Ingredients
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1/4 cup peppermint candies, finely chopped (3 tablespoons)
Preparation
Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter with confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating to combine. Divide dough into 2 disks; wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Working with one disk at a time (keeping the other refrigerated), roll out on lightly floured parchment to a scant 1/8 inch. Cut out 60 rounds total with a 1 3/4-inch fluted round cutter. Chill and reroll scraps (if dough becomes too soft, freeze 15 minutes). Use a 1/2-inch fluted round cutter to cut out centers of half of rounds. Arrange rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Freeze until firm, 15 minutes. Brush off excess flour with a dry pastry brush.
Bake, rotating sheets once, until edges are firm, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies on sheetsto a wire rack; let cool completely.
Place chocolate in a heatproofbowl. Heat cream in a smallsaucepan over medium-highuntil just bubbling around edges.Remove from heat; stir in peppermintextract. Pour mixtureover chocolate; let stand 10minutes, then stir until smooth.Let stand, stirring occasionally,until firm enough to spread,about 30 minutes.
Spread 1 teaspoon filling oneach uncut cookie; top withcut cookies. Sprinkle choppedcandies in window of eachtop cookie. Refrigerate until set,about 20 minutes. Assembledcookies can be stored in refrigerator up to 2 days.
