. However, for serving, I would suggest taking them out of the frig to come to room temperature for a while. Or, do these as the dessert for a fondue party and don't put the topping on!