Vegan Mint Chocolate Cookies with mint creme filling

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180 °C

Step 2

Cream together the vegan butter, sugar and peppermint extract in a large mixing bowl. An electric whisk is best but a manual whisk will work too.

Step 3

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into the bowl.

Step 4

Use a wooden/silicon spoon to mix the wet and dry ingredients together to make a thick crumbly cookie dough.

Step 5

Add the milk, one tbsp at a time and mix in so that the dough is moist but still thick. You should be able to roll it easily into a ball.

Step 6

Take a small amount of cookie dough and roll it into a ball (size of the ball is really up to you, depending on how big you want your cookies). Place the balls onto a silicon baking sheet (or parchment paper) on an oven tray.

Step 7

Use the base of a mug or glass to press the balls into cookie shapes. I make mine 3-4 mm thick, but you can make them thicker. Thicker cookies may need a little extra baking time!

Step 8

Put the flattened cookies into the oven for ~10 minutes (check them after 7-8 minutes as appliances vary). The cookies are done when the very edges are firm, but the inside is still soft.

Step 9

Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before adding any toppings.

Step 10

Add the fondant icing sugar and water to a mixing bowl and mix together.

Step 11

Add the peppermint extract gradually and mix in. The icing should have a thick rollable consistency (if too liquid it won’t stay put when the melted chocolate is added later). If you would prefer a runnier icing, add some water.

Step 12

Once the cookies are cooled, cut out circles of mint icing and add one to each cookie. The amount you add will depend on the size of your cookies. There should be enough icing to cover the centre of the cookie, leaving a few millimetres of space around the edge.

Step 13

Break up the chocolate into pieces and place into a microwavable container (I use a Pyrex jug as it’s easy to stir its contents, but a bowl works fine).

Step 14

Put the container in the microwave and heat the chocolate on full power in 30 second bursts. After every burst, take the container out and stir the chocolate. Repeat this until all of the chocolate is melted (it’s okay to stop heating if there are some very small pieces of un-melted chocolate – stirring them should cause them to melt and you don’t want to burn your chocolate).

Step 15

Add as much peppermint extract as needed to the melted chocolate and stir in (keep tasting as you add).

Step 16

Add ~1 tbsp (depending on cookie size) of the melted chocolate to each cookie. Use the back of the spoon to gently smooth the chocolate to completely cover the mint icing with a thin layer.

Step 17

Put the cookies into the fridge for 1 hour so that the chocolate sets (you could leave it out in the kitchen, but the chocolate may not set as smooth).