I always make a few batches of cookies for the holidays, but it’s been several years since I did a lot of holiday baking. You know, the three-day baking marathons that leave you with flour in your hair and flecks of buttery sugar stuck to your face–that kind of holiday baking. But I am doing it this year!
The last time I did this kind of holiday baking, I decided to make healthy cookies. Shockingly, healthy cookies do not go over very well with a crowd. So I am going all out this time. I left the grocery store last weekend with bags full of butter and chocolate chips of every variety. No whole wheat flour, no applesauce instead of butter. Not this year! And the first recipe I tackled is one I came up with myself: Grasshopper Brownie Cookies.
I guess candy cane would be a wee bit more traditional for this time of year, but grasshopper brownies are one of my favorite desserts and I had the idea to make a sandwich cookie out of them. Chocolate ganache and minty cream are sandwiched between two chewy brownie cookies. I made them small because these little guys are rich.
When you’re baking a crazy amount of cookies, having the right equipment is a must. I received a bunch of baking tools from Pampered Chef to help me out with my holiday baking this year and let me tell you, I am totally done making wonky-looking cookies that stick to my baking sheets. My favorite tool by far is the cookie scoop. Up to this point, I had used a regular tablespoon to put batter onto baking sheets. This fun little scoop makes things so much easier–just squeeze the handle and the batter is released onto the baking sheet, all perfectly shaped and beautiful.
So yeah, I’m pretty much in love with my Pampered Chef baking bundle. And I want you to be in love with it too! Pampered Chef is sponsoring a giveaway here on Oh My Veggies and one lucky reader will receive the following:
Silicone Oven Mitt
Decorator Bottle Set
Creative Cutters Set
Cookie Sheet
Stainless Steel Cookie Scoops (Small & Medium)
Cookie Press
Shimmering Glass Round Platter
Small Batter Bowl
Parchment Paper
Double-Strength Madagascar Vanilla
Adjustable Measuring Spoons
Tangerine Scraper
8 1/4 c. Leakproof Glass Container
Go to Grasshopper Brownie Cookies recipe
Disclosure: I received products from Pampered Chef to help me out with my holiday baking this year. Pampered Chef also compensated me for the time I spent on this post.
Prep Time:
45 minutesCook Time:
45 minutesTotal Time:
45 minutes Yield:
36 sandwich cookiesingredients:
Brownie Cookies
Mint Filling
Chocolate Filling
instructions:
Brownie Cookies
Mint Filling
Chocolate Filling
Assembly
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Comments
I’m with you on the cookie scoops. I JUST experienced the same mad love for scoops during MY Christmas baking marathon, which I just finished. (I’m crazy, though, and I do it all in ONE day — 20 or so hours straight, I kid you not. It’s the only way that works for me. 🙂
This was my first year with a scoop, and. Oh. My God. I’m pretty sure someone somewhere welcomed me to the Promised Land when I dropped my first cookie. 🙂 HOW did I EVER live without one of these things?? I was able to move, EASILY, 10 x faster with this scoop. (I, like you, used to use a Tablespoon, but I would pack it all in, to ensure even cookie size, then dig it all out.) I moved so quickly using them, I got to squeeze in 6 extra treats this year!
Long live the cookie scoop!
I tried doing the baking in one day once and I was a basketcase by the end of the day. I’m usually a good multitasker, but that takes a special kind of multitasking ability that I just do not have. 🙂 And I’m with you on how much faster things go with the cookie scoop. It’s not just the scoop, but the release! The release is the best part! No more messing with two spoons to try to get all the batter out.
I liked Pampered Chef on Facebook
These look incredible! My kids would go crazy over these cookies.
Wow I love love these cookies! It’s okay that they aren’t the “healthy” type because it’s for a special occasion. Thanks for sharing & Merry Christmas!
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you too! 🙂
Grasshoppers are one of my favorite cocktails so I can guarantee that I would love these cookies! These look so good! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season! See you next year my friend!
Thank you! And Happy Holidays to you and your family too!
These cookies came out looking so perfect – I love the crinkly brownie effect! And I know what you mean about healthy cookies! I made a couple of healthy treats this year and brought them home to share with my family, but they didn’t go over very well…I think they are appreciated more at other times of the year, but when it comes to the holidays, people want to splurge!
Yup, I think that’s definitely the case. People politely ate my whole wheat thumbprints and low cal chocolate cherry cookies, but they didn’t go back for seconds. 😉
I just have to say.. Whoa.. time to fall off the diet. LOL! Those look and sound like my kind of treat 🙂
Yeah, I put the diet on hold until after Christmas. 😉
These look great, and I agree when it comes to sweets you can’t go too healthy or no one will eat them!
Exactly! And no one watches what they eat on Christmas anyway, right? 🙂
They look so delicious!!
These are totally awesome. And apparently they make me talk like a Valley Girl. 🙂 They’re so cute though, and they look like they taste absolutely divine.
I just finally picked up a cookie scoop a couple of months ago myself, and I’ve gotta say it rocks my world! They make life so much easier and cookies so much prettier.
They are totally awesome! I don’t want to think about how many of these I’ve eaten in the past week. 🙂 (A LOT.)
Darn, I missed the giveaway! 🙂 My cookies were ugly before we got our cookie scoops, and we never could get them all the same size without a scoop. My other best friend is parchment. I used to be a silicone mat gal, but I’m lazy and just want to throw out the sheets when I’m done. Plus, I like how you can stack sheets of cookie dough with parchment, and I only have 2 silicone mats. I also want these brownie cookies. When I need a chocolate fix bad, I always think of brownies! And these are so cute.
I have the silicone baking mats, but I accidentally bought the ones that are for bread. Oops. I really need to use parchment paper more often, not just for baking, but roasting too. My baking sheets have so much baked on gunk!
Parchment and silicone help with that, though the rims and bottoms of my baking sheets have baked-on grease and gunk. I guess from oil splatters.
How do you like the silicone mats for bread? Worth getting? I love baking bread, if I can plan on being at home for all the rises and steps.
Well, I accidentally bought the bread mats instead of the regular ones–I actually never bake bread, so I have no idea how they work! 😉 But baking bread is on my 2013 to-do list!
Oh my goodness – yum! These look so ridiculously good! You know I’m such a sucker for mint and chocolate so these are just calling me! I know I just finished making a ton of cookies, but I want these, haha. Love their crackly little tops. Yum!
Yeah, mint and chocolate is always one of my favorite combinations too. 🙂 Especially for the holidays!
I just licked my monitor! Do you have a squeegee? Haha! Seriously, these look FANTASTIC! I love my cookie scoop too.
Thank you! Coming from the authority on all things chocolate, that is a big compliment. 😀
These are beautiful and look so tasty! Some of my favorites this year have been the chocolate/mint combos.
Mmmmm…Can’t wait to try these!
Hi I have a question about the sugars you used- I live in Germany and brown sugar here is just raw, unrefined sugar. Its not that clumpy wet sand consistency of brown sugar in America, and the results obviously are not quite the same. Ive tried a molasses and brown sugar combo too, which also doesnt work so well. Do you have a recommendation for what to do, especially concerning this recipe? I want to make these for a party this weekend. Thanks!
I’m not too familiar with brown sugar substitutions–I’m sorry! The only substitute I know of is combining molasses with white sugar. My understanding is that brown sugar actually IS just white sugar with molasses in it, so it should work in theory. You could just use white sugar in the recipe, although the cookies probably won’t be chewy: http://www.bhg.com/advice/food/baking/i-am-out-of-brown-sugar-can-i-substitute-white-sugar/
Thanks Kiersten.. I had tried the (impostor) brown sugar and molasses but not regular white. Ill try that and let you know how they work out. Thanks for the tip.