Peppermint Meringue Sandwiches With Chocolate Filling Recipes

DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT SANDWICHES

Steps:

• 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.

PEPPERMINT PATTY SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine cake mixes, eggs and oil; beat until well blended. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar., Bake 7-9 minutes or until tops are cracked. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and extract until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth., Spread filling on bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container.

PEPPERMINT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with foil.
• In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks. Drop by spoonfuls 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over the cookies.
• Bake for 1 1/2 hours in preheated oven. Meringues should be completely dry on the inside. Do not allow them to brown. Turn off oven. Keep oven door ajar, and let meringues sit in the oven until completely cool. Loosen from foil with metal spatula. Store loosely covered in cool dry place for up to 2 months.

PEPPERMINT MERINGUE SANDWICHES WITH CHOCOLATE FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 175°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a small open-star tip (such as Ateco #22).
• Make meringues: Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Mix in peppermint extract.
• Using a new small paintbrush, paint two or three stripes of red gel-paste food coloring inside the pastry bag. Fill bag with 1 to 2 cups meringue. Pipe small (3/4-inch high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets. Refill bag as necessary, adding food coloring each time. Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
• Meanwhile, make ganache: Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until just simmering. Pour over chocolate in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth, about 5 minutes. Let ganache cool at room temperature, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, until thick enough to hold its shape, about 45 minutes. (If ganache sets before using, reheat in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; repeat the cooling process.)
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5) with ganache. Pipe a small amount onto bottom of one meringue. Sandwich with another. Repeat with remaining ganache and meringues. Transfer to wire racks; let set 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.
• Use a new small paintbrush to brush two or three evenly spaced stripes of gel-paste food coloring along the length of the inside of a pastry bag fitted with an open-star tip. Fill the bag with meringue, and pipe star shapes onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Each time you refill the bag with meringue, paint new stripes inside.