Chocolate Peppermint Cake Mix Cookies

Christmas Eve at Ma's. Christmas morning at my house. Christmas Day lunch back at Ma's. The full circuit.

Christmas Eve: Ma makes lasagna because Dad's grandmother was from Calabria somewhere back and the tradition stuck. We had cannoli from Mike's. Patrick and Colleen came. Meghan and Brian came. Midnight mass at St. Brigid's for Ma and Dad; I did not go because the kids had to sleep. Ma forgave me.

Christmas morning: Liam up at 6. Nora up at 6:01. Presents under the tree. Santa came (I was up till 1 AM and I am tired writing this). Liam got a real wooden toolbench from my dad (HUGE deal), a Red Sox jersey from Patrick, chapter books from Meghan, and from me a new bike helmet and a book about the Red Sox history of the 2000s that he had asked for. Nora got a butterfly chest of dress-up clothes, a doll, books, and from me a small kitchen set (plastic, noisy). I got scarf and gloves from Ma, a bottle of wine from Meghan, a framed photo from my dad of him and Sean from our wedding that I had never seen before. That one undid me. Dad had dug into the old family albums and made a new print. He handed it to me in a small frame. He said Katie, I thought you should have this. I lost it for three minutes. He said take your time.

That photo is now on the mantel.

Christmas Day lunch at Ma's. Ham, rolls, scalloped potatoes, green beans, pie. We ate too much. Dad napped in his chair. The kids played with Sean III in the living room.

Group did not meet the week of Christmas. Bernadette emailed. I emailed back. I said I got through.

Saturday pancakes Saturday the 28th. Burned the first one. Meghan was here for breakfast — she and Brian brought Aidan over for a playdate. Four adults and five kids in my kitchen. A lot of pancakes. A lot of syrup.

Food of the week: Christmas Eve lasagna. Ma's. Four layers. Ricotta, meat sauce, béchamel (she started doing béchamel about three years ago, it is superior).

After that Christmas — the photo from my dad, the four layers of Ma’s lasagna, Liam’s face when he saw the toolbench — I wanted to bake something small and uncomplicated while the kids were still riding out their gifts and the house smelled like pine and leftover ham. These chocolate peppermint cookies are the kind of thing you can pull together when you’re tired and full of feeling and you just need your hands to be doing something warm. I made a batch the morning of the 27th. Nobody complained.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 11 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 box (15.25 oz) chocolate fudge cake mix
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies or candy canes, divided
1/4 cup powdered sugar (for rolling, optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the dough. In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, eggs, oil, and peppermint extract until a thick dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips and half of the crushed peppermint candies.
Scoop and roll. Scoop dough by rounded tablespoons and roll into balls. If desired, roll each ball lightly in powdered sugar before placing on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Top with peppermint. Gently press a pinch of the remaining crushed peppermint onto the top of each dough ball.
Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers look just slightly underdone. Do not overbake — they firm up as they cool.
Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Peppermint Cake Mix Cookies — The Ones I Made While the House Was Still Quiet