Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookie Sandwiches filled with Hazelnut Spread
A Brand New Tree, A New Christmas Story
I wanted to kick-off Christmas with these Chocolate Peppermint Snowflakes Sandwich Sugar Cookies filled with Nutella. They set the mood perfectly to start the most wonderful time of the year!! Christmas is in full swing and we could not be happier around here!
Our tree is up and, after tooooo many years with the same decorations, probably 15, we decided to get new ornaments. I don't know what got into us, but we suddenly felt the need to go and write us a new Christmas story. One with the colors, shapes and details that represent who we are now, our likings and ideas and the space we want to create. Mariana picked the color red and some red and gold ornaments. My husband suddenly wanted a train around the tree and, if you have checked my Instagram stories lately, you have seen that we aren’t having enough of it. And I fell in love with these pure white crystal ball ornaments that truly take my breath away.
So maybe it was the pops of reds or the need for hot chocolate to keep me warm but I couldn’t stop envisioning these snowflakes shaped cookies in my mind. And after finding a jar of crushed peppermint candies in the store, I knew I had to go for them. Like that, the Chocolate Peppermint Snowflakes Sandwich Cookies filled with Nutella were in the oven.
These chocolate sugar cookies are sturdy but still chewy on the bite. They are not hard as crackers. There’ll be another time for that kind of recipe! For Christmas though, we want cookies on the softer side.
I made a bunch of notes on how to roll and cut sugar cookies that will hold their shape. Teaser: freezing the rolled and cut dough is key for preventing cookies from breaking when transferring to the baking sheet. Another teaser: freezing the rolled and cut dough is key for preventing cookies from spreading.
This is a very simple chocolate sugar cookie recipe. Just read the recipe to know in advance some details you need to take in consideration. But once you have everything set, you can make this recipe for soft and chewy chocolate cookies and have your first ones in less than 40 minutes. And get creative with shapes and fillings too! Have fun with these cookies and let me know your experience baking them and if you like them as well.
How to make sugar cookies that hold their shape when cut out and hold their shape after baked
For this recipe it’s important that your butter is soft just enough that it yields if you poke it but is still slightly cool.
The dough should be a bit grainy to the touch but hold together when you press it with your fingers after beating. If you feel it’s not coming together, beat a minute more.
The technique of rolling the dough between two parchment papers and transferring to a baking tray is ideal to keep the dough from breaking. I recommend using a straight rolling pin to ensure the surface of the cookies is completely flat.
Technically you can roll your dough at this point. I just appreciate what 5 to 10 minutes of chilling does to the dough. It becomes more homogeneous and has more structure and for me it’s easier to work with it.
Freezing the rolled dough is KEY to separate the cookies without hurting their shape. Freezing is also KEY in preventing the cookies from spreading when they are in the oven. We want our cookies to look like snowflakes and not like a strange thing that Mother Nature hasn't yet created! Make sure you free some space on your freezer to place your baking tray or to place your parchment paper flat.
Put together all the scrapes that you can because you can either make more cookies or use it later to make another batch with a different shape. They will be good to use for about a week if stored in the fridge. I leave my first scrapes outside and, as soon as the frozen scrapes become soft, I incorporate them with the warm ones and start the process all over again.
After the cookies are baked and outside the oven, it’s SUPER IMPORTANT to leave them in the tray 3 to 5 minutes. If you try to move them before, there is a big chance they will crumble in front of your very eyes with nothing much that you can do about it. It’s ALSO IMPORTANT to let them cool down completely after you transfer them to the cooling rack for the same reason. To give you an example, I made these during the night and decorated them the next morning.
Have fun with fillings and decorations, even mix and match as desired. It’s Christmas after all!!!
Suggested Baking Times
Thinner cookies (⅛”) + chewier consistency = 8 minutes
Thinner cookies + harder consistency = 10 minutes
Thicker cookies (¼”) + chewier consistency = 10 minutes
Thicker cookies + harder consistency = up to 12 minutes
Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookie Sandwiches filled with Hazelnut Spread
Ingredients
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour – 2 ½ cups
◯ Unsweetened cocoa powder – ¾ cup
◯ Baking powder – 1 Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt – ½ Tsp
◯ Butter, at room temperature but not too soft – 2 sticks, (16 TBSP)
◯ Raw sugar – 1 ¼ cup
◯ Egg – 1
◯ Pure vanilla extract – 1 Tsp
◯ Peppermint extract – 2 Tsp
Chocolate Glaze
◯ Powdered sugar – 1 cup
◯ Unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or dark chocolate) – 2 TBSP
◯ Dash of fine sea salt (less than a pinch)
◯ Very hot water – 2 TBSP
◯ Hazelnut Spread to fill the cookies and crushed peppermint candy to decorate
Details
Yield:
about 24 large cookies plus some little stars (for about 12 large sandwiches)
Total time:
1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, including freezing and cool down time
Active time:
10 minutes making the dough + 15 minutes decorating the cookies
Equipment:
stand mixer or electric hand mixer, parchment paper, baking trays, cooling rack
Steps
To make the chocolate sugar cookies:
(If not using pre-cut parchment paper, cut 4 pieces the size of your baking tray, which must fit in one of your freezer racks)
In a medium bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt with a hand whisk to break any large lumps.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment put the butter and sugar and beat in medium speed (level 4 on the Kitchen Aid) until the mixture looks fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and peppermint.
Scrap the butter-sugar mixture down the bowl and beat again for 2 minutes. Scrap down again if needed. Decrease to low speed (level #1 on the Kitchen Aid), start incorporating the flour mixture, about half cup at a time (I like to use a small measuring cup and sprinkle flour through the opening of the mixer’s pouring shield.) Continue beating for 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and check your dough texture. It should be a bit grainy to the touch but hold together when you press it with your fingers (see notes). Press the whole dough with your hands and divide it into two balls.
Place one ball on a piece of plastic paper and flatten it out as much as you can. Wrap the dough and press it down again to push it as flat as possible. Do the same with the other ball of dough. Chill for about 10 minutes, just to give the dough some structure but that it’s malleable.
Place one disk of dough over a piece of parchment paper. Place another parchment paper on top and roll until the dough is between ⅛” to ¼” thick, depending on your thickness preference. Peel the top parchment paper and, if there’s any dough beyond your bottom parchment paper, cut it using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Reserve the scraps. Using your selected cookie cutters cut the dough, leaving as little space as possible between shapes. Alternate between a large whole cookie shape and a large cookie with the cutout in the center to make sure you will have an even number for pairing. Cut small shapes on any small dough spots if desired. Transfer your parchment paper to a baking tray and place it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
You may repeat the process with the second disk, waiting a minute or so if it’s not soft enough to roll. Combine it’s scrapes with the scrapes of the first disk (see notes). If you don't have enough space in your freezer for a second batch, just set it aside until you take out the previous tray.
Place the baking tray in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat oven to 350°.
Take out your frozen tray and start peeling the excess dough around your shapes. For borders that are too thin or in the middle, just separate the shaped dough and arrange in the tray to have access to those areas. Reserve all excess of dough.
Quickly arrange cookies. Since they are not going to spread you can place them pretty near to each other but make sure they are not touching. (If you feel they are becoming soft, place them in the freezer again for 3 to 5 minutes.) Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookie and your consistency preference (see notes). Mine were baked for 10 minutes.
Take them out of the oven and let them in the baking tray, about 3 minutes. Using a thin spatula, carefully transfer each cookie to a cooling rack. Let them cool down completely before handling to prevent breakage.
To make the chocolate glaze:
Sift over a large bowl powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Pour the 2 tablespoons of hot water and using a hand whisk, mix until sugar and cocoa are dissolved and there are no lumps.
Assembling the cookies:
Using a small spoon pour a bit of the glaze on a top cookie (the ones with the cutouts) and spread it with the back of the spoon. Keep moving the glaze every now and then to prevent it form drying and, if needed, add a bit of hot water and mix to make it spreadable again. If using, sprinkle some crushed peppermint candies. Place each cookie on the rack again and let the glaze dry.
In the meantime, spread some hazelnut spread on the inside part of your bottom cookies. Top each of them with your glazed cookies. Try to not eat them all at once!
