Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium-sized bowl combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sweetened butter and mix until a very thick dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips and candy cane bits, distributing them evenly throughout the batter. Form cookies by dropping 1 tablespoon of dough on the sheet two inches apart. Bake for exactly 12 minutes; the cookies will look slightly shiny and soft, but the bottoms should be lightly browned and crisp. Remove gently slide the cookies still on the parchment to a wire rack to cool for 2 minutes or until set. Remove the parchment and continue to cool the cookies on the wire rack until fully cooled.

Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen fairly large cookies

My thoughts:

For some reason, there are a few things I always feel like take a lot of work but really don’t. Drop cookies and brownies both fall into this category. I have some sort of mental block against making them. Maybe it is the having to set the butter out first? It seems like such a production until I actually go to make them and magically, 20 minutes after I start, I am eating freshly baked cookies. These are chockful of chocolate and the peppermint not only adds a seasonal note, it adds a lovely chew to the cookies. Bright and rather refreshing for a cookie. These are a great way to use up leftover candy canes too!