A Holiday Recipe from Lindsay Below

Peppermint Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup shortening (golden shortening, if you can find it)

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla

1 3/4 flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup baker’s milk chocolate, coarsely chopped into small chunks

2/3 cup crushed peppermint candy cane

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add to mixture. Stir in chocolate and peppermint.

Spoon 1-inch balls of dough onto greased cookie sheet (cooking spray works well for this).

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Note: The candy canes can be substituted for different flavors, as can the chocolate. Feel free to experiment! Favorite flavor combinations of mine are raspberry candy cane with white chocolate chunks and caramel candy cane with dark chocolate chunks.

If you wish to add cocoa, change the sugar to 1 1/4 granulated (white) sugar and omit brown sugar. Add another tbsp milk to compensate.

Lindsay Below writes young adult fiction. Under L. K. Below, she writes romance and speculative fiction. Visit her at www.lbelow.net or on her blog at http://lbelow.blogspot.com.